A Pokemon doesn't need to be fully evolved to have good stats. There are many base stages that have yet to evolve a single time that can hold their own amongst the best of them. If you're looking for a defensive Pokemon but aren't quite at the point in the game where you can fully evolve something or catch a Legendary, never fear. There are many options for great defenders that haven't evolved yet.
Many Rock- and Steel-types have high defense from their earliest stage, and this list shows that many of them are in the top tiers of unevolved Pokemon for their physical defense stat. Here are the best base defense stats of all Pokemon that have not yet evolved, but can.
10 Honedge
Since it's basically just a possessed sword, one might think that Honedge is more of an offensive Pokemon with a high physical attack stat. Of course, it does have a great base attack of 80, which is respectable for an unevolved Pokemon.
But, surprisingly, Honedge actually excels at defense. It has a base defense stat of 100, which is very high. As a Steel- and Ghost-type, it also has a lot of resistances and three full immunities, making it a great defender.
9 Aron
This list is dominated by Rock- and Steel-types, and luckily, Aron is both. It has the same base defense stat as Honedge — 100 — but with slightly lower attack at 70 points. As they evolve, though, Aron will definitely take the upper hand.
While Honedge evolves into Doublade and gains an additional 50 base defense, it doesn't gain any more when it evolves into Aegislash. Aron, on the other hand, will evolve into Lairon and then Aggron, who has 180 base defense. Aggron can even Mega Evolve and rack up some more defensive points, taking the top spot alongside Shuckle and Mega Steelix for the highest base defense of all obtainable Pokemon.
8 Geodude
The original defensive powerhouse family in Generation I was the Geodude family. These Rock/Ground-types all have fantastic defensive prowess, and they remain some of the best defenders to this day in many instances. Geodude, who received a regional variant in the Alola region with the same stat distribution, has a respectable base defense of 100 as well.
Both forms of Geodude make great defenders, even though they each have some double-weaknesses. Like many other defensive Pokemon, what they make up for in physical resilience, they lack in speed, as both forms of Geodude have a base speed of only 20.
7 Galarian Corsola
Corsola is another Pokemon that received a regional form, this one's in Galar with the Ghost-type Galarian Corsola. These two have very similar stat distributions, including high defense, but Johtonian Corsola's is both too low to make this list (95) and not the stat of an unevolved Pokemon, as only Galarian Corsola can evolve.
The Galarian form of Corsola, though, has a great defense stat, with base 100 points. It might not look like a very defense-focused Pokemon, but it is, also boasting 100 in special defense.
6 Tirtouga
Most Fossil Pokemon are Rock-types (all of them until Generation VIII, more specifically), so it's natural that many of them have high defensive stats. One of these is Tirtouga, the Fossil Pokemon from Generation VI. A Water/Rock-type, Tirtouga looks like a sea turtle with a very hard shell, which might explain why its defense stat is so high, sitting at 103 points.
When it evolves, its defense stat jumps up to a very nice 133, which puts it among some of the best defenders available.
5 Gligar
Another Johto Pokemon with a great defense stat is also one that couldn't initially evolve, receiving its evolution, Gliscor, in Generation IV. Before then, though, Gligar was a pretty decent Pokemon that could definitely stand alone as a single-stage Pokemon.
Gligar has a base defense stat of 105, which is actually kind of surprising. It doesn't look as powerful defensively as others on this list. After evolving, that stat bumps up to a nice 125.
4 Tangela
Like Gligar, Tangela doesn't immediately look like it would have a high base defense. Also like Gligar, Tangela received an evolution at long last in Generation IV — Tangrowth. Again, like Gligar, Tangela could stand on its own as a single-stage just fine before receiving an evolutionary relative.
Tangela has a base defense stat of 115, which pairs pretty nicely with its special attack stat of 100. It's an interesting combination, and is even better when it evolves into Tangrowth, who has a defense stat of 125 as well but a special attack stat of 110.
3 Shieldon
Another Fossil Pokemon that has fantastic defense is Shieldon, the Steel/Rock-type from Generation IV that evolves into Bastiodon. While Bastiodon clearly favors defense (it basically looks like a wall with legs), Shieldon doesn't look as tanky but also puts up numbers in the stat.
Shieldon's base defense sits at a very respectable 118. This is in direct contrast to the other Gen IV Fossil, Cranidos, which has the highest attack stat of any unevolved Pokemon. When it evolves, Shieldon's base defense jumps up to an insane 168 as Bastiodon.
2 Nosepass
Yet another Pokemon that received an evolution in a later generation is Nosepass, introduced in the Hoenn region with an evolution into Probopass introduced in Gen IV. Nosepass, despite its somewhat-low base stat total of 375, has a whopping 135 defense.
Level it up in a special magnetic field and it'll evolve into Probopass, who has even higher defense. Not only does Probopass have 145 base defense, but it also has 150 base special defense. It's going to take some hard-hitting moves to take these two down.
1 Onix
As a giant snake made out of huge boulders, it's probably no surprise to most people that Onix has a crazy high defense stat. Also, like many others, it was once a standalone single-stage Pokemon that then received an evolution later.
On its own, Onix has the single highest base defense of any unevolved Pokemon: 160. That's a crazy number, but it gets even better after evolution. Steelix, its evolution, has a base defense stat of 200 — and that's before it Mega Evolves into that 230 base defense tie with Shuckle and Aggron.