Best Pokemon to defend Gyms in Pokemon Go
If you want to nab that Gym Leader badge, you better pick the right defenders.
If you are a Pokemon Go fan, you are well aware of gyms. They are special spots around the world where one team can beat another team, changing the Gym's colour, before putting in their team's Pokemon. You can only place a Pokemon in a Gym that is either left grey (as battle winners get a chance to put something in before anyone else) or that is the same colour as your team. Gyms are often a big deal in the game as they are the only way to get your daily 50 coins. Having a Pokemon in a Gym for an hour will give you six PokeCoins, with a max of 50 able to be earned per day.
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After you have placed a Pokemon in a Gym, you will notice that even if someone isn't attacking the Gym, your Pokemon's health will go down. You can replenish their health by feeding them berries, with Golden Razzberries giving full health and various other berries giving small boosts depending on how hungry your Pokemon is. You can only feed so many berries per hour, to stop berry abuse, so this is worth keeping in mind when feeding your Pokemon. Pokemon can take three full attacks when at full health before they are knocked out.
Often, Gyms are used to showcase fun Pokemon or to create themes that are fun to showcase to others who might see them. However, if you are looking to get the full amount of coins you can in a Gym or if you want to work on your Gym Leader badge, which needs you to have Pokemon defending Gyms for a total of 15,000 hours, then you will want to make sure you are picking Pokemon that are challenging to beat. If you and a bunch of your fellow teammates all pick Pokemon that are hard to defeat, then you run the risk of causing players to run out of time before defeating the entire Gym, which can really keep your Pokemon in longer.
Let's get into the best Pokemon to defend Gyms in Pokemon Go, so you know who to level up first!
1
Blissey
Blissey is an incredibly good Pokemon that can defend any Gym in Pokemon Go. Blissey has an extremely high amount of health, making them time-consuming to defeat fully, especially if you have powered up your Blissey to be at max CP, with a high defence IV. A Blissey with the Quick Move Zen Headbutt and the Charged Move Dazzling Gleam can really do a lot of damage as well, dealing many attacks before their health is down.
2
Chansey
Maybe, there is already a Blissey in the Gym you want to go in. That's fine, why not add in Chansey? When evolved, Chansey is Blissey, so it's natural to want to put Chansey in Gyms as well. This Pokemon has an extremely high amount of health, so completely defeating them is very time-consuming. If your Chansey has Pound and Hyper Beam, they can defend themselves very well too, staying in the Gym for longer.
3
Ursaluna
Ursaluna is a rarer Pokemon, as you need to evolve them during a full moon in Pokemon Go. Ursaluna has a lot of health, much like the previous Pokemon and can also pack quite a punch when it comes to defending themselves! Tackle and High Horsepower are the best moves to have on your Ursaluna when you put them in a Gym, as they can deal a lot of damage to those trying to attack and knock out your Pokemon.
4
Snorlax
Snorlax is a pretty classic Gym defence Pokemon. It's huge, has a lot of health, and it's a lot like Blissey in terms of health and moves, though is not as great as the above. Much like Blissey, having Zen Headbutt will help your Snorlax defend themselves, and having Hyper Beam can help too, as a good charged move. There are a lot of Snorlax special event Pokemon, which are often powered up to show off in Gyms.
5
Wobbuffet
Wobbuffet is another Pokemon with quite high health, making it very annoying to actually get out of Gyms. This Pokemon can be powered up quite a bit, to create a big health bar that takes a long time to run down. The best moveset for Wobbuffet are Counter and Return, allowing your Pokemon to pack a punch to those going against them!
6
Togekiss
Though I do not see Togekiss in Gyms that often, it's a very good Gym defence Pokemon that you should consider putting in! A Togekiss with Charm and Dazzling Gleam will do well against many Pokemon, as it's got a good combination of Fairy-type attacks and bulk attacks, which can pack a punch and defeat those going against them.
7
Metagross
Metagross is a little different than the previous Pokemon on this list. This Pokemon doesn't have a huge amount of health, however, it makes for a good counter Pokemon to many of the strong Pokemon that people use to take over a Gym. Metagross with Zen Headbutt and Meteor Mash can really hold its own in a Gym, and work at defeating a well-balanced team of attackers.
8
Drifblim
Drifblim is extremely good to have in a Gym, for similar reasons to Metagross. Drifblim is a ghost type, with a large amount of health, and can defeat many of the classic Gym fighting teams due to its ghost attacks. Having one with Hex and Shadow Ball is best for placing in a Gym, though it's worth noting you should aim for a Drifblim with CP below 3000 for Gyms, as it can lose health very fast otherwise.
9
Wailord
Wailord not only looks massive in a Gym but also makes a good Gym defender due to its massive amount of health and the moves that it can have. Wailord with Zen Headbutt and Hyper Beam can be a great defence Pokemon, becoming a time sync much like Blissey. However, Wailord can make the Pokemon in a Gym look a bit strange, as placing one in makes them go more centred, with Wailord at the side from time to time!
10
Hariyama
Hariyama is another classic Gym defence Pokemon! This fighting type Pokemon can defend themselves very well in Gyms, and have a high amount of health to help with their defence. The best moveset is Counter and Dynamic punch when it comes to placing this Pokemon in Gyms so that it can fight off a team attacking them.
We are at the end of the line with the best gym defenders in Pokemon Go. But there's always more to learn, such as the best Dark-type Pokemon in Pokemon Go.
