Imagine having a powerful attacker Pokemon with very high attack stats, but just before you land your first hit, your opponents Knock you out with instant Speed. Therefore, Don’t fill your team with glass cannons. Otherwise, your opponents will breach your paper-like defence and kill you before you know it.
You need a good tank that can take those hits and give back something to your opponents. So, today, we will look at some of the best tank Pokemon with high defensive capabilities.
And I will not just list Pokemon with the highest defence stat here. We are also going to discuss their overall features and usability in battle. Typing, Overall Base Stat Spread, and Movepool also play a vital role in defending against incoming attacks.
But before we get started, let me tell you that we will exclude some categories from this list. They include Legendaries, Mega evolutions and Dynamax. I have also added some oddities to the list to liven things up. So, Trainers, are you ready to find some of the best tank Pokemon for your team?
14. Toxapex
Toxapex has an unbreakable wall around its body that is covered with spikes. This serves as a good defence. It is a Poison and Water-type that is the evolution of Mareanie.
As you might have guessed from its appearance, its highest stat is Defense, which is at 152, and Special Defense is 142. But its offense is comparatively weak, with Attack at 63 and Special Attack at 53. The only disappointing stat would be Speed at 35. And it’s HP is also just 50.
Its signature move called ‘Baneful Bunker’ is a variation of Protect. It will protect Toxapex from the enemy’s attacks, and its variation will poison the enemy if attacked with a contact move. It can also use some attacks like Toxic and Scald.
It has an amazing ability called Merciless that works well with its Poison-type. Using Merciless, any attack you deal with on a poisoned enemy will be considered a critical hit. It means almost double damage for every successful hit you land on your enemy.
With moves like that, it can be a great match against most other types of Pokemon, excluding Poison and Steel types.
13. Bastiodon
With the face of an impenetrable wall, Bastiodon has great Defense and Special Defense stats at 168 and 138, respectively. It has an attack of 52 and Special Attack of 47. The lowest stat is Speed at 30. Its HP stat is 60, which is kind of average.
Bastiodon is a Rock/Steel-type Pokemon. It is an evolution of Shieldon, which has a shield on its face. After evolution, that face turns into a big wall with spikes on top of it. So, it may not look like a good pick if you look from an offence perspective, but its high defence stats compensate for its low Speed and Attack.
12. Cloyster
Cloyster is an Ice and Water-type Pokemon that was introduced in Generation One. It is the evolution of Shellder, who lives inside a shell. But after evolution, Cloyster has 2 levels of hard shell covered with spikes around it that can protect its body against even strong attacks.
It has one of the highest defence stat across all Pokemon, even on our Tank List. However, because it’s at 180, its Sp Defense is quite low at 45. But unlike other Pokemon on our list, it has some good attack stats, with Attack at 95 and Sp Attack at 85. It’s Speed of 70 is also higher than other Tanks. And finally, it has an HP of 50.
Overall, Cloyster can serve well as a wall breaker, but it only has 1 weakness that can stop it from becoming a sustainable wall. It’s Ice-type; certain counterattacks can take down its Ice-type defence relatively easily. Other than that, Cloyster’s good to go.
11. Chansey
This pink coloured Pokemon looks kind of cute. It has a big egg-shaped body with two cute little hands and a bag on its stomach where it keeps an egg. It is a normal-type Pokemon and it evolves from Happiny. It can further evolve into Blissey.
It looks like Chansey had its HP maxed out by exchanging its Attack and Defense stats. It has a Staggering HP of 250 but a measly Attack and Defense, both at 5. But, it has higher Sp Attack and Sp Defense at 35 and 105 respectively. And it has an average speed of 50.
But Chansey can compensate for that by using Eviolite, which can give it a 1.5x boost to its Defense and SP Defense. So, while it has a Low Attack and Defense, with the right strategy, this Pokemon can be more useful than you might think.
Other than fighting, it can lighten up your mood with its optimistic personality. I am sure all of you might have seen Chansey for the first time at a Pokemon hospital.
10. Blissey
As we previously discussed, Blissey is the evolution of Chansley and also the last down the evolution line. Its stats distribution is just like Chansely. With an astounding 255 HP but next to nothing Attack and Defense stat of 10. But it has a high Sp Defense of 135.
It has a speed of 55 and a Sp Attack at 75. So, It won’t be completely useless in terms of offence, and it can also use the same attacks that Chansey can use.
Moreover, healing abilities can be a pillar of support for your team. You can also swap your Blissey with another Pokemon with a high-defence stat. By taking turns, they will be able to tank any Pokemon your opponent uses against you.
Blissey majorly relies on special attacks, and many players already know about this fact, so they will try to use a physical attacker to break into the meagre defence of 10. But, you can counter this using a Fairy-type move called charm, this will reduce the attack stat of your targets by two stages.
Furthermore, If you can predict your opponent’s attacks, then you can easily debuff your opponent’s physical attacks and throw off their plans.
9. Shuckle
With its extremely high Defense and Sp. Defense stat of 230 Shuckle is like an impenetrable fortress. It can almost tank any hit from its opponent and still be alive and kicking. But all the other stats are extremely low; it has a meagre speed of only 5, and Attack and Sp. Attack stats are only 10 each, and HP is also only 20.
Other than high defense stats it also has some amazing abilities which will make this little guy a thorn in the eyes of your opponents. It has a hidden ability called Contrary, which can reverse the status-lowering effects and make it more effective in defending against such foes.
There is also another move called Shell Smash which can boost the Speed, Attack and sp. Attack and drop the Defense and Sp. Defense of the user for the same amount. However, the reverse effect will happen due to the contrary ability.
But Shuckle already has such low speed and offensive stats, so the gains are negligible. Shuckle is a good choice for tag team battles as you can use it to tank the damage and deal heavy damage using other Pokemon.
8. Tyranitar
Tyranitat is a type of Pokemon with a Rock/Dark type. It comes with a powerful attack strength of 134. Moreover, It’s also good at defence defence and Sp. Defence with respective stats of 110 and 100. It is one of the best hybrid tanks with good STAB potential. It is a perfect choice for building a good sandstorm team.
Due to such amazing capabilities, Tyranitar has become the primary choice of many players.
7. Corviknight
Croviknight is a dual-type Pokemon with Flying/Steel type. It was recently added to the Pokemon Swords and Shields Game. It has an HP of 98, Defense of 105 and Sp. Defense of 85. High HP and defensive starts make it a good choice as a tank Pokemon.
The combination of Flying and Steel types can also be useful in many situations. This typing combo gives it resistance to eight types and immunities to two types, leaving it only weak against two other types.
Corviknight also has a good move pool with many offensive and utility moves. It comes with many accompanying abilities, but two of them manage to come out on top: Mirror Armour and Pressure. Whenever you use Pressure on your opponent’s Pokemon, You must use a double power point for every move.
And Mirror Armour can be used to reflect any status ailment effects. After facing those moves, your opponent will exhaust itself and weaken in dealing with damage. These skills can also make up for the low Sp. Attack of 53 and Attack of 87.
Croviknight also has a status move called Swagger that is useful in many situations. But, this move is like a double-edged sword as it can also increase the damage you take from your opponents.
After falling into this attack, the opposing Pokemon will have its attack stats increased, but it will go into a confused state, and you can only pray for your opponent to attack themselves with increased attacks stat in confusion.
However, you can also fall prey to the attacks of its boosted stats. But, you will easily survive 2-3 hits due to high HP and Defense stats.
6. Metagross
Metagross comes with well-balanced stats that are useful for any format except Ubers. It has a high base Attack stat of 135 and a Defense of 130, so you can use it as an Attacker or a Defender. Regarding other stats, it has an HP of 80, a Speed of 70, and Sp Attack and Sp Defense of 95 and 90, respectively.
But first, you must catch its first evolution, called Beldum. Although there are many better tanks out there, I think it still deserves a mention due to its interchangeability between an attacker and a defender.
5. Miltank
While Miltank doesn’t have that impressive of defence with a base stat of 105, it does have an incredible speed stat of 100. It also has a noteworthy HP of 95. Sp. Defence is at 70, Sp. Attack of 40. And Attack of 80. So, there is nothing noteworthy in the stats department.
But those who have played against this pink devil know how challenging of a foe it was at Whitney’s gym due to its damage absorption and self-healing capabilities. So, if you have also played Pokemon Gold and Silver, you’ll probably remember Whitney and its Miltank from that gym challenge.
4. Snorlax
Many old players would know how powerful Snorlax was back in the day. It was introduced in Generation I, but after every new generation of Pokemon, Snorlax doesn’t hold its glorious position anymore. But it’s still a good tank with its massive HP bar of 160.
It also has a good base Attack stat of 110 and Sp. Defense of 110. While it’s Sp, attack and Defense are only 65. It’s also not very quick, with only 30 stats in speed. So, whichever Pokemon game you are playing, Sonrlax can still hold its own in many solo runs.
3. Steelix
Steelix is a dual-type Pokemon with Ground and Steel types. It resembles the Rock’s Onix but lives even deeper underground and likes to dig towards the Earth’s core.
It has an incredibly high defence stat of 200, so it will be very difficult to take out quickly. Coming to other states, it has an Attack of 85, Sp. Attack of 55, Sp. Defence of 65, Hp of 75 and Speed of 30. Moreover, it is a ground and steel type it also has resistance to many types.
It also comes with many useful abilities, contributing to its reputation as a good tank.
Gyro Ball is a good STAB move which can increase the power of attack based on the difference in speed stats with the opponent.
And with a very low speed of 30, Steelix is a great pick for this move. Sheer Force is another good move that can increase the attack power of attacks with secondary effects by 30%. But, it will remove those effects as a trade-off.
2. Skarmory
Skarmory is a Flying/Steel-type Pokemon with a high Defense stat 140. In terms of offensive it doesn’t have much in terms of Sp. Attacks with only 40 stats, but base Attack stat is at 80. Sp. Defence and Speed are at 70; HP is at 65.
Moreover, if those stats are still low for you, you can increase them using many stat-boosting moves, increasing stats like Iron Defense and agility.
Skarmory also comes equipped with many offensive capabilities. Let’s talk about a move called Body Press that was recently added in the last generation. Whenever this move is used, instead of Attack stats, Defense Stats will be used to calculate the damage. And with a very high Defense stat of 140, Skarmory can do a lot of damage to its opponents.
Pairing-up Skarmory with Blissey and Chansey would be a good team composition. Then you can switch out Skarmory with one of them and alternate between their Sp. Defence, and keep the battle in your hands.
This armoured bird can also use moves like Stealth Rock and Spike, and whenever it uses Whirlwind, your opponent will have no choice but to switch his Pokemon.
Players have consistently used Skarmory since its debut from generation II, which speaks for its capabilities. While Skarmory has lower Defense and Attack stats than Steelix, it can soar high into the sky where Steelix can’t reach. Skarmory becomes vital to many teams due to its ability to use Whirlwind, Spikes and Toxic.
1. FERROTHORN
Ferrothorn is a great defensive Pokemon with amazing Defense and Sp. defense stat. Moreover, it is also useful for setting up hazards and comes with a move pool with many abilities useful for qualifying it as a tank. And Spikes, Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, Ferrothorn are some of the great examples of it.
Furthermore, there is also Gyro Ball, a powerful STAB move to boot.
In short, Ferrothorn is a good tank Pokemon with its strong defensive abilities, defensive typing, and Defense oriented moves.
