With so many choices available in Pokemon Go‘s competitive mode, players can have trouble finding the toughest fighters worth leveling up for combat. So here are our top picks for the Battle League, Raids, PvP, Gyms, and more.
If you want to become one of the best trainers in Pokemon Go having the most powerful ‘mon on your team will be essential. Despite the mobile game having a simple premise, there’s a lot of depth to the mechanics, especially when it comes to battles.
Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities to obtain stronger Pokemon in the game. From fights against tough Team Rocket leaders including Giovanni, Sierra, and Arlo, as well as the weekly Spotlight Hours events, and Community Days, you’ll regularly be adding new Pokemon to your team, and it’s essential to know which ones you should focus on catching.
With that in mind, here are the best attackers, defenders, and PvP champions available in Pokemon Go.
Best attackers in Pokemon Go
If you’re looking to take part in Raid Battles and catch some powerful Legendaries, then you’ll need the very best attackers on your team.
Mega Evolved Pokemon are typically the best options, however, the most important thing is choosing a lineup of Pokemon that can exploit the weaknesses of the specific Raid Boss you’re fighting.
We’ve rounded up some of the top attackers that you can use in Pokemon Go below, as well as details of their optimal movesets and what they’re strong against.
3: Primal Groudon
- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Move: Precipice Blades* or Earthquake
With an outstanding ATK stat of 353 and a total damage output of 1040.63, Primal Groudon is -and apparently will forever be the ultimate Ground-type Pokemon in the game.
This massive beast has a huge max CP of 5902 that can be boosted by raising it to level 50 or by taking advantage of Sunny weather. More so, its signature move Precipice Blades has a damage of 130, and combined with Mud Shot, they are endgame. Just be careful of Water-type enemies.
2: Mega Rayquaza
- Fast Move: Air Slash
- Charged Move: Dragon Ascent* or Outrage
As far as Dragons go, you won’t get much better than Rayquaza. Dragon-type moves are rarely resisted, making it a great all-around attacker with Dragon Tail and Outrage.
However, Rayquaza can be better utilized as a great Flying-type attacker, where powerful moves like Air Slash give it a big advantage once combined with its Legacy move Dragon Ascent.
1: Primal Kyogre
- Fast Move: Waterfall
- Charged Move: Origin Pulse* or Surf
As expected, the Legendary creature Kyogre and its Primal forme remain one of the best attackers in Pokemon Go, with a huge 353-attack stat and the versatility to perform well in loads of different scenarios.
Using a combination of Waterfall and its signature move Origin Pulse -or Surf if you don’t have OP- it’s a powerhouse, especially with a CP that now reaches 5,902. Push it to level 50 or boost it with Rainy weather and it’s unstoppable.
Pokemon Go best attackers tier list in 2024
Our top 10 picks for the best attackers alongside their best moves and type advantages in Pokemon Go are as follows:
| RANK | POKEMON | SPRITE | FAST MOVE | CHARGED MOVE | WEAK AGAINST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Primal Kyogre | Waterfall | Origin Pulse | Grass / Electric | |
| #2 | Mega Rayquaza | Air Slash | Dragon Ascent | Ice / Rock / Dragon / Fairy | |
| #3 | Primal Groudon | Mud Shot | Precipice Blades | Water / Ground | |
| #4 | Mega Tyranitar | Bite | Brutal Swing | Fighting / Ground / Bug / Steel / Water / Grass / Fairy | |
| #5 | Mega Blaziken | Fire Spin | Blast Burn | Flying / Ground / Water / Psychic | |
| #6 | Mega Gengar | Lick | Shadow Ball | Ground / Ghost / Psychic / Dark | |
| #7 | Shadow Mewtwo | Confusion | Psystrike | Bug / Ghost / Dark | |
| #8 | Shadow Chandelure | Fire Spin | Shadow Ball | Ground / Rock / Ghost / Water / Dark | |
| #9 | Terrakion | Double Kick | Sacred Sword | Fighting / Ground / Steel / Water / Grass / Psychic / Fairy | |
| #10 | Kartana | Razor Leaf | Leaf Blade | Fire / Fighting |
As always, you’ll need to take typing into consideration. The Legendary Water-type Kyogre may feature at the top of our list, for example, but it will always struggle against a strong Electric-type or Grass-type opponent.
Best defenders in Pokemon Go
If you want a Pokemon to leave at a gym in order to earn your daily coins, or you need a bulky option to send out first in battle and wear your opponents down, then get one of these defenders on your team.
Ultimately, you’ll be looking for a good combination of Defense and Stamina, the latter of which decides how much HP it has and how long it will be able to stay in a gym before needing to rest.
3: Metagross
- Fast Move: Zen Headbutt
- Charged Move: Meteor Mash
The Steel/Psychic-type Metagross will do a brilliant job of defending Gyms, as it has great stats and a whopping 10 type resistances. With the Charged Move Meteor Mash under its belt, it will also deal some serious damage, extending its use beyond just being a defender.
2: Togekiss
- Fast Move: Charm
- Charged Move: Dazzling Gleam
Sitting at number two of our top three is Togekiss. It has a high max CP of 3,332 with the potential to reach a solid 3767 on level 50. Its Stamina stat may not be as good as Blissey’s or Snorlax’s, but its high CP, good Defense, and Attack stats should help ward off potential attackers.
1: Blissey
- Fast Move: Zen Headbutt
- Charged Move: Dazzling Gleam
As far as best defenders go, Blissey remains the best choice for any trainer in Pokemon Go. It has a ridiculous amount of Stamina (496) and a decent Defense stat (169), making it the perfect ‘mon to leave in gyms as it will simply sponge damage.
Pokemon Go best defenders tier list in 2024
The full list of our top 10 picks for the best defenders in Pokemon Go are as follows:
| RANK | POKEMON | SPRITE | FAST MOVE | CHARGED MOVE | WEAK AGAINST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Blissey | Zen Headbutt | Dazzling Gleam | Fighting | |
| #2 | Togekiss | Charm | Dazzling Gleam | Poison / Rock / Steel / Electric / Ice | |
| #3 | Metagross | Zen Headbutt | Meteor Mash | Ground / Ghost / Fire / Dark | |
| #4 | Snorlax | Zen Headbutt | Outrage | Fighting | |
| #5 | Umbreon | Snarl | Foul Play | Fighting / Bug / Fairy | |
| #6 | Milotic | Waterfall | Hyper Beam | Grass / Electric | |
| #7 | Avalugg | Ice Fang | Avalance | Fighting / Rock / Steel / Fire | |
| #8 | Goodra | Dragon Breath | Draco Meteor | Ice / Dragon / Fairy | |
| #9 | Steelix | Iron Tail | Earthquake | Fighting / Ground / Fire / Water | |
| #10 | Drifblim | Hex | Shadow Ball | Rock / Ghost / Electric / Ice / Dark |
Unlike many of the best Pokemon Go attackers we featured, the best defenders often aren’t Legendary. This means you should find it easier to catch one with decent stats and level them up to a high CP.
Best Pokemon for PvP (Go Battle League)
There are three major Leagues to enjoy in the Pokemon Go Battle League: the Great League, the Ultra League, and the Master League. These rotate throughout each season, with only one appearing at a time, often alongside special cups like the Retro Cup or the Kanto Cup.
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Each league has different restrictions, the main one being the CP limit. The Great League has a 1500 CP limit, the Ultra League has a 2500 CP limit, and the Master League has no limit. This means the best Pokemon for each League can be wildly different.
Great League
With a CP limit of just 1500, you won’t encounter many Legendaries in the Great League meta. You can find our complete Great League guide here, or check out our top three recommendations below.
Annihilape
- Fast Move: Counter
- Charged Moves: Shadow Ball or Night Slash
Annihilape’s main attraction is its particular dual Fighting/Ghost-type combination, giving it a very exploitable set of resistances for Great League as well as good moves.
As most players already know, Counter is a very good Fast Move, so go with it and pair it with Shadow Ball as a Charged Move for great damage. You can also turn to the spammy Night Slash to force your enemy to use their shields early on.
Carbink (XL)
- Fast Move: Rock Throw
- Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Moonblast
The dual Rocky/Fairy-type Carbink sits at the top of the ranking as it has proven to be a bulky Pokemon that combines strong stats with good moves.
A leveled-up Carbink is the perfect choice for an attacker with Rock Throw as its Fast Move and Moonblast or Rock Slide as its Charged Moves. It has plenty of useful resistance, you just need to keep its weaknesses in check, mostly to Steel and Ground types, as those are constantly exploited in the league with Registeel, Skarmory, and Gligar.
Registeel
- Fast Move: Lock On
- Charged Moves: Focus Blast or Zap Cannon
Registeel is the ultimate Pokemon to dominate Great League battles due to its high Defense and Stamina stats, type, and strong moveset. With 11 resistances, it has a secured win against almost all the league champions.
Ultra League
With a higher CP limit of 2500, the Ultra League is where the big players start to emerge. You can find our complete Ultra League guide here, or check out our top three recommendations below:
Giratina (Altered Forme)
- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Dragon Claw or Shadow Sneak
Giratina Altered Forme is an incredible lead in Pokemon Go competitive mode thanks to its high defensive stats that make it very bulky. Plus, it can reach its Charged Moves very quickly, forcing opponents to waste their shields early on.
Shadow Claw has a good balance of damage and energy gain, so opt for that as your Fast Move. Both Dragon Claw and Shadow Sneak are very similar Charged Moves with the same damage and energy cost, and they both benefit from STAB. However, Dragon Claw is superior as it is faster.
Giratina Altered Forme has quite a few powerful counters, but if you can avoid them, it will have no problem taking down the majority of the Go Pokedex.
Feraligatr (Shadow)
- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon or Ice Beam
The tough crocodile from Gen 2 works perfectly as a charger or closer thanks to its stats and moves. Despite its weaknesses, it can resist very used Pokemon types such as Steel and Fire, which is very handy in Ultra League.
Additionally, its move pool helps Feraligatr reach Charged Moves faster, so it can force the enemy to use its shields early on, leaving them defenseless for the rest of your team.
Registeel (XL)
- Fast Move: Lock-On
- Charged Moves: Focus Blast or Zap Cannon
This Steel-type Legendary is arguably the best choice for the Ultra League as well, as it has an incredible Defense stat and a massive amount of type resistances, which means it can take loads of hits. Meanwhile, Lock-On has one of the fastest energy generations in the game, allowing Registeel to unleash some brilliant Charged Moves.
Master League
In the Master League, all CP restrictions are removed, meaning you’ll need the help of XL Candy to win. We’ve got a more in-depth Master League guide here, or you can find our top recommendations below:
Xerneas (XL)
- Fast Move: Geomancy
- Charged Moves: Close Combat or Moonblast
The incorporation of Xerneas’ signature move – Geomancy – turned this Legendary into the top Fairy-type Pokemon in the game.
Xerneas can work either as a lead or a closer as it has good bulk and an even better Attack stat. Like most of the top-ranking competitive Pokemon, it can reach its Charged Moves fast, putting extra pressure on the opponent and forcing them to use their shields.
Geomancy deals great damage for a fair amount of energy. And while all the Charged Moves cost the same, Moonblast is the one with higher damage, plus it benefits from STAB. Close Combat is ideal as a secondary Charged Move because it targets Xerneas’ greatest weakness: the Steel type.
Zygarde Complete Forme (XL)
- Fast Move: Dragon Tail
- Charged Moves: Crunch or Earthquake
Zygarde is the most desirable creature in Pokemon Go since it debuted in July 2023 thanks to its performance in the Master League. With a great balance between resistance and damage, it’s incredibly difficult to take down. Any Master League team will benefit from a Zygarde with its Complete Forme.
Palkia Origin Forme (XL)
- Fast Move: Dragon Breath
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Spacial Rend
The recently added Palkia Origin Forme sits at the top of our ranking and is undoubtedly the ultimate Master League champion in Pokemon Go. With incredible Defense and HP and an outstanding Attack stat, this creature can be used as a Lead, Charger, or Closer if you want.
For its Fast Move go always with Dragon Breath, as it is its strongest choice, and for its Charged Move, go with its special attack Spacial Rend.
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Pokemon Go team. For more game content, check our guide with the Battle League schedule and rewards, as well as our rankings for the Best Mega Evolutions, the cutest or the creepiest Pokemon.
