Competitive Pokémon players, as we know, sure can be picky about stats. Factors like favorites or the most adorable or interesting Pokémon simply go by the wayside, as players ruthlessly choose only the best and most efficient choices for their teams.
This makes perfect sense, after all. Your favorite Pokémon may be Stunfisk (not that anybody actually likes Stunfisk, but just for the sake of argument), but it’s not going to serve you very well in a Pokémon battle, is it? It’s all about having the highest stats. Today, we’re looking at the 15 Pokémon with the highest base physical defense in the series.
Updated by Chris Littlechild, March 30, 2020: There’s one important thing to keep in mind before we get started, though: regardless of what you may think, stats aren’t everything. As you’re about to see, Pokémon with inflated stats are sometimes overcompensating for something. All of these Pokemon can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? The hardiest defenses in the world are useless if you have horrible weaknesses or too few useful moves to go with them! Still, this list includes Mega Evolutions and even a super-secret special form (watch out, there’s a big Pokemon Sword and Shield spoiler later in this article), so it’s is going to be a wild ride!
15 Toxapex- 152
Like its fellow Water- and Poison-type, Tentacruel, Toxapex is pretty darn accomplished at two things: spreading the poison status all over the darn place and tanking hits like nobody’s business. Where Tentacruel is more of special sponge, though, Toxapex is geared more towards physically defensive.
Its signature move, Baneful Bunker, complements its physically defensive leanings: if it’s targeted by a contact move that turn, the attacker will be poisoned. This gives Toxapex some offensive utility too, as its Merciless Ability means that all of its attacks will be critical hits on a poisoned target.
14 Deoxys (Defense Forme): 160
That’s right, friends. Where Deoxys Attack Forme has absurd power but absolutely zero in the way of defenses, its Defense Forme is the exact opposite. A few Pokémon share an impressive base 160 Defense, and this odd, otherworldly soul is the first we’ll take a look at.
Deoxys’ defenses are equally impressive in this form, but it doesn’t have much use for them. Throwing out Spikes and wearing down opponents with Toxic will only get you so far, and it’s just too passive to do much more than that.
13 Onix: 160
It’s not an easy life, being a defensively inclined Rock Pokémon. You desperately want to get out there and absorb damage like an invincible champion. You want to play your tanking/walling role and contribute to your team’s victory. You want to, but then you remember that you’re weak to absolutely everything.
Generally speaking, Rock-types are slower than frozen molasses but quite powerful and tanky. Sadly for Onix, it has a meager 45 base Attack and everything else is very sub-par. Our final Pokémon in the 160 club could never be accused of lacking in power, though.
12 Primal Groudon- 160
Now we’re talking, friends. If Deoxys Defense Forme and Onix were too passive for you, this colossal creature will probably be right up your alley.
Groudon was more than dang enough to contend with in its base form, but Primal Groudon really raised the stakes. This Fire- and Ground- type crushed the entire metagame into sad, tiny fleks under its scaly boot when it arrived (Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire). It tended to be used simply to brute force its way through an opponent’s team, a task for which it was equipped as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the last half hour of Commando. Still, its defensive prowess shouldn’t be forgotten.
11 Bastiodon- 168
Bastiodon here must be feeling pretty darn smug, beating out the last three Pokémon by a few measly base stats. Unfortunately, though, that doesn’t make it a better Pokémon. When did you last see a Bastion being used seriously in a competitive match? Never, that’s when. As much as Steel-types are known for their defensive prowess, Bastiodon has all manner of issues holding it back.
Its Rock/Steel typing is far too easy to exploit, leaving it very vulnerable to common types. It can’t bring any real offense to the table by itself, either, and its HP lets it down. Still 168 Defense and 138 Special Defense is impressive by anyone’s Poké-standards.
10 Cloyster: 180
Next up, we’ve got a Gen I stalwart: the Water- and Ice-type Cloyster. Who’d have thought that the teeny, adorable Shellder would evolve into a powerhouse with a mighty 180 base Defense?
Much of the time, sadly, that stat doesn’t really do it much good. As an secondary Ice Pokémon, Cloyster has some unfortunate weaknesses that really hamper its ability to take hits. In addition, Cloyster is more often used offensively, crushing teams into sad little salty hunks of defeat with its patented Skill Link/Shell Smash strategy. Just make sure it doesn’t take any special attacks, as it can’t withstand those at all.
9 Mega Slowbro: 180
Now, Slowbro and its stylish cousin Slowking have always been known as tanky Pokémon. They have some potent Special Attack, too, making them perfectly suited to both setting up Trick Room and causing some havoc under its effects.
When Slowbro Mega Evolves, its tankiness is heightened even further. Its base Defense hits 180 in this form, which only ties with our last-place entry, Cloyster. However, it also has an ace up its sleeve: Shell Armor. With this Ability, opponents are unable to score a critical hit on the pink behemoth, which can make it super hard to take down. If it starts setting up Calm Minds and such in your face, you’re in for a world of pain.
8 Avalugg: 184
So, yes. We’ve already covered the woes of Ice-types, and how being weak to absolutely everything ever can be a little counter-productive when you’re trying to tank hits. Avalugg is the absolute epitome of an Ice-type attempt at being a tank, boasting the highest Defense of any Ice Pokémon in the series to date.
At a formidable base 184 Defense, Avalugg can take most physical hits, and deal some considerable damage back to boot with its respectable Attack. With its lackluster Speed and hilariously low Special Defense (base 46), though, it’ll usually struggle to sustain itself for long.
7 Regirock: 200
If there’s any typing that’s as offensively useful (and defensively useless) as Ice (as we’ve mentioned), it’d be our rugged buddies the Rock-types. Yes, they gave Charmander fans nightmares back in the late 90s as they tried to Tackle and Ember their way through Brock’s gym, but otherwise, their myriad weaknesses are just too exploitable.
Nobody gave Regirock that memo, though. With its 200 base Defense, it can take some surprising physical punishment before being sent scurrying back into its Poké Ball. Even better than that, it can go on the offensive and even sweep itself with the use of a fiendish Rock Polish/Sturdy/Weakness Policy strategy.
6 Steelix: 200
Steel-type Pokémon have been known as some of the most defensively-oriented in the game since the typing was first introduced. In fact, Steel was nerfed more recently so that it no longer resists Dark and Ghost (Metagross and Jirachi were not amused).
Steelix is the absolute embodiment of the unstoppable defensive strength of Steel Pokémon. It’s a 30-foot-long (plus a little more) metal-bodied snake, after all. Base 200 defense makes it a force to be reckoned with, yes, but its Steel/Ground typing again leaves it with some common weaknesses: Fighting, Water, Fire, and Ground.
5 Stakataka: 211
We’re getting into the big leagues now, friends. You don’t often see base stats of 200+. Most regular Pokémon couldn’t even dream of hitting those numbers.
The trouble is, though, there’s more to the equation than sheer numbers alone. The Ultra Beast Stakataka has 211 Defense and respectable 101 Special Defense, but it isn’t the impenetrable powerhouse you might think it would be. It has middling HP (base 61), laughable Speed (base 13) and awful 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Ground. Still, used carefully, this odd-looking creature can unleash the full force of its Digivolved-IKEA-table-looking self on its opponents.
4 Mega Aggron: 230
As we’ve said, there aren’t many Pokémon that boast any base stat above 200. Interestingly, though, there are three that share a formidable 230 base Defense. First up, we have another Mega Evolution: Mega Aggron.
Steel/Rock isn’t the most practical type combination for taking hits, but Mega Aggron has a nifty party trick: on transforming, it become pure Steel-type. Not only that, but its Filter ability reduces the damage it takes from super-effective attacks. In this way, it can take even more punishment than its tanky stats and monstrous appearance would suggest.
3 Shuckle: 230
From the beastly, super-threatening Mega Aggron to… this little thing. Yes, this humble Bug/Rock Pokémon looks about as threatening as a happy, snoring kitten after a couple of wholesome bedtime stories, but it can be darn hard to break through with its dual base 230 defenses.
The thing about Shuckle is, its other stats are beyond hilariously abysmal. To get any success from it, you’ll have to rely on gimmicky strategies like Power Trick, which has the potential to obliterate your opponent (switching its Defense for its Attack) but is super hard to pull off.
2 Mega Steelix: 230
Our third and final base 230 Defense Pokémon is also the final Mega Pokemon of the list. Steelix’s Mega Evolution, unsurprisingly, emphasizes the life that regular Steelix is already all about. It doesn’t change typing or gain a damage-mitigating Ability like Mega Aggron, but it does get a nice boost to its Special Defense and offenses.
While it can certainly hit hard, Steelix’s Mega Evolution was always a niche pick. After all, that precious Mega slot tended to be reserved for the best offensive threat on a team (the dreaded Mega Kangaskhan, for instance), while the more tanky ones were harder to build around. Next up, we have that major Pokémon Sword and Shield powerhouse of a spoiler we warned you about, so beware if you haven’t finished the game’s story yet!
1 Eternatus (Eternamax): 250
Of course, the Pokémon franchise’s big mainline series Nintendo Switch debut was going to be a big deal for fans. Sword and Shield were a huge hit (though the controversies surrounding move animations and National Dex cuts put a heck of a damper on things), with a suitably dramatic and impressive conclusion to the story.
This dramatic conclusion came in the form of a showdown with Eternatus, the third Legendary Pokémon of Galar and the source of the energy that allows Pokémon to Dynamax. In its regular form, it’s already a force to be reckoned with, but the player also battles it (alongside Zamazenta and Zacian) as a sort of Max Raid in its exclusive fully-powered-up form, Eternamax Eternatus. This almost-inconceivable opponent boasts dual 250 defenses, a total that no other Pokémon in the series to date can touch. With 255 base HP to boot, it’s no wonder it took so long to take down!
NEXT: Pokémon: 5 Ways Sword & Shield Moves The Franchise Forward (& 5 Why It’s Stuck In The Past)
