Pokemon Go CP: Which Pokemon is the very best?

If you’re a Pokemon Go player, you’re no doubt paying sharp attention to the CP number associated with every Pokemon you catch. While combat in the game is still evolving, brute force has emerged as a more important aspect of engagement than type differences. Speed is important as well, but CP ratings are a pretty fair indicator as to which Pokemon will come out on top in an engagement. But which Pokemon are currently the most powerful?

See Also:

• What your Pokemon Go Team says about you
• Pokemon Go beta-testing new and improved tracker

For lower and mid-range players, capping out CP isn’t as important of an issue. You can only catch naturally high-CP Pokemon if you’re a pretty high level player – think the 20-30 range – so this topic is really more important for players who are looking to bulk out their dream team in the late game.

Each Pokemon species has a Max CP, meaning that even the most powerful wild Pokemon caught by a high level player won’t exceed this figure. The Pokemon with the highest Max CP is, of course, Mewtwo, who clocks in at 4145.

According to GamePress, most of the very highest ranked Pokemon aren’t even available in the game yet. Dragonite is sitting pretty in second place with 3500, but the next three in the lineup are Mew, Moltres, and Zapdos.

That’s right: Moltres is the most powerful of the Legendary Birds. Articuno clocks in all the way at the 9th ranking position beneath Snorlax, Arcanine, and Lapras. But hey, I guess Niantic had to throw Team Valor a bone since their player-base is composed entirely of reprobates and ne’erdowells.

Check out GamePress’s sortable list to see where your favorite Pokemon falls on the CP scale. For you Magikarp fans out there, sorry, but your splashy little friend rides at the very bottom and even if you churn out the 400 candies to get a Gyarados, the mighty sea monster unfortunately doesn’t even crack the top ten.