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Best Attackers by Type

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Bug Type

Specialty    
Fast MoveFury Cutter
Charged MoveX-Scissor
Specialty    
Fast MoveBug Bite or Fury Cutter *
Charged MoveX-Scissor
Strength
1 / 5
The top Bug moves are lightning fast, but it's one of the weakest types in GO. Both Scizor and Pinsir are fragile, though Scizor has many useful resistances.
Meta-relevance
2 / 5
Bug isn’t highly demanded. Other stronger types usually do the job better, unless the target is doubly weak to Bug, or if it's raining.
Future-proof
1 / 5
Volcarona and Genesect (Gen 5) are competitors, all of which have better stats.

Dark Type

Specialty  
Fast MoveSnarl
Charged MoveDark Pulse
Strength
4 / 5
It took a Pokemon with an Attack stat as high as Darkrai to put the top Dark attacker on parity with the top Ghost attackers. Even then, Darkrai does just as well with its Ghost type Charged Move.
Meta-relevance
5 / 5
Dark is one of the best answers to the many Psychic-type legendary Pokemon in the game. However, Ghost has the same type coverage but superior top moves and Pokemon.
Future-proof
4 / 5
The legendary Pokemon Yveltal and Hoopa (Gen 6) are quite far away. What Dark-types really have to watch out for are Ghosts, which have better moves at present.

Dragon Type

Specialty
Fast MoveDragon Tail
Charged MoveOutrage
Strength
5 / 5
Behold, Rayquaza of House Dragon, First of Its Name, the Unburnt, King of the Dragons, Protector of the Sky, Breaker of the Meta, and Master of the Weather Trio.
Meta-relevance
5 / 5
It's the top counter to myriad Dragon type legendary Pokemon of past, present, and future, and it ranks near the top of all species in neutral DPS.
Future-proof
3 / 5
Rayquaza will continue to impress with its sky-high Dragon DPS. It may be eclipsed by Black Kyurem, but that's not a certainty.

Electric Type

Specialty  
Fast MoveThunder Shock
Charged MoveWild Charge
Specialty  
Fast MoveThunder Shock
Charged MoveWild Charge
Strength
4 / 5
Raikou is quite strong with respectable bulk to back it up. Electivire outputs higher DPS, but can struggle vs. hard hitting raid bosses.
Meta-relevance
3 / 5
Electric is one of two types that is effective to Water. It's good vs. Flying as well, but Rock-types often do better in those matchups.
Future-proof
2 / 5
Zekrom (Gen 5), a legendary Pokemon, is slated to eclipse the top Electric attackers by a huge margin.

Fairy Type

Specialty    
Fast MoveCharm
Charged MoveDazzling Gleam
Strength
2 / 5
Gardevoir isn't bad, but for any specific matchup in which it's useful, there are better options in other types.
Meta-relevance
3 / 5
See above. Fairy does have a couple of niches, which are double resisting Dragon and being boosted in the more common cloudy weather.
Future-proof
4 / 5
Gardevoir doesn't have much to fear until the advent of Xerneas (Gen 6), a legendary Pokemon, who may take the Fairy-type throne.

Fighting Type

Specialty        
Fast MoveCounter
Charged MoveDynamic Punch
Specialty        
Fast MoveCounter
Charged MoveDynamic Punch
Strength
4 / 5
Machamp doesn't have the stats of a legendary Pokemon, but they're well distributed and get the job done. Breloom is slightly stronger but much more fragile.
Meta-relevance
5 / 5
Fighting's huge type coverage makes it the definite answer to most common gym defenders. It's the only type that's effective vs. Normal, which is one of the most common types in the game.
Future-proof
3 / 5
Machamp was the "survivor of Gen 3" and now the "survivor of Gen 4". The upcoming Gen 5 introduces multiple potential competitors, notably Conkeldurr.

Fire Type

Specialty      
Fast MoveFire Spin
Charged MoveOverheat
Strength
5 / 5
True its Fire type, Chandelure features powerful offense. It outpaces Moltres and Blaziken by a decent margin, but it's currently very rare.
Meta-relevance
3 / 5
Though Fire is effective against a respectable 4 types, those types are less represented among Tier 5 raid bosses in particular, hurting their meta relevance.
Future-proof
2 / 5
Reshiram (Gen 5), a legendary Pokemon, is slated to top even Chandelure. Darmanitan and Volcarona (Gen 5) may have slight edges in DPS and TDO, respectively.

Flying Type

Specialty    
Fast MoveWing Attack
Charged MoveSky Attack *
Strength
5 / 5
Moltres is actually a slightly more potent Flying attacker than a Fire attacker, to put things in perspective.
Meta-relevance
2 / 5
Flying has even narrower type coverage than Fire, and none of its main targets are really represented at all in Tier 5 raids.
Future-proof
3 / 5
Flying is one of the most common typings in Pokemon, and as such there are many good future contenders. Up until now, few have been blessed with a competitive moveset.

Ghost Type

Specialty  
Fast MoveShadow Claw
Charged MoveShadow Ball
Specialty  
Fast MoveHex
Charged MoveShadow Ball
Specialty  
Fast MoveShadow Claw * or Lick *
Charged MoveShadow Ball
Strength
5 / 5
Giratina-O is a highly reliable attacker. It outclasses the Dark-types, which fill the same role. Gengar has a lot more DPS, but the huge difference in bulk puts them at about the same level. Chandelure is in between.
Meta-relevance
5 / 5
Ghost is only effective to itself and Psychic, but the latter is highly represented among legendary Pokemon across the generations.
Future-proof
3 / 5
Giratina-O actually has a quite mediocre Attack stat. Darkrai (Gen 4), Hoopa (Gen 6), and Lunala (Gen 7) are notable threats.

Grass Type: Roserade

Specialty    
Fast MoveRazor Leaf
Charged MoveGrass Knot
Strength
3 / 5
Grass-types in GO are by no means weak, but they're outdamaged by top attackers in other types without a clear weather boost.
Meta-relevance
4 / 5
Grass covers some common types and is boosted in a common weather. A fair number of raid bosses have a double weakness to Grass.
Future-proof
4 / 5
Shaymin (Sky Forme) (Gen 4) is slated to have great offensive stats, but its moves and availability are likely to fall short of expectations.

Ground Type

Specialty        
Fast MoveMud Shot
Charged MoveDrill Run
Strength
2 / 5
The Ground-type is burdened with some of the worst moves in GO. Excadrill's Drill Run makes the type more respectable, but it still lags behind most other types.
Meta-relevance
3 / 5
Ground would be an incredibly relevant type if only it were stronger, as it covers 5 types. What keeps it relevant is its niche as an Electric counter.
Future-proof
1 / 5
Within the same generation, both formes of Landorus are set to top the Ground DPS chart. Even then, any shakeup to the pool of Ground moves can put another species on top.

Ice Type

Specialty      
Fast MovePowder Snow
Charged MoveAvalanche
Strength
4 / 5
Mamoswine boasts powerful moves and great stats. It's a little disadvantaged by a lack of good resistances.
Meta-relevance
4 / 5
The Ice-type is classically known for its coverage, although in GO there are plenty of alternative options for each role. Ice is rarely boosted by the weather.
Future-proof
4 / 5
Mamoswine's only possible competitor across all generations are Kyurem's various forms (Gen 5). It's hard to predict how they will be implemented or if their moves will be implemented in GO.

Poison Type

Specialty  
Fast MovePoison Jab
Charged MoveSludge Bomb
Strength
3 / 5
By the numbers, Roserade is equally good a Poison attacker as it is a Grass attacker.
Meta-relevance
1 / 5
There is a niche for Poison countering Grass-types in cloudy weather, or countering Fairies in the absence of Metagross. For now, Poison is minimally useful in the meta.
Future-proof
5 / 5
Investment in Roserade as Poison attacker is quite safe. Nihilego and Naganadel (Gen 7) are its only real threats, likely many years away.

Psychic Type

Specialty  
Fast MoveConfusion
Charged MovePsystrike *
Strength
5 / 5
It’s freaking Mewtwo! Its Psystrike is incredibly strong, and its base 300 Attack should be unmatched by any Pokemon in their base form up until Gen 7 (except Deoxys).
Meta-relevance
2 / 5
Psychic is useful in the popular Machamp raid, and that's about it. Fighting and Poison aren't well represented among raid bosses in general, both past and future.
Future-proof
5 / 5
Lunala and Solgaleo (Gen 7) are the only worthy competitors, both having lower Attack.

Rock Type

Specialty      
Fast MoveSmack Down
Charged MoveRock Slide
Strength
5 / 5
Rampardos wields an ultra high 295 base Attack with good Rock-type moves. It's glassy, but far ahead the rest of the pack.
Meta-relevance
5 / 5
Against the common Flying foes in particular, Rampardos eclipses all other counters. It's boosted in the frequent partly cloudy weather.
Future-proof
4 / 5
Even legendary Pokemon can't challenge Rampardos's base Attack, but Terrakion (Gen 5) may put up a fight if it gets a strong moveset. Archeops (Gen 5) may turn out very similar to Rampardos.

Steel Type

Specialty    
Fast MoveBullet Punch
Charged MoveMeteor Mash *
Strength
5 / 5
Meteor Mash Metagross is so strong that it beats just about every other counter in relevant matchups without weather boost in play. It's very bulky, too.
Meta-relevance
3 / 5
Steel's limited effective coverage to Fairy, Ice and Rock-types means that Metagross doesn't get to flex as much as it wants to.
Future-proof
5 / 5
Meteor Mash is so powerful that it makes Dialga, a Gen 4 cover legendary, look bad. The next Steel-type Pokemon who can compete with Metagross is Kartana (Gen 7), an Ultra Beast.

Water Type

Specialty    
Fast MoveWaterfall
Charged MoveHydro Pump
Specialty    
Fast MoveBubble
Charged MoveCrabhammer
Strength
4 / 5
Kyogre's huge stats are only slightly held back by its moves not being similarly overpowered. Kingler has the better moves, but like many other pairs in this ranking, it has far lesser staying power.
Meta-relevance
4 / 5
Water covers some common types, and Kyogre often finds itself as the top counter in those matchups. Even when it's not the highest DPS, its bulk remains an advantage.
Future-proof
4 / 5
With no Water-type fast move for Palkia, Kyogre will stay the best Water-type. Some future starters can maybe edge out Kyogre with Hydro Cannon, like Samurott (Gen 5) and Primarina (Gen 7).

Normal Type

Meta-relevance
1 / 5
The Normal-type has generally weak candidates and zero meta relevance, being unable to hit for super effective damage.

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