When it first debuted alongside Venusaur and Charizard in October 2024 in Max content, Gigantamax Blastoise was everything a trainer could ask for: a Water attacker that sat top of the list for a few months before Gigantamax Kingler came out, and more notably, a Water tank that remained top-tier for much longer than it being useful as an attacker.
18 months later, though, reality hits Blastoise as hard as the cannonade that it shoots. Of the four Gigantamax Pokémon returning this weekend, Blastoise faces the most uncomfortable challenges in the current meta, and it will be completely understandable if one farms for it for nothing but nostalgic values.
Stats & Role in Max Content: Gigantamax Blastoise
Gigantamax Blastoise
Water
|
|
|---|---|
| Max CP | 2788 |
| ATK | 171 |
| DEF | 207 |
| HP | 188 |
| Weak to |   |
| Resists |     |
| Fast moves |
|
| Max Move |
|
– 1.5sNone of Gigantamax Blastoise stats particularly stand out, with its ATK value of 171 hurting it badly as a Water-type attacker even with a higher multiplier due to its Gigantamax form. While it has somewhat decent DEF and HP values, not having any x2 or x3 resistance for any typing does make our beloved Kanto starter lose out to the niche tanks that have been filling up the roster in Max content over the years.
Gigantamax Blastoise as an Attacker: Never Its Strong Point
Gigantamax Blastoise deals Water-type damage through G-Max Cannonade, however, with a base ATK value of only 171, even with the Gigantamax multiplier, it is still a very uncomfortable story when it is put to comparison with other Water-type damage dealers in both Dynamax and Gigantamax forms.
Gigantamax Inteleon, the current #1 Water-type attacker, sits a whopping 53% ahead of Blastoise in damage output. That is not a small gap like Charizard vs. Cinderace; it is a seriously significant one. Even Gigantamax Kingler, the current #2 Water-type attacker, who was released more than a year ago into Max content, still out-damages Blastoise by 40%. The situation is even worse when even Dynamax options out there, including Urshifu (Rapid Strike) and Kabutops, still manage to deal more, or equal damage to the Gigantamax form of Blastoise. It is safe to say, without even having to look into the future, that the Kanto starter is already badly outclassed in the current meta, and should not be used as an attacker.
| Water | ||
| Ranking | Pokémon | Damage Output
vs. G-Max Blastoise |
| 1 |
Gigantamax Inteleon
|
+53% |
| 2 |
Gigantamax Kingler
|
+40% |
| 3 |
Rapid Strike Urshifu
Dynamax
|
+16% |
| 4 |
Dynamax Kabutops
|
– |
| 5 |
Gigantamax Blastoise
|
– |
Gigantamax Blastoise as a Tank: Still Useful, But Will Soon Be Off-Meta?
If a trainer farms for Gigantamax Blastoise, it should be for its role as a tank in the current tank meta. With 207 DEF, the highest of the four returning GMax starters, and 188 HP, Blastoise is the bulkiest defender option in this weekend’s lineup. Its Water typing grants resistances to Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water. Blastoise also has access to two 0.5s animation Fast Moves in Water Gun and 
Bite, allowing it to charge up the Max Meter as effectively as a proper tank should.
Among the Pokémon that are available in the current Max meta, Blastoise ranks particularly high vs. every of one the 4 typings it resists, staying in the top 10 tank choices for each of them. In the future, however, Blastoise will unfortunately rapidly loses its standings, falling down to top 50 vs. Steel and Ice-type, and much further down vs. Fire and Water-type attacks.
|
Gigantamax Blastoise
Water
Ranking by Type-Resistance |
|
| Type | Ranking (as of 2026) |
| Fire | #10 |
| Ice | #10 |
| Steel | #6 |
| Water | #8 |
Verdict
Among the four Kanto Gigantamax Pokémon that will return this weekend, Gigantamax Blastoise is probably, and unfortunately, the most skippable of the four. Its usefulness as an attacker is essentially gone, and as a tank, while it is still useful, it is outperformed by cheaper or more accessible alternatives in most matchups. Suicune, Latias, and the Crowned duo can all cover similar defensive niches more effectively.
That said, Blastoise is not without value. Its #6 Steel-type tank ranking is its most redeeming feature, and trainers who lack Crowned Shield Zamazenta or Dynamax Metagross may find a powered-up Gigantamax Blastoise filling that spot nicely.
The recommendation here is conditional: if you already have a strong Blastoise from a previous run, there is honestly little need to farm for it again this weekend, unless you are looking for a higher IV shiny copy. If you have never built one, catching and investing in one may be worthwhile, but it should rank behind Gengar, Charizard, and Venusaur in terms of how you allocate your limited 3-hour Max particle resources.
