Is there any way to defend Gyms longer?
While there are some small things you can do, such as picking out the best possible defense team and coordinating with other players to keep Pokémon fed, ultimately, Gyms just aren't set up to be held for long. Sure, anyone can take down any Gym they want. So, the trick becomes making them not want to take down your Gym.
Ideally, you want to work as a team and stack a Gym with the best mix of ultra-tanks and counter-counters as possible. You want to anchor your Gyms with the Pokémon that are the toughest to take down. Some of the best tanks in the game are:
- Blissey
- Snorlax
- Chansey
- Slaking
If you want to optimize for intimidation, especially if you don't mind feeding Golden Razz Berry remotely, then you can go for higher CP and not worry about it. Especially with Slaking. That'll keep the Gym big and tall, further encouraging would-be attackers to keep stepping.
If you want to optimize for longevity, especially if you're low on Golden Razz Berry, you can stick to between 1200 and 1800 CP and hope for the best.
You can also anticipate counters. All of the best defenders have one thing in common — and one weakness in common. They're all Normal-type and so are all vulnerable to Fighting-types.
To help compensate for that, you want to make sure your Pokémon have Psychic-type moves to at least damage the Fighting-types that'll be thrown against them.
- Blissey: Dazzling Gleam
- Snorlax: Zen Headbutt
- Chansey: Dazzling Gleam
- Slaking: Play Rough
Then you want to interweave them with Pokémon that do even more damage to the counters — or the generalists that less tactical players will throw at them. That'll either beat down the attackers or force compromises in the attack teams and/or switching between rounds.
- Dragonite
- Metagross
- Gyarados
- Steelix
If you're working with a team and go to the trouble of stacking a Gym for maximum effect, keep in touch with that team while you're defending. Whether you're using Facebook Messenger, Discord, iMessage, Whatsapp, or something else, coordinate slot filling and Berry feeding to really maximize your defense.
For more specifics, check out our guide for the best move sets and the top 20 Defense Pokémon
