About this Series
Welcome to my newest series here on Pokémon GO Hub! The Best of Types series aims to help trainers understand which Pokémon are best for each type in the game when it comes to PVE. Through the use of in-depth statistics, defined below, we can make a ranked list. This series will feature an article and an infographic for each type. Each Pokémon in the series must be a pure attacker, meaning their fast and charged attack must be the same type. Credits go to GamePress for the statistics found on this article. Let’s get started!
NOTE: This series also analyses future unreleased Pokémon and what their rank and statistics may be like. This can be found near the end of the article.
Definitions
PVE – Player Vs Environment
PVE means Player vs Environment which involves any battle in-game involving battling against a non-playable character or Pokémon, for example Raid Battles, Gym Battles and Team GO Rocket.
ER – Equivalent Rating
Equivalent Rating is a combination of Total Damage Output and Damage Per Second, and is calculated by the formula DPS^3*TDO.
TDO – Total Damage Output
Total Damage Output is the average amount of damage a Pokémon can deal before it runs out of HP.
DPS – Damage Per Second
Damage Per Second is the average amount of damage a Pokémon can deal per second.
Infographic
Best Dark Types – PVE Rankings
1. Mega Tyranitar
Tyranitar (Mega)
Moveset: Dark Bite & Dark Brutal Swing
ER: 53.55 DPS: 20.29 TDO: 983.6
Mega Tyranitar is the best Dark-type option in the game and is recommended to be used as a Dark-type attacker with Brutal Swing in PVE.
2. Shadow Tyranitar
Tyranitar (Shadow)
Moveset: Dark Bite & Dark Brutal Swing
ER: 48.83 DPS: 20.72 TDO: 638.6
Similarly to Mega Tyranitar, if you plan to use a Dark-type attacker in PVE, Shadow Tyranitar is a top choice.
3. Mega Houndoom
Houndoom (Mega)
Moveset: Dark Snarl & Dark Foul Play
ER: 42.6 DPS: 18.44 TDO: 524.4
Mega Houndoom is a quality choice for a Dark-type attacker in PVE, but is also noteworthy if you don’t have many Fire-type PVE attackers.
4. Tyranitar
Tyranitar
Moveset: Dark Bite & Dark Brutal Swing
ER: 42.2 DPS: 17.11 TDO: 632.8
If you don’t have a Shadow or Mega, regular Tyranitar is still a great option.
5. Hydreigon
Hydreigon
Moveset: Dark Bite & Dark Brutal Swing*
ER: 41.64 DPS: 17.53 TDO: 558.1
Hydreigon is a top quality PVE Dark-type, but you must have it’s Community Day move of Brutal Swing.
6. Mega Gyarados
Gyarados (Mega)
Moveset: Dark Bite & Dark Crunch
ER: 41.35 DPS: 16.24 TDO: 682.3
Mega Gyarados is a great and easily accessible Dark-type PVE attacker, but it is also worth mention it can be used as a high ranked Water-type too.
7. Shadow Weavile
Weavile (Shadow)
Moveset: Dark Snarl & Dark Foul Play
ER: 40.37 DPS: 19.06 TDO: 383.4
Although it is quite fragile defensively, Shadow Weavile is a great Dark-type attacker if you have one.
8. Darkrai
Darkrai
Moveset: Dark Snarl & Dark Foul Play
ER: 38.53 DPS: 16.8 TDO: 464.5
Recently available in 5-Star Raids (as of October 2023), Darkrai is a decent choice for Dark-type attacking.
9. Mega Absol
Absol (Mega)
Moveset: Dark Snarl & Dark Dark Pulse
ER: 38.5 DPS: 18.71 TDO: 335.2
Mega Absol hasn’t been available for a while but is a decent Dark-type attacker for PVE.
Honorable Mentions:
10. Shadow Honchkrow
Honchkrow (Shadow)
11. Yveltal
Yveltal
12. Shadow Houndoom
Houndoom (Shadow)
13. Guzzlord
Guzzlord
14. Zarude
Zarude
15. Shadow Absol
Absol (Shadow)
Future Meta Shake-Ups
Shadow Hydreigon
Hydreigon (Shadow)
There is no doubt that Shadow Hydreigon would rank very highly, with a rank similar to Shadow Tyranitar around 2nd or 3rd.
Shadow Darkrai
Darkrai (Shadow)
It is quite unlikely we will see Shadow Darkrai any time soon, but if we do it would rank 4th/5th in the current Meta.
Shadow Yveltal
Yveltal (Shadow)
Although unlikely, Shadow Yveltal could contest for a Top 5 spot in the current Meta.
Shadow Guzzlord or Zarude
Guzzlord (Shadow)
These 2 are highly unlikely, but would rank between 7th to 9th based on current Meta statistics.
For anyone curious, Mega Sharpedo appears to not perform very well, so I have not given it a mention.
See you all next time. Next in this series is Fairy!
