With over 400 Pokémon appearing in Pokémon Go now, it can be hard to decide who to power up. For trainers lower than level 40, dust is a rare resource and leveling up your Pokémon can get pretty expensive.
Most Legendary Pokémon are worth leveling up, but as more and more get released into raids, it’s harder to tell which are the best of their type. In order to level up Legendaries, players will either need to get out there and catch a ton of them to score candy, or use Rare Candy, which is another scarce resource.
Shadow Pokémon are also very strong. In fact, some of the strongest Pokémon in the game are Shadow Pokémon, but we’re omitting them from this list as they require lots of resources to use and level up. If you see a Pokémon on this list, it’s safe to assume that the Shadow-version is much stronger. Mega Evolved Pokémon are also quite strong and should be used if you have them, but again, due to the resources required to have one, we’re omitting them from the list.
To make this easier, here’s a list of the most powerful Pokémon to shovel dust into, with help from GamePress. Also included are the Pokémon’s best movesets. Keep in mind that the best Pokémon in their type focuses more on the moves that they can learn, rather than their actual typing or weaknesses.
Best fighting-types in Pokémon Go
Lucario
Best Moves: Counter and Aura Sphere
Lucario is hard to come by, as Riolu is a rarity from eggs, but if you manage to get enough candy to have one, you’re set.
Runner-up: Machamp
Best Moves: Counter and Dynamic Punch
Machamp shouldn’t be too hard to find, as it’s often featured in raids. Grab a bunch of them to create a strong team.
Best dark-types in Pokémon Go
Darkrai
Best Moves: Snarl and Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse
Darkrai raids only typically pop up during October, but it’s worth hoarding, as it’ll help put psychic- and ghost-types into the ground.
Runner-up: Tyranitar
Best Moves: Bite and Crunch
Tyranitar is a pseudo-legendary for a reason. It’s tanky while also packing a punch, though it has a good amount of weaknesses.
Best dragon-types in Pokémon Go
Rayquaza
Best Moves: Dragon Tail and Outrage
Rayquaza is one of the hardest hitters in the game and is good attacker for pretty much anything that isn’t strong against dragon-types.
Runner-up: Dialga
Best Moves: Dragon Breath and Draco Meteor
This tanky beast doesn’t do nearly as much damage as Rayquaza but will get the job done.
Non-Legendary Runner-up: Salamence
Best Moves: Dragon Tail and Outrage
Outrage comes from a Community Day, so it can’t be taught with TMs, but Salamence definitely holds its weight against most foes.
Best ice-types in Pokémon Go
Galarian Darmanitan
Best Moves: Ice Fang and Avalanche
Galarian Darmanitan is obtainable by hatching Galarian Darumaka in seven kilometer eggs. Once you hatch a few, getting a Galarian Darmanitan shouldn’t be too hard and it’ll put in the work to make all that walking worth it.
Runner-up: Mamoswine
Best Moves: Powder Snow and Avalanche
Mamoswine is way better than any other ice-type. Note that its Community Day move isn’t featured, as it’s ground-type, not ice-type.
Best psychic-types in Pokémon Go
Mewtwo
Best Moves: Confusion and Psystrike
A recent change to Mewtwo made it so if you are lucky enough to grab one with Psystrike, (which can’t be TM’d), you now have the strongest overall attacker in the game.
Runner-up: Latios
Best Moves: Zen Headbutt and Psychic
While not as strong as Mewtwo, Latios is a good other option.
Non-Legendary Runner-up: Espeon
Best Moves: Confusion and Future Sight
Consider Espeon to be the light version of Latios. It gets the job done if you don’t have either Latios or Mewtwo.
Best ghost-types in Pokémon Go
Origin Forme Giratina
Best Moves: Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball
Giratina-O is yet another one of the core attackers who hits hard, while being able to take hits. With a ghost-type moveset, it can demolish just about anything in its way that isn’t a countering type.
Runner-up: Chandelure
Best Moves: Hex and Shadow Ball
Chandelure hurts a lot, though it’s hard to find as Litwick don’t show up very often. Do Litwick raids when you can and remember to Pinap Berry your finds to get this strong ghost-type.
Best rock-types in Pokémon Go
Rhyperior
Best Moves: Smack Down and Rock Wrecker
Thanks to its Community Day, Rhyperior is now something to be feared with its exclusive Rock Wrecker move.
Runner-up: Rampardos
Best Moves: Smack Down and Rock Slide
Rampardos is a glass cannon but its attack is through the roof.
Best ground-types in Pokémon Go
Groudon
Best Moves: Mud Shot and Earthquake
It’s a close call, but Groudon squeaks out over Garchomp and is an important asset for Pokémon Go teams.
Runner-up: Garchomp
Best Moves: Mud Shot and Earthquake
Garchomp can resist a lot of attacks that would normally take down ground-type Pokémon with its dragon-type resistances, making it a pretty good addition to a team.
Best fire-types in Pokémon Go
Reshiram
Best Moves: Fire Fang and Overheart
Reshiram hurts a lot and should be your go-to fire-type attacker if possible.
Runner-up: Darmanitan
Best Moves: Fire Fang and Overheat
If you don’t have a Reshiram, consider investing in Darmanitan, which still hits like a truck.
Best water-types in Pokémon Go
Kyogre
Best Moves: Waterfall and Surf
Another important Legendary to have, Kyogre will be the strongest water attacker for a long time.
Runner-up: Swampert
Best Moves: Water Gun and Hydro Cannon
Swampert is second to Kyogre, but it needs its Community Day move to shine.
Best electric-types in Pokémon Go
Zekrom
Best Moves: Charge Beam and Wild Charge
Just like its fire-type counterpart, Reshiram, Zekrom hits really hard and is the strongest in its typing.
Runner-up: Raikou
Best Moves: Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
Raikou is a surprisingly good attacker, given that its other two doggy siblings aren’t the best. If you have Raikou from the months of Field Research rewards when it was in the pool, you’re better off powering it up over most of the other electric-types.
Non-Legendary Runner-up: Electrivire
Best Moves: Thunder Shock and Wild Charge
While Electabuzzes are not easy to find around, hatching Elekids from seven kilometer eggs is pretty easy, so powering up this guy is way easier than powering up a Raikou.
Best grass-types in Pokémon Go
Roserade
Best Moves: Razor Leaf and Grass Knot
Grass Knot is one of the best grass-type moves in the game and Roserade’s attack stat is super high.
Runner-up: Venusaur
Best Moves: Vine Whip and Frenzy Plant
Frenzy Plant is a Community Day move, but Venusaur’s main perk is how tanky it is in comparison to other grass-types.
Best steel-types in Pokémon Go
Metagross
Best Moves: Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
Metagross is pretty much an unrivaled steel-type monster, seeing as it doesn’t have much competition. Meteor Mash is a Community Day move, however.
Runner-up: Dialga
Best Moves: Metal Claw and Iron Head
Dialga is worse than Metagross and honestly is better off being used as a dragon-type attacker.
Best fairy-types in Pokémon Go
Gardevoir
Best Moves: Confusion and Dazzling Gleam
There aren’t many fairy-types in Pokémon Go, much less fairy-type moves. Gardevoir is suitable until we get more.
Runner-up: Togekiss
Best Moves: Charm and Dazzling Gleam
Again, this attacker doesn’t have many fairy-type moves, but it is tankier than Gardevoir.
Best bug-types in Pokémon Go
Pinsir
Best Moves: Bug Bite/Fury Cutter and X-Scissor
It’s strong and it doesn’t evolve, so you won’t have to waste candy on evolution. Nice.
Runner-up: Scizor
Best Moves: Fury Cutter and X-Scissor
Scizor has more resistances than Pinsir, so what you want to use is up to you.
Best flying-types in Pokémon Go
Moltres
Best Moves: Wing Attack and Sky Attack
It seems weird to give a fiery bird only flying type moves, but Moltes is the best of its typing.
Runner-up: Rayquaza
Best Moves: Air Slash and Aerial Ace
If you for some reason have a bunch of Rayquaza sitting around and don’t want to turn them into a scary dragon-type team, it works well as a flying-type attacker, too.
Non-Legendary Runner-up: Honchkrow
Best Moves: Peck and Sky Attack
Murkrow are a dime a dozen, so leveling up a Honchkrow is a great alternative to Moltres and Rayquaza.
Best poison-types in Pokémon Go
Roserade
Best Moves: Poison Jab and Sludge Bomb
Similarly to flying-types, there’s not too much of a demand for poison-types, but if you have a spare Roserade or a lot of TMs, this should help fill a poison-shaped gap in your party.
Runner-up: Gengar
Best Moves: Lick/Shadow Claw and Sludge Bomb
Gengar is great, but it’s a glass cannon. Shadow Claw is also a legacy move, though Lick will work just fine.
Best normal-types in Pokémon Go
Regigigas
Best Moves: Hidden Power and Giga Impact
If you really want to level up a normal-type attacker, which isn’t particularly strong against anything, Regigigas is your guy.
Runner-up: Porygon-Z
Best Moves: Hidden Power and Hyper Beam
Normal-types aren’t really needed in the current meta. Porygon-Z is the best, but is also hard to collect candy for.