As fans will know, Pokémon has one of the most hilariously unbalanced all-round metas in gaming history. This is understandable, of course, as we’re not talking about a standard fighting game roster of abo💛ut thirty characters. There are almost a thousand different Pokémon now, and keeping them al🐭l on a level playing field would be beyond impossible.
The fact of the matter is, all Pokémon are not created equal. Some are as impos🅘sibly beautiful as Jason Momoa, while others are a shuffling, slovenly Hunchback of Notre Dame in comparison. It’s not fair, but it’s the harsh reality of the Poké-world.
If you send your prized Raticate or Pidgeot into battle against a Primal Groudon, you’re going to be bringing what’s left of their shattered, blood-leaky bodies home in a matchbox. That’s just how it is around here. This is why competitive communities like divide all ‘mon into tiers, and banish the strong-as-Godzilla-with-laser-eyeballs-and-nuclear-fla🌜tulence powerhouses to the Ubers tier.
So beware, friends. We’re cruising straight on into the Ubers tier with this one, in search of the thirty strongest Pokémon ever. Because that’s just the kind of legends we are. We have zero fear, have no bedtime, and we only call out mamas eight times a day. We’ve got this. Hold on to your butts, as Samuel L. Jackson once said, and we’ll meet the strongest Pokémon ever to grace the box art of a Pokémon game.
Ha💜ve you met the t🌼errifying new Ultra Necrozma? No? You’d better stick around then.
30 Zekrom: No Chris Hemsworth, But Still A Pretty Godly Thunder God
Now, you might not think that thirtieth place is much to crow about. Only thirtieth strongest? That’s loser talk. My grandma could probably beat the thirtieth strongest. Don’t be fooled, though, as the first thirteen Pokémon on our list all share a mighty base stat total of 680. This is just slightly b๊elow Poké-god Arceus, to give you an idea of what we’re dealing with here.
Straight in at the darn deep end, then, with Zekrom. This Dragon/Electric type is the mascot legendary of Pokémon White, and is primarily a physical attacker. It boasts supe🌸r strong physical STAB moves in Outrage and Bolt Strike, and an Attack stat to do them the finest of justice. Zekrom is let down only by the unfortunate weaknesses of its typing and the amount of resistance to Electric moves in the Uber tier.
29 Xerneas, The One-Trick Pon… Deer Thing
I’m a little conflicted with this one. Of all of the Pokémon on this list, Xerneas was one of the most diffic🏅ult to place. If you remember the season that this beast of deer was allowed, you’ll probably still be scarred from its wrath. Everyone who played competitively that year got their whole hopes, dreams, and souls sent to another dimension ෴by this thing. Several times.
My issue with Xerneas is, you usually know exactly what it’s doing. Those Geomancy/Power He𝓀rb shenanigans are lethal, true enough, but that was about all you ever saw this Fairy do. It’s an incredibly effective and popular strategy, sure, but it was also tediously predictable. Xerneas has quite a deep movepool, it’s just a shame that nob𒅌ody really took the trouble to dive into it.
28 Lugia, The Great Wall
Another member of the 680 base stat brigade, Lugia is also a challenge to place. This thing is a defensive behemoth, sporting H🐎P, Defense, and Special Defense comparable to Cresselia’s. If you know what a royal pain in the cheeks it can be to take the moon duck down, you’ll understand that these are stats you’ve definitely got to respect. Its Flying/Psychic typing suits the Ubers environment quite well, too.
Granted, it can shrug off bullets better than Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator movies (it also has the Multiscale ability, to halve the damage of the first hit coming its way), but that comes at a cost. Against bulkier teams, it suffers greatly, as its offenses a🔜re totally lacklustre. As such, Lugia can be a tough one to use effectively, despite its many strengths.
27 Reshiram: The Little Flaming Dragon Who Lost Its Niche
Now, don’t go running away with the false impression that I’m talking smack about Reshiram here. That would just be crazy talk. W🌼hen was the last time you scr🧸ewed with a ten-feet-tall dragon that’s on freaking fire? I’ll tell you when: Never, that’s when.
All I’m saying is, times are tough for Reshiram nowadays. The Ubers environment has changed a great deal since this Dragon/Fire Pokémon was introduced with Pokémon Black and White. It’s darn strong, certainly, with offenses that mirror those of Zekrom (a special rather than physical focus), but it doesn’t quite reach the heigh🐓ts of more recent additions to the roster. Marshadow, for instance, can perform its role better, having ac🃏cess to power-boosting moves and greater speed.
Dragon a🀅nd Fire typing is a pretty darn shaky combination, as well.
26 Yveltal, The One That Wants To EAT YOUR SOUL
I’m sure that many would disagree with the placement of Yveltal and Xerneas here. After all, as I say, for the period that restricted Pokémon were made available for use in VGC (Pokémon’s own official tournament format, doubles matches), Xerneas totally domina🌠ted the metagame. Yveltal made its presence felt too, of cou♛rse, and claimed all kinds of souls, but there it was. We were up to our groins in Geomancy-spamming deer.
On the other hand, though, let’s not forget that Yveltal is the Destruction Pokémon. Let’s not forget that, according to the Pokédex, ‘When its life comes to an end, it absorbs the life energy of every living thing and turns into a cocoon once more.’ Damn, Yveltal, calm down dude.
We’re also talking about the most powerful priority in the entire game here, thanks to Dark Aura further boosting the power of its STAB S꧙uckꦡer Punch.
25 Palkia, The One Whose Head, Neck And Shoulders Definitely DON’T Look Like THAT Thing...
Now, I can dig Palkia. I totally, totally can. Water/Dragon is probably my favourite type combination of all. Kingdra, the only Pokémon that shares it, was one of my signature party members back in the day for that very reason. The two types just complement each other perfectly, canceling out each other’s weaknesses. That’s reason enough to a💖ppreciate Palkia, in my book.
As befits a mascot legendary Pokémon, Palkia’s stats are all above average, and it ha🌳s a super st♏rong Special Attack of 150 to boot. It is also slightly faster than a lot of Ubers, who all share the 90-speed tier. This is a huge boon for it. These days, you’ll often see this thing sporting a fancy new Z-Heal Block set, which allows it to boost its special power yet further, while preventing walls from healing for a time.
24 Rayquaza, The Dragon That Totally Outclassed Itself
When the whole Mega Evolution mechanic was announced, I thought that this could only be a good thing for the franchise. There are so many neglected Pokémon that could benefit from getting a new form, and this seemed like just 🔯the way to make these obscure ‘mon viabl🌱e again.
To a certain extent, this was the case. We all remember the wrath of Mega Kangaskhan, a Pokémon that had previously bee🧜n seen about as often as unicorns and the abominable snowman. Mawile, too.
But Rayquaza? Who thought that this dude needed a more powerful ꦡform? It’s kind of a glass cannon, but it’s always been a terrifying offensive threat, hitting super strongly from both sides of the spectrum. It was totally good as it was, thanks very much.
23 Giratina, The Ghostly Double Threat
As a general rule, I’m not the biggest fan of al the different ‘formes’ that Game Freak like to shoehorn in. Megas were a ꦡneat idea, in my view, and I guess Alolan forms get the thumbs up from me too (primarily because Alolan Ninetales is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and instantly softened my dry, crusty heart when I first saw it), but individual, exclusive forms for a particular Pokémon only, for no real reason? I don’t really get it.
Despite my cynicism, I am quite fond of Giratina and its Origin Forme. The original Giratina is, like Lugia, notorious for its defensive capabilities. It was a little passive, though, which is whe𝔍re its Origin Forme comes in. This variant takes a more offensive approach, and using it totally nets you a few style points into the bargain.
22 Solgaleo, The Robo-Lion Far Cooler Than The One I Got For Christmas 2004
If you’re mostly a competitive, standard format sort of player, you’ve probably not seen much of Solgaleo or Lunala in action. The duo are the mascot legendaries of Pokémon Sun and Moon respectively, an�⭕�d as ever, they’re way too powerful to see the light of day in standard play.
A curious pair they are too. Taking a step back from the usual big-old-scary-slavering-Yu-Gi-Oh-style-dragons route that a lot of legendaries take, Solgaleo is Psychic/Steel. This unusual typing is a mixed blessing, allowing the Pokémon to neatly counter some Ubers threats while leaving it open to others. Still, all Pokémon have weaknesses, and they don’t negate Solgaleo’s strong STAB attacks and ability to nicely dismantle most passing Fairie💯s. You’ll usually see this thing playing to its strengths, with a simple Adamant max Attack/max Speed set.
21 Dialga, Winner Of Howlin’ Pokémon Magazine’s Best Cry Award Ten Years Running
Well, that’s strictly in my opinion, you understand. That was just a snarky joke to establish the fact th🅘at Dialga has the best cry, bar none. But these are the sorts of petty things that are far too important to me. Am I the only one who’s still pissed that𝄹 Moltres and Nidoking’s cries are the exact same? Probably.
With all of that behind us, let’s take a look at Dialga, and t💟hat fancy still-exclusive Dragon/Steel typing it boasts. Of its duo, and in keeping with the Steel-types-are-huge-pain-in-the-behind thing, it’s the more defensively-inclined. It packs a lot of utility into one team slot, deftly supporting the team by setting hazards while tanking hits and weakening its foes into the bargain. Those Draco Meteors are going to smart in the morning, that’s for darn s♈ure.