What makes a Pokemon Legendary? Typically the answer is its abilities: Dialga has the power to create and control the temporal world, Celebi can time travel, and Xerneas can share eternal life. Sometime’s it’s their role in history, such as Mew being the ancestor of all Pokemon, or simply their scarcity in numbers, like Jirachi or Silvally.
But there’s no coincidence that so many legendaries have incredible powers that non-legendaries can’t compete with. What makes something legendary is quite often just how powerful and undefeatable it is, and these Pokemon are no exception. How can any trainer leave a dent when their Defense is so high?
10 Cosmoem
While perhaps not the most famous or beloved of legendaries, Cosmoem certainly has one thing going for it, and that’s its Defensive stat. Tied into its Pokedex lore, Cosmoem has a base Defense of 131, as well as a Special Defense of 131. This is because it must keep itself protected while in its cocoon, growing and absorbing starlight in order to one day evolve into Solgaleo or Lunala.
It’s always satisfying to have Pokemon whose stats reflect their character design and personality, and cosmoem is no different, having the hardest shell on earth to prevent anyone disrupting its growing process.
9 Buzzwole
Buzzwole is known for displaying its “out of this world” muscles, but it has the stats to back it up. This Ultra Beast has a base Attack and Defense of 139, higher than many of the Pokemon from Earth. With maxed out EV training and perfect IV stats, Buzzwole’s Defense can reach a maximum of 414, which can help make up for its 4x weaknes to Flying.
Buzzwole has an approximate weight of 735 lbs, making it the heaviest Bug Pokemon to daate. Nobody is sure, however, if the pride over its body is simply boasting, or a more sinister threat.
8 Groudon
One third of Hoenn’s Weather trio, Groudon is a force to be reckoned with. Weighing in at over 2000 lbs and standing at 11'06", Groudon can create continents and land masses with ease, especially when reverted to its Primal form.
After battling with its rival Kyogre, it retreats underground to sleep in magma, which requires a thick skin to be comfortable. Luckily, Groudon’s base Defense is 140, which goes up to a whopping 160 when becoming Primal Groudon.
7 Melmetal
Melmetal is an interesting Pokemon since it was introduced in Generation VII separate from the Alolan Pokedex. Players can only obtain Meltan in Pokemon GO, and evolving it into Melmetal requires 400 Meltan Candies to accomplish.
After evolving, Melmetal can be used for battling in Pokemon GO and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, where it has an impressive 143 Defense and Attack. It can also be used in Pokemon Sword and Shield where it boasts a Gigantamax form capable of using the exclusive move, G-Max Meltdown.
6 Zamazenta
Pokemon Shield’s Zamazenta is one of Galar’s ancient guardians, and it’s no surprise that a Pokemon sworn to defend a land and its creatures would have amazing Defense stats. In its Hero of Many Battles form it has a base Defense of 115, but this goes up to 145 in its Crowned Shield form, which also raises its Special Defense to 145.
Becoming Steel-type obviously offers many advantages to a Pokemon, a fact which several Pokemon in this guide benefit from such as the aforementioned Melmetal. Crowned Shield Zamazenta actually has the highest Defense of all Fighting-type Pokemon.
5 Calyrex
One of Galar’s newest legendaries to be introduced, Calyrex possesses many outstanding powers, such as the ability to heal creatures and make plants bloom. Known as the “High King” Pokemon, it rides on a Pokemon it is bonded with, known to be either Spectrier or Glastrier. This grants Calyrex multiple forms to choose from.
While Shadow Rider Calyrex excels in Special Attack and Speed, Ice Rider Calyrex sports a base Defense of 150, the highest Defense out of all its forms. It makes sense that the sturdier form would be with Glastrier, a steed of solid ice who has a base Defense of 130.
4 Diancie
Born from a fluke transformation of a Carbink, Diancie is known as the Jewel Pokemon and can create diamonds in an instant by compressing carbon with its bare hands. For a Pokemon made of such a strong and unscratchable substance, it makes sense that Diancie’s Defense would be superb.
Before Mega evolving, Diancie’s base Defense stat is 150, coupled with a 150 in Special Defense as well. After Mega Evolution, however, its Defense goes down to 110 in order to boost its Attack, Special Attack and Speed.
3 Registeel
Not only is this Pokemon a powerful Steel-type in its own right, but it was introduced in Generation III to stoke the curiosities of Pokemon players exploring the mysteries of Hoenn. Registeel, like the other legendary titans, has a base stat total of 580, but is the only one of the five to not any base stats of 200.
Instead, Registeel has a split of 150 for both its Defense and Special Defense, making it extremely difficult to take down, especially without having a type advantage.
2 Regirock
The most physically sturdy of all the Regis, Regirock has an astounding 200 base Defense, making the term “solid as a rock” quite literal. It can build its body back after being damaged by finding rocks from wherever it can.
Regirock was said to be locked away by people long ago, and maybe its nearly impenetrable Defenses and lack of any detectable brain or heart were the reason why. To fear the unknown is quite common in human history, so perhaps the same could be said for humans in the Pokemon world.
1 Stakataka
Yes, the legendary with the strongest Defense in the entire series is from another world. Stakataka is an Ultra Beast that consists of many life forms assembled to form a body that is incredible durable and capable of moving. It is the heaviest Rock-type Pokemon at 1807 llbs, no doubt made heavier by its dual Rock and Stype-type combination.
Stakataka’s base Defense stat is 211, meaning that maxed out EVs and perfect IVs would result in an overall Defense stat of 573. This may make Stakataka seem invincible, but it has weak points in its others stats, such as its mediocre HP and abysmal Speed.
