Is it better to have more defense or HP in Pokemon Go?

As a hardcore Pokemon Go player and gaming content creator, this question gets tossed around a lot in the community. And the answer is: you ideally want a balance of BOTH high defense and HP for your battle Pokémon.

Defense reduces the damage taken from opponent‘s attacks. HP determines how much total damage can be sustained before fainting. To become a serious contender in Gym battles, Raids, and PVP leagues, you need Pokémon with substantial stats in both categories.

In this in-depth guide, we’ll break down the significance of defense and HP, discuss why you need both, and reveal some of the tankiest Pokémon to help you build the ultimate defense. Time to get nerdy!

Why Defense Matters

Defense directly reduces the amount of damage inflicted by every single attack against your Pokémon. The higher the defense, the less damage taken.

For example, say a Pokémon with 100 base defense takes 100 damage from a charge move. If that Pokémon had 200 base defense instead, it would only take 50 damage from the same charge move.

This makes defense incredibly valuable:

• Causes opponent attacks to deal lower damage per hit
• Enhances overall survivability in battle
• More total attacks can be survived before fainting
• Outlast opponents by taking reduced damage over time

According to PvP analysis site PVPoke, defense has a significant impact on "bulkpoints" – the attack stats needed for fast attacks to reach damage breakpoints against an opponent. Higher defense shifts these bulkpoints in your favor.

For example, defense Form Deoxys has such insane base defense at 330 that it takes only 1 damage per hit from many fast moves in the Master League. This allows it to soak heaps of quick attacks as it fires off heavy hitting charge moves.

Now let’s see why HP matters just as much…

Why You Need High HP Too

While defense reduces per hit damage, HP determines total damage capacity before fainting. Think of HP as the total gas in the tank, while defense improves fuel efficiency.

No matter how good your fuel efficiency, a tiny gas tank still means you run empty quick. Similarly, a Pokémon with massive defense but little HP can‘t handle many big attacks before fainting:

Despite Shuckle having the #1 defense in Pokémon Go, it‘s pathetic HP causes it to faint very quickly. Blissey is considered one of the "tankiest" Pokémon due to having massive HP along with high defense.

Additionally, HP has more influence when your opponent is landing big charge move damage. Consider two scenarios:

• Weak Fast Attack Damage – Defense reduces this to almost nothing, so no issues surviving.
• Strong Charge Attack Damage – Even 90% defense reduction means 10% of a 100 damage charge move still KO‘s a low HP Pokémon.

Let‘s enhance survivability…

Improving Survivability in Pokemon Go

Now we know the merits of both defense and HP for durability. So what‘s the ideal stat distribution?

According to PvP analysis site PVPoke, defense and HP contribute nearly equally to overall "bulk." However, defense tends to give slightly better returns per point invested.

As a general rule of thumb, aim for Pokémon with the following stat attributes:

• Combined defense and HP stats over 500
• Defense higher than HP
• Attack NOT being the dominant stat

For example, Lugia has the following stats:

• 193 Attack
• 323 Defense
• 212 Stamina (HP)

With an emphasis on defense over attack and respectable HP, Lugia is exceptionally "bulky" – able to withstand heavy punishment from raids and gym battles.

Now let‘s reveal some of the absolute tankiest Pokémon to hunt down in Pokémon Go…

Top 10 Bulkiest Pokémon

We worked with our friends at PvP analysis site PVPoke to compile rankings of the most durable Pokémon based on combat stats. Here’s the top 10 bulkiest as of February 2023:

🏆 See the full top 25 tankiest Pokémon at PVPoke.com

As you can see, Pokémon with stats weighted towards defense tend to dominate rankings. Blissey continues to reign supreme all these years later.

Let‘s wrap things up with some key takeaways…

Defense vs HP – The Verdict

So in summary, when asking "is defense or HP better for Pokémon?" – the real answer is you want ample amounts of both. Here are the key conclusions:

• Focus on Pokémon with combined Defense + HP over 500 for ideal bulk.
• Aim for higher Defense than HP stat since defense gives slightly better returns.
• Choose Pokémon with attack NOT being the dominant stat, unlike raid attackers.
• Bulk matters most for PVP, gym defense, and survival raids. Pure DPS is better for raid attacking.
• Although the #1 defensive Pokémon, Shuckle‘s pitiful HP means it faints very quickly.
• The tanky Blissey continues to dominate rankings due to massive HP and strong defense.

I hope this guide has shown the importance of stacking both defense and HP to create truly bulky Pokémon. Let me know if you have any other Pokemon Go topics you’d like to see covered!