In this raid guide, you’ll find the 10 best Ground-type attackers in Pokémon GO. We at MeinMMO also summarized why you should use these monsters in raids and show you what makes them special.
To participate in raids, it’s important to focus on the best Pokémon of the respective type. In the following list, we have summarized the 10 best Ground-type attackers for you. These are particularly suitable for battles against the types Electric, Rock, Poison, Steel, and Fire.
More strong monsters of other types can be found in our guide to the best attackers in Pokémon GO.
The 10 best Ground-type attackers in the ranking
- Demeteros (Therian Forme) with Mud Shot and Earthquake
- Krookodile with Mud Shot and Muddy Water
- Excadrill with Mud Slap and Drill Run
- Groudon with Mud Shot and Earthquake
- Demeteros (Incarnate Forme) with Mud Shot and Muddy Water
- Rhyperior with Mud Slap and Earthquake
- Garchomp with Mud Slap and Earthquake
- Golett with Mud Slap and Muddy Water
- Mamoswine with Mud Slap and Steamroller
- Donphan with Mud Slap and Earthquake
How was the ranking created? Our overview of the best Ground-type attackers in Pokémon GO includes only monsters that you can already catch, hatch, or evolve in the game. For each Pokémon, we explain which strengths it possesses.
The best Shadow Pokémon of the Ground type as well as the best Mega Ground Pokémon can be found at the end of this article. We have not included these in our ranking but have documented them separately for completeness.
1. Demeteros (Therian Forme)
Best moveset: Mud Shot and Earthquake
The legendary Pokémon Demeteros (Therian Forme) comes from Generation 5 and is a Ground and Flying type. It particularly impresses with a high attack value. But it can also excel in stamina.
Its charged attack Earthquake does a lot of damage but takes some time to charge completely.
Can you catch Shiny Demeteros (Therian Forme)? No, Demeteros (Therian Forme) is currently not available in its shiny form in the game.
2. Krookodile
Best moveset: Mud Shot and Muddy Water
Krookodile is the final evolution of Sandile. It comes from Generation 4 and is a Dragon and Ground type. Just like Demeteros (Therian Forme), it uses the fast attack Mud Shot.
With Muddy Water, it has a somewhat faster charged attack, which allows it to deal more damage overall than Demeteros (Therian Forme). However, this is an event attack that you can only learn with a Charged TM.
Moreover, it has strong attack and stamina values. Since it has a somewhat lower attack value than Demeteros (Therian Forme), it only ranks 2nd in our ranking.
Can you catch Shiny Krookodile? Yes, Shiny Krookodile is already available in Pokémon GO. To obtain it, you must catch Shiny Sandile and evolve it into Krookodile. You can recognize it by its blue-gray body and orange belly.
3. Excadrill
Best moveset: Mud Slap and Drill Run
Excadrill is a Pokémon from Generation 5 that belongs to the types Ground and Steel. It evolves from Drilbur. Especially strong is Excadrill’s moveset of Mud Slap and Drill Run. With this attack combo, it is relatively fast and deals a lot of damage.
It also benefits from a strong attack value. In defense, it’s not as good, which means it takes damage faster in battles.
Is there Shiny Excadrill? No, a shiny variant of Drilbur and Excadrill is unfortunately not yet available in the game.
4. Groudon
Best moveset: Mud Shot and Earthquake
Another strong Ground-type attacker is the legendary Pokémon Groudon. The monster from Generation 3 belongs to the Ground type and can score with high attack, stamina, and defense values. This allows it to withstand some opposing counters.
However, with its moveset of Mud Shot and Earthquake, it has somewhat slower attacks and thus deals significantly less damage than Excadrill.
Can you catch Shiny Groudon? Yes, Shiny Groudon is available in Pokémon GO. You can recognize it by its green body. Groudon can occasionally be found in Level 5 raids.
5. Demeteros (Incarnate Forme)
Best moveset: Mud Shot and Muddy Water
Alongside the Therian Forme of Demeteros, its Incarnate Forme also ranks among the top 10 Ground-type attackers. The legendary Pokémon belongs to the shapeshifters and can thus be caught in both forms in the game.
The Incarnate Forme is also a Ground and Flying type, but its attack value is somewhat lower than that of its other form. However, it is slightly stronger in defense and can thus withstand more in battle. Additionally, the charge attack Muddy Water loads quickly and does decent damage.
Can you catch Shiny Demeteros (Incarnate Forme)? Yes, Shiny Demeteros in Incarnate Forme is available in the game. Occasionally, you have the chance to catch it in Level 5 raids. However, you need to look closely to recognize it. You can identify the Shiny by its yellow belly.
6. Rhyperior
Best moveset: Mud Slap and Earthquake
Rhyperior is a Ground and Rock type Pokémon from Generation 4. It evolves from Rhydon through Rhyperior. Rhyperior also has strong attack and stamina values. With Mud Slap, it also has a strong fast attack.
Unlike most other top attackers, its pre-evolutions can be found regularly in the wild or in raids. So keep an eye out for a strong specimen there.
By the way: Rhyperior can also score with good values and can compete with some of the candidates in this ranking. However, we recommend developing the monster, as Rhyperior is somewhat stronger.
Is there Shiny Rhyperior? Yes, you can catch Shiny Rhyperior and evolve it from Rhydon to Rhyperior. You can recognize the shiny specimen by the yellow plates on its body.
7. Garchomp
Best moveset: Mud Slap and Earthquake
Garchomp, the final evolution of Gabite, is a Ground and Dragon type Pokémon from Generation 5. It also relies on the strong fast attack Mud Slap.
It also benefits from good stamina, but its attack value is lower than Rhyperior. Moreover, please note that you can only obtain Gabite from Team GO Rocket bosses in 12-km eggs, which makes it more difficult to secure a strong specimen. Thus it ranks only 7th in our ranking.
Can you catch Shiny Garchomp? No, the shiny version of the crocodile is not yet available in Pokémon GO.
8. Golett
Best moveset: Mud Slap and Muddy Water
The Ground and Ghost-type Pokémon Golett is the evolution of Golbit. It comes from Generation 5. In its attack, stamina, and defense values, it is slightly weaker than Garchomp, which is why it does not last as long in battle.
Just like Garchomp and Rhyperior, it does decent damage with its fast attack and can also score with the charged attack Muddy Water.
Is there Shiny Golett? No, the shiny forms of Golbit and Golett are not yet available in the game.
9. Mamoswine
Best moveset: Mud Slap and Steamroller
Mamoswine is the final evolution of Piloswine. The Pokémon from Generation 4 belongs to the types Ice and Ground. It benefits from a strong attack value, which is slightly lower than that of Excadrill, as well as decent stamina.
With its moveset of Mud Slap and Steamroller, it is somewhat weaker than Golett; however, you should not underestimate it as a Ground attacker. Additionally, it is one of the 10 best Ice attackers in Pokémon GO.
Can you catch Shiny Mamoswine? You can catch Shiny Swinub and evolve it to Mamoswine. You can recognize the shiny specimen by its greenish body.
10. Donphan
Best moveset: Mud Slap and Earthquake
The last place in our ranking of the best Ground-type attackers is Donphan. The evolution of Phanpy comes from Generation 2 and is a Ground-type Pokémon. Donphan has good attack and defense values and particularly excels in stamina.
In battles, it is somewhat sturdier than other monsters on this list. With its moveset of Mud Slap and Earthquake, it has a relatively slow attack combination.
Can you catch Shiny Donphan? Since the Johto Tour in February 2022, Donphan has been available in its shiny form in the game. To obtain it, you must catch a Shiny Phanpy and evolve it into Donphan. You can recognize it by its greenish body and brown trunk.
The best Shadow Ground-type attackers
- Shadow Mamoswine with Mud Slap and Steamroller
- Shadow Swampert with Mud Shot and Earthquake
- Shadow Flygon with Mud Shot and Muddy Water
Are Shadow Pokémon worth it? Yes, because Shadow Pokémon have an attack bonus. They can deal 20% more damage to their opponent in battle than other Pokémon. However, they don’t last as long in battle because their defense is somewhat lower.
If you catch one of the above-mentioned monsters as a strong Shadow Pokémon, you should better not purify it.
Best Mega Ground-type attacker
- Mega Aerodactyl with Stone Edge and Muddy Water
- Mega Steelix with Iron Tail and Earthquake
Are Mega Evolutions worth it? Mega Aerodactyl is the temporary evolution of Aerodactyl. While this monster actually belongs to the types Rock and Flying, it has a solid charge attack Ground-type attack of Muddy Water.
In addition to Mega Aerodactyl, you can alternatively rely on Mega Steelix with Iron Tail and Earthquake or Mega Beedrill with Bug Bite and Drill Run. However, they also lack a Ground-type fast attack and are slightly weaker than Mega Aerodactyl.
In contrast to Mega Aerodactyl, Mega Steelix is a Steel and Ground type, which benefits from an attack bonus on this moveset in battle. It also boosts other Ground attackers in raids.
As soon as there is a pure Mega Ground-type attacker, you will find out about it here on MeinMMO.
Which Ground attackers do you prefer to use in raids? Let us know in the comments.
