Water type Pokémon are by far the most represented in the Kanto region. Whether it was deliberate or not, no other type has as many big evolutions, giving you plenty of options when it comes to picking one for your team.
Powerful against Ground, Rock & Fire. The Water type can be most useful in a lot of certain situations. Particularly with a lot of Pokémon having Ground as their secondary typing and we all know how popular the Fire type is.
Grass and Electric moves hit for major damage against Water Pokémon though, you really need to be aware of this. If you’re looking to choose a Water type for your main party of 6, this list will give you everything you need to know about the 10 best Water types in Pokémon Let’s Go!
10. Cloyster
With stats heavily skewed towards physical defense, Cloyster is a niche Water type Pokémon with Ice as its secondary typing. Few creatures have as much physical defense as Cloyster, it’s pretty much immune to physical damage. That’s about as far as its usefulness goes, as a non-existent Special Defense stat make it easy to one-shot, puny offensive stats mean it can’t do much damage.
9. Starmie
Massively under-rated, some players are even starting to use Starmie competitively. In addition to its amazing secondary typing in the form of Psychic, Starmie can learn a variety of moves that are uncommon to find in Water type Pokémon.
Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam and even Flash Cannon can be learned by Starmie. Combine this with its naturally exceptional Speed stats for a devastating offensive Pokémon that can counter almost any type in the entire game.
8. Tentacruel
With stats revolving around Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense, Tentacruel is a good niche Water/Poison type Pokémon. A high Speed stat can give you a huge edge in player battles, as they don’t expect it to be so fast and tanky. Tentacruel is only weak to 3 types, being Ground, Electric and Psychic.
As its able to learn Mega Drain, you can build Tentacruel in a variety of ways but I recommend the “salty tank”. I.e you build for tankiness and have these moves; Toxic, Mega Drain, Sludge Bomb and Surf. This move-set covers most types but the addition of Toxic offers a way around other beefy Pokémon.
7. Golduck
Finally, a pure Water type, although Golduck looks like it could be Psychic too. Easily obtainable with decent stats, this Pokémon can make for a fine party member during the early stages of your play-through. Its stats are varied but are slightly favored towards Sp. Attack and Speed.
Weak to just Grass and Electric attacks, sending Golduck out to battle is almost always a good idea. It’s also capable of utilising a move-set of Psychic, Ice Beam, Surf and Amnesia.
6. Slowbro
Slowbro’s combined stats are lower than the previous few entries but they’re much more define. Incredible Defense, Sp. Defense and Sp. Attack stats work together so well, Slowbro never goes down easily. Piddly Speed stats mean it always gets hit first though.
As well as being a Water type, Slowbro has Psychic for its secondary typing. This does further increase its weaknesses to Bug, Ghost and Dark as well as Grass/Electric. None of the listed types have a good time against this Pokémon though.
5. Gyarados
My personal favorite Pokémon of all time, considered one of the more competitively viable Water type Pokémon in the game. Gyarados is quite bizarre, being Flying type while unable to learn any Flying moves. You’ll want to build a physical move-set, using Waterfall as its Water based move. It can even learn Thunderbolt, Ice Beam and Flamethrower.
You can purchase a Magikarp from an NPC in the Pokémon Center next to the Mt Moon entrance. I got insane luck with this, the Magikarp I obtained had “Amazing” stats, correct ones too!
4. Dewgong
Dewgong is one of those classic Pokémon loved by the entire community, in-game it has a more competent role. A great mixture of tanky and offensive stats make for a good all-rounder, especially with it being Ice type.
You’ll want to focus on Sp. Attack and all defensive stats, to get a Pokémon who is a nightmare to deal with. A varying move-pool does allow for a physical build too though.
3. Poliwrath
Rather easily obtained by using a Water Stone on a Poliwhirl, this Water type Pokémon is the only one to be Fighting type too, at least in this game. Similar to Dewgong in terms of its stats, distribution favor Attack over Sp. Attack though.
Overall you’ll find Poliwrath to be an effective Pokémon, using Waterfall for its physical based Water move. Building up its attack stat as high as you can is recommend, as its other stats are well rounded enough to provide some bulk tankiness!
2. Lapras
With the highest base stat total of any Water type Pokémon in the entire game, Lapras is an excellent choice for your team. Be aware that Lapras is a tank, with an insanely high base HP pool. All other stats are pretty nice, except for its Speed which is relatively low.
Another Water Pokémon with Ice for its secondary typing, it can also learn some Electric, Grass, Bug and even Dragon special attack moves. As you can tell, Lapras is extremely versatile and should always be considered!
Commonly found in Routes 19 and 20. However, you can get one from an NPC in Silph Co, located in Saffron City.
1. Blastoise
You can get a Squirtle relatively early on in the game, in Route 24, just north of Cerulean City. I highly recommend you do, having a Blastoise in your team is pretty damn awesome. Great defensive stats across the board make this Water type Pokémon a force to be reckoned with, even when facing its type counters.
Blastoise’s Attack and Sp. Attack stats are almost identical so you can choose which way you want to build. A special attack version will have the likes of Hydro Pump, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse and Ice Beam. A physical version will likely have Skull Bash, Waterfall, Earthquake and Brick Break.