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Best Pokemon to Power Up in Pokemon Go: Top 5

Best Pokemon to Power Up in Pokemon Go: Top 5

Category : Tips & Tricks Views: 27 Reading Time: 5 Minutes

Best Pokemon to Power Up in Pokemon Go: Top 5 (2025)

If you’re looking for the best Pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go, this guide is for you. Picking Pokemon that are worth your Stardust, Rare Candy, and XL Candy can be tricky. Powering up a monster in Pokémon GO is a huge investment, and with so many new forms (Mega, Primal, Shadow, etc) hitting the game, it’s difficult to decide where to put your resources.

To help you decide, we’ve made a list of the 5 best Pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go. Coming up with precise, future-proof, and less risky options was not easy. We’ve reviewed raid performance, PvP viability, and long-term future proofing to bring you the top 5 Pokémon you should power up in 2025.

For those of you who are on a budget, we have also recommended some budget-friendly alternatives based on real advice from players.

 

Our Top 5 Picks for 2025

1. Shadow Mewtwo

     Best Role: Unmatched raid attacker, generalist powerhouse

     Moveset: Psycho Cut + Psystrike

     Why Power It Up: Shadow Mewtwo sits at the top of the damage charts and doesn’t just dominate Psychic matchups—it smashes most raid bosses, regardless of type.

As one player put it: “Something like a Mewtwo or Rayquaza you can’t really go wrong with imo.” (Reddit, r/pokemongo)

2. Mega Rayquaza

     Best Role: Best Dragon-type, raid support with Dragon Ascent

     Moveset: Dragon Tail + Breaking Swipe

     Why Power It Up: Already a monster, and its Mega form makes it the best Dragon attacker in the game. It also boosts other Dragon-types on your raid team.

3. Primal Groudon

     Best Role: Ground-type king + PvP Master League titan

     Moveset: Mud Shot + Precipice Blades

     Why Power It Up: Groudon’s Primal form pushes its stats off the charts. It doubles as a raid powerhouse and a Master League staple, making it one of the best pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go.

4. Zacian (Hero of Many Battles)

     Best Role: PvP specialist (Master League)

     Moveset: Snarl + Close Combat + Play Rough

     Why Power It Up: Zacian isn’t a raid attacker—but it’s arguably the most reliable Master League Pokémon. Flexible coverage moves let it check Dragons, Darks, and Fighters, making it also one of the best Pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go.

5. Primal Kyogre

     Best Role: It’s the best Water attacker

     Moveset: It’s strongest movesets are Waterfall and Origin Pulse

     Why Power It Up: The base form of Kyogre can undergo primal revision. Kyogre’s origin form is its primal and true form, hence called Primal form. The Primal/Origin Kyogre is stronger than its base form. It has the ability to create a rain cloud that could drown the whole world. This one is going to be the strongest Water-type raid attacker. If you raid heavily, Kyogre will be a good investment.

How we picked the Best Pokemon to Power Up in Pokemon Go

Since stardust is a valuable resource, and it’s not infinite, spending it on Pokemon has to be fool-proof. You cannot waste candies or stardust casually or to experiment. All Pokemon players rely heavily on the strength of a Pokemon. Strength is indeed a valid and reliable indicator of picking the best pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go.

However, there are other factors too that players should take into consideration. Here’s what we kept it mind, besides the strongest pokemon in Pokemon Go, to pick our top 5:

     Can they consistently top the charts in raid performance? For this we looked at PvP Strength.

     Keeping in mind the PvP viability, we considered whether or not they are must-haves in Master/Ultra/Great League.

     Finally, relying on their future proof value, we assessed whether they will stay relevant after new Megas, Shadows, and forms are released.

Budget Alternatives (For Trainers With Limited Stardust)

Having multiple best Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Go can be expensive. If you want to play Pokemon Go and still get the best Pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go, here are some of the strongest Pokemon in Pokemon Go. These accessible Pokémon are still worth powering up:

     Dragonite – This one is easy to obtain, is a strong Dragon attacker, and has solid PvP use.

     Machamp (Shadow or Regular) – Machamp is a budget friendly fighting-type Pokemon with great raid utility.

     Garchomp – Non-Mega still hits hard as a Ground/Dragon hybrid.

     Swinub Line (Mamoswine) – Accessible via trades and events, covers both Ice & Ground roles.

These make fantastic picks if you’re short on Stardust or XL Candy.

Comparison Table – Top Picks at a Glance

Pokémon

Role

Strengths

Weaknesses

Best Use

Shadow Mewtwo

Generalist Attacker

Highest DPS, Shadow boost

Glassy, costly

Raids & ML

Rayquaza

Dragon Attacker

Mega boost, unmatched Dragon DPS

Fairy weakness

Raids

Groudon

Ground Attacker

Primal boost, strong raid counter

Weak to Water/Grass

Raids

Zacian

PvP Flex Pick

Flexible moveset, ML dominance

Needs good IVs

Master League

Dragonite

Hybrid

Community Day moves, versatile

Outclassed by Mega

PvP + Raids

Machamp (Alt)

Budget Attacker

Easy to get, strong Fighting moves

Psychic weakness

Raids

Mamoswine (Alt)

Budget Attacker

Strong Ice/Ground coverage

Frail

Raids

Garchomp (Alt)

Budget Attacker

Mega potential, dual coverage

Ice weakness

PvP + Raids

Conclusion

Taking multiple aspects into our consideration, we did thorough research. We also analysed what real players are talking about on discussion forums like Quora and Reddit. Almost everyone is concerned about spending candies and stardust on the wrong pokemon. Players also shared their experiences about the best pokemon to power up in Pokemon Go.

Based on our research and first hand experience with the game, we say the best ones are Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Groudon, Zacian, and Dragonite.

FAQs

Is Mewtwo still worth powering up in 2025?

Yes, especially its Shadow form. It remains the strongest generalist attacker.

What’s the best Master League Pokémon in 2025?

Zacian continues to dominate thanks to flexible coverage.

Best budget Pokémon to power up in 2025?

Machamp, Mamoswine, and Garchomp offer great value.

Best Shadow Pokémon to power up 2025?

Shadow Mewtwo, Shadow Machamp, and Shadow Mamoswine are excellent.

 

Keywords:
best pokemon to power up in pokemon Go
Strongest pokemon in pokemon go

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