Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go – Attacker & Defender tier list

With so many choices available in Pokemon Go‘s modes, it’s tough to find the strongest Pokemon worth leveling up for combat – but there are some clear outliers for the best picks in the Battle League, Raids, PvP, and Gyms. 

Trainers looking to be the best and capture all of the creatures in Pokemon Go will need some powerful attackers and defenders on their team. This doesn’t just mean any Legendary Pokemon or Mega Evolution can be slotted in, either – you need a smart line-up that can make the most of an enemy’s weakness.

Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities to obtain stronger ‘mon in the game. From fights against Team Rocket‘s leaders – Giovanni, Sierra, Cliff, and Arlo – to the weekly Spotlight Hour events and Community Days, you’ll regularly be adding new Pokemon to your team, and it’s essential to know which ones are best to use in 2025.

Best attackers in Pokemon Go

If you’re planning to take part in Raid battles and catch some powerful Legendaries, Mega Evolved Pokemon, and Primal Reversion are typically the best attacker options. For PvP, the newest Crowned forms for Zacian and Zamazenta are dominating the meta.

The most important thing, though, is choosing a lineup of ‘mon that can exploit the weaknesses of the specific opponent you’re fighting.

1. Crowned Sword Zacian

GAME FREAK/THE POKEMON COMPANY

• Fast Move: Metal Claw
• Charged Moves: Close Combat and Behemoth Bash
• Type: Fairy/Steel
• Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Rock, Psychic, Poison, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, and Dark
• Weaknesses: Fire and Ground

Zacian’s Crowned Sword form is considered almost unstoppable due to having the highest CP in the game, plenty of resistances, an outstanding Attack stat, and an incredibly powerful move pool.

As a Fast Move, Metal Claw is just average, but it has good energy generation and benefits from STAB. This will allow players to reach the signature move Behemoth Blade, which is cheap and ridiculously strong.

Those who can afford a secondary Charged Move can add Close Combat to expand the coverage and deal even faster, high damage.

2. Crowned Shield Zamazenta

THE POKEMON COMPANY

• Fast Move: Metal Claw
• Charged Moves: Close Combat and Behemoth Bash
• Type: Fighting/Steel
• Resistances: Rock, Poison, Bug, Steel, Normal, Ice, Grass, Dragon, and Dark
• Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, and Ground

Since they were added to the franchise, Zamazenta has always fallen short compared to Zacian. And while that is still the case in the Go Battle League, the gap between them is smaller than ever.

Crowned Shield Zamazenta has an incredible total damage output thanks to its signature move, Behemoth Bash, and can stand strong in battle due to its massive Defense stat. Plus, it benefits from a good amount of resistances and just needs to look out for three weaknesses.

Similar to its counterpart – Zacian – the best moveset for PvP consists of Metal Claw (for high energy generation), Close Combat (cheap move with good coverage), and Behemoth Bash (cheap signature move with outstanding damage). Plus, they all benefit from STAB.

3. Mega Rayquaza

Niantic

• Fast Move: Dragon Tail
• Charged Moves: Breaking Swipe and Dragon Ascent
• Type: Dragon/Flying
• Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Fire, Water, Grass, and Ground
• Weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, Fairy, and Rock

As far as Dragons go, you won’t get much better than Rayquaza in Pokemon Go. Dragon-type moves are rarely resisted, making it a great all-around attacker with Dragon Tail and Breaking Swipe.

However, Rayquaza can also be 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.

Mega Rayquaza‘s incredibly high Attack stat, combined with its spammy and versatile moves, and its long list of resistances make it one unstoppable contender.

Pokemon Go attacker tier list

As always, you’ll need to take the game’s type chart into consideration. The Legendary Water-type Kyogre may be featured on our list, for example, but it will always struggle against a strong Electric-type or Grass-type opponent.

Best defenders in Pokemon Go

When picking a defender, 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.

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 a PvP battle and wear your opponents down, then get one of these defenders on your team.

1. Blissey

The Pokemon Company

• Fast Move: Pound
• Charged Move: Hyper Beam and Wild Charge
• Type: Normal
• Resistances: Ghost
• Weaknesses: Fighting

As far as best defenders go, Blissey remains the best choice for any trainer in Pokemon Go. It has a ridiculous amount of Stamina and a decent Defense stat, making it the perfect ‘mon to leave in Gyms as it will simply sponge damage.

In Gym encounters, it its best to use a movepool that plays to just one of the Pokemon’s types. As Blissey is a pure Normal type, go with Pound and Hyper Beam to benefit from STAB.

2. Snorlax

The Pokemon Company

• Fast Move: Lick
• Charged Move: Body Slam and Hyper Beam
• Type: Normal
• Resistances: Ghost
• Weaknesses: Fighting

Sitting at number two of our top three is the old Kanto icon, Snorlax. It has a high max CP of 3,225 with the potential to reach a solid 3,647 on level 50.

Its Stamina stat may not be as good as Blissey’s, but its high CP, good Defense, and Attack stats combined should help ward off potential attackers.

As mentioned above, you should play to Snorlax’s type strengths. However, it only has one Normal-type Fast Move (Yawm), which is terrible. So, in this case, it’s best to go with either Lick. Then, if you wish to try it out in PvP, you can switch Hyper Beam for Superpower to expand its coverage.

3. Metagross

THE POKEMON COMPANY

• Fast Move: Bullet Punch
• Charged Move: Meteor Mash and Earthquake
• Type: Steel/Psychic
• Resistances: Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Rock, Steel, Poison, and Psychic
• Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground

The Steel/Psychic-type Metagross will do a brilliant job of defending Gyms, as it has great stats and a whopping 10 type resistances.

Unlike other defenders, Meagross can also be useful as an attacker thanks to its well-rounded stats and strong move pool.

In Gyms, it works better as a full Steel-type with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash. However, in PvP, Earthquake can be added as a secondary Charged Move to give this Pokemon more versatility and better coverage.

Pokemon Go defender tier list

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.

More helpful guides

• 1km Buddy list
• All current and upcoming events
• All promo codes
• How to beat Arlo
• How to beat Cliff
• How to beat Giovanni
• How to beat Sierra
• Max Mondays Raid schedule
• PokeStop Showcase schedule
• Raid bosses schedule
• Rocket Grunt counters and lineups
• Shadow Raid schedule
• Spotlight Hour schedule
• Battle League Season schedule & rewards
• Field Research tasks & rewards

Best Pokemon for PvP (Go Battle League)

There are three major Leagues to enjoy in the Pokemon Go Battle League: the Great, the Ultra, and the Master League. These rotate throughout each season, with only one appearing at a time, often alongside special cups like the Sunshine or Fossil Cups.

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 is where the bigger players emerge, and the Master League has no limit. This means the best Pokemon for each League can be wildly different.

Great League

Carbink

Niantic / The Pokemon Company

• Fast Move: Rock Throw
• Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Moonblast
• Type: Rock/Fairy
• Resistances: Dragon, Normal, Flying, Fire, Dark, and Bug
• Weaknesses: Steel, Grass, Ground, and Water

Carbink can be hard to get in the game, but adding this dual Rock/Fairy-type creature to your Great League edition team is a must in the current meta.

This Pokemon’s Fast Move by default is Rock Throw, as it deals heavy damage and benefits from STAB. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Rock Slide for a well-rounded Rock-type attack and Moonblast for some huge (albeit expensive) Fairy-type damage. This entire moveset has STAB, which makes it extra powerful.

Empoleon (Shadow)

THE POKEMON COMPANY

• Fast Move: Metal Sound
• Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Drill Peck
• Type: Water/Steel
• Resistances: Steel, Poison, Ice, Water, Rock, Psychic, Normal, Flying, Fairy, Dragon, and Bug
• Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, and Ground

This dual Water/Steel-type Pokemon has climbed the ranks in the League and sits at the top thanks to its powerful Attack and formidable Defenses. It serves as a great counter to Pokemon like Cradily, Azumarill, and Tinkaton.

Metal Sound is a good, fast charge move, which makes it very spammy. As for the Charged Move, Hydro Cannon is the way to go due to its high damage and very low cost. Plus, it’s one of the best Water-type moves in the whole game. If you can afford a secondary Charged Move, Drill Peck can help you expand your coverage.

Dedenne

DEXERTO

• Fast Move: Thunder Shock
• Charged Moves: Parabolic Charge and Play Rough
• Type: Electric/Fairy
• Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Dark, Electric, Fighting, and Flying
• Weaknesses: Ground and Poison

Its unique type combination makes Dedenne an interesting Pokemon to use in the Battle League, mainly because it leaves this tiny mouse with a good set of resistances and just two weaknesses – which are not very commonly used.

As for its moveset, Thunder Shock is Dedenne’s best Fast Move. Even though it has low damage output, it offers very high energy generation, which is very useful. For the Charged Moves, go with Parabolic Charge for good DPE and a 25% Defense stat buff. Use Play Rough as your secondary option to expand your coverage.

Ultra League

Corviknight

NIANTIC/DEXERTO

• Fast Move: Sand Attack
• Charged Moves: Air Cutter and Payback
• Type: Flying/Steel
• Resistances: Poison, Grass, Bug, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ground, Flying, Fairy, and Dragon
• Weaknesses: Electric and Fire

Like most Steel-type Pokemon, one of Corviknight’s advantages is the many resistances it has. That, along with its very good Defense and Stamina stats, makes this a very difficult creature to take down.

Even though it’s the only Fast Move that doesn’t benefit from STAB, Sand Attack offers great coverage and has a very fast energy gain, which is why it is the ideal attack to use, as it will allow you to use your Charged Moves early.

As for those, Air Cutter is quite spammy, so it can help you take down the opponent’s shields. Plus, it benefits from STAB and has a 30% chance of boosting your Attack stat by 25%. Payback, on the other hand, is a coverage nuke all trainers using Corviknight should have as a secondary choice.

Bellibolt

DEXERTO

• Fast Move: Sucker Punch
• Charged Moves: Parabolic Charge and Zap Cannon
• Type: Electric
• Resistances: Steel, Flying, and Electric
• Weaknesses: Ground

The pure Electric-type from Bellibolt is ideal to face the many Water-types in the current meta. Plus, it has pretty good stats – with a lot of Stamina – and a very powerful move pool players can work with.

While Thunder Shock provides maximum energy generation, Sucker Punch can expand Bellibolt’s coverage while also dealing good damage and energy generation.

The Charged Moves should be Parabolic Charge to increase the user’s Defense stat by 25%, and the nuke Zap Cannon to decrease the target’s Attack stat by 20%.

Lapras

DEXERTO

• Fast Move: Psywave
• Charged Moves: Sparkling Aria and Ice Beam
• Type: Water/Ice
• Resistances: Ice and Water
• Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, Grass, and Rock

Besides its great bulk, Lapras has an impressive move pool, with four Fast Moves and seven Charged Moves to pick from.

Even though focusing only on Water and Ice moves to benefit from STAB would be the logical thing to do, for the Fast Move, it is best to go with Psywave. It offers the most energy generation out of all the options, and it expands Lapras’s coverage.

Skull Bash, Blizzard, and Hydro Pump are quite expensive moves, and with a few other options available, they are just not worth it. Instead, use Sparkling Aria for a solid Charged Move with STAB. It costs the same as Surf but does five more damage.

As for the secondary Charged Move, Ice Beam will offer more coverage against Grass, Dragon, and Flying opponents while also benefiting from STAB.

Master League

As mentioned above, both Crowned forms of Zacian and Zamazenta are currently the best attackers in the game. This means they sit at the top of the Master League.

To avoid repetition, here are the top Pokemon that follow them.

Palkia Origin Forme

NIANTIC/DEXERTO

• Fast Move: Dragon Breath
• Charged Move: Aqua Tail and Spacial Rend
• Type: Water/Dragon
• Resistances: Water, Fire, and Steel
• Weaknesses: Dragon and Fairy

Palkia Origin Forme has incredible Defense and HP and an outstanding Attack stat. This creature is a charger that works perfectly for leading or closing a battle, thanks to its powerful moveset.

Dragon Breath is stronger than Dragon Tail, so go with it as a Fast Move. For Charged Moves, similar to Dialga Origin Forme, its signature move Spacial Rend is the ultimate attack to use, while also using Aqua Tail to spam.

Lugia

Niantic / The Pokemon Company

• Fast Move: Dragon Tail
• Charged Moves: Aeroblast and Fly
• Type: Psychic/Flying
• Resistances: Fighting, Ground, Grass, and Psychic
• Weaknesses: Dark, Electric, Ghost, Rock, and Ice

Lugia has incredible bulk and access to some brilliant moves, making it a standout in the Battle League with wins against the likes of Landorus Therian Forme and Zamazenta. The addition of the exclusive move Aeroblast only elevated Lugia’s performance.

Even though Extrasensory benefits from STAB, Dragon Tail is a better choice for Lugia’s Fast Move. For the Charges Moves, use Fly (very cheap and powerful) and combine it with Aeroblast – which deals a shocking amount of damage and has a chance to give a big buff to its Attack stat.

White Kyurem

DEXERTO

• Fast Move: Dragon Breath
• Charged Moves: Fusion Flare and Ice Burn
• Type: Dragon/Ice
• Resistances: Water, Grass, and Electric
• Weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, Rock, and Steel

Just like its counterpart, Black Kyurem, White Kyurem came to dominate the Battle League with its outstanding stats and great move pool – especially its Ice-type attacks.

Dragon Breath has good damage for a Fast Move and pairs nicely with the Charged Move Ice Burn, which is basically a nuke. They both benefit from STAB and can target different opponents.

To expand its coverage and mainly to keep itself safe from Steel-type opponents, White Kyurem can use Fusion Flare, a very cheap option to take into consideration.

Those are the best Pokemon in Pokemon Go to add to your 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, or the cutest or creepiest Pokemon.