Pokemon Go: What are the most powerful Pokemon?

There are a lot of species to capture in Pokemon Go – over 600. Which are the most powerful, though?

With so many Pokemon available to catch it’s no wonder that many trainers don’t which are the most powerful. Are Mew and Mewtwo up there, what about the ever menacing Charizard or is it the king of the Distortion World, Giratina?

Due to the sheer numbers of Pokemon and all the other important details that determine a Pokemon’s power, trainers can be forgiven for not knowing which are the most effective. We try and shed some light on it here.

Ranked by CP

CP (combat power) is an aggregated statistic that gives a rough idea as to how powerful they are. It is based on IV scores and that Pokemon’s current level.

• Read More: The differences between IV and CP explained

Movesets aside, this is the best way to determine a Pokemon’s battling prowess. While it doesn’t tell you directly how powerful their attack, defense or stamina is – it is a good, quick and easy way to see the potential of a particular Pokemon.

Based on CP, the Pokemon with the best potential are as follows:

• Slaking – 4,431
• Mewtwo – 4,178
• Groudon – 4,115
• Kyogre – 4,115
• Dialga – 4,038
• Reshiram – 4,038
• Zekrom – 4,038

It should be noted getting them to this CP (their respective max CP) is a costly process. It can set you back well over 250,000 Stardust to Power Up a Pokemon to Level 40.

The best attacker

We can look at a Pokemon’s power by looking at their individual stats, though. One of these stats is their attack which is naturally an important attribute to Pokemon Go trainers as this determines how much damage a Pokemon can inflict.

It should be noted that this doesn’t take into account moveset and is purely based on attack stats. Nevertheless, the Pokemon with the best attack stats are:

• Deoxys Attack Forme – 414
• Deoxys – 345
• Mewtwo – 300
• Rampardos – 295
• Slaking – 290
• Regigigas – 287
• Darkrai – 285

Slaking is an excellent example of the above whereby it has superb attack stats but its moveset means its DPS (damage per second) is actually less than a Pokemon that isn’t on the list, such as Gengar. Meanwhile, Deoxys isn’t the force it seems because, somewhat shockingly, the Mythical Pokemon is essentially useless when battling due to its terrible defense.

The best defender

Conversely, the best defense stats show which Pokemon are the best at receiving damage. Those Pokemon are as follows:

• Shuckle – 396
• Deoxys Defense Forme – 330
• Lugia – 310
• Regice – 309
• Regirock – 309
• Bastiodon – 286
• Registeel – 285

Invariably these Pokemon tend to be good options in GO Battle League. This is because a high defense stat prevents opposing Pokemon taking you out with just one or two Charge Moves.

• Read More: The 3 most useless Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Go

This is why the top PvP ranked Pokemon all have high defense. Conversely, Pokemon effective in Raid Battles will all have high attack. Naturally both stats are required to some degree otherwise you’ll end up with a Deoxys situation, whereby its attack might be incredible but it is useless in battle.

The best stamina

The stamina stat is essentially HP in Pokemon Go, which equates to the level of health, or hit points, a Pokemon can have. The defense stat naturally plays a big part in determining how long a Pokemon can last in battle – so not just one should be looked at.

• Blissey – 496
• Chansey – 487
• Wobbuffet – 382
• Wailord – 347
• Alomomola – 338
• Snorlax – 330
• Drifblim – 312

Of all these stats, CP is probably the best indicator of a Pokemon’s potential but it is good to dive deeper and know which species are strong at what.

Movesets also play a critical role in determining how effective a Pokemon is. Two of the same species can have wildly different results in battles just by the moves they have available.