https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/1igcqsj/future_gmax_investment_analysis/
created by Therealestkarp on 03/02/2025 at 00:53 UTC*
160 upvotes, 30 top-level comments (showing 25)
Hello Silphroad! I have been thinking ahead about future max battles and where to invest my resources. I am sure many of you have been as well. In this analysis I will be listing all Gmax Pokémon and their attack benchmarks, and what Pokémon could potentially hit harder down the line. From what I have seen, the general consensus is that for a Pokémon to be a better attacker than a Gmax it must have a minimum 30% higher attack stat. This is due to Gmax moves having 350/400/450 power in max battles versus Dmax attacks having 250/300/350 attack power. This extra 30% is the metric I will be using going forward. I will not be counting megas or primals as they are not eligible to participate in max raids. Gmax Pokémon will be included in a type section based on their Gmax move. The article will conclude with an analysis of my thoughts on whether the investment into the best Gmax for that type is worth it or not. Anyway, here's the nerd numbers!
This should go without saying, but normal type will not hit for super effective damage on anything. There are better options than these!
Gmax attackers:
Snorlax (190 atk) - benchmark to beat is 247
Eevee (104 atk)
Meowth (92 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
Slaking (290 atk)
Regigigas (287 atk)
Meloetta-Pirouette Form (269 atk) - UNRELEASED
Porygon-Z (264 atk)
Meloetta (250 atk)
Only one currently released Pokémon beats the benchmark here, and only by a bit! Gmax Cinderace looks to be a safe investment. Galarian Zen Mode Darmanitan will beat Blacephalon, but that isn't released yet.
Gmax attackers:
Cinderace (238 atk) - benchmark to beat is 309.4
Charizard (223 atk)
Centiskortch (220 atk - expected value)
Benchmark beaters:
Galarian Zen Mode Darmanitan (323 atk) - UNRELEASED
Blacephalon (315 atk)
Inteleon is the clear winner here. There is only ONE non gmax Pokémon that can beat it... Primal Kyogre. Good luck bringing that to the battle! There are no unreleased Pokémon OR their forms that beat it even!
Gmax attackers:
Inteleon (262 atk) - benchmark to beat is 340.6
Rapid Strike Urshifu (254 atk)
Kingler (240 atk)
Dreadnaw (213 atk)
Blastoise (171 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
NONE
Yeah... No one saw Pikachu gmax beating out Toxtricity.
Gmax attackers:
Toxtricity (224 atk) - benchmark to beat is 291.2
Pikachu (112 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
Xurkitree (330 atk)
Thundurus-Therian Form (295 atk)
Kartana is the only bench beater here by a little bit. Gmax Rillaboom should be a pretty sound investment.
Gmax attackers:
Rillaboom (239 atk) - benchmark to beat is 310.7
Flapple (214 atk)
Venusaur (198 atk)
Appletun (178 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
Kartana (323 atk)
Lapras is the only gmax mon with an ice type max move, and the attack bar is set pretty low here. It should come as no surprise that there is a plethora of better options (that are also good for PvE!) For simplicity I have limited it to the top 5 best of the bench beaters currently released, and added the top 3 unreleased in there for fun, though the most obvious two do not yet have an ice type fast move...
Gmax attackers:
Lapras (165 atk) - benchmark to beat is 214.5
Benchmark beaters:
Zen Mode Galarian Darmanitan (323 atk) - UNRELEASED
Kyurem-Black (310 atk) - UNRELEASED (ice type fast move when Niantic?!)
Kyurem-White (310 atk) - UNRELEASED (see above)
Galarian Darmanitan (263 atk)
Baxcalibur (254 atk)
Mamoswine (247 atk)
Kyurem (246 atk)
Weavile (243 atk)
Machamp is the only Gmax mon with a fighting type move. That being said, its decent attack stat makes it tough to beat the extra 30% needed. Pharamosa is the only fighting mon to beat it out (by a little bit too!) and there are not even any unreleased fighters that top it. Those G-Max Chi Strikes are a pretty safe investment!
Gmax attackers:
Machamp (234 atk) - benchmark to beat is 304.2
Benchmark beaters:
Pheramosa (316 atk)
Despite being the only poison gmax attacker, Gabodor is.... well the joke is obvious. Despite there not being a TON of better max attackers, there are a few that are better. Like the ice type, some in this list do not possess a fast move of this type, but there is always hope...
Gmax attackers:
Garbodor (181 atk) - benchmark to beat is 225.3
Benchmark beaters:
Naganadel (263 atk)
Gengar (261 atk)
Seasler (259 atk)
Nihilego (249 atk)
Roserade (243 atk)
Revavroom (229 atk)
Salazzle (228 atk)
Debuting during this years year of the snake event- nah I'm just kidding, that would have been TOO obvious. Gotta release the crabs! Sandaconda is the only ground type Gmax attacker. Thankfully that 30% boost keeps it as a pretty safe choice. Being beat out by only two mons, this little guy is a relatively safe choice. I do want to note though, Garchomp and Landorus-Incarnate both have an attack stat of 261, so the difference between them and Sandaconda isn't huge at all (1.5 points!)
Gmax attackers:
Sandaconda (202 atk) - benchmark to beat is 262.5
Benchmark beaters:
Landorus-Therian (289 atk)
Groudon (270 atk)
As one of my all time favorite mons, I was hoping for a little more out of Corviknight. That 163 attack stat makes it hard to be lenient on (I mean come on, Archen beats its benchmark at 213 atk!). I've listed the top 5 (plus two because way to many legendries and I was curious what the next unreleased one would be) flying types to keep the list a bit short, otherwise I'd be writing all night. Better luck in great league buddy.
Gmax attackers:
Corviknight (163 atk) - benchmark to beat is 211.9
Benchmark beaters:
Thudurus-Therian (295 atk)
Archaeops (292 atk)
Landorus-Therian (289 atk)
Rayquaza (284 atk)
Enamorus-Incarnate (281 atk)
Salamence (277 atk)
Iron Jugulus (249 atk) - UNRELEASED
Another personal favorite mon, I had absolutely no hopes for this guy. If you thought Corviknight being outclassed with 163 attack was bad, Orbeetle's 156 is doing it no help, especially with the attack-oriented psychics that exist. This Gmax is for funsies and nothing else. I wanted to keep the list shorter, but there are some interesting released/unreleased ones here. Tldr; basically anything is better
Gmax attackers:
Orbeetle (156 atk) - benchmark to beat is 202.8
Benchmark beaters:
Deoxys-Attack (414 atk)
Deoxys-Normal (345 atk)
Necrozma-Ultra (337 atk) - UNRELEASED
Calyrex-Shadow Rider (324 atk) - UNRELEASED)
Hoopa-Unbound (311 atk)
Mewtwo (300 atk)
Necrozma-Dusk Mane (277 atk)
Necrozma-Dawn Wings (277 atk)
Alakazam (271 atk)
Calyrex-Ice Rider (268 atk) -UNRELEASED)
Not much to say here that hasn't been said before. Butterfree sucks.
Gmax attackers:
Butterfree (167 atk) - benchmark to beat is 217.1
Benchmark beaters:
Pharamosa (316 atk)
Volcarona (264 atk)
Slither Wing (261 atk) - UNRELEASED
Vikavolt (254 atk)
Kleavor (253 atk)
Genesect-Any drive (252 atk)
Pinsir (238 atk)
This is starting to get embarrassing. Coalossal is bad. Surely the next type will be better...
Gmax attackers:
Coalossal (146 atk) - benchmark to beat is 189.8
Benchmark beaters:
Rampardos (295 atk)
Archaeops (292 atk)
Terrakion (260 atk)
Kleavor (253 atk)
Tyranitar (251 atk)
Iron Thorns (ttar 2.0) (250 atk) - UNRELEASED
And it is! Absolutely NOTHING besides its mega version (which isn't eligible for max battles!... for now) beat it in this type category. Not even the dark type, which shares the same supper effective type matchups (against others) can touch it. Future-proof investment here.
Gmax attackers:
Gengar (261 atk) - benchmark to beat is 339.2
Benchmark beaters:
Nothing lmao (Closest is the unreleased Calyrex-Shadow Rider at 324 atk)
Before the bridge (Archaludon) there was.... the skyscraper? Duraludon actually puts up an amazing performance here. Having a 239 base attack means a beefy 310.7 attack to need to beat. This is only accomplished by megas, which are again ineligible, beaten by a form unlikely to debut anytime soon let alone in max raids, and is only matched by two monsters.
Gmax attackers:
Duraludon
Benchmark beaters:
Necrozma-Ultra (337 atk) - UNRELEASED)
Kyurem-Black (310 atk) - Tie!
Kyurem-White (310 atk) - Tie!
Dark types got nothing on the ghosts here. There isn't a single dark type that beats out its best gmax attacker, to which it doesn't even beat out ghost types Gengar. It's not a crazy difference, but 7 points is still a difference. There's probably a single use case or two where you would want a dark attack over ghost due to the targets secondary typing, but someone with more time than me can look that up.
Gmax attackers:
Urshifu-Single Strike (254 atk) - benchmark to beat is 330.2
Grimmsnarl (227 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
NONE
I actually wasn't expecting the two steel Gmax mons to be a tie in attack. The 293.8 benchmark is a tough one to crack, but there are two that get the job done. Who knows how long it will take for ultra beasts of the doggo to come to the game (or for Kartana to get a steel fast move!) but either steel Gmax attacker looks to be a decently safe choice. It should be noted that in the main series games only one melmetal Gmax was allowed, and it was done through a specific Pokémon Home distribution. I am not certain, but it seems unlikely that Melmetal will get better treatment than that.
Gmax attackers:
Melmetal (226 atk) - benchmark to beat is 293.8
Copperajah (226 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
Zacian-Crowned (332 atk) - UNRELEASED)
Kartana (323 atk)
The final type in this analysis, fairy looks to be pretty promising for its Gmax attackers. This was never a question of if the cake is better than the witch, but who can beat the witch the best. Thankfully, its only one thing. That dawg.
Gmax attackers:
Hatterene (237 atk) - benchmark to beat is 308.1 atk
Alcreamie (203 atk)
Benchmark beaters:
Zacian-Crowned (332 atk) - UNRELEASED
The future of Gmax raid investment looks to be extremely type dependant. Some are BIG winners… some we don't talk about. I hope you've enjoyed skipping straight to this text or the TLDR list. Thanks for reading!
Normal - Don't
Fire - Cinderace
Water - Inteleon
Electric -Toxtricity (it will probably take a while for ultra beasts to come to max raids!)
Grass - Rillaboom (again... ultra beasts will likely take a while to come around)
Ice - Don't
Fighting - Machamp
Poison - Don't
Ground - Sandaconda
Flying - Don't
Psychic - Don't
Bug - Don't
Rock - Dont
Ghost - Gengar
Dragon - Duraludon
Dark - Urshifu-Single Strike (Ghost Gengar is probably better tho)
Steel - Copperajah/Melmetal
Fairy - Hatterene
Pokemon stats: https://pokemondb.net/go/pokedex[1][2]
1: https://pokemondb.net/go/pokedex
2: https://pokemondb.net/go/pokedex
Unreleased mon stats: https://pokemondb.net/go/unavailable[3][4]
3: https://pokemondb.net/go/unavailable
4: https://pokemondb.net/go/unavailable
Comment by Rstuds7 at 03/02/2025 at 01:20 UTC
37 upvotes, 1 direct replies
this whole introduction of max battles really got me second guessing upgrading a lot of pokemon that haven’t gotten max forms
Comment by LRod1993 at 03/02/2025 at 01:06 UTC
67 upvotes, 5 direct replies
Pokemon that didn’t appear in sword and shield will likely never get dynamax forms. So you can get rid of any Gen 9 Pokemon or anything that didn’t appear in the sword and shield Pokédexes.
Comment by pranavk28 at 03/02/2025 at 01:28 UTC
24 upvotes, 4 direct replies
These bechmark beaters are mons that we are assuming will get a dmax form right?
Comment by BillNyetheImmortal at 03/02/2025 at 01:40 UTC
10 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Never use XL on something that has a higher form. If you do then you’ll be upset once you go to upgrade those.
Comment by FullmetalDaisy at 03/02/2025 at 01:46 UTC
13 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Nice list! But keep in mind that Zacian and Zamazenta actually cannot dynamax!
Comment by ishtiaq156 at 03/02/2025 at 07:15 UTC*
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
TLDR;
• Best Gmax Investments: Cinderace, Inteleon, Toxtricity, Rillaboom, Machamp, Sandaconda, Gengar, Duraludon, Urshifu-Single Strike, Copperajah/Melmetal, and Hatterene.
• Do Not Invest: Normal, Ice, Poison, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock.
• Potentially Outclassed in Future: Some types have strong unreleased Pokémon that may outshine the Gmax choices in the long run.
Comment by ChexSway at 03/02/2025 at 02:16 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I absolutely love to see archeops clean house here. Hopefully they do release it someday.
Comment by Pokeradar at 03/02/2025 at 01:18 UTC*
18 upvotes, 6 direct replies
Define what you mean by benchmark to beat. I don’t understand that number or where you’re pulling that data from.
Side note: If they allow Crowned Zacian and Zamazenta into the max battles with their additional effects (signature move 2x damage to max mons), they will top the chart in battle. I believe Eternatus also get that signature move’s additional effects as well.
Comment by krispyboiz at 03/02/2025 at 01:31 UTC
11 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It's a little funny (and sad) that G-Max Corviknight is already beaten by Dynamax Max Air Slash Charizard and will also be beaten by the upcoming Dynamax Unfezant.
My only hope with Dynamax is that they do some more unique things with power creep. Obviously we've seen certain types already get launched up to their ceiling or close to it with G-Max Gengar and Toxtricity and Metagross for Steel, even if the G-Maxes will beat it. But I would really like them to let some more unique Pokemon shine, even if just for a bit.
Don't repeat the same power creep stream we saw with PvE originally (curse you Dynamax Machamp and Metagross...), but try some more unique things.
I don't want to see the same old things immediately peaking Dynamax like Tyranitar/Rhyperior for Rock, Mamoswine for Ice, yet at least. I love that we have Cryogonal and G-Max Lapras as our Ice types right now. That's pretty unique. I'd love to see things like Aerodactyl, Sudowoodo, Aerodactyl, Aggron, and Crustle for Rock, Galarian Rapidash, Jynx, and Mr. Rime for Psychic, Absol, Krookodile, and Malamar for Dark, etc. Big bonus points if they're Pokemon that aren't typically used in PvP like Cryogonal.
Comment by QuietRedditorATX at 03/02/2025 at 05:28 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thank you!
This list is super helpful. I don't even know what half of these mons are! but it tells me which current GMax I can focus on maxing without regret (come here Gengar).
Maybe even going to work on my DMax gengar lol.
Comment by mikosoby at 03/02/2025 at 10:49 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Did the same/similar thing two week ago - https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/1i4owij/which%5C_dmax%5C_are%5C_better%5C_than%5C_gmax/[1][2]
2: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/1i4owij/which_dmax_are_better_than_gmax/
Did not have time to improve the spreadsheet yet as there are many points that also appear here that should be included in some way.
Comment by Nikaidou_Shinku at 03/02/2025 at 01:32 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I know Deoxys is not available in Gen 8 but I really hope Dynamax Deoxys Attack would happen in GO
Comment by Therealestkarp at 03/02/2025 at 05:32 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
As several of you have pointed out, yes zacian (and Zamazenta) cannot dynamax in the main series games. That being said, they are explicitly supposed to counter dynamax (see zacians behemoth blade, I predict to be a legacy move in go that would enable crowned form) dealing double damage specifically to max mons. There is a potential to be some implementation of them in max battles in some form, so I will leave them in the analysis for now
Comment by Careless_Minute4721 at 03/02/2025 at 07:03 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
From what I looked up Thundurus, Landorus, and Enamorus don’t learn any of the current Flying type fast moves. Thundur and Lando only have Fly and Acrobatics, which are already charge moves and Go.
Comment by ArthurMedalghes at 03/02/2025 at 07:26 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Thanks! Would be nice to include the stats of currently released dynamax/gigadynamax in the list for comparison to see how close/bad they are.
Comment by darthwii at 03/02/2025 at 13:45 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I wanted to add that by the fact that you added +1%, some edge cases seems to be completely omitted here.
For example, Sandaconda real Benchmark is 260 VS the already available excadrill, that has 255 ATK + 2 fast moves on 0.5s (mud shot and metal claw, respectively). Pretty sure that the mud shot additional DMG during non Dmax phase + the negligible difference on the benchmark already makes Sandaconda obsolete due to Excadrill, I am not so sure onto recommending Sandaconda at all honestly.
I would suggest at least an honorable mention that Excadrill is close to tie with Sandaconda
Comment by SheevTheSenate66 at 03/02/2025 at 03:37 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Zacian can’t dynamax
Comment by Fanantic8099 at 03/02/2025 at 03:27 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This is all speculation because Niantic.
Comment by External_Candle_2980 at 03/02/2025 at 03:26 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I think it is better to use "raw attack+15(iv)" because our attackers have near 15 iv. The difference is about 15*30%=4.5, which is pretty big. Also I recommend you use 450/350 directly rather than 30% to improve accuracy without increasing computational difficulty essentially.
Comment by QuietRedditorATX at 03/02/2025 at 05:34 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I think the one thing you should add is Level 3 DMax move vs Level 2 GMax or so.
For many players, using a level 1 GMax will be more useful than spending a ton of candies into level 3 maybe.
Comment by darkdeath174 at 03/02/2025 at 08:43 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
If Nianitc does Eternamax like Pokemon Masters EX, how would it rank with Eternabeam being it's max move?
Comment by drnobody42 at 03/02/2025 at 09:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Why is Moltres excluded from Flying?
Comment by JMooj at 03/02/2025 at 10:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
And meanwhile, here I was, sick during Gengar raids...
My one hope is that one of my friends eventually goes lucky, needs a GMax Lapras, and has a Gengar they're willing to let go of.
At least until they do re-releases... maybe in a year or two?
Comment by Elastic_Space at 03/02/2025 at 14:33 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Zacian-C should use the latest MSG base stats, which convert to 295 attack in GO.
Comment by _HighnessHuber_ at 03/02/2025 at 15:47 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I was also a little confused about the benchmark beaters section on each type, after reading the comments I’m beginning to grasp it.
To use normal type as the example, a future potential slaking level 3 dmax would be in theory deal more damage than a than a level 3 gmax snorlax, right?
If you can confirm I’ve got my head around that, then the rest of this list will be simple to understand. Please and thank you for the write-up. 🙏