The Strongest Pokémon in Pokémon GO

Becoming a Pokémon GO pro will require you to get hold of more than a few extremely strong Pokémon that are not only capable of claiming gyms in your name but are also capable of holding down the gyms you station them at for more than just a few hours. Since that is the case, many Pokémon trainers have started to wonder exactly which Pokémon in the game are the strongest of them all.

Well, by datamining the source code of the Pokémon GO app, Redditor /u/__isitin__ has discovered the strongest Pokémon in the game, along with how the game calculates CP (Combat Power) and HP (Health Points), the fact that different Pokémon have different Attack, Defense and Stamina stats and the fact that all Pokémon have their own level which ranges between 1 and 40 and can be upgraded using one of a specific Pokémon’s candies and a certain amount of Stardust.

Well, the strongest Pokémon in the game is Mewtwo with a maximum CP of a mind-blowing 4,144. However, Mewtwo is not yet available in the game and Niantic has still not released any official word on how or when Mewtwo is going to become available to trainers, and the same is the case with Mew, the third strongest Pokémon in the game and the legendary birds Moltres and Zapdos that are next in line. Thankfully, though, the second strongest Pokémon in the game – Dragonite, with a more than impressive maximum CP of 3,500 – is definitely catchable. The following are the strongest catchable Pokémon in the game:

In First Place

In first place, with a maximum CP of 3,500, is Dragonite. Dragonite is the final evolved form of Dratini and is a Dragon and Flying type Pokémon. As far as holding down gyms is concerned, Dragonite, being the strongest catchable Pokémon in the game, is the best possible choice. Dragonite, in its evolved form, is available in the wild but is pretty rare. However, it’s basic form, Dratini, is relatively more common in the wild so you can also acquire a Dragonite by farming Dratinis and then evolving your strongest Dratini into a Dragonite.

In Second Place

The second strongest catchable Pokémon in the game is Snorlax, with a maximum CP of 3,112. Snorlax, a Normal type Pokémon, is one of the most commonly used Pokémon for the defense of gyms as it is extremely strong and hard to beat.

In Third Place

Tied in third place are Lapras, a Water and Ice type Pokémon, and Arcanine, a Fire type Pokémon, with maximum CPs of 2,983 each. Lapras can be found quite easily near bodies of water and in generally colder areas, whereas Arcanine is itself quite common in the wild and is the evolved form of Growlithe, an even more common encounter in the wild.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentioned include Exeggutor, which has a maximum CP of 2,980 (just a bit shy of Lapras and Arcanine’s maximum CPs), and Vaporeon, which has a maximum CP of 2,816. Among the final evolutions of the game’s starter Pokémon, Charizard leads with a maximum CP of 2,602, followed by Venusaur, which has a maximum CP of 2,580, and Blastoise, which has a maximum CP of 2,542.

For contrast, the weakest Pokémon in the entire game is Magikarp, which has a maximum CP of only 262.