Typing Review: An Overview of Ground Types for Raids in Pokemon Go

The current top Ground Type attackers in the game are already outlined in our Best Attackers by Type list, linked above, so we recommend that you take a look at that to get a better list-breakdown. But to make things a bit easier on us, here's the list of the current candidates that we'll be working with in this article:

Ground is an interesting type. On the release of Pokemon Go, types weren't really utilized for Super Effective damage much due to the relatively low power of the Super Effective boost and the relatively high power of the STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) multiplier. This means that powerhouse types like Dragon pretty much ruled the game with their overwhelming relative power and outstanding neutral coverage. Ground Types... basically didn't exist in those days. Ground had some of the weakest attacks in the game, with Earthquake coming up substantially weaker than what we have now while still holding the title of best Ground Type Charged Move. This was a type that was aggressively ignored by Niantic for a very long time, only given small increases in power as time went on, usually demonstrated by incremental buffs to Earthquake from time to time. And while we had powerful attackers like Groudon and Rhyperior rise in these days, it really wasn't until Shadow Garchomp dropped that the type started to genuinely shine. And it wasn't until Primal Groudon's release that it absolutely skyrocketed.

Right now, Ground is considered one of the strongest types in the game in terms of raid performance. This is due to the type's wide Super Effective coverage combined with the tremendous power of Primal Groudon looming over the meta from on-high. This presence is compounded by the fact that Primal Groudon doesn't even need to be on the field to boost its fellow Ground Types, simply on the same team. This alone means that the damage output on the top Ground Types goes from great to oppressive in many cases, especially in clear weather.

Right now, Ground is a pretty varied type, with the top attackers all sporting different advantages and disadvantages to help differentiate them from one another. For example; Shadow Excadrill's frail, but its Steel sub-typing makes it potentially outstanding depending on the moveset that it's facing. Shadow Rhyperior has titanic natural bulk, but a Rock sub-typing that can leave it vulnerable to a lot of common moves. Shadow Mamoswine has high average performance, but is fairly frail and has to carry around an Ice sub-typing that leaves it vulnerable to multiple types that it would otherwise be able to counter very effectively, like Steel and Fire. Shadow Garchomp has outstanding general performance, with a Dragon sub-typing that gives it a lot of extra resistances, but it's also going to drop very quickly against common Ice Type movesets while also fearing Dragon and Fairy moves. Groudon is a vanilla Ground Type, which has its own advantages, and its sheer power also makes it fairly competitive with the Shadows that rule the type. Lanrorus - Therian has very, very few weaknesses thanks to its Flying sub-typing, but like Shadow Garchomp, it's got to be very careful of Ice Type coverage. And the list goes on, from here, with each of the main competitors sporting some unique trait that makes them unique and powerful in a given situation. This mixed-bag of top attackers gives Ground one of the most varied sets of Pokemon that stand at its forefront, giving players a number of viable Pokemon to choose from....

...except with Mega Evolutions. Just stick with Primal Groudon.

As of the publishing of this article, we currently have access to 14 different Ground Type attacks, divided into 3 Fast Moves and 11 Charged Moves.

The Good Moves

Ground Types simultaneously got a bad and great deal by way of Fast Moves. This is because we only have a grand total of 3 Ground Type Fast Moves in the game, but at the same time every natural Ground Type Fast Move is genuinely good! In this case, we have Mud Shot and Mud Slap. Mud Shot offers superior energy generation, and is the move of choice for frail attackers that rely on racking up Charged Moves as quickly as possible to put out high damage. Mud Slap, meanwhile, hits harder, and tends to score higher total average damage for bulkier attackers that can rack up more Fast Move hits. That said, they're both legitimately fine, and can work on any Ground Type Pokemon regardless of their stats.

For Charged Moves, nothing beats Precipice Blades. It's a move with huge damage output backed by good usability, and it is the move that ensures the sheer dominance of Groudon and its Primal Reversion. Next up is the newly released Scorching Sands, which hits very hard and actually rivals Precicpice Blades to a certain degree, though it's definitely still a bit weaker. Still, its far wider distribution is legitimately great. Next is High Horsepower, which has great average damage output despite only being single-bar. A bit behind that is Earth Power, which has stronger distribution and has the advantage of being 2-bar, making it less likely to waste energy. Drill Run is next, and it's basically a slightly worse Earth Power, which is still fine. Finally, Earthquake is the original big-name Ground Type move, as we've already discussed. It's had... a dubious past, but it's actually pretty good now. It suffers from the typical one-bar move issues, but it's still fine.

The Bad Moves

Did you happen to catch that, when mentioning the good Ground Type Fast Moves above, the wording chosen is "every natural Ground Type Fast Move is genuinely good"? Yup, it's time to take another look at Hidden Power (Ground). Weaker stats and a legitimately annoying randomness factor that players can't actually effect beyond "catch another Pokemon and try again" mean that Hidden Power is, once again, a bad move.

For bad Charged Moves, we've got Mud Bomb, Dig, Bulldoze, Bone Club, and Sand Tomb. Honestly, there's not much interesting to say about these moves aside from "they're not great".

Currently Unreleased Ground -Type Pokemon

Currently Unreleased Ground-Type Moves

• Bone Rush**
  • Marowak
• Bonemerang*
  • Marowak, Alolan Marowak
• Fissure
• Headlong Rush
• Judgment*
  • Arceus
• Land's Wrath*
  • Zygarde
• Magnitude
• Mud Sport
• Multi-Attack*
  • Silvally
• Rototiller
• Sand Attack
• Sandsear Storm*
  • Landorus
• Shore Up**
  • Palossand
• Spikes
• Stomping Tantrum
• Thousand Arrows*
  • Zygarde
• Thousand Waves*
  • Zygarde

​*: Signature Move
**: Formerly a Signature Move

The Non-Threats

Aside from the Pokemon that aren't fully evolved, we can pretty safely rule out Silvally, Sandaconda, Toedscruel, Arceus, and Ting-Lu due to a lack of strong stats or good moveset potential.

For Signature Moves that probably won't pan out in the future (if we get them at all), we have Multi-Attack, Bonemerang, and Judgment. This is because of low stats, odd moves, or other issues with the Pokemon that can utilize them.

On that note, Pokemon frequently gain access to moves that aren't signature but that bring them into viability regardless. This means that even our low-priority list isn't 100% safe, as they're simply the least likely to see new viability in the future given what we currently know.

The Existing Threats

Pokemon in this section have already been released into Pokemon Go, but their future is still bright. Due to moveset updates or other bonuses, they have the potential to rise on the list to varying degrees.

Note that we may treat select unreleased Mega Evolutions and alternate formes as Existing Threats, where applicable, due to their base-formes already existing in-game.

The Future Threats

These are the Pokemon that we don't currently have in-game, but have the potential to join our Top Attackers by Type list if Niantic does them justice. Note that this list won't necessarily order Pokemon according to their potential, as we will take likelihood of a good implementation into consideration as well.

The Looming Shadows

Shadow Groudon is coming. We already have Shadow precedent for the Box Legendaries, and Shadow Groudon will absolutely wreck the meta, basically crushing everything else under the massive weight of its sheer offensive presence. Seriously; nothing can stand up to this monster.... save Shadow Landorus - Therian. If Landorus is given access to a strong Signature Move like we outlined above, then it could take the crown even from Shadow Groudon due to its huge base Attack stat. Shadow Landorus - Incarnate could also be good, but it will still lag behind its better forme.

Of course, all of the above still pale in comparison to Primal Groudon, for the record.....

The Gigantamax Factor

While not extremely likely, it's possible that Niantic could release the Dynamax/Gigantamax system first introduced in Generation 8/Galar into Pokemon Go. For those unaware, this system turns Pokemon giant, gives them new/overpowering moves, and grants a tremendous HP boost while active. And while the release of this feature isn't super likely, we thought it best to at least list the possible candidates with unique formes just to cover all bases, so these are all of the Ground Type Pokemon with a Gigantamax forme:

• Gigantamax Sandaconda

As we've already covered, Ground is a massively powerful type that will tend to out-perform most of its competition due to just how great the top attackers for the type are. However, there is still room for improvement. The best generally-available Ground Type Charged Move is Scorching Sands, but it's not quite as strong as some of the titanically powerful generally available moves from other types, like Shadow Ball or Brutal Swing. And while the list of unused Ground Type moves isn't extremely long, it definitely still has room to expand. This means that we could see some changes... just don't expect anything to dethrone Primal Groudon.

When it comes right down to it, what Ground needs the most right now is more Fast Moves. All of the top Ground Type Fast Moves are nothing but the Pokemon slinging mud around, which doesn't exactly inspire awe.... imagine the magma Godzilla that is Primal Groudon rising from a volcano with a roar, only to... start hurling mud around. Even if only on a par with Mud Shot and Mud Slap, maybe something like Magnitude would work well as a means to give Ground something a bit more on-theme, and maybe a bit more power, as well?

Either way, Ground is actually pretty secure in the future. Outside of theoretical large-scale changes to movesets, this is probably one of the most secure types in the game as far as future-proofing goes. The most likely big changes in the future are Shadow Groudon, Shadow Landorus - Incarnate, and Landorus' Signature Move, if Niantic ever sees fit to make it available. And while any of the above would shak eup the type, these Pokemon are already top recommendations for Ground Type investments, so we're not super likely to see major shifts in the future.