Strategy

Best Pokémon for Max Battle / Dynamax — Top Attacker by Type (2026 Update)

Max Battle (the EN name for what Pokémon GO calls “Dynamax/Gigantamax raids”) puts a hard cap on how many Pokémon are eligible to attack — only species that have a usable Max Move kit count, and many types have only a handful of viable picks. This guide ranks the #1 Dynamax attacker for every one of the 18 types, plus a runner-up where the gap is small, so you can pick exactly one per type and not miss out on damage during boss windows.

Picks are based on per-type Max Move damage on a level-50 IV15 baseline against a stock raid boss (HP 22,500). Where a Pokémon’s Max Move type doesn’t match its body type (e.g., Excadrill using Max Quake on a Steel/Ground), it still counts here as that Max Move’s attacker. Companion read: Max Battle Type Ranking (the data source).

How This Ranking Was Calculated

  • Per-type Max Move damage: Simulated on a stock raid boss (HP 22,500, neutral type matchup) at PL50 IV15. Source data: Max Battle Type Ranking.
  • Eligibility: Only Pokémon that can use a Max Move of the listed type. Forms with a fixed Max Move (Gigantamax) are evaluated using their G-Max move; standard Dynamax candidates use the highest-base-power move of the listed type they can learn.
  • Tiebreakers: When two attackers are within 2% of each other, ease of acquisition (raid-day availability, Wild Area drops, evolutionary base) is the tiebreaker.
  • Scope: Tank role is covered separately (see Honorable Mentions). This list focuses on damage.

Last updated: 2026-04-29. Data source: based on values recalculated on this site from the live Pokémon GO game master — Doctor Pokégogo’s own Max Battle damage analytics (last re-computed on 2026-04-28).

Top Attacker for Each of the 18 Types

N

Gigantamax Snorlax

Gigantamax Snorlax

Normal Normal — G-Max Replenish hits hard for a Normal-type Max Move. The bigger value is its tank role; in raid windows where you double-dip as DPS-and-buffer, Gigantamax Snorlax is the only Normal that’s worth the slot.

  • Best for: Tank+DPS combo
  • Notes: Normal Max attacks rarely hit weakness, so use selectively.
E

Gigantamax Toxtricity

Gigantamax Toxtricity

Electric Electric — G-Max Stun Shock leads the Electric tier; legendaries Zapdos and Raikou are only marginally below and worth building if you have the dust.

  • Best for: Water / Flying-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Zapdos / Raikou
G

Gigantamax Rillaboom

Gigantamax Rillaboom

Grass Grass — Decisive Grass leader. G-Max Drum Solo bypasses the user’s typing for damage calc, which keeps Rillaboom relevant against bosses where a regular Grass would lose value.

I

Glaceon

Glaceon

Ice Ice — Only seven Ice-typed Pokémon currently have a usable Max Move, so the pool is shallow. Glaceon edges out Gigantamax Lapras on raw damage; Lapras takes the role for tank duty.

  • Best for: Dragon / Flying / Ground / Grass-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Gigantamax Lapras (G-Max Resonance)
F

Gigantamax Machamp

Gigantamax Machamp

Fighting Fighting — G-Max Chi Strike. Wins by a wide margin over the rest of the Fighting pool, so this is one of the cleanest single-pick types in the list.

  • Best for: Normal / Steel / Rock / Ice / Dark-type bosses
  • Runner-up: large gap (Lucario / Conkeldurr if available)
G

Excadrill

Excadrill

Ground Ground — Decisive lead with Max Quake. Excadrill also covers Steel-type Max Moves, so it earns dust as a dual-type Dynamax build.

  • Best for: Fire / Electric / Rock / Steel / Poison-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Kingler (off-type) / Gigalith
F

Moltres

Moltres

Flying Flying — Best Flying Max Move user in the current pool. Charizard and Unfezant follow but with notable gaps.

  • Best for: Fighting / Bug / Grass-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Charizard
B

Gigantamax Butterfree

Gigantamax Butterfree

Bug Bug — Only nine eligible Bug attackers. Butterfree (G-Max Befuddle) wins on damage; Metagross is a strong off-type pick if you need durability over peak DPS.

  • Best for: Psychic / Dark / Grass-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Metagross (off-type Bug Max)
R

Gigalith

Gigalith

Rock Rock — Pool of eight; Gigalith leads Max Rockfall once it gains a Rock-type Fast Move. Omastar is a strong second once you Elite-TM Rock Throw.

  • Best for: Fire / Ice / Bug / Flying-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Omastar
G

Gigantamax Gengar

Gigantamax Gengar

Ghost Ghost — Only six eligible attackers, but Gigantamax Gengar with G-Max Terror is way ahead on damage and is one of the highest-impact builds in the entire list.

  • Best for: Psychic / Ghost-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Dragapult (if available)
D

Eternatus

Eternatus

Dragon Dragon — Decisive lead. Candy cost is high (Eternatus is rare), but the payoff covers the entire Dragon-weak boss roster including legendary Dragons themselves.

  • Best for: Dragon-type bosses (incl. legendary Dragons)
  • Runner-up: Duraludon (off-type), Dragapult
D

Gigantamax Grimmsnarl

Gigantamax Grimmsnarl

Dark Dark — Decisive lead with G-Max Snooze (and the typical Dark Max Move tier). A rare Wild Area drop, so candy is the bottleneck rather than competition.

F

Gardevoir

Gardevoir & Hatterene

Fairy Fairy — Tied at #1. Both run Max Starfall as the standard Fairy Max Move; Gardevoir leans Psychic-Fairy hybrid use, Hatterene is the pure Fairy build.

  • Best for: Dragon / Dark / Fighting-type bosses
  • Runner-up: Tied #1 (Hatterene)

At-a-Glance Comparison (All 18 Types)

Type #1 Attacker Max Move Boss roles
Normal Normal Gigantamax Snorlax Gigantamax Snorlax G-Max Replenish Tank+DPS combo
Fire Fire Gigantamax Cinderace Gigantamax Cinderace G-Max Fireball Steel / Ice / Bug / Grass
Water Water Gigantamax Inteleon Gigantamax Inteleon G-Max Hydrosnipe Fire / Ground / Rock
Electric Electric Gigantamax Toxtricity Gigantamax Toxtricity G-Max Stun Shock Water / Flying
Grass Grass Gigantamax Rillaboom Gigantamax Rillaboom G-Max Drum Solo Water / Ground / Rock
Ice Ice Glaceon Glaceon Max Hailstorm Dragon / Flying / Ground / Grass
Fighting Fighting Gigantamax Machamp Gigantamax Machamp G-Max Chi Strike Normal / Steel / Rock / Ice / Dark
Poison Poison Gigantamax Garbodor Gigantamax Garbodor G-Max Malodor Fairy / Grass
Ground Ground Excadrill Excadrill Max Quake Fire / Electric / Rock / Steel / Poison
Flying Flying Moltres Moltres Max Airstream Fighting / Bug / Grass
Psychic Psychic Alakazam Alakazam Max Mindstorm Fighting / Poison
Bug Bug Gigantamax Butterfree Gigantamax Butterfree G-Max Befuddle Psychic / Dark / Grass
Rock Rock Gigalith Gigalith Max Rockfall Fire / Ice / Bug / Flying
Ghost Ghost Gigantamax Gengar Gigantamax Gengar G-Max Terror Psychic / Ghost
Dragon Dragon Eternatus Eternatus Max Wyrmwind Dragon
Dark Dark Gigantamax Grimmsnarl Gigantamax Grimmsnarl G-Max Snooze Psychic / Ghost
Steel Steel Zacian Crowned Sword Zacian (Crowned Sword) Max Steelspike Fairy / Ice / Rock
Fairy Fairy Gardevoir Gardevoir / Hatterene Max Starfall Dragon / Dark / Fighting

Honorable Mentions — Tank role & off-type picks

Pokémon Type Why it’s worth a build
Gigantamax Lapras Gigantamax Lapras WaterIce Water / Ice Top-tier Max Battle tank. Take a Lapras into Ice-weak boss raids and you free your other slots for damage.
Metagross Metagross SteelPsychic Steel / Psychic Tank + Psychic / Steel Max Move dual-purpose. One build covers two type slots in your stable.
Zamazenta Crowned Shield Zamazenta (Crowned Shield) FightingSteel Fighting / Steel Best defensive Steel build (matches Zacian on Steel damage, plus the Wall move for free shield at Max Battle start).
Kingler Kingler Water Water Off-type Ground Max Move user (Excadrill backup). Cheap to build, useful in Ground-weak boss windows when you don’t have Excadrill candy.

Related Resources

About the Author

Doctor Pokégogo (about page) has been publishing data-driven Pokémon GO analyses since 2020. Max Battle damage values on this page are computed from the same data set used in the Max Battle Type Ranking page; methodology details are linked there.

-Strategy