“What’s the best 6-Pokémon team for taking down a gym?” The answer depends on which gym you’re attacking, but if you optimize for the average gym defender pool — which is dominated by Blissey, Chansey, Togekiss, Dragonite, Metagross, and Wobbuffet — there’s a mathematically optimal answer. This guide presents the optimal gym attack team derived from a shortest-path optimization over the most common defender lineups.
The Optimization Setup
This analysis treats gym attack as a shortest-path problem: minimize total clear time across the 6 defenders. The assumptions:
- Defender lineup: The most common gym defender mix — Blissey + Chansey (Normal), Togekiss (Flying), Dragonite (Dragon/Flying), Metagross (Steel/Psychic), Wobbuffet (Psychic) — fixed in attack order.
- Attacker pool: One Pokémon from each of the 18 types, picked greedily for fastest clear vs. its assigned defender slot.
- Switching: Attackers can be switched freely; we compute the path that minimizes total time-to-faint (TTF) across all defenders.
- Build assumption: All attackers at PL40 with optimal Fast + Charged moves, neutral weather.
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 DPS / TTF analytics (last re-computed on 2026-04-28).
The Optimal 5 Picks
Each Pokémon below was selected because it minimizes TTF against its specific defender role.
Lucario — Required Type #1 (Fighting)
The Blissey / Chansey wall is the longest TTF in any gym, and Fighting is the only type that breaks it efficiently. Lucario’s Counter + Aura Sphere is the best Fighting moveset short of Mega Lucario.
Pheromosa — Required Type #2 (Bug)
Wobbuffet (Psychic) needs Bug coverage; Pheromosa wins the TTF on raw Attack stat. Gengar or Darkrai are within 1 second and work as substitutes.
Xurkitree — Required Type #2 (Electric)
Togekiss (Flying) needs Electric coverage. Xurkitree’s Thunder Shock + Discharge is the fastest non-Mega clear.
Mamoswine — Required Type #2 (Ice)
Dragonite (Dragon/Flying) is double-weak to Ice. Mamoswine’s Powder Snow + Avalanche is the most efficient non-Mega Ice option, and Ground secondary covers Steel-Electric matchups.
Reshiram — Free Slot (Fire)
Metagross (Steel/Psychic) is weak to Fire. Reshiram’s Fire Fang + Fusion Flare clears Metagross cleanly. The 6th slot is fully flexible — pick anything you enjoy.
The Type Logic Behind the Picks
The optimization reduces to two type categories plus a free slot:
Required Type 1 — Fighting (counters Normal)
Blissey and Chansey are the longest-TTF gym defenders. Without Fighting, the entire team’s clear time blows up. Lucario is the cleanest non-Mega Fighting attacker, but Mega Mewtwo X (Fighting) and Conkeldurr / Machamp (Fighting) work as substitutes.
Required Type 2 — Anti-Fighting-resist coverage
Pokémon that resist Fighting (Psychic / Flying / Fairy) need to be hit by their respective weakness types: Bug / Ghost / Dark / Electric / Ice / Rock / Steel. The default optimal picks are Bug (Pheromosa for Wobbuffet), Electric (Xurkitree for Togekiss), and Ice (Mamoswine for Dragonite). One of each fills three of the four open slots.
Free slot — Steel coverage filler
The remaining slot deals with Metagross-class defenders that resist both Required Type 1 and Required Type 2. Fire (Reshiram, Chandelure) is the natural fit. Alternative: pick a “fun” attacker for win-streak farming — the math doesn’t care.
At-a-Glance Comparison (Optimal 5)
| Slot | Pokémon | Type | Defender Target | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Lucario | Fighting / Steel |
Blissey / Chansey |
| 2 | |
Pheromosa | Bug / Fighting |
Wobbuffet |
| 3 | |
Xurkitree | Electric |
Togekiss |
| 4 | |
Mamoswine | Ice / Ground |
Dragonite |
| 5 | |
Reshiram | Fire / Dragon |
Metagross |
Related Resources
- Type Ranking — DPS / eDPS leaders by attack type, the data set behind these picks.
- Raid Boss Guide — current raid rotation with recommended counters.
- Regi Family Tier List — Regieleki / Registeel / Regirock notes for budget alternatives.
- All Pokémon Ratings — drill-down evaluations for every Pokémon.
About the Author
Doctor Pokégogo (about page) has been publishing data-driven Pokémon GO analyses since 2020. The shortest-path optimization on this page uses the same DPS / eDPS data set as the Type Ranking page; methodology details are linked there.
