Pokemon Go: The 15 Best Gen 4 Pokemon - Ranked | Game Rant
Gen 4 of Pokémon GO was filled with many top tier Pokémon that have become the go-to option for the many trainers tired of always using their Machamp, Slaking, or Mewtwo. Of course, some additions were truly awful, but that's to be expected. The fourth generation featured numerous powerful Dragon type Pokémon; which are great until they have to fight a Fairy or Ice Pokémon. This list is only dealing with the base Pokémon from Gen 4. Mega Evolutions are in the game, but will not be included as part of the list due to how different they are from traditional Pokemon.
The Pokémon listed here were chosen not only because of their high CP ratings, but also for their combination of move-sets weighed against their resistances, weaknesses, and weather bonuses. The stats listed below for the Pokémon are the maximum values possible. The challenge in obtaining these Pokemon were not considered in their evaluation, but it should be noted that many of these Pokemon are quite rare.
Updated February 3rd, 2021 by Tanner Kinney: Gen 4 may not have seen many great original Pokemon, but it added new evolutions to classic Pokemon that helped them get stronger. It also gave some new evolution options for trainers to consider. With a Sinnoh Stone, players will have access to many of these Gen 4 exclusive evolutions. After years of waiting to get the final evolution to their favorite Pokemon, the Gen 4 additions let them fulfill their dream. Because there are so many great Gen 4 Pokemon, it's only fair to showcase more of the best that the generation had to offer.
15 Togekiss
Togekiss, the final evolution to Togepi, is a double-edged Pokemon. A lot of the strengths it has in traditional Pokemon games don't get to shine through in GO. Despite that, it's still one of the strongest fairy-types in the game based purely on stats. It boasts 3332 CP, 225 attack, 217 defense, and 198 stamina. It has the highest max CP of any fairy Pokemon in the game currently.
Togekiss has a wide array of moveset options. Its quick moves are Air Slash, Hidden Power, and Charm. Its charge moves are Aerial Ace, Ancient Power, Dazzling Gleam, and Flamethrower. While it looks like there's a fair bit of variety, Charm's absurdly high DPS makes it an easy pick for a quick moves. Flamethrower is an okay option, but lacks the energy efficiency of Aerial Ace and Dazzling Gleam. For any type of battles, doubling up on fairy moves is Togekiss's best build.
14 Rampardos
Pure rock-types tend to struggle in Pokemon GO, and Rampardos is no exception. It has five weaknesses, including common types like Steel, Fighting, and Water. The types it resists aren't super common either. On top of all of that, Rampardos is incredibly frail, but held up by an insane attack stat. It has 3298 max CP, 295 attack, 109 defense, and 219 stamina. It has the third highest attack of any Pokemon in the game.
Rampardos is ideal as a wallbreaker, perfect for raid battles and PvP, but less for protecting gyms. Both of its quick moves, Zen Headbutt and Smack Down, are rather slow. Zen Headbutt has better EPS, while Smack Down deals significantly more damage. It does have good Charge Attack options, but Rock Slide is the best in terms of both energy efficiency and DPS. For trainers needing a rock-type specialist, Rampardos is a fossil unlikely to go extinct.
13 Magnezone
Magenzone has one of the best defensive typings in the game. Electric/Steel dual-typing gives it resistances to 12 types, including pretty much every common type in GO. It still has a weakness to fighting-type attacks, and a quad-weakness to ground-type attacks. While it can be hard to kill, with the right type on hand it doesn't have the bulk to live for long. It has 3205 CP, 238 attack, 205 defense, and 172 stamina.
Magenzone is a powerhouse focused mainly on electric-type attacks. Charge Beam and Spark are both solid quick moves, with Spark taking the edge ever-so-slightly. For charge moves, there isn't much in the way of variety either. Flash Cannon and Zap Cannon are both great, but have terrible energy efficiency. Wild Charge trades a minor amount of damage for significantly better energy efficiency. Magnezone is a steel-type that can pretty much always hit harder than its opponent.
12 Glaceon
Eeveelutions tend to be a tad underrated in Pokemon GO, but they are easy to obtain and have a pretty high ceiling in terms of power. The Gen 4 Eeveelutions are both fairly close in power, but Glaceon gets an edge purely based on its typing. While ice is often considered one of the worst types in traditional games, the lack of move options can help them thrive. Glaceon has 3126 max CP, 238 attack, 205 defense, and 163 stamina.
Glaceon has two incredible quick moves in Ice Shard and Frost Breath, both being situationally useful. For its charge attacks, going for the highest DPS is the best choice considering how fast it generates energy. Avalanche is the best of the three, but getting permanent Icy Wind up-time does have its quirks.
11 Gallade
While often overshadowed by its fairy-type counterpart, Gallade has a lot of room to show its stuff in Pokemon GO. Fighting is a very effective type for gym battles and raids, nearly on the same level as fairy. It has all the same strengths as its twin, just with an unfortunately worse movepool. Gallade shares Gardevoir's statline; 3093 max CP, 237 attack, 195 defense, and a nice 169 stamina.
Unfortunately, Gallade's moves aren't quite as effective as Gardevoirs. Confusion is almost always the best choice over Low Kick and Charm, but Low Kick is okay for fast energy generation. Close Combat is an incredibly powerful move that Gallade gets a STAB bonus with, but takes too long to charge up to actually be useful in the long-run. Because of this, a mono-psychic build of Confusion/Psychic is Gallade's best choice.
10 Mamoswine
Mamoswine is an Ice/Ground type Pokémon who’s low defense rating keeps it from the top tier of Pokémon in GO. It’s also weak (not super weak) against several common types. It made this list due almost solely to its high attack and stamina. Mamoswine has a CP rating of 3328, an attack of 247, a defense of 146, and a stamina of 242.
Mud-Slap and Powder Snow are the two choices for quick move – Mud-Slap is the superior move. The choices for a charge move are Stone Edge, Avalanche, and Bulldoze. Stone Edge is better than the other two, though only slightly.
9 Rhyperior
Rhyperior is a Ground/Rock type Pokémon that is second to last on this list due to its typing. The Ground/Rock combination gives a Pokémon some major weaknesses to some very popular types – namely Water, Fighting, and Ice. Rhyperior has a CP rating of 3733, and attack of 241, a defense of 190, and a stamina of 251.
Its quick moves are Mud-Slap and Smack Down. Mud-Slap is probably the better of the two since it has a higher EPS (energy per second) and a quicker recharge time, while having only a slightly lower DPS (damage per second). Stone Edge is Rhyperior’s best charge move.
8 Heatran
Heatran is a Fire/Steel type Pokémon that is on this list for one specific reason – apart from having exceptional stats. Fire and steel-types have a combined super-effectiveness against six Pokémon types. One of those types is the Fairy type, which is only weak against one other type. Heatran has a CP rating of 3754, an attack of 251, a defense of 213, and a stamina of 209.
Its choices for a quick move are Fir Spin and Bug Bite; its charge moves are Fire Blast, Iron Head, and Stone Edge. Bug Bite and Iron Head can be an interesting combination, but the safest move-set is Fire Spin and Iron Head. The STAB bonuses are just too hard to pass up on.
7 Giratina
Giratina is a Ghost/Dragon type that has multiple forms. One form has a higher attack than defense, and the other has the reverse. The move-sets for both forms are the same. Giratina’s CP rating is 3683, its attack is 225, its defense is 187, and its stamina is an astronomical 284.
Its available quick moves are Shadow Claw and Dragon Breath; Shadow Claw does more damage and has a higher EPS, but its recharge time is slightly slower than Dragon Breath. Dragon Claw, Ancient Power, and Shadow Sneak are its choices for a charge move. Dragon Claw is the best of the three, although Shadow Sneak can be used to get a lot of attacks out in a short period of time.
6 Regigigas
Regigigas is a Normal-type Pokémon with one of the highest CP ratings in the game. The only draw-back to using Regigigas is a move-set that is somewhat lacking. It has a CP rating of 4346, a devastating attack rating of 287, a defense of 210, and a stamina of 221.
Hidden Power and Zen Headbutt are Regigigas’ choice for a quick move. Neither of these quick moves is very good; Hidden Power is the better of the two, but only slightly. The choices for a charge move are Thunder, Focus Blast, and Giga Impact. In almost every situation, Giga Impact should be selected over the other two options.
5 Arceus
Arceus is a Normal-type Pokémon with very high stats, great possible move-set combinations, and little in the way of weaknesses. The strength of this mythical beast is hardly a rumor; it's a reality. It has a CP rating of 3989, an attack of 238, a defense of 238, and a stamina 237. Its only weakness is to Fighting type moves, which might be a problem against a Machamp.
The two quick moves available to Arceus are Iron Tail and Shadow Claw; the latter is the better of the two due to a shorter recharge time and higher EPS. Hyper Beam, Future Sight, and Outrage are its choices for a charge move. Future Sight is the best of the three when factoring in time, damage, and energy usage. However, Hyper Beam's STAB bonus makes it an attractive option.
4 Garchomp
Garchomp is a Dragon/Ground type Pokémon that can deliver huge amounts of damage, and has enough hit points to survive extended fights. This highly powerful pseudo-legendary is one of Gen 4's strongest Pokemon, legendaries included, and that carries over into Pokemon GO. This Pokémon has a CP rating of 3962, an attack of 261, a defense of 193, and a stamina of 239.
Trainers who prefer a quick move that generates a lot of energy should pick Mud Shot. The other choice is Dragon Tail, which does a lot of damage for a quick move. Earthquake, Outrage, and Fire Blast are Garchomp’s choice in charge moves. Outrage has the highest DPE (damage per energy), but does less damage per hit than Fire Blast and Earthquake.
3 Palkia
Palkia is a Water/Dragon type Pokémon that has a great move-set and an excellent attack rating, but suffers from a low stamina rating. When compared to its partners in Dialga or Giratina, it struggles in a lot of places. Palkia is not the best choice when facing a Fairy or Dragon type Pokémon.
The available quick moves for Palkia are Dragon Tail and Dragon Breath. Both moves deliver close to the same amount of damage and generate about the same amount of energy; however, Dragon Breath’s recharge time is about half that of Dragon Tail. The choices for a charge move are Draco Meteor, Hydro Pump, and Fire Blast – Draco Meteor is the best of the three. Hydro Pump is a solid option as well, particularly to give Dialga some much-needed coverage.
2 Darkrai
Darkrai is a Dark type Pokémon that, like Palkia, is kept from the top tier by a lack of hit points. What it does have is an incredibly high attack rating and top tier move-sets. It has a CP rating of 3739, an attack of 285, a defense of 198, and a stamina of 172.
Its choice of quick moves is between Snarl and Feint Attack. Snarl has a higher EPS rating and does slightly more damage than Feint Attack, but it takes a little longer to recharge. Focus Blast, Dark Pulse, and Shadow Ball are the charge moves available to Darkrai – Shadow Ball is easily the best, but the STAB bonus on Dark Pulse makes it a decent option for players looking to capitalize on its high attack rating.
1 Dialga
Dialga is a top tier Steel/Dragon type Pokémon that is strong enough to (potentially) emerge victorious against nearly any Pokémon. Machamp has the advantage against Dialga, but Dialga has the defense to hold its own. Dialga has a CP rating of 4038, an attack of 275, a defense of 211, and a stamina of 205.
Metal Claw and Dragon Breath are the choices for its quick attack. Both of these quick attacks are among the best available; a trainer can’t go wrong with either. Thunder, Iron Head, and Draco Meteor are the available charge moves. Draco Meteor is the most damaging, but Thunder is also an excellent option. All-in-all, Dialga manages to escape the problems that other legendaries have in Pokemon GO and shines as a result.
Post a Comment