Pokemon GO is full of hundreds of Pokémon, with its Pokedex almost catching up with the mainline games. With so many options, PVP is full of an ever-changing Meta, with new matchups appearing constantly.
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The upper tiers of PVP can become incredibly competitive, requiring the perfect IV's and knowing the best counters. Some Pokémon are so strong that even with a few counters, they are still incredibly strong options and can help turn the tide in your favor. Here are the best Pokemon for PVP battles.
Updated By Joshua Leeds On February 1st, 2023: Pokemon GO continues to be the poster child of a company keeping up with the game, offering new Pokemon to find and level up along with constant changes to keep the meta ever-changing. While this game only grows its roster, the go-to pool for Pokemon in PVP battles continues to grow.
15 Venusaur
Venasaur is a grass and poison type Pokemon that has been a decent option in the meta since the beginning for all Pokemon games. This is an easy Pokemon to get, as Bulbasaur can be decently popular, allowing IV farming to be much easier.
This Pokemon is best when focusing purely on grass-type moves for the bonus damage, using vine whip as its quick attack, and either Frenzy Plant or Solar Beam. Frenzy Plant is considered the better move, but Solar Beam deals incredible damage and is a worthwhile attack to charge.
14 Mamoswine
Mamoswine can be a bit of a double-edged sword, being an ice and ground type. Multiple types will do double super effective damage to it, and going up against one of the many bad type matchups can spell a quick defeat.
Despite this, Mamoswine has a very high attack and can make short work of the many types that don't have an advantage against it. Mamoswine is best when using Mud-Slap and Bulldoze, dealing incredible amounts of damage to electric Pokemon, and beating many other types in a straight-up punch-out.
13 Tyranitar
Tyranitar is a rock and dark type Pokemon that, as long as it doesn't fight against a fighting type, will stay up for a while and outclass many Pokemon. Tyranitar's best stat is its attack, but it comes with a surprising defense and stamina helping it not just be another glass cannon.
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Tyranitar is best when using Smack-Down and Rock Edge. This combo will give it the same-type bonus, but Smack Down does require a TM and has a much slower attack speed than Bite. While Bite breaks the type bonus, it is another excellent choice for this titan of a Pokemon.
12 Registeel
Registeel is only a steel type, making only a few types super effective against it, while most types do little damage. Registeel has an incredibly high defense and will outlive just about any matchup in a fight. Registeel is a great first option to bait out your player's shields in an inconsequential fight for yourself.
Registeel is best when using Metal Claw and Flash Cannon, giving it the same-type bonus. Another great option is Hyper Beam, but Flash Cannon is the superior choice if you use Registeel to bait out shields. Registeel does fall off from its low attack stat but is greatly made up for by its defense.
11 Solgaleo
Solgaleo is a physic and steel type Pokemon, with its steel side helping very few types deal full damage to this Pokemon. Solgaleo has a very high attack and stamina, helping it stay up in battle and counter the bonus damage from the few super-effective types that can affect Solgaleo.
Solgaleo is best when using Zen Headbutt and Psychic Fangs for the Psychic type bonus damage or Fire Spin and Flamethrower. Solar Beam is another decent option but requires many attacks to charge and is the only grass-type attack this Pokemon learns.
10 Kyogre
Kyogre is only a Water-type, giving it fewer counters than other Pokémon. With only one type it also doesn't have any types that are double effective against it. Its high attack helps it do massive damage especially when it's being used as a counter.
Kyogre is best when used with Waterfall, which deals one of the highest damage for a fast attack. This helps get your charged attack up quickly while doing very high amounts of damage especially when super effective. Its best charged attack is Hydropump, which if times after your opponent's shields can quickly wipe out a full health Pokémon.
9 Zekrom
Zekrom is an Electric and Dragon-type. While it does have a few super effective counters, it doesn't have anything double super effective to it. It takes reduced damage from many other types, and his high attack and moderate defense help keep him up longer.
Zekrom is best with Dragon Breath, which has a quicker attack speed than his other option. It can then be used with either Outrage or Wild Charge. Giving it Wild Charge will branch out its effectiveness and allow you to cover more super-effective types.
8 Giratina
Giratina is Ghost and Dragon-type, which does leave it susceptible to many different types. It is also resistant to other types, making each match up a hit or miss with little room in the middle. Giratina also excels with one of the highest stamina stats in the game.
Dragon Claw is his better fast attack, and while it is slower will do more damage to more types. It's also best to use it with Shadow Ball, giving a wider type matchup range and dealing a high amount of damage for those without any shields left.
7 Dialga
Dialga is Dragon and Steel-type. This matchup makes him resistant to many different types, making him incredibly resilient in battle. Dragon and Steel are usually hard to counter in a type matchup, and combining the two makes him and very tanky foe.
Dialga is best used with Dragon Breath and Draco Meteor. While these attacks limit it only to the dragon type, they combined do incredible amounts of damage to our enemy. Draco meteor also is one of the best charged attacks in the game and can one-shot some enemies.
6 Yvetal
Yvetal is a Dark and Flying-type Pokémon. This typing makes it an outlier in the usual upper-tier meta as Flying-types are less often found here. It has decent attack and stamina but is only resistant to a few types.
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Gust is one of the slowest fast attacks in the game, so much, so it's almost not a fast attack. That being said it does very high damage and makes up for the time to attack. From there its best charged attack is either Hyper Beam or Hurricane, depending on the types you want to try and counter.
5 Gyarados
Gyarados has been a jack of all trades in the game to the start and continues to hold that title many years later. Whenever battling is involved, Gyarados is a solid option. He is a water and flying type and while lighting damage makes short work of him, other matchups are his for the taking.
He is resilient to multiple types and takes little damage from the majority of matchups. He is best when using Bite and Hydro Pump. This combination also increases his effectiveness type range while also dealing solid damage to all those in-between.
4 Dragonite
Dragonite is another recurring heavy hitter from Generation One. Being a Dragon and Flying-type, ice attacks can make short work of him. Outside those matchups, he deals incredibly high damage and can outmatch almost all the following generational Pokémon.
Dragon tail is a solid choice for his fast attack, dealing great damage. He is also able to learn Draco Meteor with an elite TM which is very worth it, considering its incredibly high damage. Dragonite also has a wide range of other charge attack options to allow you to branch out and cover other counters.
3 Lugia
Lugia is a Psychic and Flying-type, which gives it many types that can counter it. While Lugia may seem weak in many matchups, its incredibly high defense still allows it to put up a fight even when perfectly countered. Without a perfect counter, Lugia is very difficult to take down.
Lugia is best with Extrasensory, as a psychic fast attack opens the door to a lot of counters. If you have an elite TM, Aeroblast is an incredible charged attack for very high damage. Its other options are also valid to help counter a wider number of types.
2 Zacian
Much like Sword and Shield's online competitive battles, Zacian came to Pokémon Go to dominate too. Zacian is a Fairy-type, giving it only a few counters and resistances. With Dragon-types heavily populating competitive play, Zacian is a great counter to most of them.
Zacian has an incredibly high attack, and its best fast move is Snarl. While its unique attack from Sword doesn't appear here, Zacian's best-charged attack is Play Rough. It is the perfect counter to any dragon-type enemy you'll inevitably face. Its Crowned Sword form also gives it an almost absurd amount of attack and is nearly unbeatable.
1 Mewtwo
Mewtwo has also been known for dealing incredibly high damage and quickly taking out whatever it is fighting. Mewtwo's incredibly high attack makes up for its lack of defense and susceptibility to certain types by simply defeating its enemy much faster, no matter the matchup.
Mewtwo is best used with Psycho Cut for very fast moderate damage attacks. From there almost any charged attack works incredibly well and is able to be used to counter whatever type is currently dominating the meta.
Next: Pokémon Go: Best Gym Attackers
