Pokemon GO Best Attackers Tier List 2026

Pokemon GO Best Attackers Tier List Quick Summary:

• S-Tier and A-Tier attackers are the best picks in the game, especially Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Rayquaza, Primal Groudon, Black Kyurem, and Dawn Wings Necrozma.
• The best raid attacker always depends on the boss's weakness, and they can be anything from Ground to Ice and Dark.
• Budget attackers like Rhyperior, Mamoswine, Garchomp, Metagross, and Chandelure are the best ones so far.

Speaking of Stardust, you can skip the grind and Get Millions of Stardust at Skycoach. You’ll also gain extra XP and other rewards during the service.

 

 

 

Pokemon GO Attackers Tier List for 2026

Since the game has over 1,000 Pokemons in total, I’ve decided to include only the strongest picks in this ranking. I’ve reduced the list on purpose to help you find the best Pokemons in each tier. This version only keeps the purely top PvE attackers you should play in raids, and in terms of general damage. Check out the complete Pokemon GO attackers tier list for 2026:

Tier	Pokemons
S-Tier	Mega Mewtwo Y, Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Rayquaza, Eternatus, Black Kyurem, Shadow Mewtwo, Crowned Sword Zacian, Dawn Wings Necrozma, Primal Groudon, Mega Salamence, Mega Garchomp, White Kyurem, Mega Blaziken, Mega Lucario, Mega Gardevoir, Shadow Salamence, Mega Tyranitar, Shadow Rhyperior, Mega Alakazam, Mega Latios
A-Tier	Mega Heracross, Dusk Mane Necrozma, Crowned Shield Zamazenta, Shadow Garchomp, Shadow Reshiram, Shadow Tyranitar, Mega Gengar, Shadow Chandelure, Blacephalon, Shadow Regigigas, Shadow Mamoswine, Shadow Raikou, Primal Kyogre, Mega Gallade, Mega Diancie, Shadow Blaziken, Mega Swampert, Mega Metagross, Shadow Landorus Incarnate, Mega Houndoom, Shadow Groudon, Shadow Metagross, Shadow Moltres, Mega Sceptile, Shadow Excadrill, Shadow Darkrai, Rayquaza, Mega Charizard Y, Shadow Thundurus Therian, Shadow Hydreigon
B-Tier	Terrakion, Keldeo Resolute, Shadow Latios, Shadow Weavile, Mega Latias, Landorus Therian, Shadow Zapdos, Shadow Heatran, Shadow Haxorus, Shadow Vikavolt, Shadow Dialga, Mega Gyarados, Shadow Gigalith, Lunala, Kartana, Shadow Rampardos, Mega Absol, Zekrom, Apex Shadow Ho-Oh, Mega Aerodactyl, Shadow Tyrantrum, Shadow Ho-Oh, Shadow Palkia, Baxcalibur, Mega Ampharos
C-Tier	Shadow Conkeldurr, Rhyperior, Xurkitree, Mega Banette, Groudon, Reshiram, Chandelure, Shadow Delphox, Shadow Gardevoir, Zeraora, Lucario, Mewtwo, Shadow Kyogre, Garchomp, Regieleki
D-Tier	Shadow Emboar, Tyranitar, Mega Charizard X, Origin Forme Dialga, Shadow Darmanitan Standard Mode, Mega Manectric, Volcarona
F-Tier	Shadow Electivire, Salamence, Keldeo Ordinary

I’m sure most of you will never look below S-Tier and A-Tier, and that’s the right thing to do. Pokemons from these tiers are your safest investment, and you’ll have a better time going raiding with them. The options you see in B-Tier and lower are playable, but only if you have no better picks or need specific type coverage.

Best Attackers in Pokemon GO

You’ll probably need a list of the top Pokemons you want to spend your Stardust and Candy XL on. I’ve prepared a list of the 7 best attackers in the game to share. They’re ranked based on raid value, type coverage, move quality, and availability. Each pick you’ll see here is currently in S-Tier and is worth your attention and resources. Here’s a list of the best attackers in Pokemon GO so far:

1. Mega Mewtwo Y
2. Mega Rayquaza
3. Black Kyurem
4. Shadow Mewtwo
5. Dawn Wings Necrozma
6. Primal Groudon
7. Crowned Sword Zacian

I’ll go over each Pokemon in detail now to let you know about their strong sides and why I personally consider them strong.

Mega Mewtwo Y

Mega Mewtwo Y is one of the strongest attackers in Pokemon GO thanks to its massive Psychic damage. With Psystrike, it becomes the top choice whenever Psychic-type damage is useful. The downside is obvious: you need Mega Energy, a good Mewtwo, and the right move. But if you already have the setup, this is one of the safest high-end investments in the game.

Mega Rayquaza

Mega Rayquaza stays near the top because it works as both a Dragon and Flying attacker. It needs Dragon Ascent to reach its full potential, especially as a Flying-type raid pick. Use it against bosses weak to Dragon or Flying, and it can carry hard.

Best reasons to build Mega Rayquaza:

• Huge Dragon and Flying damage
• Great neutral raid pressure
• Strong long-term value across many bosses

Black Kyurem

Black Kyurem is one of the best Ice attackers in Pokemon GO and also has strong Dragon-type value. That makes it excellent against Dragon, Flying, Ground, and Grass raid bosses. Its biggest strength is how useful Ice damage is in raids. The catch is that it needs fusion resources and the correct move setup. If you can afford it, though, it’s worth it.

Shadow Mewtwo

Shadow Mewtwo is still one of the best non-Mega attackers in Pokemon GO. It doesn’t take your Mega slot, deals a ton of damage with Psystrike, and works perfectly when you need pure Psychic damage. The lower bulk is not a huge problem in raids because you mostly care about damage output. Just don’t purify it for PvE unless you have a very specific reason.

Dawn Wings Necrozma

Dawn Wings Necrozma is one of the best Ghost-type attackers in Pokemon GO. It shines against Psychic and Ghost raid bosses, especially with Moongeist Beam. It’s expensive to build because you need Necrozma, Lunala, and Fusion Energy, but you’ll love the result at the end.

Here’s why I like Dawn Wings Necrozma:

• Elite Ghost-type damage
• Strong raid matchups
• Great long-term PvE value

Primal Groudon

Primal Groudon is the best Ground attacker and one of the most reliable raid investments overall. With Mud Shot and Precipice Blades, it deals 23 DPS and destroys bosses weak to Ground-type moves. It is useful against Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, and Steel-type raids, which gives it amazing coverage. It also brings Primal utility for your raid group, so it’s not just hitting hard for itself.

Crowned Sword Zacian

Crowned Sword Zacian is one of the best Steel attackers in Pokemon GO, mainly because of Behemoth Blade. It’s especially strong against Fairy, Ice, and Rock-type raid bosses. The build is expensive, but it gives you great long-term value if you already have the resources.

 

Best Attackers by Type in Pokemon GO

The best attacker in Pokemon GO always depends on what the raid boss is weak to. Sounds obvious, but it’s still the main thing many players ignore. You can have the strongest Psychic attacker in the game, and it still won’t help much if the boss wants Ground, Ice, or Rock damage instead. Here’s a list of the best attackers by type in Pokemon GO to solve this issue:

Type	Best Attacker	Other Strong Picks
Bug	Mega Heracross	Shadow Vikavolt, Mega Pinsir, Mega Scizor, Pheromosa
Dark	Mega Tyranitar	Shadow Hydreigon, Shadow Darkrai, Shadow Tyranitar, Shadow Weavile
Dragon	Eternatus	Mega Rayquaza, Shadow Salamence, Black Kyurem, Shadow Garchomp
Electric	Regieleki	Xurkitree, Zekrom, Shadow Raikou, Shadow Electivire
Fairy	Mega Gardevoir	Shadow Gardevoir, Enamorus Incarnate, Xerneas, Togekiss
Fighting	Mega Lucario	Terrakion, Keldeo Resolute, Shadow Conkeldurr, Mega Blaziken
Fire	Mega Blaziken	Mega Charizard Y, Shadow Reshiram, Blacephalon, Reshiram
Flying	Mega Rayquaza	Rayquaza, Shadow Moltres, Shadow Staraptor, Yveltal
Ghost	Dawn Wings Necrozma	Mega Gengar, Shadow Chandelure, Blacephalon, Lunala
Grass	Mega Sceptile	Kartana, Shadow Sceptile, Shaymin Sky, Mega Venusaur
Ground	Primal Groudon	Shadow Groudon, Shadow Garchomp, Shadow Excadrill, Landorus Therian
Ice	White Kyurem	Black Kyurem, Shadow Mamoswine, Shadow Weavile, Baxcalibur
Poison	Mega Beedrill	Eternatus, Naganadel, Nihilego, Roserade
Psychic	Mega Mewtwo Y	Shadow Mewtwo, Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Alakazam, Mewtwo
Rock	Mega Diancie	Shadow Rhyperior, Shadow Rampardos, Shadow Tyrantrum, Mega Tyranitar
Steel	Crowned Sword Zacian	Dusk Mane Necrozma, Mega Metagross, Shadow Metagross, Mega Lucario
Water	Primal Kyogre	Shadow Kyogre, Mega Swampert, Shadow Greninja, Kyogre
Normal	Shadow Regigigas	Regigigas, Shadow Porygon-Z, Shadow Staraptor

You gotta stick to the type you need in your particular situation. Building all 18 types would cost a ton of Stardust. You need to check on what types appear more often in your raids. For example, this is the priority I stick to:

1. Ground
2. Dragon
3. Ice
4. Rock
5. Fighting
6. Ghost
7. Dark
8. Water
9. Steel
10. Fire

I’ll just go over Ground to show you how I’m thinking about my choice here. Ground works perfectly against Fire, Electric, Poison, Rock, and Steel bosses. Primal Groudon is obviously the easiest pick for this type, but you also have other options listed above.

Best Budget Attackers in Pokemon GO

I’ve already covered the strongest Pokemons overall, as well as for each type. But many of them require many resources to get powered up. Also, beginners should start with something on the more budget-friendly side. Exactly for this reason, I’ve created this list with the best budget attackers in Pokemon GO:

Pokemon	Best Type Role	Why It’s Worth Building
Rhyperior	Rock / Ground	Amazing raid value, especially with Rock Wrecker
Mamoswine	Ice / Ground	One of the best realistic Ice attackers
Garchomp	Ground / Dragon	Strong, flexible, and useful in many raid rotations
Tyranitar	Rock / Dark	Great coverage, especially if you have the right moves
Metagross	Steel	Still one of the best Steel investments with Meteor Mash
Chandelure	Ghost / Fire	Strong damage in two useful raid roles
Excadrill	Ground / Steel	Cheap, practical, and very easy to slot into raid teams
Machamp	Fighting	Old-school pick, but still useful for budget Fighting teams
Conkeldurr	Fighting	Stronger Fighting option if you have the Candy
Roserade	Grass / Poison	Good Grass attacker and one of the few useful Poison options
Glaceon	Ice	Simple Ice backup when you don’t have stronger picks
Gardevoir	Fairy / Psychic	Useful into Dragon and Fighting-type raid bosses
Greninja	Water	Great Water option if you have Hydro Cannon
Hydreigon	Dark / Dragon	Excellent Dark attacker with Brutal Swing
Haxorus	Dragon	Strong Dragon attacker if you have Breaking Swipe

I personally like Rhyperior as the best budget attacker in Pokemon GO. It’s equally great for both raid types, like Rock and Ground. I also love how it performs against Flying, Fire, Bug, and Ice bosses. I would recommend building it as Rock, especially if you have Rock Wrecker.

 

 

How I Ranked All Attackers in Pokemon GO

The most important factor to me has always been how strong a particular Pokemon is against raid bosses. You want to have a perfect combo of high damage, good moveset, and see how this pick fits into your budget. This is how I ranked all attackers in Pokemon GO:

• Raid Damage
• Type Coverage
• Moveset Quality
• Resource Value
• Availability
• Long-Term Use

You’ve got a super large variety of Pokemons at your disposal in the game. But these criteria play the biggest role in my opinion.

F.A.Q.