The dungeon crawler Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a fun remake for the Nintendo Switch that’s great for new players and veterans of the series. It’s a change of pace from traditional Pokemon games and identifying which recruitable Pokemon should join the player's team can be a bit challenging given how many there are.
While the team should be built around the player's custom strategy, there are certain powerful Pokemon in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX that are nearly always beneficial to have. They can also be a great starting point if someone is not sure what strategy they want to implement.
Updated on August 5, 2021 by Ben Baker: While most players will have an ideal team they’re building towards in the endgame, it’s important to have powerful options in the meantime. Versatile Pokemon that are obtained early on and hold their own until the credits can be some of the best choices in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX. This article has been expanded to provide a few more options so that players can play around with their favorite setup. These new additions may not disrupt the top tier of powerful Pokemon, but they certainly should be given a second look when working towards an Altaria or Absol.
15 Mightyena
Mightyena is a great choice thanks to its versatility. It is primarily geared towards offensive use, but it does come with a few moves that lend support to the team. This adaptability makes it a great pick while the player is establishing better pokemon for each role.
Another perk is that its lesser form, Poochyena, can be found early on in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, making Mightyena a mid-game acquisition. It has a number of elemental attacks that give it an edge against various opponents as well. It’ll be replaced later on, probably by Absol, but for most of the game, it’s a solid Pokemon to have.
14 Farfetch’d
Farfetch’d is a fine Pokemon to use thanks to its diverse abilities in combat. This Pokemon can fight using Flying, Poison, Bug, Normal, and Dark attacks giving it options against just about any opponent type.
It also comes with immunity to flinch or having its accuracy lowered. Its attack strength can also be raised using the move Sword Dance. Farfetch’d is unlikely to stay in the team forever as there are better Pokemon for each role, but it is a strong jack-of-all-trades that players should consider in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX's early stages.
13 Gengar
Gengar is a great crowd control Pokemon to have on any team. Gengar can use Lick to paralyze opponents and Hypnosis to put just about anything to sleep. Not only is it great at support, Gengar packs a powerful punch on its own with a high Special Attack.
It also comes with the ability Cursed Body which can cause a Pokemon to have their attack move disabled when they use it against Gengar. This is a great Pokemon to lock up opponents and leave them vulnerable to attack from allies. The only downside is Gengar requires quite the investment of Evolution Crystals, something that requires beating the game. Consequently, Gengar is not available on a first playthrough.
12 Blastoise
Blastoise is quite literally a tank in this game. It has one of the highest Defense levels available and can further boost this using Iron Defense. Towards the end game, it comes with the brutal attack Hydro Pump to seriously knock holes in opponents.
The only reason Blastoise isn’t more valuable is that it must be level 60 to get Hydro Pump, which is quite the time investment. Even then, Blastoise is outclassed by Cloyster in terms of a DPS who also uses Hydro Pump. Still, it’s a great shield for allies for much of the game.
11 Ampharos
Ampharos is an excellent choice for dealing AOE from a distance. Its move Discharge can wreak havoc amongst groups of enemies and Dragon Pulse is a strong move to take bosses down a peg. This Pokemon is greatly benefitted by the Gulpin Tutor as well.
Perhaps Ampharos' strongest perk is its Static ability which can cause any Pokemon using a contact move against it to sometimes be paralyzed. For some players, this is an early game recruit that stays with them long into the end game until outclassed by options like Cloyster or Altaria.
10 Charizard
If you start out as a Charmander or have it as a companion you’ll notice the game will be much easier once you or it evolves into a Charizard. This Generation 1 fire Pokemon has some great stats and is very offense-oriented, allowing it to tackle single targets or multiple foes.
Heat Wave is arguably its most useful move as the AOE damage can be funneled down corridors or spread wide in rooms. It has some other useful moves, but you’ll find Heat Wave is sufficient for most encounters. Its Blaze ability, which improves fire damage as Charizard’s HP drops, can be exploited with healers for some impressive damage.
9 Venusaur
Bulbasaur is also a good starting choice as the evolved form Venusaur can be very powerful in the latter parts of the game. This Generation 1 Grass-type is very handy when facing bosses thanks to a number of moves that can control and manipulate the battle.
Sleep Powder can knock out opponents, Poison Powder can chip away at their health passively, Leech Seed is nice for regenerating health while dealing damage, and Bullet Seed is great for single target damage. Couple Venusaur with a strong attacker like Charizard and you have the beginnings of a powerful team right from the start.
8 Shiftry
Shiftry is a long-range attacker that can punish whoever is in the same room with it. Easily the most powerful move in its arsenal is Razor Wind, which damages everyone in its vicinity. Leaf Tornado or Leaf Storm can also be strong moves.
To get one for your team you’ll need to find a Nuzleaf in Uproar Forest and gather enough evolution crystals to evolve it into a Shiftry.
7 Magnezone
Magnezone is a great Pokemon to have for countering Water-types thanks to brutal moves like Thunderbolt. Sonic Boom is its signature move that has great range, is guaranteed to hit, and has a set amount of damage dealt. Light Screen is also handy for some sustainability in combat.
You can obtain a Magnezone by finding a Magnemite in Mt. Steel and then using Evolution Crystals to evolve a Magneton to a Magnezone. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Pokemon better suited for fighting Water types.
6 Crobat
Crobat is easily one of the fastest Pokemon in the game, which will help ensure you get the first hit and connect with your opponents when you need to. Crobat’s main goal is to cause chaos with a move like Confuse Ray or weaken opponents quickly with Screech so a follow-up attack can do brutal damage.
You can get a Crobat by obtaining a Zubat in Echo Cave and level it up to a Golbat before evolving into a Crobat via Happiness. It’s a great early-round debuffer that improves the damage your attackers do.