Pokémon GO's Metagame: Battling like a Real Gym Leader

By GoodMorningEspeon and Conni. Art by Tikitik.
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Snorlax, Slowbro, and Exeggutor

Introduction

You finally reached level five and chose the team to fight for in your quest to conquer gyms in your area. First of all, if you didn't choose Team Instinct, you clearly chose wrong; secondly, as soon as you head into battle with the Raticate that you've been powering up for a while, you get KOed in a few seconds by a 1271 CP Vaporeon! What gives? Why can't your Pokémon stand up to these other ones? That's what this article will answer; after reading it, you'll be able to take your battling to the next level and defeat the gyms near you with the knowledge you've attained.

Gym and battling mechanics

Gyms will appear on the map in four different colors: red for Team Valor, blue for Team Mystic, yellow for Team Instinct, or white if no team is occupying it. Every gym has a level and prestige that can be seen at the top of the screen after tapping the gym; a gym's level maxes out at 10, while the prestige maxes out at 52000. The level indicates how many Pokémon are able to be placed in the gym, and it goes alongside prestige, which is a point system that will increase the level if enough points are earned.

Gym Level Prestige Needed
1 0
2 2000
3 4000
4 8000
5 12000
6 16000
7 20000
8 30000
9 40000
10 50000

If you manage to come across a gym with no team, you will simply be able to place one of your Pokémon that is currently at full health into it by tapping the button on the bottom left corner of the screen. However, the more likely situation is that you will be faced with a gym already owned by a team. If you head into a battle (which is done by tapping the button on the bottom right corner of the screen), you will face all of the Pokémon in the gym individually, starting with the one whose CP is the lowest.

If you are facing a gym owned by a team that is not your own, you will be permitted to bring six of your Pokémon to battle against however many are in the gym. In order to take the gym down, you'll have to lower the gym's prestige. For each Pokémon that you defeat, the gym's prestige will go down by 1000 points. If the gym's level goes down, the lowest-CP Pokémon in the gym will be booted out. This can be made easier if multiple people (up to twenty) of your team challenge the gym together. Once the prestige hits zero, the team you defeated will no longer own the gym, and the gym will be neutral, allowing for anyone to place their Pokémon in. Be wary that even if you defeat the gym yourself, someone else can place their own Pokémon in once the previous team has been conquered.

If you are facing a gym owned by your own team, you will be able to place your Pokémon if the level is higher than the current number of Pokémon in the gym. If the button on the bottom left corner of the screen is not there, that means that there is no room for you to add your Pokémon. You're able to make room for yourself, though, if you challenge the gym and defeat the Pokémon already there to raise the prestige high enough so the gym can level up. Unlike when you are facing an opposing team, you're still permitted to bring six Pokémon, and the CP of the defending Pokémon may be altered to account for your strength. This situation also differs from the previous one in that prestige is not changed at a steady rate of 1000 per Pokémon defeated; it is heavily based off of the CP of your Pokémon in comparison to the Pokémon you are facing. If your Pokémon's CP is lower than the ones you are facing in the gym, you will generally gain more prestige, although the prestige gained will cap out at 500 and it will certainly be more difficult.

Once in a gym battle, you'll be placed in a one-on-one battle, with the lowest-CP Pokémon in the gym pitted against the Pokémon you put in the top-left slot upon choosing a team. When your opponent attacks, the edges of your screen will flash yellow, indicating that you should swipe to the left or right to avoid some of the damage. Doing this and following up with a couple attacks of your own after each dodge will prove to be an effective method in taking down opponents. You are also able to switch between Pokémon by clicking the button with arrows on it, but make it quick, as you'll still be attacked by the opposing Pokémon during the process. Fleeing from battle may be a smart option if you have already taken down some of the opposing Pokémon and your progress will be applied; however, you will have needed to defeat at least one Pokémon, otherwise no progress will be accounted for.

Pokémon can only be placed in gyms if they are at full health, so it may be best not to use the Pokémon that you plan on depositing in the battle prior. Once you place a Pokémon in a gym, it may not be powered up, retrieved, or used in other gym battles until it is defeated. While a Pokémon is in a gym, you can go to the "Shop" icon on the menu and click the shield to receive a Defender Bonus. However, it may be best to wait until you have control over more gyms before claiming your reward, as you can only do so every twenty-one hours. For every gym you have, you will receive a Defender Bonus of 500 Stardust and 10 PokéCoins, which cannot be obtained outside of in-app purchases, so they are very valuable.

Stats and IVs

Stats in Pokémon GO are divided into three categories: Attack, which influences how much damage a Pokémon deals, Defense, which influences how much damage a Pokémon will take, and Stamina, which is similar to HP in the main games and influences how many hits a Pokémon will be able to take. Therefore, a Pokémon with high Attack is better suited to attacking gyms, while Pokémon with high Defense and Stamina are better off defending. A Pokémon's base stats aren't determined arbitrarily, though; they are based heavily off of their stats in the main games, taking into account most of the stats except for Speed, which is only factored in minutely. Due to this, many Pokémon that are speedy powerhouses in the main games, mainly Electric-types, fall short when it comes to gym battling, especially in defending.

The other main factor in a Pokémon's stats are individual values, or IVs, which are also present in the main series games. Instead of maxing out at thirty-one, each stat caps at fifteen. In order to figure out if a Pokémon has good IVs or not, there is an "Appraise" option on a Pokémon's menu that allows the player to consult their team's leader (Candela, Blanche, or Spark) in order to determine a Pokémon's general IV range in the form of a percentage. While the information they provide is not entirely precise, it can still give players a good idea of how useful their Pokémon are. For example, Candela states that your Pokémon "can accomplish anything," Blanche states that "your Pokémon is a wonder," and Spark states that your Pokémon can "battle with the best of them" if the appraised Pokémon's perfect IV percentage ranges from 82% to 100%. Percentages can be better pinpointed if you use a manual calculator (such as this one on Pokémon Game Info) to input information to get a more precise IV range.

Moves in-depth

Every Pokémon comes equipped with two moves: a quick move, which can be used repeatedly to deal short bursts of damage, and a charge move, which will slowly build up with use of the quick move and can be executed by holding down on the screen. The effectiveness of a move is measured in damage-per-second (DPS), so moves with high DPS values will deal more damage in shorter amounts of time. However, ideal moves vary between attacking and defending gyms; because the player has control of his or her Pokémon during an attack, they can tap the screen and thus increase damage output quickly by rapidly using a quick move repeatedly. However, when defending, the AI will not use quick moves as efficiently as an actual player and will generally space out time between attacks, so slower moves that still deal plenty of damage are ideal for defense.

How to obtain powerful Pokémon

As a player's level increases, the Pokémon he or she finds in the wild will generally be proportionally stronger until level 30. The same applies for eggs, but the boost instead caps at level 20. In addition, all three types of eggs tend to have greater IVs than those of wild Pokémon and also provide Pokémon that a player's location may not have many of, allowing for the potential attainment of Dratini, Lapras, Snorlax, and more. At a lower level, it may be tempting to use some of your candies and Stardust to power up common Pokémon that you have; however, these resources will likely end up going to waste, as you will almost certainly be finding Pokémon later on that outclass the ones you catch earlier on. Moves also play a pivotal role in how powerful a Pokémon is, and because there is no way to alter a Pokémon's moveset currently, even a Pokémon with a high CP and good IVs may be held back by an insufficient moveset.

The most viable Pokémon

Dragonite

Dragonite

Dragonite is widely considered to be one of the best Pokémon alongside Lapras and Snorlax due to its monstrous stats, current highest maximum CP of 3500, and its deadly array of coverage moves. It has access to an amazing array of both quick moves, such as Dragon Breath and Steel Wing, and charge moves, including the deadly Dragon Pulse and the highest-damaging move in the game, Hyper Beam. Dragonite can wall and defeat even Pokemon that have super effective coverage against it such as Golem and Jynx. Dragonite's main counter is Lapras, another top-tier Pokémon that takes neutral damage from Dragonite's normal coverage option against Ice-types in Steel Wing and can deal lots of damage with Ice-type moves. Otherwise, Dragonite can deals with most other prime attackers such as Vaporeon and Slowbro, as its stats are much higher and it can sponge attacks with its great base 212 Defense stat and follow up with powerful moves with its whopping base 250 Attack. Although its base 182 Stamina stat isn't as great, it still has a place on any attacking or defending team, especially when its charge moves become available.

Lapras

Lapras

Lapras, like Dragonite and Snorlax, holds one of the top spots in the metagame mainly due to its role as the main check of Dragonite, which it can handle with ease with access to powerful STAB Ice-type moves and a base 260 Stamina stat, which is one of the highest in the game. Its maximum CP is also excellent, standing right below 3000. Despite having mediocre coverage moves, such as Dragon Pulse, Lapras lives up to its status as the best Ice-type attacker and defender due to its access to powerful quick moves such as Ice Shard and Frost Breath as well as the two most powerful Ice-type moves in the game, Blizzard and Ice Beam. Lapras's good Water / Ice typing causes most of its typing's counters to be countered by Lapras itself, such as Dragonite with its Steel Wing and Magneton with its Electric-type moves, which can be handled by its superior base stats and strong Ice-type moves. In general, Electric-type moves are still the most viable option against Lapras; decent counters include Jolteon and Electabuzz, although both are on the frail side and can only truly be effective if the player dodges and attacks in an efficient pattern.

Snorlax

Snorlax

The last of the top-tier trio, Snorlax earns its place with a base 320 Stamina stat, the second highest in the game. Snorlax uses its Stamina to its advantage alongside powerful move coverage; its wide movepool can allow it to serve as a STAB attacker, with Normal-type moves like Body Slam and Hyper Beam, or a coverage expert with Lick and Zen Headbutt, which deal heavy damage to Ghost-, Psychic-, and Poison-types, as well as Earthquake, which can deal huge damage to Fire-, Poison-, and Rock-types. Due to its monstrous stats and top-quality move coverage and options, Snorlax is widely considered the best gym defender in the game. It can only be defeated by raw power, which comes from the other two best Pokémon, Dragonite and Lapras. Most players may think to use strong Fighting-types, such as Machamp, against it, but Snorlax's Zen Headbutt and Earthquake are used to shut down that option. Outside of Machamp, most other Fighting-type Pokémon are very frail and have a low maximum CP, so Snorlax can often remain untouched in gyms if attackers are not strategic enough to defeat it.

Vaporeon

Vaporeon

Vaporeon is undoubtedly the strongest Eeveelution in the game due to its powerful Water-type moves and high base 260 Stamina stat, which is on par with that of Lapras. Vaporeon's main weakness lies in its base Defense, which leaves it prone to powerful attacks. Its best moveset is Water Gun and Hydro Pump, which can deal the most damage as fast as possible alongside a powerful charge move. While this moveset allows Vaporeon to counter Arcanine with ease, it is easily defeated by Dragonite and Exeggutor, which both resist Water-type moves. Vaporeon may be a mediocre choice for defending, but its attacking capabilities put it on par with the top-tier Pokemon, since it has moves with that dish out a lot of damage, making it a sight to be feared by any Pokémon.

Exeggutor

Exeggutor

Exeggutor is known to be the most reliable check to the Water-types that dominate the metagame due to a high maximum CP and excellent STAB moves. However, it falls to Arcanine and may be outclassed by Lapras and Dragonite, as its base Defense, like Vaporeon's, does not keep up with its other stats. Exeggutor's Psychic-type moves are also useful, but Grass-type moves are still favored due to the fact that most Pokémon that Psychic coverage can defeat, like Gengar and Weezing, can turn the tide and also use super effective moves to shatter Exeggutor due to its low base Defense.

Slowbro

Slowbro

Slowbro, along with Vaporeon and Lapras, is another one of the best Water-type Pokémon, excelling thanks to access to a large movepool and great CP cap. Although its stats are well-rounded, Slowbro's main fault is that none of its base stats surpass 200. Despite this, Slowbro still manages to be effective with access to two quick and powerful STAB moves, Confusion and Water Gun, to take out Fire-types such as Arcanine and Poison-types such as Weezing. Slowbro also possesses three very powerful options for charge moves, those being Ice Beam, Psychic, and Water Pulse. Unlike Vaporeon, Slowbro doesn't possess coverage to Hydro Pump and has to settle for Water Pulse, but its coverage makes up for this. Slowbro is usually known for its defensive capabilities, since its base Defense nearly reaches 200, but it can still be checked by Pokémon with good Stamina and Attack, such as Snorlax and Exeggutor, although the latter is pretty frail and can fall victim to Ice Beam.

Arcanine

Arcanine

As the most powerful Fire-type in the game, Arcanine stays true to the species name of "Legendary." Arcanine is undoubtedly a very solid check to Exeggutor and Ice-type Pokémon, such as Jynx, and its gigantic base 230 Attack stat can also be used for great neutral damage to other Pokémon. Its maximum CP also reaches nearly 3000, maximizing its offensive capabilities and making it an even greater attacker. Its weakness to the many prevalent Water-types, in combination with its generally poor defensive capabilities, means that the common Pokemon that Arcanine would attack, such as Snorlax, Lapras, Vaporeon, Golem, and many other Pokémon with super effective coverage against Fire-types, can often defeat it. Although unexpected, Arcanine has a very good quick movepool, consisting of Bite, which can deal great damage to Alakazam, and Fire Fang, which has great DPS to repeatedly strike Pokémon that are weak to it. Arcanine's charge moves are also great, particularly the strongest Fire-type move in the game: Fire Blast. Another charge move, Flamethrower, is slightly faster, but does not deal as much damage. Bulldoze is the last charge move option for Arcanine and can be effectively used against Electric-type Pokémon such as Raichu and Electrode.

Gyarados

Gyarados

Last but not least, we have our favorite Pokémon with an obvious sweet tooth, Gyarados. It is unarguably one of the best Pokémon primarily due to its effective typing, serving as a good counter to Exeggutor, as its Grass-type moves falter to Gyarados's typing and base 196 Defense stat. Like Slowbro, Gyarados has well-rounded base stats, all of which are between 190 and 200, but Gyarados is more fit for an attacking role rather than a defending role like Slowbro. Gyarados has great and powerful move coverage, especially with Dragon-type moves, which can make it a reliable but not optimal counter to Dragonite. Furthering Gyarados's ability to counter Exeggutor, it also possesses a super effective quick move in Bite, which does very well against Exeggutor's low base Defense. Gyarados's access to Dragon Pulse gives it a strong move that is effective on all types except for the only current fully evolved Steel-type, Magneton. However, Gyarados's favored charge move is Hydro Pump, which is the most powerful Water-type move in the game and deals great damage to Arcanine and Rock-type Pokémon that would otherwise be abe to cripple Gyarados due to its weakness to Rock-type moves. Overall, Gyarados is both a good attacker and defender and stands out, even among the likes of Slowbro.

Conclusion

With this new knowledge in mind, go out there and take down those gyms! Don't be discouraged if your opponent was left with a sliver of health or your gym was taken by a team immediately after taking it over. It happens to the best of us, and learning to strategize accordingly, such as managing charge moves or going to take down gyms at particular times, will come from experience. It may be frustrating at first, but with enough dedication and practice, you'll be able to battle with the best of them.

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