Pokemon GO Gym | Best Pokemon For Defending and Attacking Gyms

Pokemon Go Gyms are locations players can visit and battle other players Pokemon. Players can earn bonus Pokecoins and Stardust from having multiple Pokemon Go Gyms in their teams control while their pokemon are in it.

Pokemon Go Gyms

Best Pokemon To Use For Gyms

This is a quick list of the Best Pokemon For Gym Battling in Pokemon GO. There are two types of strong Pokemon we will focus on, Defenders and Attackers.

You Can Click/Tap The Images Below To View More About The Pokemon

BEST DEFENDER POKEMON – These Pokemon are Best at Defending Gyms due to their Hit Points, Defense, Stamina and MAX CP.

Defender Pokemon	MAX CP	ATK	DEF	STAM
Blissey	3219	129	229	510
Snorlax	3355	190	190	320
Dragonite	3581	263	201	182
Tyranitar	3670	251	212	200
Rhydon	3300	222	206	210
Gyarados	3281	237	197	190

BEST ATTACKER POKEMON – These Pokemon are the Best at Attacking Gyms due to their Attack Stat, Gym META, and overall MAX CP.

Attacker Pokemon	MAX CP	ATK	DEF	STAM
Dragonite	3581	263	201	182
Blissey	3219	129	229	510
Tyranitar	3670	251	212	200
Machamp	2889	234	162	180
Vaporeon	3157	205	177	260
Snorlax	3355	190	190	320

Gyms have levels from 1 to 10. A gym’s level equates to how many Pokemon it can have. The level of the gym is determined by its Prestige.

Level	Prestige Required	Number of Pokémon
1	0	1
2	2,000	2
3	4,000	3
4	8,000	4
5	12,000	5
6	16,000	6
7	20,000	7
8	30,000	8
9	40,000	9
10	50,000	10

The amount of prestige you can gain or remove from an enemy gym can vary slightly depending on the Attacking and Defending Pokemon CP.

Mechanic	Prestige	XP
Each defeated Pokemon	-1000	100
Full Clear bonus	-1000	50

XP Gains	Amount
Winning a Gym Battle Against One Pokemon	150 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Two Pokemon	250 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Three Pokemon	350 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Four Pokemon	450 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Five Pokemon	550 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Six Pokemon	650 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Seven Pokemon	750 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Eight Pokemon	850 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Nine Pokemon	950 XP
Winning a Gym Battle Against Ten Pokemon	1050 XP

You can increase the Prestige of a Gym owned by your Team by adding a Pokemon to it or through Training. You can decrease the Prestige of Gyms owned by enemy Teams by defeating the Pokemon defending the Gym. You’ll be able to take over the Gym by reducing its Prestige to 0.

Act	Prestige Gain/Drop
Add a Pokémon to the gym	+2000
Defeat a Pokémon in Training	+100
Defeat all Pokémon in Training	+50
Using a Lower CP Pokemon to Defeat a Higher CP Pokemon in Training	Prestige = 500 * (CP of Defender / CP of Attacker), Caps at 1000
Defeat an opposing Pokémon	-1000
Defeat all opponent Pokémon	-1000

If you want to understand more about How Gyms Work In Pokemon GO, Tap on the questions below to view the answers.

Pokemon GO Gym Battle Guide

How Do I Use Gyms?

Gyms For Pokemon

Empty Pokemon Go Gyms will change to a GRAY color, at this point you can claim the gym for your team and place one of your own Pokemon within it.

Walk up to a gray-colored Gym.
Touch the Gym to enter it.
At the bottom of the screen, touch Add Pokémon
Select a Pokémon to add to the Gym

(Note: You can Only Add One Pokemon Per Gym, You will not receive your Pokemon back until it is knocked out of the Gym.)

How Do I Find Gyms?

Pokemon Go Gyms

Similar to Pokestops, players will need to navigate in the real world to find local Pokemon Go Gyms. These are much easier to spot due to their large size and unique stadium style.

How Do I Place Pokemon In Gyms?

In Pokemon GO there is a total of 3 teams, players can only join 1 out of those 3 teams to participate in gym battles.

Team Mystic

Team-Mystic
Team-Mystic-Gym

Team Valor

Team-Valor
Team-Valor-Gym

Team Instinct

Team-Instinct
Team-Instinct-Gym

Depending on your Team Choice and the Gym You Approach you will be able to either Battle or Train Your Pokemon.

Rival Team Gym

Claiming a Rival Teams Gym

A Gym controlled by a rival team can be claimed by defeating the other team’s Pokémon inside the Gym. You will select up to SIX Pokemon to use in battle, each rival Pokemon you defeat will lower the gyms prestige.

If you reduce the Gyms Prestige to zero you will be able to claim the gym for your team and place your pokemon in it for rewards.

How To Battle Rival Gyms:

Walk up to a Gym controlled by an opposing team.
Touch the Gym to enter it.
Select up to six Pokémon to use in battle.
To start the battle, touch Battle

Friendly Team Gym

Training at Friendly Teams Gym

Gyms that match your Trainer’s team are controlled by your teammates and are known as friendly Gyms. Earn XP and increase the Prestige of friendly Gyms by training your Pokémon. The more you train, the more Prestige you can earn for your team’s Gym.

Reinforcing a friendly Gym adds prestige and increases the Gym’s level, this will allow you to add your Pokemon to the gym.

How To Place Pokemon In Pokemon GO Gyms:

Walk up to a friendly Gym.
Touch the Gym to enter it.
At the bottom of the screen, touch Add Pokémon
Select a Pokémon to add to the Gym.

Important: Your Pokemon Must Be Fully Healed before it can be placed in a Pokemon Go Gym.

Pokemon Go Gym Pokemon (1)

How Do Gym Battles Work?

When you enter battle there are 3 different actions you can do:

Fast Attack
- Tap your Pokémon to perform a fast attack
- Fast attacks charge your special attack meter.

Special Attack
- Once your Special Attack meter is charged, long-press your Pokémon to perform a special attack.
- Special Attacks cause large amounts of damage.

Dodge attacks
- Swipe left or right to dodge attacks.

Each Pokémon has Hit Points (HP) that can be depleted during battles. Pokémon faint after all their HP has depleted. Your battle is over once all of your Pokémon have fainted or the rival gym leaders Pokemon have fainted.

What Happens When I Win Gym Battles?

Pokemon GO Gym Battling
(Rival Gyms)

When you find a Pokemon Go Gym under the control of a different team than your own, You can battle it and eventually take it over.

Every time you win a battle against an enemy gym it will reduce its prestige.

Once the gym’s Prestige reaches zero you can take over the gym and claim it for your team (Instinct, Valor, Mystic).

Pokemon Go Gyms

Pokemon GO Gym Training
(Friendly Gyms)

When a gym is under the control of your team, you can train at this gym and increase it “Prestige”.

This involves using one Pokémon to fight the gym, instead of the standard 6 Pokémon used when battling an enemy gym.

Raising a gyms prestige will allow you and other players on your team to place more Pokemon within it.

Gyms in Pokemon Go

Are There Gym Battle Rewards?

Pokemon GO Gym Rewards

Placing a Pokémon in a gym to defend it, will reward you with 10 PokéCoins and 500 Stardust every 21 or so hours, which can be claimed from the Shop menu ONCE EVERY 21 HOURS – providing your Pokémon hasn’t been knocked out of that gym.

You can store up to 10 Pokémon in gyms at any one time, and you’ll get them back once they are removed. They will appear back in your Pokémon inventory with 1 Hp, requiring them to be healed before they can be used again.