"A look into the near future - Best Pokémon by type across Generations 1-4 (includes PDF Infographic, top two tiers by type with short analysis, attack and bulk stats, best possible movesets, list of candies to save for Generation 4)"

#PokemonGO: Hello travelers! This is a pdf infographic which consists of best Pokémon by type across Generations 1-4, including their stats, max cp, best movesets (or best possible movesets for Generation 4 Pokémon). There are also top two tiers for each type separated into two periods, explained in more details in this post. Lists by type include some weaker Pokémon as well, which are there for comparison, or because new players might find information about them helpful. At the end of pdf file, there is a list of all the candies worth saving for Generation 4, classified into tiers (based on my own understanding of what will be relevant when Gen 4 gets introduced). PDF Infographic - Download I am sorry for not including an image format, but because of the amount of details, images looks terribly blurry on mobile phones, so I decided to go only with the pdf format.Why did I choose Generations 1-4?Because I wanted to have a look into the future, but not into a very far future. Taking into consideration all the current generations and only the very next generation (which might be released at the end of 2018 or so) seemed like a sweet spot for preparing and knowing what lies right ahead of us. Also, Generation 4, unlike Generation 5, includes tons of evolutions for existing Pokémon in the first three generations, so this will give us a better idea of which candies we can obtain right now are worth saving the most.What attributes for listed Pokémon did I use?attack (base attack stat)bulk - calculated as floor(defense * stamina / 200), thanks to /u/rotkiv42 and /u/dmml for suggestions! (in one of my previous projects, I used sqrt(defense * stamina) because I wanted bulk to be in roughly the same range as attack, but this resulted in loss of linearity; however, dividing by 200 achieves that bulk is in a similar range as the attack stat, while keeping the linearity - this means that if Pokémon A has twice the bulk of Pokémon B, Pokémon A should indeed last twice as much in a battle!)max CPmoveset (for each Pokémon, the best possible fast and charged moves are listed; for Pokémon in Generation 4 only moves which they were able to learn in the main series are taken into consideration)What candies we can obtain right now will be the most useful when Gen 4 gets introduced?In my view, Rhyhorn, Swinub, Tangela and Togepi candies will have the most value when Gen 4 is released.Other infofor Pokémon whose max CP is over 4000 when using original stats, stats are nerfed by 9% (thanks to /u/SokaDrake for their awesome spreadsheet which was a big help)"Additional" section at the end of some lists include viable Pokémon who can use a strong attack of that type which doesn't benefit from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus), like Arcanine with Wild Charge in the Electric list, Gyarados with Bite/Crunch in the Dark list or Mewtwo with Shadow Ball in the Ghost listfor each type, some Pokémon have stars next to their names; stars represent top two tiers from two periods: a) current period, b) period in which all Pokémon from Generations 1-4 are included; this way, trainers can compare the current relative strength of Pokémon among their type with their strength when new Pokémon from Generation 4 (plus the rest of Generation 3) are included in the gameI will list those top two tiers for each type, with more details and insight, in this post (for the sake of simplicity, I went only with top two tiers, but on a couple occasions I mentioned viable Pokémon which would be placed in Tier C); tiers are made using my own knowledge, experience and intuition, so use them just as a reference - any comments or suggestions are more than welcome! Just as a heads-up: for Normal type, I haven't made any tiers at all, because Normal type attacks are never super-effective so it didn't have much sense. I hope this will be helpful :)Tiers by type1) BUGCurrent tiersTier ATier BPinsir (Bug Bite or Fury Cutter / X-Scissor)Scyther (Fury Cutter / X-Scissor)Scizor (Fury Cutter / X-Scissor) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BPinsir (Bug Bite or Fury Cutter / X-Scissor)Scyther (Fury Cutter / X-Scissor)Scizor (Fury Cutter / X-Scissor)Yanmega (Bug Bite / Signal Beam or Bug Buzz) Pinsir and Scizor should stay top two Bug type attackers even after Yanma's evolution, Yanmega, shows up. Yanmega wasn't able to learn X-Scissor in the main series, so with similar base stats as Pinsir and Scizor, I am placing it a tier below those two. 2) DARKCurrent tiersTier ATier BTyranitar (Bite / Crunch)- Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BTyranitar (Bite / Crunch)Darkrai (Snarl / Foul Play) Currently, there is no Pokémon even close to Tyranitar as a Dark type attacker, so the next best (Houndoom) would be Tier C at best. When Gen 4 Mythical Pokémon Darkrai gets introduced to the game, it will be very interesting since its base attack stat is somewhat higher than Tyranitar's. However, it cannot learn Bite, and Snarl is a slower fast attack with less DPS, so because of this, and because of lower bulk, Darkrai earns a spot in Tier B list. 3) DRAGONCurrent tiersTier ATier BRayquaza (Dragon Tail / Outrage)Salamence (Dragon Tail / Draco Meteor)Dragonite (Dragon Breath or Dragon Tail / Outrage or Dragon Claw) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BDialga (Dragon Breath or Dragon Tail / Outrage or Dragon Claw)Rayquaza (Dragon Tail / Outrage)Garchomp (Dragon Breath or Dragon Tail / Outrage or Dragon Claw)Latios (Dragon Breath / Dragon Claw)Palkia (Dragon Breath or Dragon Tail / Outrage or Dragon Claw)Dragonite (Dragon Breath or Dragon Tail / Outrage or Dragon Claw) It's worth noting that Dialga and Palkia are Gen 4 legendary Pokémon, while Latios is Gen 3 legendary Pokémon which has not been introduced to the game yet, at the time of writing this post. Dialga and Palkia have their original stats so high that their max CP exceeds 4000, and they will probably get nerfed by 9%. The other legendary Dragon type who will get introduced in Gen 4 is Giratina - with an extremely high bulk and significantly lower attack stat than the other seven Dragon type Pokémon, which is why I left it out of these tiers. My view is that Giratina is better used as a Ghost type attacker. Garchomp is Gen 4 pseudo-legendary Pokémon with Dragon and Ground typing (evolution line: Gible -> Gabite -> Garchomp). When they get introduced, the new trio Dialga, Palkia and Garchomp will outclass Rayquaza, Dragonite and Latios, while Salamence will probably very rarely get used. 4) ELECTRICCurrent tiersTier ATier BRaikou (Thunder Shock / Wild Charge)Zapdos (Charge Beam / Thunderbolt) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BRaikou (Thunder Shock / Wild Charge)Zapdos (Charge Beam / Thunderbolt)Magnezone (Thunder Shock or Spark / Wild Charge)Electivire (Thunder Shock / Wild Charge) Taking only stats into account, Zapdos is not at all worse than Raikou. However, it's been punished by a terrible fast move, so it has to be pushed a tier below. When Generation 4 gets introduced, Magneton and Electabuzz will evolve into two new and very interesting Electric type attackers - Magnezone and Electivire. They will outclass Jolteon by a small margin, and if they get equipped with Wild Charge, they will become more useful than Zapdos. It's worth noting that Magnezone's Steel typing comes with 11 resistances. 5) FAIRYCurrent tiersTier ATier BGardevoir (Confusion / Dazzling Gleam)- Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BTogekiss (? / Dazzling Gleam)Gardevoir (Confusion / Dazzling Gleam) With the unfortunate absence of Fairy type fast move in the game, Fairy type attackers have to figure out different ways to cover for their fast attacks. Conveniently enough, Machamp is weak to Fairy, Psychic and Flying types, all of which are part of Togekiss's or Gardevoir's personality. That's why Confusion on Gardevoir is very handy in Machamp raids. Togekiss might get a flying fast move which will also be useful for taking care of Machamp. However, there might be a solution in Fairy type moves department as well - Fairy Wind. This is the only Fairy type move left which Togekiss was able to learn in the main series, which does damage and is not yet in Pokémon Go. Will that be the only Fairy type fast move in the game? Time will tell. 6) FIGHTINGCurrent tiersTier ATier BMachamp (Counter or Karate Chop / Dynamic Punch)Hariyama (Counter / Dynamic Punch)Breloom (Counter / Dynamic Punch)Blaziken (Counter / Focus Blast)Heracross (Counter / Close Combat) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BMachamp (Counter or Karate Chop / Dynamic Punch)Hariyama (Counter / Dynamic Punch)Breloom (Counter / Dynamic Punch)Blaziken (Counter / Focus Blast)Gallade (Low Kick or Rock Smash / Focus Blast)Heracross (Counter / Close Combat) Machamp is the Fighting boss and will pretty much hold that title until Generation 5 is introduced. Any other Fighting type attacker lacks something. Hariyama lacks power (although is very useful in certain roles), Breloom lacks defense, while Blaziken, Gallade and Heracross all lack Dynamic Punch - by far the strongest Fighting type charged move in the game. Sadly, for Gen 4 prodigy Gallade, the best shot is Focus Blast, as it was never able to learn Dynamic Punch in the main series. It will do OK, but will not be a match to Machamp Almighty. Poliwrath is not mentioned in these lists, but it is the bulkiest of all Fighting type attackers and it can learn Dynamic Punch, so it is actually useful in some scenarios. It's also worth mentioning other two new contenders in Gen 4 - Lucario and Infernape. Those two are just a tiny step below Blaziken, and have just barely missed their spot in my Tier B list. They might be fun to use as well. If we ever get a task to compose two teams of 6 different Fighting types, boy will they get their time to shine under the spotlight! 7) FIRECurrent tiersTier ATier BEntei (Fire Spin / Overheat)Flareon (Fire Spin / Overheat)Moltres (Fire Spin / Overheat)Charizard (Fire Spin / Overheat)Blaziken (Fire Spin / Overheat) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BHeatran (Fire Spin / Overheat)Entei (Fire Spin / Overheat)Moltres (Fire Spin / Overheat) Currently, Entei and Moltres are clear front runners in the Fire department. Moltres has a bit weaker defense, but has a Flying type for an extra Grass resistance (as well as some other extra resistances). Similarly, Charizard carries a Flying type, unlike Flareon, which might help it cover a bit weaker attack stat. Blaziken has a really good attack, but it lacks a bit in bulk, and is also more useful as a Fighting type attacker. Heatran is a Fire/Steel Gen 4 legendary Pokémon who is a class above Entei and Moltres, so those two will fall into the secondary tier whenever Heatran decides to show up. Also, Magmar's evolution Magmortar will be just as good as Flareon, so that is a chance to use something different on rare occasions where Fire type attackers will be needed (until Heatran arrives so we start using that one on those rare occasions). I would like to give an honorable mention to three other Fire type attackers: Arcanine, who has a bit weaker Fire type moveset, and is almost definitely better used with Wild Charge as a surprise to its Water-type opponents; Typhlosion, who is punished with a terrible fast move Ember; and of course Ho-Oh, who is destroyed by getting attacks good for literally nothing. 8) FLYINGCurrent tiersTier ATier BRayquaza (Air Slash / Aerial Ace)- Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BRayquaza (Air Slash / Aerial Ace)Togekiss (Air Slash / Sky Attack) As far as Flying types go, there has been no real champion until the legendary Dragon / Flying type Rayquaza joined the action. Rayquaza is equipped with two solid Flying type moves and stats-wise is miles ahead of any other Flying type attacker in the game. That's one of the reasons why I would consider making my Rayquaza a Flying type attacker instead of Dragon type attacker, if I had only one. Togekiss will have the attack stat at least two tiers below Rayquaza's, but its bulk is a bit higher and it has a chance of learning Sky Attack, which should deal more DPS than Aerial Ace, so I decided to include Togekiss in the secondary tier. 9) GHOSTCurrent tiersTier ATier BMewtwo (Any / Shadow Ball)Gengar (Shadow Claw / Shadow Ball) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BMewtwo (Any / Shadow Ball)Gengar (Shadow Claw / Shadow Ball)Giratina (Shadow Claw / Shadow Ball) Let's take a moment to mention that Mewtwo with Shadow Ball is one of the top generalists in the whole game. Having attack stat of 300 with no STAB equals to having (still very high) 240 attack stat with STAB, and dealing Shadow Ball's 100 damage every 50% of energy gained is not something to joke with. Now, Mewtwo is not a Ghost type, but this was a perfect spot to place it - as a top Ghost type attacker. As I already mentioned, it has such a high base attack stat that it covers for not getting STAB on Shadow Ball, its fast moves are both good (even though they are not Ghost type moves), and its bulk is a lot higher than Gengar's. I listed Gengar only with its legacy fast move Shadow Claw, but Hex will do OK too. Gen 4 Dragon / Ghost type legendary Pokémon Giratina will be very interesting when it gets introduced. It actually has a solid attack stat, it only looks bad compared to Mewtwo and Gengar. But it can last 4 times more than Gengar, 2 times more than Mewtwo and might be able to learn both Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball. 10) GRASSCurrent tiersTier ATier BExeggutor (Bullet Seed / Solar Beam)Sceptile (Fury Cutter / Leaf Blade)Venusaur (Vine Whip / Solar Beam) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BTangrowth (V. Whip / P. Whip or G. Knot or S. Beam)Exeggutor (Bullet Seed / Solar Beam)Shaymin (V. Whip / G. Knot or S. Beam)Leafeon (R. Leaf / G. Knot or L. Blade or S. Beam)Torterra (R. Leaf / G. Knot or S. Beam)Roserade (R. Leaf / G. Knot or S. Beam) The competition in Grass department is one of the best overall. Currently, even though it doesn't have the best fast move available, Exeggutor is a bit ahead of everyone else. Venusaur is a very good second choice with lower attack, but some extra bulk. It may or may not benefit from February March Community Day, we'll have to wait and find out. Sceptile with a rapid Fury Cutter and 3-bar Lead Blade is the best option for swiping gyms. For new trainers, there are other solid options who didn't make the cut here, like Vileplume, Victreebel and more. However, Gen 4 will stir things up a lot in the Grass type competition. As it can be seen from my second table with Tier A and B lists, five out of six Pokémon listed - are not yet in the game! Travelers, save those Tangela candies (I know, I know, there wasn't even a chance to spend them really), because Tangrowth will be the new Grass type to look up to. Mythical Pokémon Shaymin will be right up there with Tangrowth. Three new Grass type faces will get their moment too: new Eeveelution Leafeon, Gen 4 Grass starter's third stage Torterra and Roselia's evolution Roserade (those sweet Roselia candies will not go to waste after all). 11) GROUNDCurrent tiersTier ATier BGroudon (Mud Shot / Earthquake)Rhydon (Mud-Slap / Earthquake) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BGroudon (Mud Shot / Earthquake)Rhyperior (Mud-Slap / Drill Run)Garchomp (Mud Shot / Earthquake) It's important to note that the difference between Groudon and Rhydon is probably closer to two tiers than one tier and that Rhydon should probably get his place in Tier C, not in Tier B. Its attack is way lower than Groudon's, its bulk is somewhat lower than Groudon's and its fast move is just terrible (sorry Mud-Slap, get good). I decided to include Rhydon in Tier B list anyway, until Gen 4 is introduced, because it really is the second best Ground type option at the moment and not a lot of people have a good, powered up Groudon. However, with Gen 4, Rhydon's fall will begin. Rhyperior, its successor, will be born and frustrate people with Mud-Slap instead of Rhydon. Garchomp, help us please. Oh wait, you will serve as a Dragon... 12) ICECurrent tiersTier ATier BArticuno (Frost Breath / Ice Beam)Walrein (Frost Breath / Blizzard)Jynx (Frost Breath / Avalanche)Lapras (Frost Breath or Ice Shard / Ice Beam)Cloyster (Frost Breath or Ice Shard / Avalanche)Piloswine (Ice Shard or Powder Snow / Avalanche) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BMamoswine (Ice Shard or Powder Snow / Avalanche)Articuno (Frost Breath / Ice Beam)Glaceon (Frost Breath or Ice Shard / Avalanche)Weavile (Ice Shard / Avalanche) This has been the weirdest group to work with yet. Here is the thing about Gen 1-3 Ice type Pokémon: they all have a weak attack stat. Take a closer look - Jynx is at the top with 223, and the next best is Articuno with 192, which would be a stat to laugh at in most of other types' groups. That's why Walrein, Lapras, Cloyster and Piloswine are always considered as good Ice type choices, even with attack stats somewhat below 200. However, Gen 4 will bring three new Ice type attackers, all of whom have an attack stat at around 240! Those three will outshine practically all of the current Ice type contenders. Just so we wouldn't fight about who will be the best among them, Mamoswine has it all - high attack stat, access to Avalanche and bulk a class above Glaceon and Weavile. Two latter Pokémon will be viable too. If they get equipped with Avalanche, I will use them much more than Articuno. One important thing to note - legendary Pokémon Regice should be introduced well before Gen 4, and when it does, it will be viable as well! It has an extremely high bulk and an attack of 179, but remember - that's actually not bad in this case. 13) NORMALAttack-wise, this is the most useless type in the game. Normal type attacks never deal super-effective damage, so I didn't bother making tiers for this type. There will always be better options. I did list several Normal type Pokémon in the pdf infographic, and Blissey is among them. The main reason was to have some fun comparing everyone's bulk with Blissey's bulk, not to find out who the best Normal type attacker is. 14) POISONCurrent tiersTier ATier BMuk (Poison Jab or Acid / Gunk Shot)- Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BRoserade (Poison Jab / Sludge Bomb)Muk (Poison Jab or Acid / Gunk Shot) I like to think of Poison type as the second most useless type in the game. Poison attacks deal supper-effective damage against Grass and Fairy types, so it's difficult to come up with the scenario where you won't be able to win a battle without some help from the great Muk. For what it's worth, when Gen 4 gets introduced, Roserade should steal the title of the best Poison type attacker. 15) PSYCHICCurrent tiersTier ATier BMewtwo (Confusion or Psycho Cut / Psychic)Espeon (Confusion / Future Sight)Alakazam (Confusion or Psycho Cut / Future Sight) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BMewtwo (Confusion or Psycho Cut / Psychic)Espeon (Confusion / Future Sight)Gallade (Confusion or Psycho Cut / Future Sight)Azelf (Confusion / Future Sight)Alakazam (Confusion or Psycho Cut / Future Sight) Even though Psychic (as a move) is not a good charged move, Mewtwo with Psychic is still theoretically the best Psychic type attacker, because of its extremely high attack stat (with no loss of STAB this time!). In practice though, Mewtwo will probably not be used in this way as trainers will rather TM it to get Shadow Ball or even Focus Blast. That's why Espeon and Alakazam are probably still the most used Psychic type attackers (read: Machamp counters) at the moment. Have in mind, Mewtwo with Shadow Ball will still do an awesome job against Machamp. Lugia is also a viable option and used by many, even though it deals much less DPS. Gen 4 might bring some new faces to Machamp raids, provided male Ralts's evolution Gallade and legendary Pokémon Azelf get equipped with Future Sight. 16) ROCKCurrent tiersTier ATier BGolem (Rock Throw / Stone Edge or Rock Blast)Tyranitar (Bite / Stone Edge)Omastar (Rock Throw / Rock Slide)Omastar (Water Gun / Rock Blast) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BRhyperior (? / Rock Slide)Rampardos (? / Rock Slide) Currently, no one gets the Rock job done as well as Golem, except for that annoying legacy Omastar. Interestingly enough, when Gen 4 arrives, all of these will fall into Tier C and below. That is, of course, if we get a new Rock type fast move. Neither Rhyperior nor Rampardos were able to learn Rock Throw (the only Rock type fast move currently in the game) in the main series. Smack Down, Rollout and Rock Wrecker are physical Rock type moves Rhyperior was able to learn, that are not yet in Pokémon Go. Smack Down and Head Smash are physical Rock type moves Rampardos was able to learn, that are not yet in Pokémon Go. If Niantic introduces one new Rock type fast move, that could be Smack Down, which would solve the problem for both Rhyperior and Rampardos. Rhydon is cursed with an extremely slow fast move and is not recommended as a Rock type attacker. Provided Rhyperior, Rhydon's evolution, gets Rock Slide and a new Rock type fast move, it will be an extremely powerful attacker. Either way, I'd save a lot of Rhyhorn candies. 17) STEELCurrent tiersTier ATier BMetagross (Bullet Punch / Flash Cannon)Aggron (Iron Tail / Heavy Slam)Scizor (Bullet Punch / Iron Head) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BDialga (Metal Claw / Flash Cannon)Metagross (Bullet Punch / Flash Cannon) Steel is another type rarely needed for attacking. It's more useful as a defensive shield, since Pokémon equipped with Steel typing have 11 extra resistances. It's also a rather new typing trainers have been discussing about, because there hasn't really been any good Steel type attackers since Gen 3 brought Metagross and Aggron at our door (except for Scizor). Metagross doesn't have the best possible Steel moveset, but is still a class above Aggron. It might stay the most relevant Steel type attacker even when Gen 4 gets introduced, since Dialga will almost always be used as a Dragon type attacker. Current best use for Metagross and Aggron is fighting Gardevoir, should someone place her as a defender in gyms. 18) WATERCurrent tiersTier ATier BKyogre (Waterfall / Hydro Pump)Gyarados (Waterfall / Hydro Pump) Tiers after including the rest of Gen 3 + Gen 4Tier ATier BKyogre (Waterfall / Hydro Pump)Palkia (? / Surf or Hydro Pump) There is a long history of Water type attackers in the game and their fight for the throne. Vaporeon's reign, which lasted for couple of generations, ended the moment Gyarados learned how to use Waterfall, and Gyarados's reign ended 5 minutes later, when Kyogre woke up. Kyogre is a deadly beast with no drawbacks whatsoever. Gen 4 legendary Dragon / Water type Pokémon, Palkia, might not even get a fast Water type move, but even if it does (which requires introduction of a new Water type fast move, like Dive or Whirlpool), it might still be partly used for its Dragonly services. Kyogre is a class above Palkia anyway. Don't discard Vaporeon, however. For new trainers who will have a difficult time acquiring Kyogre or Gyarados, Vaporeon is still one the best Water type options. Others include Milotic, Swampert and Feraligtr. Thanks for reading, travelers! Once again, I hope this was helpful! :) edit:added info about Giratina in the Dragon sectionremoved wrong info about Regigigasfixed "February" to "March" Community Dayadded Scizor as a Tier B Steel type attacker via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2D0JKX3