Best Flying-type attackers in Pokémon Go

Flying-type Pokémon are just one of 18 different types in the world of Pokémon Go. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses and best Pokémon. Flying is mostly known for having the fastest Pokémon in the main-series games - a mechanic that doesn’t really translate into Pokémon Go.

That said, it's still important to know the best Flying-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go. Given that they are super effective against Fighting-type Pokémon, among others, and very resistant to Ground (immunity isn’t a thing in Pokémon Go), this is a type you should keep an eye on. As always, some are worthy of your time, Candy and Stardust, and others are not.

So, to make life easy for everyone, I've split this page into multiple sections, including an overview of what Flying-type Pokémon are, the best Legendary Flying-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go and the best non-Legendary Flying-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go, including a brief analysis of each.

On this page:

• Best Legendary Flying-type Pokémon
• Best non-Legendary Flying-type Pokémon
• What are Flying-type Pokémon?

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Best Flying-type Legendary Pokémon

With so many different Flying-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go, it is getting incredibly difficult to know which ones you can rely on. Level for level, is a perfect Rayquaza better than a perfect Yveltal? How does the pseudolegendary Salamence stack up against these? And should you care about the Galarian birds? Which is the best Flying-type in Master League? As always, the strongest Pokémon depends on the situation, which is why our lists below come with a brief note for each Pokémon, telling you where and how it is useful.

As with our list of best Pokémon in Pokémon Go, we’re going to avoid focusing on Shadow Pokémon and Mega Pokémon. Including them would pretty much knock everything else out of this list. If you want to read more about either of those, you can check out our best Shadow Pokémon and best Mega Pokémon in Pokémon Go guides.

And finally, it's also worth adding that this is an editorialised list of Pokémon - it's not strictly the Pokémon that throw the biggest punches.

Here’s a breakdown of the best Flying-type Legendary Pokémon:

Rayquaza

• Rayquaza types: Dragon/Flying
• Rayquaza weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, Fairy and Rock
• Main use: Raids

Rayquaza was easily the best Pokémon in the game for a long time. Then Mega Rayquaza was the best Pokémon in the game for a long time. Now even Mega Rayquaza has been power crept, but that doesn’t mean the original Sky Noodle isn’t still an exceptional Pokémon. When you take out the Shadows and Megas, Rayquaza is best of class.

A huge part of this is the move Dragon Ascent, which is needed to unlock its Mega Evolution - you’ll need an item called Meteorite for this. But even then, a team of one Mega and five regular Rayquaza is about as terrifying as it gets for anything weak to Flying.

When it comes to Master League, Rayquaza has the obvious issue of being weak to Ice, Dragon and Fairy, which holds it back to a large extent. That said, as long as you can dodge the Pokémon wielding those attacks, Rayquaza can deal massive damage.

Enamorus Incarnate

• Enamorus Incarnate types: Fairy/Flying
• Enamorus Incarnate weaknesses: Electric, Ice, Poison, Rock and Steel
• Main use: Raids

The best non-Mega, non-Shadow Fairy-type attacker in the game happens to be the second-best non-Mega, non-Shadow Flying-type attacker in the game. It doesn’t have a Flying-type Fast move, but it can still deal pretty impressive damage, all the same.

Unfortunately, Enamorus Incarnate isn’t great in PVP, thanks to its relative fragility. It hits hard, sure, but it just can’t take a punch.

Yveltal

• Yveltal types: Dark/Flying
• Yveltal weaknesses: Dragon and Fairy
• Main use: Raids, Master League

Yveltal is a decent Flying-type Raid attacker, thanks in no small part to its signature move, Oblivion Wing. It’s not terribly far behind Rayquaza in terms of strength.

But Master League is where this Pokémon shines (if dark-type can indeed shine). It’s primarily a Dark-type, running O-Wing as a powerful Flying-type move that boosts your defense by one stage. This allows you to stick around longer, spamming Dark Pulse at anything that thinks it's a little bit clever, like Lunala, Lugia and Metagross.

Lugia

• Lugia types: Psychic/Flying
• Lugia weaknesses: Dark, Electric, Ghost, Ice and Rock
• Main use: Master League

Talking of clever Pokémon, Lugia has long been a terror in Master League, where it is currently the top-ranked Flying-type Pokémon, thanks in no small part to its incredible bulk.

It’s flexible and dynamic, with its Flying-type Aeroblast being a self-boosting nuke. And if there’s anything we want more than a 'self-boosting nuke', we genuinely don’t know what it is.

The ever first Minior Shower is occuring this week! Want to know what's happening this month? Then take a look at the October schedule if you're already looking ahead. Don't forget to keep an eye out for both the rarest Pokémon and the best Pokémon in your travels.

Best Flying-type non-Legendary Pokémon

As a rule of thumb, Legendary Pokémon are stronger than non-Legendary Pokémon. However, if things were that simple you wouldn’t be here.

Some pseudo-Legendries and even the odd regular Pokémon can go toe-to-toe with even the most famous Pokémon. Salamence is a fantastic example of this - it’s almost on-par with Yveltal, with Mega Salamence being almost on-par with regular Rayquaza (Mega Rayquaza is obviously God-tier).

Looking to PVP, half of the top-five in both Great League and Ultra League are Flying-types. The non-Legendary Flying-types are well worth a look.

Again, this is an editorialised list of Pokémon, not simply those who have the biggest attack stats.

Here's a breakdown of the best Flying-type non-Legendary Pokémon:

Salamence

• Salamence types: Dragon/Flying
• Salamence weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, Fairy and Rock
• Main use: Raid attacker, Mega Evolution

Sometimes you don’t have six Sky Noodles lying around and you need a budget Dragon/Flying-type for your Raid party. Nobody will be giving you the side-eye for bringing Salamence, especially when they know how much work our boi put into learning to fly (read its Pokédex entry if you don’t get that).

Lore aside, this Pokémon simply has the highest Attack stat of all the pseudo-legendaries in Pokémon Go. What it really needs to shine is, of course, a Flying-type Fast move.

Staraptor

• Staraptor types: Normal/Flying
• Staraptor weaknesses: Electric, Ice, and Rock
• Main use: Raids, Mega Evolution

Admittedly, Salamence can be a little hard to get for newer Trainers. If you want something truly budget, you’re looking at Staraptor. It’s still a top-10 Flying-type Pokémon by attack and a high-level, high-IV one is even worth Mega Evolving, since Mega Staraptor is the second-best Flying-type Pokémon in the game.

Naturally, once you get yourself a high-level Rayquaza, this Pokémon’s utility does fall off, but we all have to start somewhere, don’t we? This is just a great budget option for new players.

Corviknight

• Corviknight types: Flying/Steel
• Corviknight weaknesses: Electric and Fire
• Main use: Ultra League

Corviknight is the second-best Pokémon in Ultra League thanks to its extreme bulk, and has found its place in the centre of a lot of top-tier teams.

Sand Attack is very fast-charging, Air Cutter is boost spam that occasionally raises your attack, and Iron Head is simply a good move. It takes down the likes of Tinkaton, Virizion and Florges, alongside Zygarde Complete. That’s a very impressive resumé on any Pokémon.

Altaria

• Altaria types: Dragon/Flying
• Altaria weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, Fairy and Rock
• Main use: Great League

Oh look, another Dragon/Flying-type. I’m starting to see a pattern…

Altaria has long been a demon in Great League, sitting atop a fluffy, impervious cloud, aloof with its superior bulk. It’s annoyingly tanky and yet agile, and if you don’t need Sky Attack you can swap it out for the Legacy move Moonblast, giving you further options for how you want to win in Great League. Because that’s all Altaria does.

Cramorant

• Cramorant types: Flying/Water
• Cramorant weaknesses: Electric and Rock
• Main use: Great League

Cramorant is a funny Pokémon if you don’t know how it works. Dive allows it to change forms, holding either a Pikachu or an Arrokuda, based on its current HP. The next time Cramorant takes an unshielded Charged attack it 'spits out its prey', using a secret move called Gulp Missile that either drops or nukes the opponent’s defence while also dealing damage.

Like with Mimikyu, these special attacks really make a difference in PVP, changing what would be losses into draws.

This isn’t an easy Pokémon to use, and it will require practice to really max out those wins, but once you get used to this spammy Pokémon, you’re in for a really good time.

What are Flying-type Pokémon?

In order to save you from having to remember it, here's a breakdown of the Flying-typing in Pokémon Go.

Flying-type explained

• Type: Flying
• Weak to: Electric, Ice and Rock
• Resistant to: Bug, Fighting and Grass
• Very resistant to: Ground
• Super effective against: Bug, Fighting and Grass
• Not very effective against: Electric, Rock and Steel
• Boosted by: Windy weather

Good luck finding the most powerful Flying-type Pokémon in Pokémon Go!