Game Freak broke new ground with the release of Pokemon X and Y in October of 2013. It marked the first time that the gaming giant had a simultaneous release of games across all key regions globally. Additionally, X & Y added, “Mega Evolution,” which allowed 30 fully evolved Pokemon to take an additional step of development.
The important question for fans, however, remained the same. Would the new roster of Pokemon be good? The answer turned out to be “Yes!” The regional Pokedex for Gen 6 was fantastic and turned out to include some favorite creatures in the Pokeverse. Let’s take a look at the strongest Pokemon in X & Y by stats.
Updated September 12, 2024, by Hamza Haq: Finding and capturing the most powerful Pokemon is key to making the journey through a region a smooth one. While most Pokemon games are not meant to be especially difficult by themselves, challenge runs like nuzlockes are a go-to way for veterans to keep playthroughs from getting stale. Not to mention, competitive team building in Pokemon is a complete sport in and of itself. While basing a team on stats isn’t the main way to build these teams or to come out ahead in nuzlockes, knowing which Pokemon are individually the strongest from a purely base stats standpoint does help. Luckily, Pokemon X & Y has an excellent roster for players to choose their team composition.
15 Dragalge
Base Stat Total: 494
Dragalge’s Dragon/Poison typing is excellent both offensively and defensively. With only a 2x weakness to Fighting, it only has trouble with physical Fighting-type moves like Close Combat and Force Palm. It’s incredible Sp. Def stat helps it tank most special attackers in almost every situation. With its abysmally low Speed stat (44), it needs that tankiness to stay in the field for more than a single turn.
Offensively, Dragalge relies on its decent Sp. Attack stat to dish out damage. Its expansive movepool gives it access to incredible moves like Draco Meteor and Sludge Bomb for STAB (Same type attack bonus) and Focus Blast for coverage. Dragalge is also a hazard setter as it can learn Toxic Spikes. Perhaps the best thing about Dragalge is its ability, Adaptability, which increases its STAB bonus from 1.5x to 2.0x, making its already powerful moves even stronger.
Dragalge is a version exclusive Pokemon that can be obtained by fishing with a Super Rod in Route 8, Cyllage City, and Ambrette Town in Pokemon Y. It cannot be encountered in Pokemon X.
14 Pangoro
Base Stat Total: 495
Pangoro is among the best non-legendary offensive Pokemon in X & Y, owing to its staggeringly high Attack stat (124). Its Fighting/Dark typing is excellent at type coverage, allowing Pangoro to deal super effective damage to nearly half of all Pokemon and neutral damage to the rest. The only typing that resists Pangoro’s relentless assault is Fairy.
Fairy type Pokemon are also the scariest opponents for Pangoro to face as their STAB attacks deal 4x damage to it. The other typings it needs to be wary of are Flying and Fighting, both dealing 2x damage.
Movepool-wise, Pangoro has a lot of options. Drain Punch is a must-have, as it heals with every hit and deals decent damage. Bullet Punch is a priority move that always goes first, unless the opposing Pokemon also uses a Priority move of some sort. This gives Pangoro a way of ensuring it doesn’t get outsped in unfavorable matchups. Swords Dance boosts Pangoro’s already stellar Attack stat, increasing it by 2 stages upon use. This, alongside Bullet Punch, can turn Pangoro from a decent offensive Pokemon to a physical sweeper in the blink of an eye, OHKOing entire teams.
Pangoro can only be obtained by evolving a Pancham found in Route 5.
13 Talonflame
Base Stat Total: 499
Fire/Flying is overall a good combination. It gets 6 resistances, an immunity to Ground, 5 types it can hit super effectively, and only 3 weaknesses. The biggest problem with these 2 types is that both of them have extreme difficulties dealing with Rock-types, both offensively and especially defensively, as the Rock weaknesses is a 4x one. When looking at the stats, Talonflame might not seem like much. It’s blisteringly fast at 126 Speed, but it has only a decent Attack stat at best.
Its signature Ability “Gale Wings” however, paints an entirely different picture. It has a basic, but supremely helpful effect, it simply gives all Flying-type moves Priority, meaning they always go first. This was also before this Ability was weakened to only work at full health in Generation 7 onwards, so this Ability really has no drawback. Combine this with the fact that Talonflame has access to strong Flying-type moves like Brave Bird and Acrobatics, this Pokemon does its job very well.
Wild Fletchling are native to Route 2, Route 3, and the Santalune Forest.
12 Hawlucha, Clawitzer, And Aesgislash
Base Stat Total: 500
Hawlucha is very similar to Talonflame in a lot of ways. It’s slightly stronger at the cost of being slightly slower, its type combination of Fighting/Flying is better offensively but worse defensively than Fire/Flying, it even has a somewhat similar Speed based Ability in Unburden, doubling its Speed stat when it loses its item.
Clawitzer is a pure Water-type Pokemon. Pure Water is a great type. It only has 2 weaknesses, and also comes with 4 resistances and 3 strengths. It’s a slow Pokemon, but it has a high Special Attack stat at 120, with decent defenses. By far the best thing about Clawitzer is its amazing Ability called Mega Launcher. This Ability boosts aura and pulse moves by 50%, and Clawitzer can learn Aura Sphere, Water Pulse, Dark Pulse, and Dragon Pulse, all of which receive this benefit.
Aegislash is an absolute powerhouse. It has an amazing type combination in Steel/Ghost, coming with 9 resistances, 3 immunities, and only 4 weaknesses defensively. This ties with Steel/Electric and Steel/Normal for the most resistances a combination can have. Offensively, it can hit 5 types for super effective damage, and no single type can resist Steel and Ghost simultaneously. It has a unique Ability called Stance Change, which changes Aegislash’s stats depending on what move it’s currently using. When using a damaging move, it switches to Blade Forme, which has 140 in both attacking stats. When using King’s Shield, it switches to Shield Forme, having 140 in both defenses instead.
Speaking of King’s Shield, that’s also a very powerful move. It protects the user from any damage on that turn, it always goes first and if the opponent hits Aegislash with a contact move while it’s up, their attack stat will get cut in half. This is one of the best Pokemon to use in a single-player playthrough, as it basically has something for any situation.
Wild Hawlucha can be found on Route 10, wild Clauncher are located on Route 8, Ambrette Town and Cyllage City when fishing with the Good Rod (exclusive to X) and wild Honedge can be found on Route 6.
11 Pyroar
Base Stat Total: 507
Pyroar is a Fire/Normal-type Pokemon, which is a very strong defensive combination. Only 4 weaknesses, 6 resistances, and immunity to Ghost. While offensively it’s not as strong, 4 super effective types and only Rock resisting both STABs isn’t much to complain about. The stats are useful as well, Pyroar has decent HP with high Special Attack and Speed. It even gets a useful Ability in Unnerve, making opponents unable to use Berries while this Pokemon is on the battlefield.
Pyroar does have a pretty big drawback in that its move coverage is sorely lacking. It learns good Special Attacking moves for only the Fire, Normal, and Dark types. If it got more move coverage, it’d be a much better Pokemon.
Pyroar’s first form is known as Litleo, and it can be caught on Route 22.
10 Avalugg
Base Stat Total: 514
Avalugg is a pure Ice-type Pokemon. Unfortunately, it’s also a classic case of “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” While Avalugg’s HP, Attack, and Defense stats are incredible, everything else is so painfully lacking (particularly its Special Defense) that it suffers because of it. None of its Abilities are really noteworthy either. Combing these points with Ice being a terrible defensive type means that you have quite the questionable mix on your hands.
Bergmite can be found in the Frost Cavern north of Dendemille Town, very late into the game. Players can evolve these little critters into Avalugg.
9 Tyrantrum And Aurorus
Base Stat Total: 521
These are the 2 Fossil Pokemon for Gen 6. Tyrantrum is a Rock/Dragon-type Pokemon and Aurorus is a Rock/Ice-type, both sharing a base stat total of 521. These are both very solid choices for your team. They both get 2 good abilities each, have strong offensive typing, good movepools, and well-distributed stats. Their only real drawback is that they both have horrible typing defensively, but if players are fine with this, this duo will not disappoint.
Both the Jaw and Sail Fossils are located at the end of Glittering Cave. Players can only choose one or the other, however. Trainers must take their chosen fossils to Ambrette Town’s lab to revive them.
8 Sylveon
Base Stat Total: 525
Sylveon is a pure Fairy-type Pokemon and the latest eeveelution. It has very good HP, Special Attack, and Special Defense stats. Pure Fairy is also a fantastic type both offensively and defensively.
Cute Charm and Pixilate are both helpful Abilities, with the latter being the better of the two. Sylveon’s biggest drawback is that it lacks variety with its attacking moves, forcing it to use the same types a lot when attacking.
Wild Eevee can be caught on Route 10. Players must level up Eevee with high affection and a Fairy-type move to evolve it into Sylveon.
7 Chesnaught And Greninja
Base Stat Total: 530
Chesnaught is the fully evolved version of Gen 6’s Grass-type starter, Chespin. Greninja is its Water-type equivalent. Chesnaught is a Grass/Fighting-type with its HP, Attack, and Defense stats being pretty high. Its typing is very half-and-half, coming with a lot of resistances and weaknesses. Greninja is a Water/Dark-type with high attacking and speed stats. It’s a decently versatile Pokemon thanks to it being a mixed attacker and having a decent movepool. Protean is also a fantastic ability, giving it an even better offensive edge.
Both Chespin and Froakie are given to the player at the beginning of the game. If players want more of either, they need to trade them in from other games.
6 Gogoat
Base Stat Total: 531
Gogoat is a pure Grass-type Pokemon that acts as a mixed attacker, with really high HP and average to bad defenses. The movepool takes advantage of its mixed attacking stats, as it can learn good moves on both sides. However, pure Grass comes with a lot of weaknesses and Gogoat is on the slow side, so it’s relatively easy to KO.
Wild Skiddo can be found on Route 5, which evolve into Gogoat at level 32.
5 Delphox
Base Stat Total: 534
Delphox is the fully evolved Fire-type starter for Gen 6. While its Fire/Psychic typing gives it 5 weaknesses, its 7 resistances are truly something to appreciate. The stats are fantastic: Delphox is fast, has a very high Special Attack, and can take hits on the Special side very well. It has a decent movepool on top of all of this too, making it a very useful Pokemon.
Fennekin is given to the player right at the start of their journey, which eventually evolves into Delphox. If the player wants more Fennekin, they will need to trade it in from other games.
4 Noivern
Base Stat Total: 535
Noivern is a Flying/Dragon-type Pokemon, and is incredibly fast with a high Special Attack, making it a very reliable offensive threat. Unfortunately, this does come with also being extremely frail. Despite having decent HP, the defenses are lacking. Noivern is also incredibly weak to Ice-type Moves. Its movepool is diverse, however, allowing it to completely take advantage of its offensive focus.
Noibat can be found at either Terminus Cave or Victory Road. Like most Dargon-types, it will take a while to evolve. This Pokemon evolves into Noivern starting at level 48.
3 Florges
Base Stat Total: 552
Florges is a pure Fairy-type Pokemon with some unfortunate aspects. It has excellent stats, featuring incredible Special Attack and Special Defense with some decent HP and pure Fairy is an excellent type. The problem with Florges comes in the form of its movepool and abilities. Its abilities are only usable in Double Battles, making them completely useless in Singles. Furthermore, it has next to no variety offensively, giving it little to no coverage.
Many Wild Flabebe are located on Routes 4 and 7. Players will need a Shiny Stone to fully evolve it into Florges.
2 Goodra, Zygarde, Diancie, Hoopa, And Volcanion
Base Stat Total: 600
This 5-way tie features Gen 6’s Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon, Goodra, and 4 genuine Legendary Pokemon. They all share 600 as their base stat total. Goodra is an excellent Pokemon in general, having a great type, move variety, and stats, although players do have to work hard to evolve it. Zygarde has a great type combination and lovely stats all around. The same qualities are true for Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion as well, making all the Pokemon here worth using.
Wild Goomy can be found on Route 14 and must be taken to level 50 or more in a location that’s raining for it to fully evolve. Zygarde is located at the end of Terminus Cave, which can only be accessed after becoming Champion. Diancie, Hoopa, and Volcanion were all distributed via events and as such, are not currently accessible without hacking.
1 Xerneas And Yveltal
Base Stat Total: 680
These are the mascot Legendary Pokemon for X and Y. Xerneas is a pure Fairy-type, while Yveltal is a Dark/Flying-type. Despite having 680 points to distribute in their stats, both Pokemon use them in the same way. They boast wonderful HP and attacking stats, with everything else being decent at worst. Xerneas can boost its power up to terrifying levels thanks to its ability Fairy Aura and the excellent stat-boosting move that is Geomancy. Meanwhile, Yveltal gets a similar ability in Dark Aura, as well as an HP draining move called Oblivion Wing that allows it to last longer in battle.
The player encounters both these legendary Pokemon during the story of their respective games (X for Xerneas, and Y for Yveltal). This gives trainers a guaranteed battle and capture opportunity with them.