Best Ground-type attackers in Pokémon Go

Ground-type Pokémon are just one of 18 different types in the world of Pokémon Go. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses and best Pokémon. Some, like Ground, are more effective against the rest of the field than others.

As such, it's important to know the best Ground-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go. Given that they are super-effective against Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock and Steel-type Pokémon, this is a type you’ll want on top of. But, as always, some are worthy of your time, Candy and Stardust, and others are not.

So, to make life easy for everyone, I've split this page into multiple sections, including an overview of what Ground-type Pokémon are, the best Legendary Ground-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go and the best non-Legendary Ground-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go, including a brief analysis of each.

On this page:

• Best Legendary Ground-type Pokémon
• Best non-Legendary Ground-type Pokémon
• What are Ground-type Pokémon?

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Best Ground-type Legendary Pokémon

With so many different Ground-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go, it is getting incredibly difficult to know which ones you can rely on. Fortunately, there are only three Legendary Ground-types in Pokémon Go, with the fourth (Ting Lu) unreleased.

Level for level, is a perfect Groudon better than a perfect Landorus – and even then, which Lando is better of the two? How do the two dual-types Garchomp and Excadrill compare? Who is the best Ground-type in Master League? As always, the strongest Pokémon depends on the situation, which is why our lists below come with a brief note for each Pokémon, telling you where and how it is useful.

As with our list of best Pokémon in Pokémon Go, we’re going to avoid covering Shadow Pokémonand Mega Pokémon. Including them would pretty much knock everything else out of this list. If you want to read more about either of those, you can check out our best Shadow Pokémon and best Mega Pokémon in Pokémon Go guides.

And finally, it's also worth adding that this is an editorialised list of Pokémon - it's not strictly the Pokémon that throw the biggest punches.

Here’s a breakdown of the best Ground-type Legendary Pokémon:

Groudon

• Groudon types: Ground
• Groudon weaknesses: Grass, Ice and Water
• Main use: Master League, Raids

As the creator of the land, Groudon is the quintessential Ground-type Pokémon. This bears through in Pokémon Go where it becomes one of the most powerful Pokémon in the game as its Primal Evolution.

But while Primal Groudon is simply terrifying, regular Groudon is just very good. It’s the second-best base-level Ground-type from a pure damage standpoint, but its potential is second to none. It’s also a demon in Master League, coming in third for its type after the Dragons Garchomp and Zygarde Complete.

Essentially, you should take every chance to farm its Candy you can get, and if it’s in raids with Precipice Blades – the move that makes this uniquely terrifying – you should do your best to pick up one with high IVs you can max out.

Therian Landorus

• Landorus types: Ground/Flying
• Landorus weaknesses: Ice (2x) and Water
• Main use: Raids

Lando Catrissian, as Therian Landorus is also known, is the more powerful of this Legendary Pokémon’s two forms thanks to its slightly higher Attack stat and its access to the ultrapowerful move Sandsear Storm. It even outperforms a regular Groudon with Precipice Blades from a pure damage perspective. Given that Ground Pokémon wreck the most other types (tied with Fighting), this is one you’ll want to max out.

Incidentally, Lando is pretty decent in Master League, but its double-weakness to Ice is a huge liability in the land of Dragons. If you’re exposing yourself to that level of weakness, you may as well just run Garchomp… But if you do max one out and want to give it a spin in PVP, teach it Stone Edge as a second move.

Zygarde

• Zygarde types: Dragon/Ground
• Zygarde weaknesses: Ice (2x), Dragon and Fairy
• Main use: Master League

We were tempted to leave this Pokémon out, out of spite for how annoying it is to get, but then we’d have a list of two Pokémon. So, begrudgingly, meet Zygarde Complete. A decent Pokémon locked behind such a god-awful mechanic that only the most dedicated Trainers will even consider putting the work in.

For those of you do have the time/tenacity to get this Pokémon, well done, you deserve to win at Master League. Zygarde Complete is the third-best (wait, seriously, after all that??) Ground-type in Master League after Shadow and regular Garchomp...

Hey, look, at least we have a Mega coming at some point. What’s the bet that they give everyone a Zygarde Complete when they do that, though? I hate Routes enough to bet on it happening, so I’ll be waiting and hoping.

The Mega Squads event sees the release of Maschiff! Want to know what's happening this month? Then take a look at the September schedule. Don't forget to keep an eye out for both the rarest Pokémon and the best Pokémon in your travels.

Best Ground-type non-Legendary Pokémon

As a rule of thumb, Legendary Pokémon are typically stronger than non-Legendary Pokémon. However, if things were that simple you wouldn’t be here.

Some pseudo-Legendries and even the odd regular Pokémon can go toe-to-toe with even the most famous Pokémon, and there are some excellent pseudo-Legendary Grounds out there - Garchomp, for example, is the top Ground-type in Master League and third best for this type overall.

Given that maxing out a non-Legendary Pokémon is generally cheaper than doing the same for a Legendary, it’s good to know how they stack up when a more budget version is available.

Again, this is an editorialised list of Pokémon, not simply those who have the biggest attack stats.

Here's a breakdown of the best Ground-type non-Legendary Pokémon:

Garchomp

• Garchomp types: Dragon/Ground
• Garchomp weaknesses: Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ground and Ice
• Main use: Master League, Raid attacker

Garchomp is one of the coolest pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in the game. And given how powerful this land shark dragon thing is, it’s easily one of our top picks. Mega Garchomp second only to Primal Groudon as a Ground-type attacker and a top-five Dragon-type attacker. Excluding Megas though, regular Garchomp is still a top-three pick for Ground types with Mud Shot and Earth Power.

In short, this Pokémon is top-tier and you should focus on maxing one out. It’s much cheaper than Groudon to level up and offers similar results at both the regular and Mega/Primal levels.

But wait, there’s more: Shadow and regular Garchomp are the top two Ground-type Pokémon in Master League using the above moveset. We love this Pokémon and really can’t recommend it enough.

Excadrill

• Excadrill types: Ground/Steel
• Excadrill weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Ground and Water
• Main use: Raid attacker

Excadrill already has a lot going for it: a great type combination, a boat load (10!) of resistances, a high attack stat and a brilliant moveset. The fact that it has a Mega in the pipeline is just extra gravy on an already full gravy train…

As such, this is an excellent Raid attacker that’s well worth your Candy and Stardust.

As far as PVP goes, its stat spread makes it a little awkward – essentially a worse Galarian Stunfisk – so we’d recommend just using this as a Raid counter.

Rhyperior

• Rhyperior types: Ground/Rock
• Rhyperior weaknesses: Grass (2x), Water (2x) Fighting, Ground, Ice and Steel
• Main use: Team Go Rocket, Raids, Gym Defence

Rhyperior is an essential part of your Pokémon Go toolbelt. It’s the top non-Mega Rock-type attacker and a very good Rock-type to boot. It excels at Gym defence and is part of our recommended team for taking down Rocket bosses. If you have a high IV Rhyperior, you should look to max it out.

So, what can’t this Pokémon do? It’s not great at PVP, though it’s passable in Master League with the above moves – just make sure you plan for its two double-weaknesses.

Mamoswine

• Mamoswine types: Ice/Ground
• Mamoswine weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, Grass, Steel and Water
• Main use: Raids

Mamoswine has long been one of the budget work horses (mammoths?) of Pokémon Go. It’s relatively easy to get and max out, and it’s a top-tier Ice-type attacker for Dragon-type raids.

But it’s also a very good Ground-type attacker, as you’d expect seeing it on this list. It’s one of those budget Pokémon you’d be happy to see any high-level Raid.

What are Ground-type Pokémon?

In order to save you from having to remember it, here's a breakdown of the Ground typing in Pokémon Go.

Ground-type explained

• Type: Ground
• Weak to: Grass, Ice and Water
• Resistant to: Poison and Rock
• Very resistant to: Electric
• Super effective against: Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock and Steel
• Not very effective against: Bug and Flying
• Boosted by: Sunny weather

Note: Unlike in the main series games, there is no Immunity in Pokémon Go! Ground is very resistant to Electric-type moves, but it is not immune.

Good luck finding the most powerful Ground-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go!