Alright, let’s talk about holding gyms in Pokemon Go. I remember when I first started playing, I’d just throw my highest CP Pokemon into a gym and hope for the best. Seemed logical, right? Strongest Pokemon should last longest. Well, that didn’t really work out too great.
I kept getting kicked out super fast. Like, sometimes within minutes. It got pretty annoying, honestly. I spent all that time taking down a gym just to lose it right away. So I started watching the gyms around my area more closely. I paid attention to which Pokemon seemed to stick around longer when other people put them in.
I noticed a few kept popping up. You’d see the same chunky guys sitting there for hours, sometimes days if the gym wasn’t in a busy spot. It wasn’t always the ones with crazy high attack power either. It seemed like the ones that could just take a hit, over and over, were the real champs.
Figuring Stuff Out
So, I decided to change things up. I stopped just looking at CP. I started thinking about which of my Pokemon felt bulky, the ones that had a ton of health or seemed tough. I didn’t have fancy calculators or anything, just went by feel and what I remembered from battles.
I started trying out different Pokemon I caught. Here’s kind of what I went through:
- Snorlax: This big guy was one of the first I tried who actually worked. He just sits there and takes ages to knock out. Found him pretty reliable early on.
- Blissey: Oh man, Blissey. Once I finally got enough Chansey candies to evolve one, she became my absolute go-to. She just has so much health, it’s ridiculous. People hate fighting her, which is exactly what you want in a defender.
- Chansey: Even before Blissey, Chansey herself wasn’t bad! Still really tanky, just the evolution is way better. Sometimes I’d stick her in if I didn’t have Blissey ready.
- Slaking: This one’s a bit weird. Super high CP, looks intimidating. But he doesn’t attack often between his fast moves. Still, his sheer bulk and CP mean attackers have to spend time on him, especially if people feed him berries. So, I used him quite a bit too.
- Metagross: A bit different, this one hits hard and has good typing, making it awkward for some attackers. Found him to be a solid choice, lasted longer than pure attackers.
- Togekiss: Similar to Metagross, good typing, decent bulk, and annoying for attackers relying on fighting or dragon types. It worked pretty well when I slotted it in.
What I Do Now
So after all that trial and error, watching gyms, and just playing the game, I kinda settled on a core group. My main goal now is just to make it as annoying and time-consuming as possible for anyone trying to take the gym down.
Blissey is almost always my first choice if I have her motivated. Just unbeatable for pure time-wasting. Then I usually go for Snorlax or Slaking because they are also massive pains to defeat. Chansey is a good budget Blissey. If those are taken or I want some type variety, I’ll throw in a Metagross or Togekiss.
It’s not super complicated. Mostly just comes down to finding those Pokemon that can soak up damage and make attackers spend more time and resources. High HP and decent defense stats seem to be the key, way more than just raw attack power. Keeping them fed with berries helps a ton too, obviously. It’s been working way better for me than just chucking in whatever had the highest CP number.
