In Pokémon GO it is important to place the best defenders in gyms to hold them for a long time. We show you the most important defenders in the game.
Why should you defend a gym? Only those who defend a gym well will receive 50 coins per day. These coins are free and can be obtained by spending time in the gyms. With 8:20 hours of defense time, you will receive the full 50 coins. More is not possible per day.
Gym Badge: Moreover, by defending gyms, you can raise the gym badge to gold. Many players strive for this gold badge.
We show you which Pokémon are the best defenders and what strategies you should consider when building a defender team for a gym.
These Pokémon are the best defenders
Now follow the best defenders. They should not be missing in a full gym and are the best in every situation.
These three Pokémon have high HP values. This value is the most important when defending, as it indicates how much damage the Pokémon can take.
1. Heiteira
Heiteira is by far the best Pokémon for defense. Its HP value of 496 is the highest in the game. Additionally, this Normal-type Pokémon can reach over 2700 CP. Moreover, its moves hit the top counter Machamp very effectively.
Although it lost quite a bit of CP some time ago, Heiteira is still the best choice. It has hardly lost its strength as a defender.
Ideal moves for defense: Zen Headbutt and Dazzling Gleam
2. Chaneira
The pre-evolution of Heiteira is also among the best defenders. With its HP value of 487, it is almost as feared as its evolution.
In addition, Chaneira has another advantage. Since it can only reach low CP (1255 CP), this Pokémon also has a well-filled motivation even after hours in the gym. It loses hardly any CP in the gym over time. Thus, it remains annoying for the attacker, as they have to battle Chaneira multiple times.
Ideal moves for defense: Zen Headbutt and Dazzling Gleam
3. Relaxo
Relaxo is among the top defenders. It reaches CP over 3200. While it is not nearly as strong as Chaneira or Heiteira, this Pokémon can take a lot of damage. Additionally, it often uses its charged attack Body Slam and deters many trainers.
Ideal moves for defense: Zen Headbutt and Body Slam
Use these Pokémon to counter in the gym
How should you proceed? To truly host the best defenders in a gym, you should put yourself in the role of the attacker. If Heiteira, Chaneira, and Relaxo are in there, the attacker will use fighting Pokémon since they are very effective.
To defeat the attacker, you should place good counter Pokémon among the top defenders. So Pokémon that are effective against the attackers. Fighting Pokémon are vulnerable to Psychic, Flying, and Fairy types. It is therefore advisable to place such Pokémon in gyms as well.
- Kokowei with Confusion and Psychic
- Laschoking/Lahmus with Confusion and Psychic
- Gardevoir with Confusion and Dazzling Gleam
- Togekiss with Air Slash and Dazzling Gleam
- Hypno with Confusion and Future Sight
- Pixi with Zen Headbutt and Dazzling Gleam
Another interesting Pokémon is Drifzepeli. It can take a lot of damage and Fighting Pokémon are weak against Drifzepeli. It takes forever to defeat a Drifzepeli, or you force the attacker to switch their Pokémon.
Attackers for defense
How should you proceed? Strong attackers are also a good choice in gyms. If you place these Pokémon among the top defenders, they will deal particularly high damage to the attacker.
It is not only important to endure particularly long in gyms, but also to weaken your opponent.
For this, you should place Pokémon in gyms that deal a lot of damage to the opponent and are not vulnerable to their attackers. The best options are:
- Metagross with Bullet Punch and Meteor Mash
- Dragoran with Dragon Tail and Outrage/Dragon Claw
- Milotic with Waterfall and Surf/Blizzard
Important: Although Tyranitar also has good attack stats, it is a poor gym defender. It has a double weakness to Fighting Pokémon and will be defeated in seconds. So never use a Tyranitar to defend gyms when you have better Pokémon available.
Other good defenders
If you see a gym that is already well filled and you have none of the top Pokémon available, we present a list of Pokémon from all generations that are also good for gyms:
- Melmetal with Thunder Shock and Thunderbolt
- Letarking with Yawn and Body Slam
These Pokémon are also good for gyms, but not as strong as the ones mentioned above:
- Stahlos with Iron Tail/Dragon Tail and Body Slam/Crunch
- Donphan with Counter and Body Slam
- Lapras with Frost Breath and Ice Beam/Blizzard
- Sleimok with Sludge and Dark Pulse
- Gyarados with Waterfall and Crunch
- Gabite with Dragon Tail and Outrage
- Meistagrif with Counter and Revenge
These questions you need to ask yourself: When building a gym, you must put yourself in the position of the potential attacker. How can I best counter the attacker? What does the attacker not have a counter for?
What does the ideal gym defender team look like?
Do not only place the three best defenders in the gyms, but also good counters between these defenders. It is up to you whether you want to deal a lot of damage overall or quickly defeat the opponent’s counter.
With such considerations, you can effectively bring your opponent to their knees and hold gyms for a long time.
Example of good gyms:
- Heiteira – Kokowei – Relaxo – Gardevoir – Chaneira – Metagross
- Chaneira – Milotic – Heiteira – Togekiss – Relaxo – Melmetal
Feeding defenders – Why it is important
In the end, it is important to keep an eye on your gym. It is pointless to set up a strong gym if you neglect it after two hours. If you do not regularly feed the golden Razz Berry to your Pokémon, they will become useless in gyms after a few hours, as Pokémon lose CP over time.
Coordinating with other trainers: If you build a gym with friendly players, coordinate who will keep an eye on the gym when. Multiple players can also feed more Pokémon.
Don’t miss any news: For updates on gyms and Pokémon GO in general, you are always well informed with us. Follow our Facebook page or join our Pokémon GO group on Facebook to not miss anything.
If you still need to collect XP to level up in Pokémon GO, you should check out our guide:
