An underrated stat in the competitive Pokemon scene is Special Defense. This stat, which was once joined with Special Attack to make a general “Special” stat, will guard against those powerful Special moves, giving your Pokémon a leg-up against Special Attackers like Psychic-Types and the dreaded Fairy-Type.

But, which Pokemon excel in Special Defense? Typically, those with higher Special Attack than Physical Attack will be better in Special Defense as well. But, some have much higher Special Defense stats than others. Here are the all-time record-holders for highest Special Defense.

Note: Eternamax Eternatus is not currently attainable and is omitted from this list. If it were attainable, its Special Defense stat of 250 would make it the top entry.

Updated December 5th, 2020 by Johnny Garcia: The world of Pokemon seems like it will never stop growing. With Generation VIII, plenty of new Pokemon have entered the playing field, some standing at the top of the metagame as massive threats. The Crown Tundra expansion keeps the trend intact, and the Generation is growing ever closer to having a proper National PokeDex. A Let’s Go game for Generation II is expected to be announced, and as always rumors of Generation IV remakes are rumbling.

15 Blissey

Blissey is probably the most well-known Pokemon when it comes to being defensive. It has the highest HP stat of any Pokemon by a mile, with the only Pokemon coming close to it is its pre-evolution Chansey. This high HP is matched with a high Special Defense stat as well, sitting at a fantastic base of 135.

All of this makes Blissey one of the bulkiest Pokemon out there. It’s the most popular Pokemon for stall teams, as Blissey won’t be doing much damage with its low offensive stats. However, its defensive stats make are enough to make it one of the best Pokemon out there.

14 Bastiodon

Bastiodon was introduced in Generation IV and given some of the highest Physical and Special Defense stats in the series. Its Special Defense sits at 138, although its Physical Defense outshines it at 168.

Despite its phenomenal defensive stats, Bastiodon isn’t exactly the greatest Pokemon. The rest of its stats are abysmal, with low offensive, Speed, and HP stats. This means Bastiodon isn’t going to be doing much for a team, even if its defensive stats make it seem enticing. It does have access to some support moves, but its slow Speed can make it hard to utilize them.

13 Kyogre

While its Primal counterpart has better stats, the original Kyogre still has a fantastic Special Defense stat of 140. It comes equipped with a fantastic Special Attack stat as well, sitting at 150. It being a Water Type allows it to utilize tons of fantastic Special Water moves with the use of STAB to deal massive amounts of damage.

Kyogre also has the ability Drizzle, which summons Rain Dance when it enters the field. This is one of the best abilities in the game for Water focused teams. Kyogre is bulky and makes for a hard Pokemon to get rid of.

12 Mantine

Mantine is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to its stat spread. They’re all bad to subpar, with its high Special Defense of 140 being the only one that’s above 100. Outside of that, nothing really sticks out leaving Mantine in a weird spot.

The Water/Flying Type has good abilities with Swift Swim and Water Absorb, but its issue stems from the fact it can’t do too much with them. Mantine has good recovery and support moves such as Roost and Defog respectively, but there are other Pokemon that do what it does but better.

11 Aegislash

Aegislash is one of the best Pokemon that’s shown up on the competitive scene since its introduction in Generation VI. Aegislash has two different forms, its Base and Blade form. In its Base form, Aegislash has a Special Defense stat of 140 (which was nerfed from 150 in Generation VIII).

Aegislash is a versatile Pokemon, as it can play both offensively and defensively thanks to its ability Stance Change, which will swap its Defense stats with its Attack ones. This allows Aegislash to get in for quick attacks to deal some damage in its Blade form then go back into the Base the next to keep it safe and healthy.

10 Diancie and Carbink

 

It’s no surprise that Carbink would be pretty defensive. It’s basically a gem-filled rock with a face. This Fairy/Rock-Type, introduced in Generation VI, has a Special Defense stat of 150. That’s incredibly high, making it extremely hard to take down with Special moves.

Diancie, as a mutated version of a Carbink, has the same Special Defense stat (but a higher base stat total). These two tie for the highest base Special Defense stat of all Fairy-type Pokémon.

9 Goodra

All pseudo-Legendary Pokemon excel at something. Dragapult is extremely fast, Hydreigon’s Special Attack stat is very impressive, and Salamence ties its powerful Physical Attack stat with Metagross, who also has the highest Defense of all pseudo-Legendaries.

But, Goodra takes the title for Special Defense. This Dragon-Type pseudo-Legendary, introduced in Generation VI, is a Special Defense powerhouse. Goodra’s Special Defense stat ties with Carbink and Diancie at 150. At level 100, that stat can reach a whopping 438.

8 Mega Latias

Amazingly, there’s only one Mega Evolution on this list. That title goes to Mega Latias, which excels in Special Defense, also coming in at 150 like Goodra, Diancie, and Carbink.

Mega Latias also excels in Special Attack, with a nice 140 base Special Attack. While it focuses on defenses, its counterpart, Mega Latios, focuses on attacking, with a Special Attack stat of 160. It seems the two are meant to work as opposites, one on defense and one on offense.

7 Probopass

Probopass might not seem like the type of Pokemon that would make this list, but it does. As a heavy magnetic rock, it’s clear that this Generation IV Pokemon would have high Defense, but it has an even higher Special Defense.

Probopass clocks in at 145 for base Defense, but 150 for base Special Defense. Perhaps it’s all those magnetic rays it is associated with fending off Special moves. Does it work that way? Well, anything is possible in the Pokemon world.

6 Registeel

There’s one final Pokemon that ties with the rest of the list below it at a base Special Defense stat of 150: Registeel. This Steel-Type member of the original Regi trio isn’t the highest for Special Defense, though, with Regice placing above it (more on that later).

Registeel also has an incredible Physical Defense stat, too, at 150 as well. It’s going to take a tough hit (or several) to breach the defenses of this golem.

5 Lugia & Ho-Oh

There are quite a few Legendary Pokemon on this list, which is unsurprising. The top players in most stat categories are Legendary Pokemon, who frequently boast huge base stat totals.

Lugia and Ho-Oh find their place on the Special Defense list, tying with one another for a Special Defense base stat of 154. The two actually have the same base stat total, with the total distributed differently across each stat.

4 Florges

Tying with Lugia and Ho-Oh is a non-Legendary Pokémon that is actually kind of surprising to see here. That Pokémon is Florges, the Fairy-Type flower Pokemon introduced in Generation VI.

Despite having a fairly decent but not amazing base stat total of 552, Florges has an incredible Special Defense stat of 154. With the exception of its base Special Attack (112), that’s almost double all of its other stats. It’s clear what Florges should focus on in battle.

3 Deoxys (Defense Form) & Primal Kyogre

Many think that Deoxys’ Attack and Defense forms focus on Physical Attack and Physical Defense, but they excel in the Special department as well. Defense Deoxys has a nice Special Defense stat of 160. This is actually the exact same as its Physical Defense.

Joining it is another Generation III Pokémon’s other form — Primal Kyogre. After undergoing Primal Reversion, Kyogre also has a Special Defense stat of 160 — the highest of all Water-types.

2 Regice

Edging out Registeel, its Regi trio friend, is Regice, who has the second-highest Special Attack stat of all Pokemon. Coming in at a beautiful round 200 base Special Defense, this icy golem is going to be hard to take down with Special moves.

This stat is so high that it is double its Defense and Special Attack stats and makes up more than a third of Regice’s entire base stat total.

1 Shuckle

Finally, there’s the absolute king of both defensive stats — Shuckle. Comically the most solid defenses of any attainable Pokémon, Shuckle rules over Special Defense as well as its notoriously infamous Physical Defense.

Shuckle’s Physical and Special Defense stats are both a hilarious 230, which is just absurd. This is especially true, given its HP stat of 20, Attack and Special Attack of 10, and its speed stat of only five. We bow down to you, Shuckle.

NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Games That Need Remakes Before Diamond & Pearl