What Matters More In A Battle: CP Or Type?

Let’s face it: there’s very loose prestige in becoming a gym leader in "Pokemon Go" these days. Yes, there’s the victory screenshot you take after winning Rough Trade Records for Team Mystic, but it only takes a matter of seconds before someone knocks you off your throne. Still, battling is an important part of "Pokemon Go," and, when it comes to nailing that victory screenshot, you may be wondering if CP or attacks are more important in battling. And the truth is, it's really about what kind of Pokémon are you... and how they do the things they do... maybe not sharing their secrets deep inside so much.

Let's just do a quick brief on what CP is before we delve into this. CP stands for "Combat Power," and it loosely gauges the strength of your Pokémon. Aside from catching high CP Pokémon organically, there are two main ways to boost Combat Power: powering up and evolving. Both involve candies (acquired by capturing the same kind of Pokémon) and powering up also requires stardust (acquired by capturing any kind of Pokémon). So you get the basic concept: the higher the CP, the stronger the Pokémon. Subsequently, high CP Pokémon are ideal when going into a gym battle... but maybe not everything.

In fact, it would seem that type plays a big factor in Pokémon battles, just as it was in the original games. That's something to take into consideration when you go up against a Pokémon of a similar, but perhaps higher, CP than what's within your range. For example, one of my best picks is probably Magmar: it has a solid CP in the 700 range, it isn't by any means the strongest Pokémon I've come across, and, yes, it is a fire duck with an ass on his head. However, implemented properly, he's certainly taken down a few gyms in his day.

If I'm to go across the street and see that the first opponent at my local gym is Scyther of comparable CP, Magmar is a solid pick. Why? Because historically, fire Pokémon have an advantage over grass Pokémon. The nuances of Pokémon type strength and weaknesses are obviously more complicated than that, and you may want do a quick refresher if you can't remember if what specifically will take down a Jynx or a Haunter. Generally, though, type and subsequent special attacks are a huge factor in taking a Pokémon down. Magmar uses fire punch, and BAM, it's all over.

Look at that, super effective.

However, another strategic move is to keep in mind the order of which Pokémon you're battling. Now, in lower level gyms you're usually granted more Pokémon to fight against Gym leaders and their minions. I've been able to set up a team six Pokemon against a team of, at max, four... and usually less than that. By that alone, you can easily take down a gym. However, higher level gyms may limit you to one Pokémon, in which, you might want to remember to swipe right and see whatever Pokémon is next. Because you may go in all confident with your Magmar and then find yourself face to face with the Queen of the Seas.

FUUUUUUUUUUUU-

To sum it all up, CP is definitely important when it comes to battling, but perhaps more important is knowing your opponent. You don't necessarily have to have an egregious CP edge over the Pokémon you're battling, but if it's a gym of high-CP ground and rock monsters and you're tossing six Pikachus at them, you're an amateur and deserve to lose. I'm sorry, that's just Pokémon 101.

Hopefully, though, you're going to go into your next gym visit with a little bit of savvy regarding what will and won't work in a battle. Go forth, my friends, and get that screenshot.

Images: 4Kids Entertainment; "Pokemon Go"/Niantic (3)