Legendary ‘mons you absolutely need in Pokemon Go

Paul Cot

Pokemon Go is filled with a tonne of Legendary Pokemon. We discuss which of these legends you need the most in the mobile game.

Legendary Pokemon are rightly put on a pedestal, after all they are supposed to be a lot more powerful. With so many available it’s not surprising some are better than others, though.

In some cases there are ones that are significantly better. All of them are much hyped, so it can often be difficult to know which ones you should be targeting.

We list what we consider to be the five best Legendary Pokemon you can get hold of in Pokemon Go.

Registeel Legendary
Registeel isn’t glamorous but is quite literally made of steel…

5. Registeel

Registeel isn’t the first legend that comes to mind when you think of the array of Legendary species in the Pokemon franchise. It’s certainly a noteworthy one though, due to its incredible defense stat.

It is suited to the challenge of Ultra League in PvP as its surprisingly low max CP of 2,447 makes it too weak for Master League. If you can afford the Stardust, its defense is monstrous at the 2,500 CP limit, though.

Registeel, as its name suggests, is a pure steel type. This gives it a mightily impressive 11 resistances while only being weak to three.

It has a good yet strange moveset as the Iron Pokemon is reliant on Lock On for its Fast Move. This has fantastic energy generation but only provides 1 damage – yes, you read that right.

This is essential however, as it will let you any of its ultra-powerful Charge Moves in Flash Cannon, Focus Blast or Hyper Beam. Try not to use Registeel when your opponent still has their Protect Shields, though!

Groudon Legendary
Groudon is a great counter to the ultra powerful Dialga…

4. Groudon

Unlike a lot of other Pokemon, Groudon has one type – ground. This makes analyzing its resistances and weaknesses easy.

It’s vulnerable to grass, ice, and water, while resistant to electric, poison, and rock. Electric attacks will only hit it for 39.1% damage, too.

All Legendary ‘mons are strong but Groudon is extra strong due to its max CP of 4,115. This makes it an obvious candidate in GO Battle’s Master League and it doesn’t disappoint.

Despite being attack heavy on its stats, it is bulky enough to play with the big boys in Master League. Some would even argue it competes with another infamous Pokemon further down on the list.

You’ll be reliant on its Charged Moves for damage as its best Fast Move, Mud Shot, doesn’t produce much damage. However, this is swings and roundabouts of course, as its lack of damage is more than made up for in energy generation.

This allows you to spam the low energy Fire Punch extra hard and even make the most of Earthquake which does a massive 120 damage. The only problem you’ll have is getting Groudon to that max CP as it will cost a lot of Stardust.

Mewtwo Legendary
Mewtwo is one of the best attackers in Pokemon Go…

3. Mewtwo

While Giratina and Dialga are strong in Pokemon Go PvP, Mewtwo is more suited to PvE and more specifically Raid Battles. That is because its biggest strength is its attack.

Due to how each mode works, GO Battle League is suited to defensively strong Pokemon. After all, they need the bulk to survive Charge Attacks.

Meanwhile, Raid Battles are all about inflicting as much damage in as short amount of time as possible. That doesn’t mean defensive attributes are irrelevant but certainly less so than attack.

When it comes to attack there are few better than Mewtwo. Its overall stats lends itself perfectly to Raids, as long as you avoid dark, psychic, and steel-types.

Since the introduction of Shadow Pokemon though, it has been somewhat overshadowed (no pun intended). Nevertheless, it is a Pokemon you want by your side, especially against fighting and poison types.

Dialga Legendary
Dialga is considered by many to be the absolute strongest Legendary Pokemon in the mobile game…

2. Dialga

If Dialga is featured in Raid Battles, then stop what you are doing and go catch it! It is considered by many to be the strongest Pokemon in the entire game.

Being held in such high regard means it doesn’t have any weak points. Its stats and moveset are obviously great.

However, it is its typing that is most impressive. Its dragon and steel typing give it the edge over a lot of Pokemon.

In total it is resistant to 10 different types, of which two of them (grass and poison) are double resistances. Fighting and ground are Dialga’s only weaknesses.

This, combined with a max CP of 4,038 makes it a perfect fit for Master League. Like Giratina, if you’re entering a Master League battle without it, it’s already an uphill battle.

Giratina Legendary
Don’t go into an Ultra League battle without Giratina…

1. Giratina

As many of you will know, Giratina comes into two forms – Altered and Origin. Both are great to have but for the purpose of this list it is Giratina Altered Forme we’re focusing on.

They share the same stamina but their attack and defense its reversed. It is its Altered Forme which has a higher defense, which is one of the reasons it is the superior of the two – at least when it comes to Pokemon Go.

It is also has a better moveset which is suited for the rigors of GO Battle League. That’s enough of the differences between the two, though.

There is a strong argument Giratina-A is the absolute best choice for Ultra League. It has everything – high stats for the CP limit, an excellent typing, and surprisingly favorable moves.

Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw are what nightmares are made of – for your opponent anyway. It also has Dragon Breath available as a Fast Move and Shadow Sneak and Ancient Power for Charge Moves. The latter is a good option if you’re against another good defensive Pokemon.

All in all, Giratina is an absolute beast and you’re a brave trainer if you enter an Ultra League battle without it. It is also highly effective in Master League, just less so. That is why you should get Giratina as soon as you can.


To unlock a second Charge Move for each, it costs 100 Candy and 100,000 Stardust. This is only fair, however, as we’d see even more of the beasts than we already do!

This list is mainly comprised of Pokemon that fit into GO Battle League and this is because there is less of a need to have the very best Pokemon in Raid Battles.