Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go: Top Attackers, defenders & PvP champions (April 2024)

With so many choices available in Pokemon Go, players need a list with the toughest fighters worth leveling up for combat. So here are our picks for every mode including 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. 

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Contents

• Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go explained
• Best attackers in Pokemon Go
• Pokemon Go attackers tier list
• Best defenders in Pokemon Go
• Pokemon Go defenders tier list
• Best Pokemon for PvP
  • Great League
  • Ultra League
  • Master League

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The best Pokemon in Pokemon Go explained

It’s difficult to say what the best Pokemon in Pokemon Go are, as it really depends on what you’re looking for. To defeat Raid Bosses you’ll need powerful attackers, to protect Gyms you’ll need sturdy defenders, and winning PvP Battles is a whole different ball game.

To help you figure out what to focus on, we’ve rounded up the best Pokemon for each area of the game based on everything from stats, max CP potential, weaknesses, our own experiences with the game, and how well they’ll actually perform in battle.

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While the below Pokemon are all excellent choices, the basics still remain: You’ll need to make sure that they have decent stats, spend time powering them up, and teach them the best moves before letting them loose in the world.

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:

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.

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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 in Pokemon Go for any trainer. 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:

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.

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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.

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.Galarian Stunfisk

Skarmory

• Fast Move: Steel Wing
• Charged Moves: Sky Attack or Brave Bird

Skarmory is the ultimate Pokemon to dominate Great League battles due to its great bulk, type combination, and strong moveset. With 10 resistances, it has a secured win against almost all the league champions.

Cresselia

• Fast Move: Psycho Cut
• Charged Moves: Grass Know or Future Sight

The single Psychic-type Legendary 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 Cresselia is the perfect choice to lead a team with Psycho Cut as its Fast Move and Future Sight as its Charged Move. You just need to keep its weaknesses in check, mostly to Ghost and Dark types, as those are constantly exploited in the league.

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. 

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: Shadow Force or Shadow Sneak

Altered Forme Giratina is a well-rounded fighter that acts as a brilliant counter for more than 6 different types, including the Fire ones that dominate the Ultra League. Even better, its massive bulk and moves with STAB make it a must-have in the game as it dominates the meta.

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 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:

Landorus Therian Forme

• Fast Move: Mud Shot
• Charged Moves:  Sandsear Storm or Stone Edge

The Legendary Landorus and its Therian Forme have risen to the top since their debut in Pokemon Go. Even though it’s not very bulky, it can deal damage to many different types and it has access to great moves like Mud Shot and Stone Edge, which is a nuke.

Zygarde (Complete Forme)

• 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 in Pokemon Go. For more game content, check the other guides below:

Best Elite Fast TM | Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | Rarest Pokemon | Best Mega Evolutions | How to get Raid Passes 

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