What Is the Strongest Pokémon? Stats, Lore and Battle
Eternamax Eternatus hits 1,125 BST but can't be used. The strongest usable Pokémon are Mega Mewtwo X/Y and Mega Rayquaza at 780. Arceus leads base forms.
There are three honest answers to “what is the strongest Pokémon,” and which one is right depends on the metric. By raw base stat total, Eternamax Eternatus sits at 1,125, but it only exists inside Sword and Shield’s story and can’t be used in normal play. The strongest Pokémon you can actually battle with are Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Rayquaza, tied at 780. Strip out Mega Evolutions and alternate formes and the answer is Arceus at 720, which also happens to be the creator figure in Pokémon myth.
Key takeaways
Pick a metric, get an answer
“Strongest” is a word people use for four different things: the biggest number on a stat sheet, the character the games treat as a god, the Pokémon that wins tournaments, and the one that can actually be caught and used. Here’s how each metric resolves.
| If you mean | The answer is | BST | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest number anywhere | Eternamax Eternatus | 1,125 | Story only, never usable |
| Strongest you can battle with | Mega Mewtwo X / Y, Mega Rayquaza | 780 | Needs Mega Evolution enabled |
| Strongest without Megas | Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon | 770 | Orb item required |
| Strongest base form | Arceus | 720 | Mythical, event or story |
Totals from the accepted answer on PokéBase, listed as accurate as of January 2026.
How far apart are these numbers, really?
Base stat total is a blunt tool, and the gaps at the top are smaller than the headline numbers suggest. Run the arithmetic on the sourced totals above and the whole top of the chart sits inside a narrow band.
From Slaking at 670 to the Mega trio at 780 is a gap of 110 points, about 16 percent. Arceus to the Mega trio is 60 points, roughly 8 percent. One well-placed type advantage is worth far more than that. The 1,125 figure is the only genuine outlier, and it’s the one you can never use.
Why Arceus is the lore answer
Arceus is the Alpha Pokémon, called “The Original One” in Sinnoh myth. Wikipedia’s Arceus page describes it as the god of Pokémon, said to predate the universe, hatching from an egg in an empty place and using its many arms to shape the world. Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are its creations, as are the lake guardians Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf. Giratina was banished to the Distortion World and is written as bearing a grudge against its maker.
Its ability backs the story up. Multitype is unique to Arceus: hold a Plate or a type-specific Z-Crystal and Arceus becomes that type, across all 18 of them, with its signature move Judgment changing to match. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Legend Plate goes a step further and lets it shift type mid-battle to hit a weakness, reverting to Normal when the fight ends. A stat spread of 120 across the board, with 18 possible typings, is the mechanical version of “made the universe.”
Mega and Primal forms are the practical ceiling
If you want the biggest number you can legitimately bring into a battle, it’s 780, shared three ways between Mega Mewtwo X, Mega Mewtwo Y and Mega Rayquaza. Mega Zygarde, added with Legends: Z-A, sits just under that at 778. Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon take the next band at 770 if Mega Evolution is excluded.
The catch is availability. These forms only exist where the game supports them. Mega Evolution has been back in the spotlight since Pokémon Legends: Z-A launched on Switch 2 and Switch on October 16, 2025, which The Pokémon Company’s press release built around rogue Mega Evolutions in Lumiose City and introduced Mega Dragonite. The same release confirmed Pokémon Champions for 2026 on Switch 2, Switch, iOS and Android. Treat anything beyond those confirmations as reported rather than final.
Why Eternamax Eternatus doesn’t count
Eternamax Eternatus has the highest base stat total in the series at 1,125, and it is useless to you. The form appears in Sword and Shield’s climactic fight and cannot be obtained in legitimate play, so it never enters a battle you control. It’s a scripted boss stat line, not a Pokémon you raise.
That’s why most serious “strongest” lists quietly filter it out. It’s also worth knowing that some ranking sites exclude Mega Evolutions entirely, which is how you end up seeing Arceus listed at number one on one page and Mega Rayquaza on another. Neither is wrong. They’re answering different questions.
What’s the strongest non-Legendary Pokémon?
Slaking, at 670. That’s the highest total once Legendaries, Mythicals, Mega Evolutions and alternate formes are off the table, and it beats the pseudo-Legendary club at 600, which includes Dragonite, Salamence, Tyranitar, Metagross, Hydreigon and Garchomp.
Slaking also carries the best-known downside in the series. Truant makes it loaf around on alternate turns, so it attacks roughly every other turn. Our rough math: across six turns, Slaking gets about three attacking turns to Garchomp’s six, which means its 670 has to do double duty to break even against a 600 that moves every turn. That’s an illustration of the trade-off, not a damage calculation. The point stands either way. Base stat total measures potential, not output.
Is the strongest Pokémon the best in battle?
No, and this is where stat charts and competitive play part ways. Official formats restrict Legendaries and Mythicals by regulation set, which is why ladder and tournament rankings rarely look anything like a base stat list. Speed tiers, typing, item access and what the rest of your team needs decide matches. If you want rankings built on an actual format rather than raw stats, our Pokémon Champions tier list is scoped that way.
Pokémon GO is a separate system again. It uses CP and its own stat conversion rather than main-series base stat totals, so a strongest-by-BST ranking doesn’t transfer. Our guide to the Eevee evolutions in Pokémon GO shows how different those numbers look in practice.
Our take: if someone asks you cold, say Arceus. It’s the strongest standard form at 720, it’s the creator in the lore, and it’s the answer that doesn’t need three asterisks. If they push for the biggest usable number, it’s 780 and there’s a three-way tie.
Questions people ask
Is Arceus stronger than Mewtwo?
In base form, yes. Arceus sits at 720 against Mewtwo’s standard 680. But Mega Mewtwo X and Mega Mewtwo Y both reach 780, which puts them above Arceus whenever Mega Evolution is available in that game or format.
What is the highest base stat total in Pokémon?
Eternamax Eternatus at 1,125, per the accepted PokéBase answer current as of January 2026. It only appears in Sword and Shield’s story and cannot be used in regular battles, so most rankings treat 780 as the real ceiling.
Does a higher base stat total mean a Pokémon always wins?
No. Base stat total ignores typing, abilities, moves, held items and speed order. Slaking’s 670 is undercut by Truant, and plenty of 500-total Pokémon beat 600-total ones through a type advantage or by moving first.
Which Pokémon have 600 base stat total?
The pseudo-Legendary group, each a three-stage line totalling 600: Dragonite, Tyranitar, Salamence, Metagross, Garchomp and Hydreigon, with later generations adding to the club. They’re the strongest Pokémon most players will actually build a team around.
Cassia Fenwick
Cassia Fenwick is a staff writer at Console Alley, covering console gaming from the latest hardware questions to the games players return to for years. Her work moves across news, practical guides, reviews, gaming gear, and the wider culture around games. Whether she is breaking down a new console feature or explaining a mechanic in a familiar favorite, she writes with a straightforward goal: help readers understand what matters and what to do next. She pays particular attention to the small details that shape the playing experience. A controller compatibility rule, a battery-life setting, a difficult-to-find resource, or a change introduced by a game update can make the difference between a frustrating evening and a rewarding one. Her published coverage includes Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 questions, Terraria, Stardew Valley, and The Sims 4, with explanations that welcome readers who may be discovering a game for the first time or returning after time away. Cassia's style is clear, patient, and grounded in practical examples. Rather than assuming readers already know the terminology, she begins with the question at hand, adds the context that genuinely helps, and keeps instructions easy to follow. She is interested not only in how a feature works, but also why its design matters—especially when a small interaction, interface decision, or unexpected mechanic changes how a game feels. Outside her gaming coverage, Cassia enjoys colorful postcards, making books, and noticing the shapes, colors, and details built into everyday objects. That curiosity carries naturally into her writing, where overlooked features and thoughtful design can provide a fresh way to look at a game. Her aim is for every article to be useful on its own: approachable enough for a newcomer, specific enough for someone looking for a quick answer, and enjoyable enough to leave readers with something new to explore.
