Yeah, lack of Flamethrower is what really makes it not worth using over Charizard (who's of dubious value as well imo, if not for slash). The only other fire-type without Flamethrower is Rapidash, but Rapidash doesn't have to deal with an ice/electric weakness. Flying-type is defensively detrimental for Moltres compared to Rapidash since there is only 1 pokemon in RB that has ground moves (machamp's fissure). there's three in yellow but yellow also has more Pokemon with electric moves...
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Pokemon RBY In-game Tiers - Mark II
- Thread starter Mekkah
- Start date
- Status
Quick list:
-Top-
Abra
Articuno
Bulbasaur (RB)
Charmander (RB)
Diglett
Nidoran F
Nidoran M
Seel
Squirtle (RB)
Zapdos
-High-
Charmander (Y)
Doduo
Gastly
Growlithe (R)
Hitmonlee
Jolteon
Jynx
Krabby
Mr. Mime
Omanyte
Sandshrew
Shellder
Snorlax
Squirtle (Y)
Staryu
Tentacool
Vaporeon
-Mid-
Bellsprout
Bulbasaur (Y)
Drowzee
Electabuzz
Farfetch'd (RB)
Flareon
Geodude
Goldeen
Horsea
Kabuto
Magikarp
Magnemite
Mankey
Meowth
Oddish
Pikachu (RB)
Pikachu (Y)
Poliwag
Ponyta
Psyduck
Rattata
Slowpoke
Spearow
Voltorb
-Low-
Aerodactyl
Caterpie
Chansey
Clefairy
Cubone
Ditto
Dratini
Ekans
Exeggcute
Farfetch'd (Y)
Grimer
Growlithe (Y)
Hitmonchan
Jigglypuff
Kangaskhan
Koffing
Lapras
Lickitung
Machop (RB)
Machop (Y)
Magmar
Moltres
Onix
Paras
Pidgey
Pinsir
Porygon
Rhyhorn
Scyther
Tangela
Tauros
Venonat
Vulpix
Weedle
Zubat
-Unavailable-
Mewtwo
Mew
-Top-
Abra
Articuno
Bulbasaur (RB)
Charmander (RB)
Diglett
Nidoran F
Nidoran M
Seel
Squirtle (RB)
Zapdos
-High-
Charmander (Y)
Doduo
Gastly
Growlithe (R)
Hitmonlee
Jolteon
Jynx
Krabby
Mr. Mime
Omanyte
Sandshrew
Shellder
Snorlax
Squirtle (Y)
Staryu
Tentacool
Vaporeon
-Mid-
Bellsprout
Bulbasaur (Y)
Drowzee
Electabuzz
Farfetch'd (RB)
Flareon
Geodude
Goldeen
Horsea
Kabuto
Magikarp
Magnemite
Mankey
Meowth
Oddish
Pikachu (RB)
Pikachu (Y)
Poliwag
Ponyta
Psyduck
Rattata
Slowpoke
Spearow
Voltorb
-Low-
Aerodactyl
Caterpie
Chansey
Clefairy
Cubone
Ditto
Dratini
Ekans
Exeggcute
Farfetch'd (Y)
Grimer
Growlithe (Y)
Hitmonchan
Jigglypuff
Kangaskhan
Koffing
Lapras
Lickitung
Machop (RB)
Machop (Y)
Magmar
Moltres
Onix
Paras
Pidgey
Pinsir
Porygon
Rhyhorn
Scyther
Tangela
Tauros
Venonat
Vulpix
Weedle
Zubat
-Unavailable-
Mewtwo
Mew
Abra - Top Tier
Availability: Early, before second gym. While hard to catch, Butterfree, Clefairy and Jigglypuff all learn sleep moves, and with RBY sleep mechanics, you can just keep putting Abra to sleep until you catch him so he doesn't teleport. Alternatively, you can wait until you reach Celadon to buy him for 180/120/230 (R/B/Y) coins.
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Very limited, only gets STAB moves and utility moves. However it learns everything it needs by level 38 and can afford to run monotype offense.
Power: Having huge base stats in speed and special make Abra a huge threat to everything else. The strongest Psychic type in the game that isn't Mew or Mewtwo when it evolves, this gives it pure type advantage against everything. Confusion, Psybeam and Psychic are all really powerful in the game and hit everything that isn't a psychic type for neutral damage. It's worth noting that even if you can't evolve to get Alakazam, Kadabra's base Special is 125 and it's base Speed is 105, well above average. In addition, their speed means that they will both be dealing critical hits around 1/3rd of the time.
Type: No pokemon in RBY resists Psychic aside from other Psychics. In addition, Psychics resist Fighting, are immune to Ghost and are only weak to Bug which don't have any threatening moves in this game.
Match-ups:
Misty: If it's an Abra still it won't have any offensive moves. Kadabra/Alakazam can take Staryu and do some damage to Starmie, but it won't win unless its overlevelled or you get lucky with what moves it chooses.
Lt Surge: Kadabra makes short work of Voltorb and Pikachu. Raichu packs Thunderbolt which will hurt, but he shouldn't use it more than once on you depending on your level. Raichu can KO, so make sure to have a back-up waiting in the wings to finish the gym off.
Erika: If you used Kadabra/Alakazam to fight the rockets they/he should be more than strong enough to sweep the entire gym. You should OHKO everything in the gym with Psybeam, even Tangela who isn't weak to it. You can waste your Psychic TM on him at this point, but he learns it naturally in 10 levels anyway.
Koga: Way too easy with Psybeam. There are Jugglers in this gym who use Psychic-types, but none of them are a problem. Koga's entire team is weak to Psychic and nothing he has is as fast as Kadabra/Alakazam
Blaine: Will have Psychic by now and will have no trouble. Can take even Fire Blasts with its monster special but watch for Rapidash's Stomp or Arcanine's Take-Down.
Sabrina: Psychic is only resisted by other psychics, and Kadabra/Alakazam is the best of the bunch, so while the other psychics will resist your attacks, you will resist theirs in-turn. Watch out for Sabrina's Alakazam, for the same reasons that everyone else should watch out for yours. If you fought the gym leaders in this order though, you should be over-leveled though and have no trouble.
Giovanni: You are faster than all of his pokemon, and they all have terrible Special stats. You should sweep the gym no problem, just make sure to go all out as you can't take a single physical attack from anything. Your speed means you don't have to worry about Fissure or Horn Drill.
Lorelei: At this point you sweep her entire team and can take pretty much all special moves they can throw at you. Just don't go up against Jynx unless you have to, as it resists Psychic and can significantly wear out your sustainability.
Bruno: Sweeps. Of the 5 pokemon Bruno uses, the only 2 not weak to Psychic have terrible special stats and are incredibly slow. You should not have a problem.
Agatha: All her pokemon are weak to Psychic-type moves. Just use Psybeam, don't waste your Psychic PP.
Lance: Make sure you are a higher level than Aerodactyl, as its Hyper Beam will KO you and it's just faster than Alakazam at the same level. With that being said, you should sweep no problem, none of his Dragons are bulky enough to survive STAB Psychic.
Rival: If you've chosen Squirtle, your rival will have a Venusaur, and in that case there is nothing that can stop Alakazam except your rival's Alakazam. If you are a higher level, you should take it down though. Watch out for Exeggutor (Charmander and Bulbasaur only though) as it resist Psychic and will hit you with physical moves or hypnosis. In Yellow, your rival will likely have a Jolteon (if you beat him twice) which is often faster without a large level disparity and carries Pin Missile, which can crit over multiple hits and is supereffective. Still, Alakazam is not truly threatened and should OHKO in return.
Additional Notes: Even though Abra needs to be trained like Magicarp, it levels up to Kadabra at level 16 and it levels up quickly. You can then evolve it immediately to Alakazam if you have a friend and/or a trade cartridge. While not as potent as Alakazam, not being able to evolve doesn't make Kadabra useless, but will need to be 5-8 levels higher to do what Alakazam can reasonably do. As Kadabra/Alakazam, it is self-sufficient after that moment and requires no TM support. It is advisable to run Psybeam/Psychic/Recover with any other move of your choice as this allows Kadabra/Alakazam to have some staying power as well as not being limited by PP.
Articuno - Top Tier
-Availability: Articuno can be obtained after the 5th gym. Beating Koga enables you to use the Surf HM, where you can go to the Seafoam Island. In the Seafoam Island you must search the cave and use the Strength HM to solve puzzles to get to Articuno. Articuno comes at a high level of 50 and is hard to catch, so make sure to save the game before you fight it and have a ton of Ultra Balls ready.
-Stats: Due to its status as a legendary, Articuno has a huge BST. Most notable is its 125 Special, which allows it to tank Special moves and plow through foes with its STAB Ice moves.
-Movepool: When you encounter it Articuno it has Peck and Ice Beam, and learns Blizzard one level later. While it seems counterproductive to have to have two Ice moves on the same Pokemon, Blizzard's low PP rate means that having Ice Beam as a back-up will be helpful. Peck is weak, but you can always give Articuno the HM02 Fly if you want Physical STAB.
-Power: Articuno's Blizzard is the most powerful Special Attack in the game, and it will dent anything that doesn't resist it
-Type: Ice/Flying is fantastic offensive combo, as only the Water/Rock fossil Pokemon resist that combo (you don't fight those guys in-game anyway).
-Match-ups:
--Sabrina: Articuno has the bulk to take on her Psychics attacks, and Fly hits them on their lower defense stat. Keep in mind though, that Alakazam can abuse the first turn of Fly as a chance to Recover or set up Reflect.
--Blaine: You would think Articuno would be dead weight against a Fire gym, but Articuno is surprisingly useful here. Articuno's high Special means it can actually handle a Fire Blast, and its Blizzards will do a lot to Blaine's Pokemon (remember Fire doesn't resist Ice in RBY).
--Giovanni: His entire team is weak to Blizzard except for Persian in Yellow, who isn't too much of a threat to Articuno.
--Lorelei: If there was an Achilles's heel for Articuno's match-ups, it would be this fight. All of her Pokemon resist Ice, and all of them besides Jynx have the Physical bulk to take Fly.
--Bruno: Fly takes out his Fighting Pokemon easily, while Ice Beam can handle his Onix's.
--Agatha: Articuno doesn't have a type advantage here, but can overwhelm her Pokemon through sheer force alone. Just watch out for Confuse Ray hax.
--Lance: Articuno can easily sweep the Dragons and Aerodactyl due to their weakness to Ice. Gyarados is tougher fight for the legendary bird due to not being weak to Ice, but is still beatable.
--Gary (RB): Venusaur, Exeggutor, Rhydon, Pidgeot and Charizard are all weak to Ice. Arcanine has the type advantage, but his strongest STAB here is the weak Ember. Blastoise, Alakazam and Gyarados are probably Articuno's toughest fight here, but Articuno can still be of help against those three.
--Gary (Y): Sandslash, Alakazam, and Exeggutor are manageable. However, Ninetails can trap you with Fire Spin, Cloyster walls you, and Jolteon's Thunderbolt can hurt once you factor its massive critical hit rate.
-Additional Comments: As you can see, Articuno is a great asset to any team. However you have to deal with the burden of exploring Seafoam Island and spending a lot of time capturing the Pokemon. But if you can get by that, you'll be set for many battles.
Bulbasaur (RB) - Top Tier
-Availability: Starter Pokemon
-Stats: Above Average, his high Special works well with Razor Leaf’s critical hit ratio.
-Movepool: Bulbasaur mostly gets Grass and Normal moves to work with, which isn’t too bad as only Gengar resists both of them. Razor Leaf is probably the best Grass move for him to work with, where as Body Slam/Double-Edge TM’s give him normal coverage.
Venusaur can also try a Growth + Mega Drain, but probably isn’t the suitable Grass type for this set due to learning Sleep Powder at such a late level.
-Power: Venusaur’s high Special and Razor Leaf’s CH ratio will hit anything that doesn’t resist it hard.
-Type: Grass/Poison. While Grass gives him the advantage over early gym leader, its STAB is resisted by many types. Most notable the abundance of Poison types in this game resist Razor Leaf, putting a damper on its power.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Vine Whip is 4x Super Effective on his Pokemon and should take them out easily.
--Misty: Grass resists Water, and Ivysaur’s Vince Whip can take out Staryu and Starmie.
--LT Surge: Ivysaur resists Electric, meaning he can take a hit here. Surge’s Pikachu and Raichu both know Thunder Wave, so outside of Paralyze Hax, you should be fine.
--Erika: Erika's Pokemon resist Grass, so it will need a strong normal move such as Body Slam or Double-Edge if it wants to hold its own. Even if you have a strong normal move, Victreebel still might be a tough fight due to Sleep Powder + Wrap. Tangela can take a hit, but he can’t do much back to Venusaur. Vileplume is completely walled by Venusaur.
--Koga: Posion resists Grass, and his Pokemon have good Defense to take a Normal move. However, his Pokemon don’t really have the best movesets and Razor Leaf spam can wear down his team.
--Sabrina: Venusaur is weak to Psychic meaning he wont be able to accomplish much here. Also, Venusaur is actually weak to Bug in RBY, so even Venomoth threatens Venusaur.
--Blaine: A strong normal move can take out Ponyta and Growlithe, but Rapidash outspeeds you and can Fire Spin trap you. Blaine’s Arcanine knows Fire Blast, which Venusaur wont enjoy taking at all.
--Giovanni: Razor Leaf will easily dispose of Rhyhorn, Rhydon, and Dugtrio. Nidoqueen and Nidoking are not weak to Razor Leaf, but Venusaur can still take them out 1-1.
--Lorlelei: Venusaur is weak to Ice, but if you are at an appropriate level, Razor Leaf will make short work of Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro. Jynx however isn’t weak to Grass, and Lapras has the bulk to take a Razor Leaf and retaliate with Blizzard.
--Bruno: Razor Leaf sweeps his whole team due to Brunos’ Pokemon having low Special.
--Agatha: Her entire team resists Grass, and the Ghosts even resist your Normal Moves.
--Lance: Due to the AI always going for Super Effective hits, his Dragonairs and Dragonites will only use Agility/Barrier and Venusaur can take them. Gyarados has a powerful Hyper Beam, but Venusaur resists his Hydro Pump and can wear him down with Razor Leaf. Aerodatyl is also another powerful user of Hyper Beam, but his low Special means Razor Leaf will make short work of him.
--Gary: On a positive note, Rhydon is OHKO’d by a Grass move. Gary’s Exeggutor doesn’t know Psychic so Venusaur can beat him with a strong normal move. Venusaur resists Gyarados’s Hydro Pump, just watch out for Hyper Beam. However, Pidgeot resists Grass and Sky Attack will either make you switch out or be fainted. Alakazam outspeeds Venusaur and destroys it with Psychic. Charizard can also take you out with Fire Blast.
-Additional Comments: Much like Charmander and Squirtle, Bulbasaur is a great in-game starter Pokemon. It excels in the beginning due to its type advantage over Gyms. Although Grass as a type starts to lose value as the game goes on, at that point you’ll have team mates to make sure you are not fully dependent on your starter. Towards the end of the game Grass makes a comeback due to the Ground gym and the abundance of Water types around. Overall, you can’t really go wrong with any starter in Red & Blue, and Bulbasaur is no exception to this.
Charmander (RB) - Top Tier
-Availability: Starter Pokemon
-Stats: Mostly Average, Charizard does have Good Speed that allows it to outspeed most in-game threats.
-Movepool: Through level-up Charmander learns Ember for STAB, but its stuck with that until Level 46 (Flamethrower) or after the 7th gym (where you get the Fire Blast TM). However the most notable move in Charizard's level-up movepool is Slash at Level 33, which in RBY has a high critical hit ratio. Charmander is also a big fan of the Dig TM, allowing it to take the various Poison types in the game.
-Power: Slash and Dig is a powerful combination that is only resisted by Aerodactyl, who you only have to fight once in the entire game.
-Type: Fire/Flying. Unfortunately, it's typing is one of its flaws. Charziard doesn't learn any flying moves in the original R&B, and he spends the majority of the game stuck with Ember instead of Flamethrower/Fire Blast. His other moves (Slash and Dig mainly) are better than his STAB. Another problem with his type is that its weak to Water, which is a common type in this game.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Brock's Pokemon resist Ember, but their low Special means they will still be hurt by Ember. Just don't attack Onix during his Bide period and you should be fine.
--Misty: Staryu is manageable, but Starmie absolutely destroys Charmeleon with BubbleBeam. A Grass type partner is highly recommended for this battle.
--Lt. Surge: Assuming you let Charmeleon have the Dig TM, it should be a simple sweep.
--Erika: Her Pokemon are weak to Ember, but Ember's poor Base Power means her Victreebel and Vileplume can take a hit and retaliate with status. However, if Charmeleon has Slash at this point (it learns Slash at Level 33, so you entirely possible for you to have it by now without overgrinding), it'll take out Victreebel and Vileplume easily. Erika's Tangela isn't most of a threat due to its lack of a good moveset.
--Koga: His whole team is weak to Dig, so Charizard has the advantage here.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon's weak Physical Defense means Slash will make short work of them.
--Blaine: Charizard resists Fire, and Dig is Super Effective on his entire team.
--Giovanni: None of his Pokemon know Rock Slide, so Charizard is safe here. Slash hurts Dugtrio, while Dig is Super Effective on the rest of his team.
--Lorelei: Charizard is actually weak to Ice in RBY, meaning he wont enjoy taking Auoura Beam from Dewgong or Cloyster. Slowbro has the bulk to take Slash, and set up with Amnesia. Jynx is easily taken out by Slash. Lapras can destroy Charizard with either Hydro Pump or Blizzard
--Bruno: Charizard resists Fighting, and Slash or Flamethrower/Fire Blast will take out Bruno's fighting Pokemon. Dig is Super Effective on Onix, but Charizard does not want to take a Rock Throw.
--Agatha: Dig takes out her Ghosts and Arbok easily, and Slash/Flamethrower takes out Golbat.
--Lance: Charizard can take out Dragonair with Slash, and do a lot of damage to Dragonite with the same move. But Gyarados has Hydro Pump, while Aerodactyl resists all of Charizard's moves.
Blue – Slash hurts Pidgeot, Flamethrower/Fire Blast hurt Exeggutor, and Dig hurts Arcanine/Rhydon. Alakazam can be taken out by Slash, as long as Alakazam doesn't get lucky with the Critical Hit Psychics. Blastoise on the other hand resists Fire, has good Physical Defense to take Slash/Dig, and can take out Charizard with Hydro Pump.
-Additional Comments: As you can see, Charmander is a very good starter. However, Charmander really wants the Dig TM, which a lot of Pokemon in the game also want. But if you are fine with putting Dig on Charmander, you should be good to go.
Diglett - Top Tier
-Availability: Diglett can be found in, well, Diglett's Cave, right next to Vermillion. It's impossible to miss them at L15-L22 (pretty high), but you might want to stick around and try to hit the Jackpot: you have a 5% chance of encountering a L29-L31 Dugtrio, and those guys absolutely break the game.
-Stats: This line's defensive stats are awful, but you can count on them outspeeding anything and everything. Fairly average base Attack, but who cares, they have the typing and movepool to back it up.
-Movepool: Diglett's strength is not that it gets many moves, but that it gets just the right ones to go to work in a timely fashion. You can catch them with Dig already learned (L19 or higher, pretty easy to do), and that move alone can last you the whole game. It has a whopping 100 base power, making it just a slightly delayed Earthquake that hits half the game for super effective damage. Slash comes soon enough at L35 (can be as little as four levels if you caught a Dugtrio), and you don't even have to spend your Earthquake TM on this since it gets just that move at L47.
There's only two TMs it could ever ask for: one is Rock Slide, to better deal with fliers and bugs if you desire so. But if you really must face those with Dugtrio, Slash usually does fine since it has almost as much power taking the 100% crit into account. The other is Fissure, which when combined with X Accuracy (which is bugged, like everything in RBY) can be used to KO any opponent with perfect reliability.
-Power: Dugtrio demolishes everything, especially things weak to Ground. If it does fail to OHKO, it can be in a bit of trouble since its HP and defenses are so bad, but it should be able to survive. If you use it against someone like Lorelei, you are obviously doing it wrong and you can't get your money back.
-Type: Ground STAB is an amazing type for two reasons. One is that a lot of things are weak to it (Poison is a common enemy type, and Electric is present as well). The other is that Dig's 100 base power works very well with STAB and being super effective. Resistances don't really matter because if you're taking hits you're playing this game wrong. But being immune to Electric and resisting Poison has its uses.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge picked a terrible place for his Electric gym and is probably the easiest gym battle in any Pokemon game. Beyond that, Dugtrio is really good against Team Rocket, Pokemon Tower, Koga, Blaine, and Agatha. The only boss fights he's bad in are against Erika and Lorelei, but the former is probably weak to everything else in your party. In most other spots, there tends to be at least one Pokemon Dugtrio can pick on, but even if he's below average in any fight he more than makes up for it on a grand scale.
-Nidoran-F - Top Tier
-Availability: It is obtained very early (before the first gym). It evolves into Nidorina at level 16 and then into Nidoqueen using a Moon Stone. You obtain your first Moon Stone in Mt. Moon, which means that it will be fully evolved before Cerulean City!
-Stats: Nidoqueen is the definition of balance, but it is more focused on defences than Nidoking. This difference is quite small however. Nidoqueen has good stats overall, and although it lacks any particular strengths it is still a powerful Pokémon.
-Movepool: Nidoran-F got the short end of the stick in regards to level-up movepool. Unlike its male counterpart, who gets Horn Attack at level 8, Nidoran-F got the much weaker Scratch which gives it less potential in regards to pumping out damage. Although Yellow helps it out by giving it Double Kick, this doesn’t solve the issue entirely because lots of things resist it early on. The one thing it has over Nidoran-M is that Nidoqueen gets Body Slam at level 23, which gives you access to the best in-game Normal type move in the game without using up the TM. Where Nidoqueen truely rules the roost is its TM compatibility. It is capable of learn all kinds of awesome TM/HM moves, from Earthquake to Thunderbolt to Surf to Rock Slide and pretty much everything in between. This obviously comes with an opportunity cost but since it learns so many moves you should be able to put together a great moveset without harming overall efficiency quite easily. The only real downside is that it gets no good STAB moves before Earthquake, but the coverage it gets makes this an incredibly minor problem.
-Power: Technically this is weaker than Nidoking, but the difference is small and most of the time it will achieve the same kills that Nidoking can. Balanced stats and wonderful coverage make for a powerful offensive Pokémon.
-Type: It will mainly be using Ground coverage for STAB since it lacks any good poison move. This is ok though, as it has great coverage. Nidoqueen does have a few nasty weaknesses though, including Psychic and Water, but these will be inconsequential most of the time when you’ll be killing things before they move. Nidoqueen’s slightly bulkier stat distribution makes it better at dealing with these moves than Nidoking, but it’s a small difference. Poison/Ground does also have some useful resistances too (Electric, Rock, Fighting, etc.).
-Match-ups: Brock – You are pretty much useless against Brock in RB. All you can really do is support teammates with Growl. In Yellow you do much better with Double Kick.
Misty – This isn’t a good match-up. Nidoqueen is weak to Water and Nidorina is just weak.
Lt. Surge – Your Electric immunity alone will allow you to win here.
Erika – You are vulnerable to status just like everything else. It sucks that you don’t resist Grass unless you actually held out on evolution, but Ice Beam is helpful here.
Koga – There is no reason why you would lose to Koga in RB, what with Earthquake combined with Poison resistance. Yellow Koga is tougher thanks to Psychic moves coming your way but Rock Slide makes mince meat of his weak bugs.
Sabrina – This is too risky. Sure you can hit her hard with STAB Earthquake but STAB Psychic hits you very hard.
Blaine – By now, you should have a super-effective move of some sort for him. If not Earthquake, then at least Surf or even Rock Slide.
Giovanni – You win on type coverage alone. Earthquake, Surf, Ice Beam... just one of these is enough.
Lorelei – Your Water and Ice weaknesses hurt you here. At the very least, your type coverage will help you take at least some of her team down. Have a back-up ready though.
Bruno – Bruno is a joke for Nidoqueen. Onix dies to a number of your possible moves and your Fighting resistance makes beating his Fighting types a breeze.
Agatha – You hopefully have the required moves, so now you just have to beat everything you can. Golbat and Arbok are dead for sure; the Ghosts are trickier if they outspeed you.
Lance – Ideally, you will have Thunderbolt and Ice Beam which makes this battle straight forward. Well, not quite. You still have to contend with potential super-effective hits from Gyarados and (in Yellow) his Dragons. This is easier in RB.
Blue – What you can beat depends on what you run, but I guarantee that you’ll have something for some of his Pokémon at least. Just watch for super-effective moves as many of his Pokémon have them.
-Additional Comments: Nidoqueen is arguably worse than Nidoking because Horn Attack allows it to perform better early game, especially before all of those TMs start coming in. However, Nidoqueen is not directly outclassed by it because it has Body Slam by level up and its better bulk DOES come into play in some situations. Regardless of the Nidoking comparisons, Nidoqueen is a terrific Pokémon in its own right. It is up to the player to pick which one they want to use.
-Nidoran-M - Top Tier
-Availability: It can be caught around Viridian City before the first gym. It naturally comes at a low level, but it gains experience quickly so it doesn’t take too long for it to catch up. It evolves at level 16 and then by exposure to a Moon Stone. Moon Stones can be found before the second gym, so you can have a powerful fully evolved Pokémon before Cerulean City.
-Stats: Nidoking is basically a well balanced Pokémon. None of its stats are outstanding but it has no real weaknesses. Compared to its female counterpart it is more focused on Speed and offense, but the difference is minor.
-Movepool: In terms of level-up movepool, Nidoran-M gets Horn Attack at level 8, which is fairly powerful at that point in the game. It also gets Double Kick at level 12 in Yellow. After that it doesn’t get that much of note, but it does get Thrash at level 23 as a Nidoking. Nidoking’s real strength is in its TM compatibility. Between Earthquake, Rock Slide, Thunderbolt, Surf/BubbleBeam/Water Gun, Fire Blast, Ice Beam/Blizzard and Body Slam, you should be able to put together a powerful moveset with ease. The only problem with Nidoking is that it can’t learn Dig, so it lacks a powerful STAB move until it reaches Earthquake. This isn’t a huge problem though, because it can work without it and Earthquake comes mid-game at the earliest.
-Power: With its well rounded stats and the phenomenal type coverage it carries, it is capable of powering through all kinds of Pokémon. It doesn’t truely take off until it gets all of its TMs but that doesn’t take too long and Nidoking can pull its weight adequately in the meantime.
-Type: Ground is an excellent offensive typing with great coverage. It notably makes short work of many of Team Rocket’s Pokémon, which is a huge plus. From a defensive point of view it does carry some annoying weaknesses to Water, Ice, Ground and Psychic, but in most cases this doesn’t matter because it can beat things before they move anyway.
-Match-ups: Brock – In Yellow it is a good choice because it gets Double Kick early. It won’t OHKO his Pokémon but it will beat them one-on-one. In RB it is significantly less useful because it doesn’t get Double Kick. At best it can support with Leer and maybe try Horn Attack after a few Defence drops, but there are better choices.
Misty – Stay away from her. If you have fully evolved it then it preys on your Water weakness. You could try Nidorino instead, but then you get beaten by stats alone.
Lt. Surge – Electric immunity makes this an easy battle for Nidoking. Shame it doesn’t have a Ground move yet (most likely).
Erika – If you have Ice Beam then it will help a lot. Nidoking can so ok here, but the lack of Grass resistance means you shouldn’t expect a huge showing.
Koga – Koga is a joke in RB. You 4x resist Poison and if you have Earthquake then it is even easier. In Yellow, you have a Psychic weakness to worry about, but with Rock Slide you can take down a few bugs.
Sabrina – Your Psychic weakness puts you in a real bind. It is just too risky, especially in Yellow, but if you can outpace her Pokémon then you can hit hard with Earthquake.
Blaine – You have a STAB super-effective move, so this is fairly straightforward.
Giovanni – Chances are you’ll have a move for at least some of his Pokémon. Surf and Ice Beam/Blizzard are great here, as is Earthquake. Just be wary of your own Ground weakness.
Lorelei – Bad match-up. Water and Ice weaknesses hinder you. Rock Slide and Thunderbolt cover everything though.
Bruno – You should be fine here. Onix should be weak to one of your moves, and the Fighting resistance you carry helps you beat his Fighting types. Hitmonchan has Ice Punch but it does pitiful damage.
Agatha – Earthquake deals with Gengar/Haunter and Arbok well. Thunderbolt/Rock Slide/Ice Beam/Blizzard deals with Golbat. As usual, try to keep the status in check.
Lance – BoltBeam coverage places you well, but you have to be mindful of the weaknesses you carry (Gyarados’s Hydro Pump, Dragonair’s Ice Beam, Dragonite’s Blizzard, etc.).
Blue – You potentially have a moveset that will cover a large number of his Pokémon. Again, you just have to take care with his super-effective attacks.
-Additional Comments: This is a great Pokémon. Good stats, good availability, wide movepool, useful match-ups... this is one of the best Pokémon in the game for in-game runs. Note that Nidoking arguably has the edge over Nidoqueen because Horn Attack is better than Scratch, though Nidoqueen has her own advantages.
-Seel - Top Tier
-Availability: Well, you COULD catch it in the Seaform Islands if you wanted to, but why would you? The best way to obtain this is from the trade on Cinnabar Island. In RB, you trade Ponyta for Seel. In Yellow, you trade Growlithe for Dewgong. Cinnabar Island seems a bit late, since you need to at least beat Koga to get there. However, Seel/Dewgong is an example of a Pokémon with excellent availability simply because it comes at the right place at the right time. The Pokémon you are trading away (regardless of version) is found easily in the Pokémon Mansion nearby. It will generally be caught in the mid-30 level range. Once you trade for your Seel/Dewgong, you can teach it Surf and then head back to Pokémon Mansion. It will happily beat the Fire trainers here, gaining a ton of experience as a result. If you have Seel, it should evolve into Dewgong quite quickly. At the end of it you’ll have the Blizzard TM which you can use if you like (it isn’t necessary though). Once the Mansion is done, you can head straight to the Cinnabar gym and solo the entire gym (this is more difficult in Yellow since Blaine is more challenging, but it’ll still do a great job in the gym as a whole). At the end of this, you should have a Dewgong that will have caught up to your team (and then some, should you choose to go overboard). You now have a powerful Water type obtained with little effort to help you through the last trainers of the game (i.e. the Elite 4).
-Stats: The best way to describe Dewgong’s stats would be ‘good enough’. 95 Special gives it great power to abuse its nice STABs, and 90 HP and 80 Defence give it a good amount of bulk. 70 Speed is decent by in-game standards and you should be moving first most of the time.
-Movepool: Dewgong’s movepool is basically the default one for Water types but it has all it needs. Surf and Ice Beam/Blizzard provide plenty of coverage. Body Slam (or another Normal move) can be used to cover Water types if you want, although there are better choices for Body Slam than Dewgong. A thing to note about Dewgong is that it has Aurora Beam and Ice Beam by level up. This is useful because it allows Dewgong to run an Ice attack without using up a TM (so you can use them on something else). However, if you have it free then you should use it on Dewgong.
-Power: When you first get it, it has enough power to beat what it needs to beat: Fire types. Once you sweep them, you’ll gain a massive level/power boost, allowing you to hold your own against everything else. Conveniently, Water/Ice is an excellent type combo late game so you’ll be powering through things easily regardless.
-Type: Again, Water/Ice is excellent at the point you get it in the game. It covers most of the Elite 4 by itself. From a defensive point of view Water/Ice is a bit shaky, but you’ll be killing things before they move so...
-Match-ups: Blaine – You sweep him with Surf. In Yellow it is a bit more difficult since Ninetales is stronger than Growlithe and Ponyta, but you’ll definitely contribute and even if you lose this particular battle you’ll still beat all of the other trainers.
Giovanni – Surf has perfect coverage against everything except Persian in Yellow, who is a weakling. Just watch for Thunder and Rock Slide and you’ll be fine.
Lorelei – This is probably the worst match-up that Dewgong will likely face. You can’t do much to each other. If you have a Normal move like Body Slam, it will help you out a bit. Surf is fine for Jynx.
Bruno – You beat Onix with Surf and you beat the others with powerful special attacks. Machamp is probably the most dangerous thing since it is the best prepared for surviving Surf, but at a good level (which isn’t unreasonable given the boosted experience) you’ll beat that too.
Agatha – Ice Beam/Blizzard hits Golbat and Surf is sufficient for Arbok. The Ghosts are trickier thanks to higher Specials and annoying status moves. It isn’t an auto-loss situation though.
Lance – Your STABs cover absolutely everything except Gyarados. Lance is a joke match-up in RB. In Yellow you also have to watch for Electric attacks, but you have the bulk to take at least one.
Blue – Your STABs cover Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Venusaur (watch for grass attacks), Sandslash, Ninetales and Flareon. The Water types can be taken on, although there are more efficient choices.
-Additional Comments: With the exception of RB Squirtle, Seel/Dewgong is the best Water type in the game. It just has a perfect combination of convenient availability, great power and helpful match-ups, and the boosted experience it gets from being a traded Pokémon makes it a breeze to train and also saves some experience for its teammates to use. The only thing wrong with it is that it comes later than many other Pokémon, but Water types aren’t even necessary before then. It is the late game where Water types really shine, and the game has been designed so that Dewgong arrives just when it is needed. This is a Top tier Pokémon for sure, and is highly recommended.
Squirtle - Top Tier
Squirtle (RB): Top Tier
-Availability: Starter Pokemon. Evolves at Level 16, which would be early in the game, and then again at Level 36, during the middle of the game.
-Stats: Blastoise has balanced stats. His offensive stats may not scream sweeper, but he can still hit hard. His defensive are also good and can let him take hits properly.
-Movepool: Squirtle has a very good movepool to choose from. From its STAB it learns Bubble and Water Gun through level-up, then gets the BubbleBeam TM after beating Misty, and finally the Surf HM in Fuscia City. He can also get the Ice Beam or Blizzard TM to hit Grass and Dragon types, and either the Dig or Earthquake TM to hit Electric types. Keep in mind the Dig TM is in high demand, and being that Electric Pokemon don't resist Water, Squritle does not need the Dig TM.
-Power: Squritle's offensive stats are now sweeper material, but he can OHKO or 2HKO many threats.
-Type: Water.
Offensively, Water is a great type that is only resisted by Water, Grass, and Dragon. Dragon and Grass can be hit by a Ice Beam, meaning only opposing Water types can truly wall Squirtle.
Defensively, Water is weak to Grass and Electric. Strong Electric moves are not common in the game, with only LT. Surge's Raichu having Thunderbolt. Grass types can be bothersome, especially since they Powder moves to status Squirtle.
Matchups:
--Brock: Squirtle should have Bubble at this point, which not only has STAB but is 4x Super Effective on Brock's Pokemon.
--Misty: Starmie resists Water but is Physically Frail, either raising Wartortle to learn Bite or teaching him the Mega Punch TM can help him overcome Misty.
--LT Surge: Wartortle can get pass Voltorb and Pikachu just fine due to their lack of strong Electric moves. Wartortle loses to Raichu, however.
--Erika: Wartortle can get the Ice Beam TM at this point to hit Erika's Pokemon for Super Effective damage but he will still have a hard time against this gym. Victreebell's Razor leaf is not only Super Effective but has a high Critical Hit Ratio, and Vileplume can use Mega Drain to hit for Super Effective and recover off previous damage. Tangela shouldn't be a threat due to his lack of Grass moves though.
--Koga: While Water isn't Super Effective on Poison, Koga's Pokemon do not enjoy taking Special Hits, including STAB Surf.
--Sabrina: Blastoise has the bulk to survive a Psychic or Psybeam and hit hard with a Physical move.
--Blaine: Blastoise can spam Surf to hit his Pokemon for Super Effective Damage.
--Giovanni: Same as Blaine.
--Lorelei: Blastoise is walled here. Not only due most of her Pokemon resist Water and Ice, but they have good defenses to take Physical Attacks, especially Slowbro and Cloyster. However, keep in mind her Dewgong and Slowbro can't do much back to Blastoise, while Jynx doesn't even resist Water.
--Bruno: Surf destroys his entire team due to Onix being 4x weak and the Fighting types having poor Specials.
--Agatha: If you have Earthquake or Dig, you can use that to hit her Physically-frail Pokemon. Ice Beam/Blizzard takes down Golbat.
--Lance: Surf takes down Aerodactyl while Ice Beam/Blizzard takes down the Dragons. However, Blastoise may have trouble with Gyarados as he resists Water and has the bulk to take on Ice moves.
--Gary: Surf takes down Arcanine and Rhydon, while an Ice move hits Pidgeot. Unfortunately, Gary's Alakazam is a lot more threatening than Sabrina's as Gary's knows Psychic. Gyarados once again shows up to bother Blastoise, and Venusaur has the bulk to take an Ice move and hit back with Razor Leaf.
Zapdos - Top Tier
-Availability: Zapdos is available mid-game after you beat Koga and are allowed to use the HM Surf outside a battle. A detour is needed to get to the Power Plant, but he comes at a high level of 50.
-Stats: Zapdos has one of the highest BST in the game. Its stats allow it to outspeed most in-game threats, perform as a mixed a sweeper, and gives it the bulk to takes hit.
-Movepool: When you capture Zapdos he has ThunderShock and Drill Peck, and is only 1 level away from learning Thunder. ThunderShock's low Base Power and Thunder's accuracy may be a turn off, so be sure to save the Thunderbolt TM that LT Surge gave you. Thunderbolt + Drill Peck is basically all Zapdos needs, the other two slots are basically just filler and can be used to slap the Fly HM on there.
-Power: With 90 Base Attack and 125 Special, Drill Peck and Thunderbolt will hurt anything that isn't the Rock/Ground types or an Electric type. Electric Pokemon are not really really common after the Power Plant segment. The Rock/Ground types are 4x weak to both Grass and Water, so a Grass or Water type Pokemon partner is recommended to eliminate them for Zapdos.
-Type: Electric/Flying means Zapdos is only weak to Rock and Ice. Rock moves are not common at all in the game. Most users of Ice moves in the games are Water types and are easily taken out by Thunderbolt
-Match-ups:
--Sabrina: Zapdos high Special means it has the bulk to take her attacks, and Drill Peck makes short work of her Pokemon due to their low Defense.
--Blaine: Zapdos isn't guaranteed a sweep here but he can be a good help here. This battle is tougher in Yellow due to the higher levels and Blaine now having Ninetails on his team.
--Giovanni: Zapdos can handle Dugtrio rather easily, and it can assist against Persian and the Nidos. However, Rhydon walls Zapdos due to its immunity to Thunderbolt and resistance to Drill Peck.
--Lorelei: Zapdos is actually weak to Ice, but Thunderbolt can take out all of her Pokemon besides Jynx due to them being part Water.
--Bruno: Zapdos resists Fighting and can Drill Peck his fighting types to KO, but sadly his Onix's wall Zapdos.
--Agatha: The Ghosts low defense means Drill Peck will easily defeat them. Golbat and Arbok are easily taken out by Thunderbolt as well.
--Lance: Zapdos outspeeds Gyarados and OHKO's it with Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is also Super Effective on Aerodactyl, but the latter out-speeds you so be ready to take a Hyper Beam. In RB, Zapdos can beat down on Dragonair and Dragonite with Drill Peck and Thunderbolt, respectively. The Dragons are tougher for Zapdos to fight in Yellow version due to one of his Dragonair's and his Dragonite having Ice moves, however.
--Gary: Drill Peck takes out his Grass types where as Thunderbolt can take out his Water types and his Pidgeot. Zapdos can also use Drill Peck to take on his Alakazam and his Fire types if needed to. Zapdos has trouble against Rhydon, Jolteon, and Magneton however as they resist both of his STABs.
-Additional Comments: As you can see Zapdos is worthy of his title as a legend. While it requires a detour, tons of patience to capture it, and the Thunderbolt TM you'll have a powerful Level 50 Pokemon that stays relevant throughout the entire game. A strong recommendation if you want to add a legendary to your team.
Availability: Early, before second gym. While hard to catch, Butterfree, Clefairy and Jigglypuff all learn sleep moves, and with RBY sleep mechanics, you can just keep putting Abra to sleep until you catch him so he doesn't teleport. Alternatively, you can wait until you reach Celadon to buy him for 180/120/230 (R/B/Y) coins.
Stats: Above Average
Movepool: Very limited, only gets STAB moves and utility moves. However it learns everything it needs by level 38 and can afford to run monotype offense.
Power: Having huge base stats in speed and special make Abra a huge threat to everything else. The strongest Psychic type in the game that isn't Mew or Mewtwo when it evolves, this gives it pure type advantage against everything. Confusion, Psybeam and Psychic are all really powerful in the game and hit everything that isn't a psychic type for neutral damage. It's worth noting that even if you can't evolve to get Alakazam, Kadabra's base Special is 125 and it's base Speed is 105, well above average. In addition, their speed means that they will both be dealing critical hits around 1/3rd of the time.
Type: No pokemon in RBY resists Psychic aside from other Psychics. In addition, Psychics resist Fighting, are immune to Ghost and are only weak to Bug which don't have any threatening moves in this game.
Match-ups:
Misty: If it's an Abra still it won't have any offensive moves. Kadabra/Alakazam can take Staryu and do some damage to Starmie, but it won't win unless its overlevelled or you get lucky with what moves it chooses.
Lt Surge: Kadabra makes short work of Voltorb and Pikachu. Raichu packs Thunderbolt which will hurt, but he shouldn't use it more than once on you depending on your level. Raichu can KO, so make sure to have a back-up waiting in the wings to finish the gym off.
Erika: If you used Kadabra/Alakazam to fight the rockets they/he should be more than strong enough to sweep the entire gym. You should OHKO everything in the gym with Psybeam, even Tangela who isn't weak to it. You can waste your Psychic TM on him at this point, but he learns it naturally in 10 levels anyway.
Koga: Way too easy with Psybeam. There are Jugglers in this gym who use Psychic-types, but none of them are a problem. Koga's entire team is weak to Psychic and nothing he has is as fast as Kadabra/Alakazam
Blaine: Will have Psychic by now and will have no trouble. Can take even Fire Blasts with its monster special but watch for Rapidash's Stomp or Arcanine's Take-Down.
Sabrina: Psychic is only resisted by other psychics, and Kadabra/Alakazam is the best of the bunch, so while the other psychics will resist your attacks, you will resist theirs in-turn. Watch out for Sabrina's Alakazam, for the same reasons that everyone else should watch out for yours. If you fought the gym leaders in this order though, you should be over-leveled though and have no trouble.
Giovanni: You are faster than all of his pokemon, and they all have terrible Special stats. You should sweep the gym no problem, just make sure to go all out as you can't take a single physical attack from anything. Your speed means you don't have to worry about Fissure or Horn Drill.
Lorelei: At this point you sweep her entire team and can take pretty much all special moves they can throw at you. Just don't go up against Jynx unless you have to, as it resists Psychic and can significantly wear out your sustainability.
Bruno: Sweeps. Of the 5 pokemon Bruno uses, the only 2 not weak to Psychic have terrible special stats and are incredibly slow. You should not have a problem.
Agatha: All her pokemon are weak to Psychic-type moves. Just use Psybeam, don't waste your Psychic PP.
Lance: Make sure you are a higher level than Aerodactyl, as its Hyper Beam will KO you and it's just faster than Alakazam at the same level. With that being said, you should sweep no problem, none of his Dragons are bulky enough to survive STAB Psychic.
Rival: If you've chosen Squirtle, your rival will have a Venusaur, and in that case there is nothing that can stop Alakazam except your rival's Alakazam. If you are a higher level, you should take it down though. Watch out for Exeggutor (Charmander and Bulbasaur only though) as it resist Psychic and will hit you with physical moves or hypnosis. In Yellow, your rival will likely have a Jolteon (if you beat him twice) which is often faster without a large level disparity and carries Pin Missile, which can crit over multiple hits and is supereffective. Still, Alakazam is not truly threatened and should OHKO in return.
Additional Notes: Even though Abra needs to be trained like Magicarp, it levels up to Kadabra at level 16 and it levels up quickly. You can then evolve it immediately to Alakazam if you have a friend and/or a trade cartridge. While not as potent as Alakazam, not being able to evolve doesn't make Kadabra useless, but will need to be 5-8 levels higher to do what Alakazam can reasonably do. As Kadabra/Alakazam, it is self-sufficient after that moment and requires no TM support. It is advisable to run Psybeam/Psychic/Recover with any other move of your choice as this allows Kadabra/Alakazam to have some staying power as well as not being limited by PP.
Articuno - Top Tier
-Availability: Articuno can be obtained after the 5th gym. Beating Koga enables you to use the Surf HM, where you can go to the Seafoam Island. In the Seafoam Island you must search the cave and use the Strength HM to solve puzzles to get to Articuno. Articuno comes at a high level of 50 and is hard to catch, so make sure to save the game before you fight it and have a ton of Ultra Balls ready.
-Stats: Due to its status as a legendary, Articuno has a huge BST. Most notable is its 125 Special, which allows it to tank Special moves and plow through foes with its STAB Ice moves.
-Movepool: When you encounter it Articuno it has Peck and Ice Beam, and learns Blizzard one level later. While it seems counterproductive to have to have two Ice moves on the same Pokemon, Blizzard's low PP rate means that having Ice Beam as a back-up will be helpful. Peck is weak, but you can always give Articuno the HM02 Fly if you want Physical STAB.
-Power: Articuno's Blizzard is the most powerful Special Attack in the game, and it will dent anything that doesn't resist it
-Type: Ice/Flying is fantastic offensive combo, as only the Water/Rock fossil Pokemon resist that combo (you don't fight those guys in-game anyway).
-Match-ups:
--Sabrina: Articuno has the bulk to take on her Psychics attacks, and Fly hits them on their lower defense stat. Keep in mind though, that Alakazam can abuse the first turn of Fly as a chance to Recover or set up Reflect.
--Blaine: You would think Articuno would be dead weight against a Fire gym, but Articuno is surprisingly useful here. Articuno's high Special means it can actually handle a Fire Blast, and its Blizzards will do a lot to Blaine's Pokemon (remember Fire doesn't resist Ice in RBY).
--Giovanni: His entire team is weak to Blizzard except for Persian in Yellow, who isn't too much of a threat to Articuno.
--Lorelei: If there was an Achilles's heel for Articuno's match-ups, it would be this fight. All of her Pokemon resist Ice, and all of them besides Jynx have the Physical bulk to take Fly.
--Bruno: Fly takes out his Fighting Pokemon easily, while Ice Beam can handle his Onix's.
--Agatha: Articuno doesn't have a type advantage here, but can overwhelm her Pokemon through sheer force alone. Just watch out for Confuse Ray hax.
--Lance: Articuno can easily sweep the Dragons and Aerodactyl due to their weakness to Ice. Gyarados is tougher fight for the legendary bird due to not being weak to Ice, but is still beatable.
--Gary (RB): Venusaur, Exeggutor, Rhydon, Pidgeot and Charizard are all weak to Ice. Arcanine has the type advantage, but his strongest STAB here is the weak Ember. Blastoise, Alakazam and Gyarados are probably Articuno's toughest fight here, but Articuno can still be of help against those three.
--Gary (Y): Sandslash, Alakazam, and Exeggutor are manageable. However, Ninetails can trap you with Fire Spin, Cloyster walls you, and Jolteon's Thunderbolt can hurt once you factor its massive critical hit rate.
-Additional Comments: As you can see, Articuno is a great asset to any team. However you have to deal with the burden of exploring Seafoam Island and spending a lot of time capturing the Pokemon. But if you can get by that, you'll be set for many battles.
Bulbasaur (RB) - Top Tier
-Availability: Starter Pokemon
-Stats: Above Average, his high Special works well with Razor Leaf’s critical hit ratio.
-Movepool: Bulbasaur mostly gets Grass and Normal moves to work with, which isn’t too bad as only Gengar resists both of them. Razor Leaf is probably the best Grass move for him to work with, where as Body Slam/Double-Edge TM’s give him normal coverage.
Venusaur can also try a Growth + Mega Drain, but probably isn’t the suitable Grass type for this set due to learning Sleep Powder at such a late level.
-Power: Venusaur’s high Special and Razor Leaf’s CH ratio will hit anything that doesn’t resist it hard.
-Type: Grass/Poison. While Grass gives him the advantage over early gym leader, its STAB is resisted by many types. Most notable the abundance of Poison types in this game resist Razor Leaf, putting a damper on its power.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Vine Whip is 4x Super Effective on his Pokemon and should take them out easily.
--Misty: Grass resists Water, and Ivysaur’s Vince Whip can take out Staryu and Starmie.
--LT Surge: Ivysaur resists Electric, meaning he can take a hit here. Surge’s Pikachu and Raichu both know Thunder Wave, so outside of Paralyze Hax, you should be fine.
--Erika: Erika's Pokemon resist Grass, so it will need a strong normal move such as Body Slam or Double-Edge if it wants to hold its own. Even if you have a strong normal move, Victreebel still might be a tough fight due to Sleep Powder + Wrap. Tangela can take a hit, but he can’t do much back to Venusaur. Vileplume is completely walled by Venusaur.
--Koga: Posion resists Grass, and his Pokemon have good Defense to take a Normal move. However, his Pokemon don’t really have the best movesets and Razor Leaf spam can wear down his team.
--Sabrina: Venusaur is weak to Psychic meaning he wont be able to accomplish much here. Also, Venusaur is actually weak to Bug in RBY, so even Venomoth threatens Venusaur.
--Blaine: A strong normal move can take out Ponyta and Growlithe, but Rapidash outspeeds you and can Fire Spin trap you. Blaine’s Arcanine knows Fire Blast, which Venusaur wont enjoy taking at all.
--Giovanni: Razor Leaf will easily dispose of Rhyhorn, Rhydon, and Dugtrio. Nidoqueen and Nidoking are not weak to Razor Leaf, but Venusaur can still take them out 1-1.
--Lorlelei: Venusaur is weak to Ice, but if you are at an appropriate level, Razor Leaf will make short work of Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro. Jynx however isn’t weak to Grass, and Lapras has the bulk to take a Razor Leaf and retaliate with Blizzard.
--Bruno: Razor Leaf sweeps his whole team due to Brunos’ Pokemon having low Special.
--Agatha: Her entire team resists Grass, and the Ghosts even resist your Normal Moves.
--Lance: Due to the AI always going for Super Effective hits, his Dragonairs and Dragonites will only use Agility/Barrier and Venusaur can take them. Gyarados has a powerful Hyper Beam, but Venusaur resists his Hydro Pump and can wear him down with Razor Leaf. Aerodatyl is also another powerful user of Hyper Beam, but his low Special means Razor Leaf will make short work of him.
--Gary: On a positive note, Rhydon is OHKO’d by a Grass move. Gary’s Exeggutor doesn’t know Psychic so Venusaur can beat him with a strong normal move. Venusaur resists Gyarados’s Hydro Pump, just watch out for Hyper Beam. However, Pidgeot resists Grass and Sky Attack will either make you switch out or be fainted. Alakazam outspeeds Venusaur and destroys it with Psychic. Charizard can also take you out with Fire Blast.
-Additional Comments: Much like Charmander and Squirtle, Bulbasaur is a great in-game starter Pokemon. It excels in the beginning due to its type advantage over Gyms. Although Grass as a type starts to lose value as the game goes on, at that point you’ll have team mates to make sure you are not fully dependent on your starter. Towards the end of the game Grass makes a comeback due to the Ground gym and the abundance of Water types around. Overall, you can’t really go wrong with any starter in Red & Blue, and Bulbasaur is no exception to this.
Charmander (RB) - Top Tier
-Availability: Starter Pokemon
-Stats: Mostly Average, Charizard does have Good Speed that allows it to outspeed most in-game threats.
-Movepool: Through level-up Charmander learns Ember for STAB, but its stuck with that until Level 46 (Flamethrower) or after the 7th gym (where you get the Fire Blast TM). However the most notable move in Charizard's level-up movepool is Slash at Level 33, which in RBY has a high critical hit ratio. Charmander is also a big fan of the Dig TM, allowing it to take the various Poison types in the game.
-Power: Slash and Dig is a powerful combination that is only resisted by Aerodactyl, who you only have to fight once in the entire game.
-Type: Fire/Flying. Unfortunately, it's typing is one of its flaws. Charziard doesn't learn any flying moves in the original R&B, and he spends the majority of the game stuck with Ember instead of Flamethrower/Fire Blast. His other moves (Slash and Dig mainly) are better than his STAB. Another problem with his type is that its weak to Water, which is a common type in this game.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Brock's Pokemon resist Ember, but their low Special means they will still be hurt by Ember. Just don't attack Onix during his Bide period and you should be fine.
--Misty: Staryu is manageable, but Starmie absolutely destroys Charmeleon with BubbleBeam. A Grass type partner is highly recommended for this battle.
--Lt. Surge: Assuming you let Charmeleon have the Dig TM, it should be a simple sweep.
--Erika: Her Pokemon are weak to Ember, but Ember's poor Base Power means her Victreebel and Vileplume can take a hit and retaliate with status. However, if Charmeleon has Slash at this point (it learns Slash at Level 33, so you entirely possible for you to have it by now without overgrinding), it'll take out Victreebel and Vileplume easily. Erika's Tangela isn't most of a threat due to its lack of a good moveset.
--Koga: His whole team is weak to Dig, so Charizard has the advantage here.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon's weak Physical Defense means Slash will make short work of them.
--Blaine: Charizard resists Fire, and Dig is Super Effective on his entire team.
--Giovanni: None of his Pokemon know Rock Slide, so Charizard is safe here. Slash hurts Dugtrio, while Dig is Super Effective on the rest of his team.
--Lorelei: Charizard is actually weak to Ice in RBY, meaning he wont enjoy taking Auoura Beam from Dewgong or Cloyster. Slowbro has the bulk to take Slash, and set up with Amnesia. Jynx is easily taken out by Slash. Lapras can destroy Charizard with either Hydro Pump or Blizzard
--Bruno: Charizard resists Fighting, and Slash or Flamethrower/Fire Blast will take out Bruno's fighting Pokemon. Dig is Super Effective on Onix, but Charizard does not want to take a Rock Throw.
--Agatha: Dig takes out her Ghosts and Arbok easily, and Slash/Flamethrower takes out Golbat.
--Lance: Charizard can take out Dragonair with Slash, and do a lot of damage to Dragonite with the same move. But Gyarados has Hydro Pump, while Aerodactyl resists all of Charizard's moves.
Blue – Slash hurts Pidgeot, Flamethrower/Fire Blast hurt Exeggutor, and Dig hurts Arcanine/Rhydon. Alakazam can be taken out by Slash, as long as Alakazam doesn't get lucky with the Critical Hit Psychics. Blastoise on the other hand resists Fire, has good Physical Defense to take Slash/Dig, and can take out Charizard with Hydro Pump.
-Additional Comments: As you can see, Charmander is a very good starter. However, Charmander really wants the Dig TM, which a lot of Pokemon in the game also want. But if you are fine with putting Dig on Charmander, you should be good to go.
Diglett - Top Tier
-Availability: Diglett can be found in, well, Diglett's Cave, right next to Vermillion. It's impossible to miss them at L15-L22 (pretty high), but you might want to stick around and try to hit the Jackpot: you have a 5% chance of encountering a L29-L31 Dugtrio, and those guys absolutely break the game.
-Stats: This line's defensive stats are awful, but you can count on them outspeeding anything and everything. Fairly average base Attack, but who cares, they have the typing and movepool to back it up.
-Movepool: Diglett's strength is not that it gets many moves, but that it gets just the right ones to go to work in a timely fashion. You can catch them with Dig already learned (L19 or higher, pretty easy to do), and that move alone can last you the whole game. It has a whopping 100 base power, making it just a slightly delayed Earthquake that hits half the game for super effective damage. Slash comes soon enough at L35 (can be as little as four levels if you caught a Dugtrio), and you don't even have to spend your Earthquake TM on this since it gets just that move at L47.
There's only two TMs it could ever ask for: one is Rock Slide, to better deal with fliers and bugs if you desire so. But if you really must face those with Dugtrio, Slash usually does fine since it has almost as much power taking the 100% crit into account. The other is Fissure, which when combined with X Accuracy (which is bugged, like everything in RBY) can be used to KO any opponent with perfect reliability.
-Power: Dugtrio demolishes everything, especially things weak to Ground. If it does fail to OHKO, it can be in a bit of trouble since its HP and defenses are so bad, but it should be able to survive. If you use it against someone like Lorelei, you are obviously doing it wrong and you can't get your money back.
-Type: Ground STAB is an amazing type for two reasons. One is that a lot of things are weak to it (Poison is a common enemy type, and Electric is present as well). The other is that Dig's 100 base power works very well with STAB and being super effective. Resistances don't really matter because if you're taking hits you're playing this game wrong. But being immune to Electric and resisting Poison has its uses.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge picked a terrible place for his Electric gym and is probably the easiest gym battle in any Pokemon game. Beyond that, Dugtrio is really good against Team Rocket, Pokemon Tower, Koga, Blaine, and Agatha. The only boss fights he's bad in are against Erika and Lorelei, but the former is probably weak to everything else in your party. In most other spots, there tends to be at least one Pokemon Dugtrio can pick on, but even if he's below average in any fight he more than makes up for it on a grand scale.
-Nidoran-F - Top Tier
-Availability: It is obtained very early (before the first gym). It evolves into Nidorina at level 16 and then into Nidoqueen using a Moon Stone. You obtain your first Moon Stone in Mt. Moon, which means that it will be fully evolved before Cerulean City!
-Stats: Nidoqueen is the definition of balance, but it is more focused on defences than Nidoking. This difference is quite small however. Nidoqueen has good stats overall, and although it lacks any particular strengths it is still a powerful Pokémon.
-Movepool: Nidoran-F got the short end of the stick in regards to level-up movepool. Unlike its male counterpart, who gets Horn Attack at level 8, Nidoran-F got the much weaker Scratch which gives it less potential in regards to pumping out damage. Although Yellow helps it out by giving it Double Kick, this doesn’t solve the issue entirely because lots of things resist it early on. The one thing it has over Nidoran-M is that Nidoqueen gets Body Slam at level 23, which gives you access to the best in-game Normal type move in the game without using up the TM. Where Nidoqueen truely rules the roost is its TM compatibility. It is capable of learn all kinds of awesome TM/HM moves, from Earthquake to Thunderbolt to Surf to Rock Slide and pretty much everything in between. This obviously comes with an opportunity cost but since it learns so many moves you should be able to put together a great moveset without harming overall efficiency quite easily. The only real downside is that it gets no good STAB moves before Earthquake, but the coverage it gets makes this an incredibly minor problem.
-Power: Technically this is weaker than Nidoking, but the difference is small and most of the time it will achieve the same kills that Nidoking can. Balanced stats and wonderful coverage make for a powerful offensive Pokémon.
-Type: It will mainly be using Ground coverage for STAB since it lacks any good poison move. This is ok though, as it has great coverage. Nidoqueen does have a few nasty weaknesses though, including Psychic and Water, but these will be inconsequential most of the time when you’ll be killing things before they move. Nidoqueen’s slightly bulkier stat distribution makes it better at dealing with these moves than Nidoking, but it’s a small difference. Poison/Ground does also have some useful resistances too (Electric, Rock, Fighting, etc.).
-Match-ups: Brock – You are pretty much useless against Brock in RB. All you can really do is support teammates with Growl. In Yellow you do much better with Double Kick.
Misty – This isn’t a good match-up. Nidoqueen is weak to Water and Nidorina is just weak.
Lt. Surge – Your Electric immunity alone will allow you to win here.
Erika – You are vulnerable to status just like everything else. It sucks that you don’t resist Grass unless you actually held out on evolution, but Ice Beam is helpful here.
Koga – There is no reason why you would lose to Koga in RB, what with Earthquake combined with Poison resistance. Yellow Koga is tougher thanks to Psychic moves coming your way but Rock Slide makes mince meat of his weak bugs.
Sabrina – This is too risky. Sure you can hit her hard with STAB Earthquake but STAB Psychic hits you very hard.
Blaine – By now, you should have a super-effective move of some sort for him. If not Earthquake, then at least Surf or even Rock Slide.
Giovanni – You win on type coverage alone. Earthquake, Surf, Ice Beam... just one of these is enough.
Lorelei – Your Water and Ice weaknesses hurt you here. At the very least, your type coverage will help you take at least some of her team down. Have a back-up ready though.
Bruno – Bruno is a joke for Nidoqueen. Onix dies to a number of your possible moves and your Fighting resistance makes beating his Fighting types a breeze.
Agatha – You hopefully have the required moves, so now you just have to beat everything you can. Golbat and Arbok are dead for sure; the Ghosts are trickier if they outspeed you.
Lance – Ideally, you will have Thunderbolt and Ice Beam which makes this battle straight forward. Well, not quite. You still have to contend with potential super-effective hits from Gyarados and (in Yellow) his Dragons. This is easier in RB.
Blue – What you can beat depends on what you run, but I guarantee that you’ll have something for some of his Pokémon at least. Just watch for super-effective moves as many of his Pokémon have them.
-Additional Comments: Nidoqueen is arguably worse than Nidoking because Horn Attack allows it to perform better early game, especially before all of those TMs start coming in. However, Nidoqueen is not directly outclassed by it because it has Body Slam by level up and its better bulk DOES come into play in some situations. Regardless of the Nidoking comparisons, Nidoqueen is a terrific Pokémon in its own right. It is up to the player to pick which one they want to use.
-Nidoran-M - Top Tier
-Availability: It can be caught around Viridian City before the first gym. It naturally comes at a low level, but it gains experience quickly so it doesn’t take too long for it to catch up. It evolves at level 16 and then by exposure to a Moon Stone. Moon Stones can be found before the second gym, so you can have a powerful fully evolved Pokémon before Cerulean City.
-Stats: Nidoking is basically a well balanced Pokémon. None of its stats are outstanding but it has no real weaknesses. Compared to its female counterpart it is more focused on Speed and offense, but the difference is minor.
-Movepool: In terms of level-up movepool, Nidoran-M gets Horn Attack at level 8, which is fairly powerful at that point in the game. It also gets Double Kick at level 12 in Yellow. After that it doesn’t get that much of note, but it does get Thrash at level 23 as a Nidoking. Nidoking’s real strength is in its TM compatibility. Between Earthquake, Rock Slide, Thunderbolt, Surf/BubbleBeam/Water Gun, Fire Blast, Ice Beam/Blizzard and Body Slam, you should be able to put together a powerful moveset with ease. The only problem with Nidoking is that it can’t learn Dig, so it lacks a powerful STAB move until it reaches Earthquake. This isn’t a huge problem though, because it can work without it and Earthquake comes mid-game at the earliest.
-Power: With its well rounded stats and the phenomenal type coverage it carries, it is capable of powering through all kinds of Pokémon. It doesn’t truely take off until it gets all of its TMs but that doesn’t take too long and Nidoking can pull its weight adequately in the meantime.
-Type: Ground is an excellent offensive typing with great coverage. It notably makes short work of many of Team Rocket’s Pokémon, which is a huge plus. From a defensive point of view it does carry some annoying weaknesses to Water, Ice, Ground and Psychic, but in most cases this doesn’t matter because it can beat things before they move anyway.
-Match-ups: Brock – In Yellow it is a good choice because it gets Double Kick early. It won’t OHKO his Pokémon but it will beat them one-on-one. In RB it is significantly less useful because it doesn’t get Double Kick. At best it can support with Leer and maybe try Horn Attack after a few Defence drops, but there are better choices.
Misty – Stay away from her. If you have fully evolved it then it preys on your Water weakness. You could try Nidorino instead, but then you get beaten by stats alone.
Lt. Surge – Electric immunity makes this an easy battle for Nidoking. Shame it doesn’t have a Ground move yet (most likely).
Erika – If you have Ice Beam then it will help a lot. Nidoking can so ok here, but the lack of Grass resistance means you shouldn’t expect a huge showing.
Koga – Koga is a joke in RB. You 4x resist Poison and if you have Earthquake then it is even easier. In Yellow, you have a Psychic weakness to worry about, but with Rock Slide you can take down a few bugs.
Sabrina – Your Psychic weakness puts you in a real bind. It is just too risky, especially in Yellow, but if you can outpace her Pokémon then you can hit hard with Earthquake.
Blaine – You have a STAB super-effective move, so this is fairly straightforward.
Giovanni – Chances are you’ll have a move for at least some of his Pokémon. Surf and Ice Beam/Blizzard are great here, as is Earthquake. Just be wary of your own Ground weakness.
Lorelei – Bad match-up. Water and Ice weaknesses hinder you. Rock Slide and Thunderbolt cover everything though.
Bruno – You should be fine here. Onix should be weak to one of your moves, and the Fighting resistance you carry helps you beat his Fighting types. Hitmonchan has Ice Punch but it does pitiful damage.
Agatha – Earthquake deals with Gengar/Haunter and Arbok well. Thunderbolt/Rock Slide/Ice Beam/Blizzard deals with Golbat. As usual, try to keep the status in check.
Lance – BoltBeam coverage places you well, but you have to be mindful of the weaknesses you carry (Gyarados’s Hydro Pump, Dragonair’s Ice Beam, Dragonite’s Blizzard, etc.).
Blue – You potentially have a moveset that will cover a large number of his Pokémon. Again, you just have to take care with his super-effective attacks.
-Additional Comments: This is a great Pokémon. Good stats, good availability, wide movepool, useful match-ups... this is one of the best Pokémon in the game for in-game runs. Note that Nidoking arguably has the edge over Nidoqueen because Horn Attack is better than Scratch, though Nidoqueen has her own advantages.
-Seel - Top Tier
-Availability: Well, you COULD catch it in the Seaform Islands if you wanted to, but why would you? The best way to obtain this is from the trade on Cinnabar Island. In RB, you trade Ponyta for Seel. In Yellow, you trade Growlithe for Dewgong. Cinnabar Island seems a bit late, since you need to at least beat Koga to get there. However, Seel/Dewgong is an example of a Pokémon with excellent availability simply because it comes at the right place at the right time. The Pokémon you are trading away (regardless of version) is found easily in the Pokémon Mansion nearby. It will generally be caught in the mid-30 level range. Once you trade for your Seel/Dewgong, you can teach it Surf and then head back to Pokémon Mansion. It will happily beat the Fire trainers here, gaining a ton of experience as a result. If you have Seel, it should evolve into Dewgong quite quickly. At the end of it you’ll have the Blizzard TM which you can use if you like (it isn’t necessary though). Once the Mansion is done, you can head straight to the Cinnabar gym and solo the entire gym (this is more difficult in Yellow since Blaine is more challenging, but it’ll still do a great job in the gym as a whole). At the end of this, you should have a Dewgong that will have caught up to your team (and then some, should you choose to go overboard). You now have a powerful Water type obtained with little effort to help you through the last trainers of the game (i.e. the Elite 4).
-Stats: The best way to describe Dewgong’s stats would be ‘good enough’. 95 Special gives it great power to abuse its nice STABs, and 90 HP and 80 Defence give it a good amount of bulk. 70 Speed is decent by in-game standards and you should be moving first most of the time.
-Movepool: Dewgong’s movepool is basically the default one for Water types but it has all it needs. Surf and Ice Beam/Blizzard provide plenty of coverage. Body Slam (or another Normal move) can be used to cover Water types if you want, although there are better choices for Body Slam than Dewgong. A thing to note about Dewgong is that it has Aurora Beam and Ice Beam by level up. This is useful because it allows Dewgong to run an Ice attack without using up a TM (so you can use them on something else). However, if you have it free then you should use it on Dewgong.
-Power: When you first get it, it has enough power to beat what it needs to beat: Fire types. Once you sweep them, you’ll gain a massive level/power boost, allowing you to hold your own against everything else. Conveniently, Water/Ice is an excellent type combo late game so you’ll be powering through things easily regardless.
-Type: Again, Water/Ice is excellent at the point you get it in the game. It covers most of the Elite 4 by itself. From a defensive point of view Water/Ice is a bit shaky, but you’ll be killing things before they move so...
-Match-ups: Blaine – You sweep him with Surf. In Yellow it is a bit more difficult since Ninetales is stronger than Growlithe and Ponyta, but you’ll definitely contribute and even if you lose this particular battle you’ll still beat all of the other trainers.
Giovanni – Surf has perfect coverage against everything except Persian in Yellow, who is a weakling. Just watch for Thunder and Rock Slide and you’ll be fine.
Lorelei – This is probably the worst match-up that Dewgong will likely face. You can’t do much to each other. If you have a Normal move like Body Slam, it will help you out a bit. Surf is fine for Jynx.
Bruno – You beat Onix with Surf and you beat the others with powerful special attacks. Machamp is probably the most dangerous thing since it is the best prepared for surviving Surf, but at a good level (which isn’t unreasonable given the boosted experience) you’ll beat that too.
Agatha – Ice Beam/Blizzard hits Golbat and Surf is sufficient for Arbok. The Ghosts are trickier thanks to higher Specials and annoying status moves. It isn’t an auto-loss situation though.
Lance – Your STABs cover absolutely everything except Gyarados. Lance is a joke match-up in RB. In Yellow you also have to watch for Electric attacks, but you have the bulk to take at least one.
Blue – Your STABs cover Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Venusaur (watch for grass attacks), Sandslash, Ninetales and Flareon. The Water types can be taken on, although there are more efficient choices.
-Additional Comments: With the exception of RB Squirtle, Seel/Dewgong is the best Water type in the game. It just has a perfect combination of convenient availability, great power and helpful match-ups, and the boosted experience it gets from being a traded Pokémon makes it a breeze to train and also saves some experience for its teammates to use. The only thing wrong with it is that it comes later than many other Pokémon, but Water types aren’t even necessary before then. It is the late game where Water types really shine, and the game has been designed so that Dewgong arrives just when it is needed. This is a Top tier Pokémon for sure, and is highly recommended.
Squirtle - Top Tier
Squirtle (RB): Top Tier
-Availability: Starter Pokemon. Evolves at Level 16, which would be early in the game, and then again at Level 36, during the middle of the game.
-Stats: Blastoise has balanced stats. His offensive stats may not scream sweeper, but he can still hit hard. His defensive are also good and can let him take hits properly.
-Movepool: Squirtle has a very good movepool to choose from. From its STAB it learns Bubble and Water Gun through level-up, then gets the BubbleBeam TM after beating Misty, and finally the Surf HM in Fuscia City. He can also get the Ice Beam or Blizzard TM to hit Grass and Dragon types, and either the Dig or Earthquake TM to hit Electric types. Keep in mind the Dig TM is in high demand, and being that Electric Pokemon don't resist Water, Squritle does not need the Dig TM.
-Power: Squritle's offensive stats are now sweeper material, but he can OHKO or 2HKO many threats.
-Type: Water.
Offensively, Water is a great type that is only resisted by Water, Grass, and Dragon. Dragon and Grass can be hit by a Ice Beam, meaning only opposing Water types can truly wall Squirtle.
Defensively, Water is weak to Grass and Electric. Strong Electric moves are not common in the game, with only LT. Surge's Raichu having Thunderbolt. Grass types can be bothersome, especially since they Powder moves to status Squirtle.
Matchups:
--Brock: Squirtle should have Bubble at this point, which not only has STAB but is 4x Super Effective on Brock's Pokemon.
--Misty: Starmie resists Water but is Physically Frail, either raising Wartortle to learn Bite or teaching him the Mega Punch TM can help him overcome Misty.
--LT Surge: Wartortle can get pass Voltorb and Pikachu just fine due to their lack of strong Electric moves. Wartortle loses to Raichu, however.
--Erika: Wartortle can get the Ice Beam TM at this point to hit Erika's Pokemon for Super Effective damage but he will still have a hard time against this gym. Victreebell's Razor leaf is not only Super Effective but has a high Critical Hit Ratio, and Vileplume can use Mega Drain to hit for Super Effective and recover off previous damage. Tangela shouldn't be a threat due to his lack of Grass moves though.
--Koga: While Water isn't Super Effective on Poison, Koga's Pokemon do not enjoy taking Special Hits, including STAB Surf.
--Sabrina: Blastoise has the bulk to survive a Psychic or Psybeam and hit hard with a Physical move.
--Blaine: Blastoise can spam Surf to hit his Pokemon for Super Effective Damage.
--Giovanni: Same as Blaine.
--Lorelei: Blastoise is walled here. Not only due most of her Pokemon resist Water and Ice, but they have good defenses to take Physical Attacks, especially Slowbro and Cloyster. However, keep in mind her Dewgong and Slowbro can't do much back to Blastoise, while Jynx doesn't even resist Water.
--Bruno: Surf destroys his entire team due to Onix being 4x weak and the Fighting types having poor Specials.
--Agatha: If you have Earthquake or Dig, you can use that to hit her Physically-frail Pokemon. Ice Beam/Blizzard takes down Golbat.
--Lance: Surf takes down Aerodactyl while Ice Beam/Blizzard takes down the Dragons. However, Blastoise may have trouble with Gyarados as he resists Water and has the bulk to take on Ice moves.
--Gary: Surf takes down Arcanine and Rhydon, while an Ice move hits Pidgeot. Unfortunately, Gary's Alakazam is a lot more threatening than Sabrina's as Gary's knows Psychic. Gyarados once again shows up to bother Blastoise, and Venusaur has the bulk to take an Ice move and hit back with Razor Leaf.
Zapdos - Top Tier
-Availability: Zapdos is available mid-game after you beat Koga and are allowed to use the HM Surf outside a battle. A detour is needed to get to the Power Plant, but he comes at a high level of 50.
-Stats: Zapdos has one of the highest BST in the game. Its stats allow it to outspeed most in-game threats, perform as a mixed a sweeper, and gives it the bulk to takes hit.
-Movepool: When you capture Zapdos he has ThunderShock and Drill Peck, and is only 1 level away from learning Thunder. ThunderShock's low Base Power and Thunder's accuracy may be a turn off, so be sure to save the Thunderbolt TM that LT Surge gave you. Thunderbolt + Drill Peck is basically all Zapdos needs, the other two slots are basically just filler and can be used to slap the Fly HM on there.
-Power: With 90 Base Attack and 125 Special, Drill Peck and Thunderbolt will hurt anything that isn't the Rock/Ground types or an Electric type. Electric Pokemon are not really really common after the Power Plant segment. The Rock/Ground types are 4x weak to both Grass and Water, so a Grass or Water type Pokemon partner is recommended to eliminate them for Zapdos.
-Type: Electric/Flying means Zapdos is only weak to Rock and Ice. Rock moves are not common at all in the game. Most users of Ice moves in the games are Water types and are easily taken out by Thunderbolt
-Match-ups:
--Sabrina: Zapdos high Special means it has the bulk to take her attacks, and Drill Peck makes short work of her Pokemon due to their low Defense.
--Blaine: Zapdos isn't guaranteed a sweep here but he can be a good help here. This battle is tougher in Yellow due to the higher levels and Blaine now having Ninetails on his team.
--Giovanni: Zapdos can handle Dugtrio rather easily, and it can assist against Persian and the Nidos. However, Rhydon walls Zapdos due to its immunity to Thunderbolt and resistance to Drill Peck.
--Lorelei: Zapdos is actually weak to Ice, but Thunderbolt can take out all of her Pokemon besides Jynx due to them being part Water.
--Bruno: Zapdos resists Fighting and can Drill Peck his fighting types to KO, but sadly his Onix's wall Zapdos.
--Agatha: The Ghosts low defense means Drill Peck will easily defeat them. Golbat and Arbok are easily taken out by Thunderbolt as well.
--Lance: Zapdos outspeeds Gyarados and OHKO's it with Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is also Super Effective on Aerodactyl, but the latter out-speeds you so be ready to take a Hyper Beam. In RB, Zapdos can beat down on Dragonair and Dragonite with Drill Peck and Thunderbolt, respectively. The Dragons are tougher for Zapdos to fight in Yellow version due to one of his Dragonair's and his Dragonite having Ice moves, however.
--Gary: Drill Peck takes out his Grass types where as Thunderbolt can take out his Water types and his Pidgeot. Zapdos can also use Drill Peck to take on his Alakazam and his Fire types if needed to. Zapdos has trouble against Rhydon, Jolteon, and Magneton however as they resist both of his STABs.
-Additional Comments: As you can see Zapdos is worthy of his title as a legend. While it requires a detour, tons of patience to capture it, and the Thunderbolt TM you'll have a powerful Level 50 Pokemon that stays relevant throughout the entire game. A strong recommendation if you want to add a legendary to your team.
-Charmander (Yellow) - High Tier
-Availability: You get it at around the second gym at level 10. It comes under-levelled, but there is a patch of grass nearby containing Bellsprout, Oddish and Venonat, all of which Charmander can beat and all of which give plenty of experience. It does slow your playthrough a bit but it does not take Charmander too long to catch up and it’s worth it in the long run.
-Stats: Charizard’s stats are reasonably balanced. It’s fast, hits hard and can take a hit or two, making it a solid battler.
-Movepool: Its level up movepool is not that great early on. Charmeleon needs Dig. Without it, Charmeleon is quite mediocre until it gets Slash at level 33. This is issue since Dig is a valuable TM, but Charizard is a great user of Dig so don’t think of it as a waste. Charizard only needs Dig and Slash to dominate, and Fly and Flamethrower are mere bonuses.
-Power: Charizard is one of the best in-game Pokémon, powering through opponents with ease. Charmeleon is not quite as powerful which is awkward since it evolves at level 36, but it does well enough to justify waiting for it to evolve.
-Type: It learns Fly and Flamethrower, but Charizard doesn’t even NEED them because Slash and Dig cover everything anyway. Defensively, it has a niche as a Fire type that is immune to Ground. Water, Rock, Ice and Electric weaknesses aren’t helpful but in most battles they are irrelevant because Charizard will kill opponents before they move.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge – If you have Dig and are at an acceptable level, you will do well here. Without Dig Raichu will simply be too good.
Erika – The sad thing is that Ember is not that powerful despite the type advantage, but the grass resistance should be enough for you to do well.
Koga – Venonat is weak so it shouldn’t be an issue. Fly is super-effective against his whole team and Psychic doesn’t exactly take Charizard down instantly.
Sabrina – Slash deals plenty of damage on her Pokémon’s lower defence stat. AS long as you are at a reasonable level you should be fine.
Blaine – You win with Dig. If Arcanine uses Reflect then use Slash to ignore it!
Giovanni – You beat Dugtrio, as well as Persian due to strength alone. Dig is super-effective against Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon but you have to be careful around Thunder and Rock Slide.
Lorelei – Charizard is actually weak to Ice in RBY (plus Water obviously) so this isn’t a good match-up. Slash should beat Jynx though.
Bruno – Dig for Onix, but they have Rock Slide. Fighting resistance is helpful for Hitmonlee and Machamp.
Agatha – Dig is great against everything except Golbat, who isn’t that strong anyway. You do well here.
Lance – Its weaknesses to Ice, Electric and Water hurt it, and Aerodactyl is the only Pokémon in the game to resist all of Charizard’s main moves. This isn’t a great match-up for Charizard.
Blue – You should be fine to take on Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales and Flareon, and Alakazam is perfectly beatable thanks to Slash.
-Additional Comments: The main thing that prevents Charmander being Top tier in Yellow is its availability. However, this flaw is made up for by Charizard’s incredible power, making it an excellent choice for an efficient run through Yellow.
- Doduo - High Tier
-Availability: After Gym 3, once the player has made it to Celadon. Doduo can be found in RB at a rate of 25% between the levels of 18-22 on Route 16. In Yellow, it can be found at a rate of 35% between the levels of 22-26. Doduo can also be found on Route 17, 18 and in the Safari Zone. Wild Dodrio can also be found at level 29 at a rate of 1% on Route 17 in Yellow - that's probably not worth your time, though.
-Stats: Doduo, and later Dodrio, has strong attack and speed stats. It's not as strong on the defensive side, with middling HP, defense and special.
-Movepool: While extremely shallow, Doduo's move pool is tailor made towards its stats and typing. Through level up, it learns mostly normal and flying type attacks which are physical - notably Drill Peck at a mere level 30. It starts with Peck and Growl but can inexplicably be taught the Fly HM (conveniently located right on Route 16!) for a great, early attack. Doduo's move pool is so shallow that it actually wants the Fly HM; quite convenient. While it learns Tri Attack naturally, TM49 can be obtained in the Celadon Department Store on the roof in exchange for a Lemonade. Not many pokemon can learn and effectively make use of the Tri AttackTM so it's a worthwhile investment on Doduo. It can also learn TM08 Body Slam and TM10 Double-Edge for other normal STABs but Tri Attack will arguably suffice if those two TMs need to be saved. Later, Dodrio can learn TM15 Hyper Beam which makes for a strong finishing move. Recommended move set for Doduo/Dodrio would be Drill Peck, Tri Attack, Fly, and one of Body Slam, Double-Edge or Hyper Beam.
-Power: The attack stat coupled with STAB on its damaging moves gives Doduo/Dodrio a lot of punch. Most pokemon that don't resist normal or flying will have a difficult time standing up to Drill Peck and Tri Attack. The speed stat allows for a quick strike and more critical hits, making Doduo/Dodrio even more dangerous.
-Type: While Normal/Flying typing doesn't scream "offensive dynamo," not much in the gameplay can actually stand up to that combination of STAB attacks. Most pokemon will at least take neutral damage from either Flying or Normal attacks. The only type to watch out for is Rock, which can handily be disposed of by a Grass or Water type partner. Defensively, Electric, Ice and Rock moves are what to watch out for but with low HP and defensive stats, hard hitters of any type can be a threat - especially because Dodrio only resists Grass and Bug moves (the latter of which is extremely rare).
-Match-ups: If obtained before taking on Team Rocket and Gym Leader Erika, Doduo can make quick work of the Rocket Grunts in Celadon Game Corner and all of the trainers in the Celadon Gym. This is made even easier by teaching Fly and Tri Attack. From there on, Doduo/Dodrio should be similar or higher in level when compared to most opponents and will rely on its speed advantage and strong attack stat and STABs. Koga in RB features a group of poison types which can be hit for decent damage with STABs. Yellow version Koga is destroyed by Flying type attacks. Team Rocket Grunts can be steamrolled again in Saffron City. Sabrina's Psychic types are weak on the defensive side and will take plenty of damage from Drill Peck or Tri Attack. Gain some quick extra levels before the 5th Gym by squashing the Fighting Dojo. Blaine's gym might be weak to Water attacks but again, STAB Drill Peck hits hard. Dodrio will need to sit the Viridian City gym out as many of those trainers carry Rock types. Two of the Elite Four members can be handled by Dodrio: Bruno and Agatha. The former carries Fighting types with their weakness to Drill Peck and the latter's ghosts can be hit hard by Drill Peck, though not for super effective damage. Just watch out for Onix on Bruno's team. Dodrio can be used against the champion's Venusaur/Exeggutor for super effective results and against his Pidgeot and Alakazam for large chunks of neutral damage.
Additional comments: A smart Doduo trainer will beeline west from Rock Tunnel to Route 16 immediately and make capture a priority. This allows for maximum opportunities to get Doduo up to par level and moveset wise. Probably one of the few notable downsides to Doduo is that it's slightly behind when you catch it. That said, Doduo's placement just outside of Celadon couldn't be more perfect. There are plenty of useful, new TMs that Doduo learns that become available in Celadon and many fodder trainers to use for experience growth, especially everyone in the 4th Gym. It also evolves at level 31 into Dodrio which is a huge power boost. No TMs are a must but it is recommended that the Tri AttackTM be used instead of waiting until level 45 for Dodrio to learn it. Fly is also recommended as there's space in the move set for it without sacrificing another attack. It's very handy when a roster mon can also assist with HM duties without any drawbacks. Doduo/Dodrio is a quick, straight forward attacker which has the ability to quickly one shot many trainer opponents with its high attack and speed and for that it deserves a spot among the better Pokemon in the game.
Gastly/Haunter - High Tier
Availability: Lavender Town, after defeating Celadon Rockets, comes at a decent level of around 25 (slightly below or equal to your teammates). The weaker unevolved Ghastly is also available, and you're guaranteed to run into them--but why bother when you can catch a wild Haunter relatively easily? Haunter should be immediately evolved to its final form, Gengar.
Stats: Excellent Speed and Special, all it needs to excel despite its poor physical bulk and low Attack.
Movepool: Gengar's biggest problem is a lack of any STAB attacks (besides lick, which we might as well forget). Even if it had STAB attacks, its STABs are both physical. Gengar pretty much needs TM support to be effective, and will be using up some combination of Psychic / Thunderbolt / Mega Drain. If you really don't want to give it your Psychic TM, you can try relying on the shaky accuracy of Hypnosis to abuse Dream Eater, a TM you can easily get by flying back to Viridian from Celadon. With Gengar's frail bulk though, you're usually best off not relying on shaky accuracy moves like Hypnosis and Thunder.
Power: Hits more than reasonably hard. Don't expect it to wipe teams out like Alakazam (since it has no STAB) but it can definitely dish out the pain.
Type: Ah, here's the real attraction. Immunity to Normal attacks is HUGE in RBY, in-game as well as competitively, since basically everything relies on Normal attacks for coverage. With just that, Gengar is immune to more than half of all the attacks of all the NPC characters, and its resistances to Poison and Grass only sweeten the deal, as does immunity to poison status. The Weakness to Psychic is a problem only against a handful of the stronger characters, and the weakness to Ground is almost irrelevant as so few foes actually carry Ground-type attacks. At the very least, Gengar is great for lol'ing at all the Self Destruct and Explosion users in the tail end of the game.
Match-ups:
Erica: You're not awfully likely to still have this match-up at the point you get Gengar, but Gengar excels here nonetheless. Psychic destroys all of Erica's Pokemon (her two strongest are Poison-types), and Gengar is immune to Poison Powder and resists Grass-type attacks.
Koga: Gengar can easily take on his entire team, being 4x resistant to Sludge and being immune to all Normal-type attacks, including Koga's most dangerous technique, Self-Destruct. However, Gengar's Speed and powerful Psychic attack would destroy Koga regardless.
Saffron Rockets: Gengar's immunity to Normal-type attacks will mean the vast majority of foes here can't even touch it, and its speed and powerful Psychic attack will lay waste to most enemies.
Sabrina: Hahahahaha... use something else... No, Lick does not work...
Blaine: Not a great match-up but Gengar does have the advantage since Blaine's Pokemon (who incidentally have high Attack but low Special) will have to rely on their Special Fire-type attacks to damage Gengar, who will defend and attack with its high Special against their low Special.
Giovani: With Psychic and Mega Drain, Gengar can basically take out everything Giovani has. If he tries to hit Gengar with Dugtrio's Dig, just switch to a Flying-type.
Lorelei: Gengar can do well here, but only if you gave it Thunderbolt or Thunder.
Bruno: Hahahaha... with Psychic and Mega Drain Gengar out speeds and one shots everything Bruno has.
Agatha: Psychic kills all her Pokemon. The only attack she has that is of any threat is Dream Eater, so just use the Pokeflute to avoid it completely. Keep in mind that her boss Gengar has Psychic itself in Yellow version, so you will have to level up Gengar to beat hers in this quick-draw Psychic battle.
Lance: In Red and Blue, Gengar is immune to every attack Lance has except for Dragon Rage (lol) and Gyarados's Hydro Pump (so just teach Gengar Thunderbolt...). In the Yellow, his Dragon's can attack you with their weak un-STAB elemental attacks, but really, they're not that much of a threat.
Rival: With Thunderbolt / Psychic / Mega Drain, Gengar destroys Pidgeot, Rhydon, Arcanine (Ember is its only Fire-type move...), Ninetales (It's slower and only has Fire Spin...), Exeggcutor (Barrage and Stomp are its only moves...), Venusaur, Cloyster, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Charizard, Flareon, Jolteon, and Magneton can give Gengar some trouble, while Alakazam and Sandslash kill Gengar outright.
Additional Comments: With its fantastic typing and stats, Gengar can really excel against numerous foes of the in-game world-- only problem is it sucks up a lot of useful TMs. If you don't need to give Psychic to something else, it's worth a go, and if you (for some bizarre reason) don't mind giving up Thunderbolt, definitely give Gengar a go. Offensively, it's inferior to Alakazam and Starmie, but it's far superior to both defensively thanks to its amazing typing. Gengar is also easier to obtain than either, not requiring the bullshit Abra gives you to capture and evolve it to Kadabra, and appears much earlier than Staryu.
-Growlithe (Red) - High Tier
-Availability: In RB, it is found on Route 8. It is slightly under-levelled but as long as you teach it the right moves then it catch up pretty quickly by grinding against the wild Pokémon and the trainers along the route.
-Stats: Arcanine has excellent stats. 110 Attack and 95 Speed make it a powerful physical attacker. It has 90 HP, 80 Defence and 80 Special, giving it good bulk and allowing it to use its STAB moves effectively.
-Movepool: Growlithe’s movepool is small overall but it has everything it needs to work. Growlithe’s level up movepool isn’t the greatest, but it starts with Bite, which is decent enough, and it learns Take Down a bit later if you are willing to hold off on evolution (and are willing to risk the recoil and miss chance). It also gets Flamethrower but it comes quite late and it isn’t worth delaying evolution. Arcanine gets Dig from TM, which you’ll need if you want Arcanine to reach its full potential. Body Slam is also helpful but not required (Double-Edge and Take Down are acceptable but inferior alternatives and although they aren’t great moves they are tolerable if you are using Dig as your main attack), and Fire Blast can also be used although it comes late.
-Power: Growlithe isn’t particularly powerful but you can evolve it almost as soon as you get it. Arcanine is a powerhouse, blasting through almost all trainers with ridiculous ease. Pretty much everything is at least 2HKOed, and most regular trainer Pokémon are OHKOed.
-Type: Fire is certainly not the best STAB in the game but you probably won’t be using it throughout most of your playthrough anyway (Fire Blast comes late and Ember is useless). Fire has a few annoying weaknesses but in most cases Arcanine doesn’t care because it kills things so efficiently.
-Match-ups: Erika - Ember is too weak to kill Victreebel and Vileplume quickly but Tangela can be 2HKOed in RB.
Koga – It can sweep through Koga just fine in RB because of Dig. His team isn’t that great and even if you lose you’ll inflict enough damage to fiish off with something else.
Sabrina – No type advantage but you actually do ok here because you have enough bulk to take a hit and you are hitting against the weaker Defence stat.
Blaine – You can sweep with Dig. Ponyta and Growlithe are weak and you should have enough power to take down Rapidash and Arcanine
Giovanni – You should do ok with Dig, and most of the team lacks super-effective moves (Dugtrio has Dig but it can be avoided with a Dig of your own).
Lorelei – You should stay away from her Water types, but Jynx is beatable.
Bruno – You can beat the fighting types as long as you are at a good enough level. You have Dig for Onix.
Agatha – Dig smacks her Ghosts and Arbok around. You can beat Golbat on pure strength alone.
Lance - This isn’t a particularly good match-up. Aerodactyl walls you and Gyarados has Hydro Pump. You can beat the Dragons as long as your level is good enough because they have bad move sets.
Blue – Honestly the only things you’ll have significant trouble beating are Blastoise and Gyarados and Sandslash. You should have a good chance against everything else thanks to stats and move set. Either way, Arcanine will leave its mark here.
-Additional Comments: Arcanine is basically a Charizard clone in the sense that they should be treated in exactly the same way. It is hurt mainly by reliance on TMs, but if you are willing to give them to Growlithe then it is an excellent choice that will help you speed through the game.
Hitmonlee - High Tier
-Availability: Right after Lt Surge, if you make a beeline to Celadon to get to Saffron. You get one at level 30, your choice.
-Stats: Decent speed and large attack make Hitmonlee quite dangerous offensively.
-Movepool: His main move, Jump Kick/HJP he learns on his own and will carry him against all neutral opponents, as well as the plethora of normals. Normal moves will round out his coverage, but Hitmonlee will forever be unable to hit Ghosts.
-Power: Decent speed and high power make Hitmonlee a force to be reckoned, he hits everything that doesn't resist him hard.
-Type: He a fighting type, so not so good in that department, but at least he can take out the Rock and Normal types with ease.
-Match-ups:
Erika: Provided you give him a decent Normal-type move, Hitmonlee should do well against Erika. It's not a full sweep though, and he can be wrecked by paralysis.
Koga: Not great here because all of Koga's pokemon resist Fighting-type moves. Hitmonlee can do well after 2 Meditates if you taught it Swift as the first Koffing is fairly easy to set up on. Watch out for Weezing's Self-Destruct. In Yellow, the fight is comparable as the Venonats are easy set-up bait, but watch out for Venemoth's Psybeam.
Sabrina: Sabrina is hard for obvious reasons, type disadvantage is going to hurt here, although if Hitmonlee is around level 44 it can outspeed Kadabra and probably take out Mr Mime and Venomoth, but that's with difficulty. Hitmonlee doesn't stand a chance against Alakazam. Even though Hitmonlee can set up 6 meditates on Sabrina's Abra in Yellow, both Kadabra and Alakazam outspeed and KO anyway.
Blaine: Hitmonlee sweeps with relative ease using only Jump Kick, and OHKOing both Growlithe and Ponyta. While it may take 2 hits to take out Rapidash and Arcanine, if you set up a few meditates on Blaine's joke Pokemon, you will be all right. Hitmonlee is a good choice here as nothing in Blaine's team resists Fighting.
Giovanni: Even though Hitmonlee gets type advantage against Rhyhorn and Rhydon, their high defense mean that Hitmonlee will not be scoring OHKO's unless he is carrying HJK, which is available at level 48. Still, Hitmonlee does well here provided you gave him Double-Edge or Body-Slam. The trick is to Meditate on Rhyhorn to get your attack up a few levels, and then just sweep with your best moves. Use your kick attack (JK or HJK) for Rhyhorn, Rhydon and Dugtrio, and use Body-Slam or Double-Edge on the Nidos, which will ensure the sweep. Persian is also a joke, being a Normal-type with poor defense doesn't help his case.
Lorelei: Hitmonlee performs very admirably here as he has a great type advantage against numerous Pokemon that Lorelei has, including Dewgong, Lapras and Cloyster. In addition, Jynx can only hit you neutrally as she has no Psychic-type attacks. The real problem of this fight is Slowbro who will Amnesia until it's capable of wrecking your entire team. Your best bet is to switch into something faster with Razor Leaf to ensure that he doesn't set up.
Bruno: Despite having a Hitmonlee himself, yours should be better. Use Onix to set up multiple Meditates and proceed to sweep his team with High Jump Kick.
Agatha: Hitmonlee's Elite 4 run was going so well, what happened? Hitmonlee's only disadvantage from Hitmonchan is his inability to hit Ghosts at all. Agatha has 3 ghosts, and 2 poison types and one flying type. This is not a good match-up in any way for you, just pick a Psychic-type to do the work here.
Lance: Lance isn't easy, but he isn't difficult either. Both Dragonairs and Aerodactyl are neutral to Hi Jump Kick, so Hitmonlee does have room for damage. Just beware of Gyarados and Dragonite, who are both bulky and can do some serious damage in response.
Rival: No matter which starter you pick, Hitmonlee will have trouble here in various amounts as your rival will always carry numerous flying types (Charizard, Gyarados, Pidgeot), a poison type (Venasaur) and numerous Psychics (Alakazam, Exeggutor). That being said, Hitmonlee can deal serious damage to any pokemon that doesn't resist Fighting, and you can look no further than Rhydon for that. Hitmonlee does much better in Yellow as there are less Pokemon in Gary's team that resist High Jump Kick, so feel free to go nuts here.
Additional Comments: Hitmonlee is arguably the best Fighting-type in the game. It has great stats, it gets the best Fighting-type move and you get it at level 30, which is around the level your team would be at the time. The biggest problem Hitmonlee faces regularly is the fact that it can't touch Ghosts. Hitmonlee can't hit a Ghost to save his life, and it really lets him down. With that being said, the amount of Normal types and Rock types in the game provide Hitmonlee with many opponents he can take down. Overall he is a great Pokemon and a worthy choice for any team.
-Additional Comments: If you plan on using Jolteon, teaching it Thunderbolt is almost a necessity, as its movepool is quite barren otherwise. This is especially notable in Yellow, as it can't even learn Thundershock in that game. However, if given Thunderbolt, Jolteon will excel and cruise through more than half the time it's in your party, with the only times it does poorly being Celadon and Viridian Gyms.
- Jynx - High Tier
-Availability: Jynx is obtained through a trade in Cerulean City in Red and Blue, but the Poliwhirl you need in order to get it is unavailable until you have the Super Rod. That means you can obtain Jynx as soon as you get the Poke Flute, as you can fish for Poliwhirl in Celadon City/Route 10 and have a 50% chance to get it. From there, Jynx has about half the game ahead of it.
-Stats: Jynx is fragile, but fast enough to outspeed pretty much anything with a level lead. It can be outraced by something like Lance's Aerodactyl if you didn't use an X-Speed though.
-Movepool: When you get your (probably L23 or so) Jynx, the only good move it will have is Lovely Kiss. However, the Ice Beam and Psychic TMs are available to it as soon as you get it. If you don't want to invest Ice Beam into Jynx, it also learns Ice Punch at L31, and even Blizzard at L58 (though it's unlikely to end up that high if your party is reasonably large, so if you want Blizzard just use the TM). It also learns Body Slam naturally at L39, which can be used against fellow Psychics.
-Power: Jynx's Special is pretty good, Attack not so much. However, its attacking moves are backed by high base power, STAB, AND usually a type advantage, so it tends to destroy everything from the getgo.
-Type: Ice/Psychic is the best offensive typing you could get in-game, probably. Both of its types hit super effective on a lot of common and important enemies. Jynx's weaknesses generally don't end up being exploited because the types it's weak to are fairly rare other than perhaps Fire, plus it's so fast and powerful that whatever gets hit by it ends up crumbling. For example, it's weak to Rock Slide, but Jynx isn't afraid of Rhydon.
-Match-ups: The best part about Jynx. With just the Psychic TM, Jynx can go the distance against Team Rocket in Silph Co., the Fighting Dojo, the Bikers on the Cycling Road, Erika and Koga. It might not OHKO all of these right away, but it grows really fast thanks to the trade EXP bonus, so it will soon enough. Ice Punch or Ice Beam works well against Giovanni's gym. From there, Jynx does fine against Lorelei (though if you want to conserve her PP, its best to leave her out of that one), and then proceeds to massacre Bruno, Agatha and Lance (except Gyarados, but you can Lovely Kiss that). Jynx can also assist in battles against Gary, able to do a number on Pidgeot, Rhydon, and Venusaur/Exeggutor. It's also one of the safer ways to tackle Sabrina and Gary's Alakazam, since it can paralyze them with Body Slam, freeze with an Ice move, and/or use Psychic to drop their Special without being at risk of getting KO'd in the meantime.
Additional comments: Jynx does pretty much require the Psychic TM, so obviously don't use it in the same playthrough as something else that wants to use that. Even though Jynx will start underleveled, the trade EXP and its high offense let it stand on its own legs very quickly. Lovely Kiss is also very powerful in a game where you can't attack on the same turn you wake up. It lets Jynx put strong enemies to sleep and stay in with very little risk, and it also assists in catching Pokemon.
-Mr. Mime - High Tier
-Availability: Obtained from a trade (Abra in RB and Clefairy in Yellow). Its level depends on the level of the Pokémon you are trading. Chances are it will be underleveled unless you happen to level up the Pokémon you are going to trade away as you are going. However, the boosted experience allows Mr. Mime to gain levels very quickly and it will catch up to the rest of your team in a flash.
-Stats: Mr. Mime has good Speed and Special, giving it strong battling capabilities. The HP and Defence are low but it isn’t a crippling problem because most opponents will fold before they strike.
-Movepool: Sadly, Mr. Mime has a poor level-up movepool. Confusion is its only decent attack. On the plus side, it can learn Psychic through TM, which is pretty much all it needs. It also gets Thunderbolt, but it isn’t something that Mr. Mime particularly benefits from (although it is its best option against other Psychics).
-Power: Mr. Mime is actually the weakest fully evolved pure-Psychic type, but this is more of a reflection of the quality of the other Psychics rather than Mr. Mime itself. It doesn’t quite OHKO everything with Confusion like Kadabra/Alakazam can but it is still a powerful Pokémon, and when it gets Psychic before Erika it becomes a killing machine.
-Type: Psychic is highly regarded as the best type in RBY. Psychic is super-effective against Fighting and Poison, allowing it to blast through Team Rocket grunt, and it is only resisted by itself.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge – Unfortunately, Confusion isn’t enough in Yellow. Mega Kick and Mega Punch will kill Mr. Mime too quickly. In RB you should do ok with Voltorb and Pikachu at least.
Erika – Psychic destroys pretty much everything in this whole gym. Tangela can take it better than Gloom/Vileplume and Weepinbell/Victreebel but it can’t do much back.
Koga – Psychic is super-effective against everything and it resists the Psychic attacks being fired back at it in Yellow. It should do great here.
Sabrina – Pretty much a mirror match. The outcome depends on level but Recover gives Kadabra and Alakazam a bit of an edge. You should beat Venomoth in RB easily though.
Blaine – This also depends on level but Mr. Mime’s high special helps it take Flamethrower/Fire Blast. It doesn’t dominate but it can contribute.
Giovanni – Psychic makes short work of Nidoqueen and Nidoking. His other Pokémon have poor Special stats so it is a good choice for this battle.
Lorelei – A neutral match-up overall, although Slowbro and Jynx resist Psychic so they are tricky to take down (note that Slowbro has Amnesia).
Bruno – You win easily here. His fighting Pokémon are doomed to fail and Onix is frail on the special side.
Agatha – Psychic is super-effective against everything. You win unless you get unlucky with confusion damage or something.
Lance – There isn’t really an advantage or a disadvantage type wise. Mr. Mime won’t want to take Hyper Beam too much, but it can take special attacks which is handy in Yellow.
Blue – None of his Pokémon are actually weak to Psychic except Venusaur, so this will come down to stats. You should be able to at least beat (efficiently) Pidgeot, Rhydon, Venusaur, Magneton, Ninetales, Flareon and Vaporeon, though honestly it all depends on level.
-Additional Comments: Technically this is just a worse Alakazam, but it is still a great battler and the massive amount of experience this gains from battling makes it a great choice. Not only does this allow Mr. Mime to grow quickly, it also give more opportunities for its teammates to jump into battle and gain experience
Omanyte - High Tier
Availability: Technically available as soon as Surf is obtained, which is after Koga is beaten. However, Erika/Koga/Sabrina/Blaine can be beaten in any order (the only condition being Koga beaten before Blaine because Surf). Generally though, it is obtained before Blaine.
Stats: Monstrous Defense and Special, bad Speed, average HP and irrelevant Atk. Omanyte has higher Special than Blastoise, serving to show how amazing it is.
Movepool: Gets Surf instantly, Blizzard (which is great in RBY due to 90% accuracy) is found in Pokemon Mansion. Those two can literally carry Omanyte throughout the game.
Power: Possesses great bulk on both ends of the spectrum and really is only let down by bad speed.
Type: His weaknesses aren't really relevant when you get him except for Ground (Giovanni), Fighting (limited to... Bruno's Hitmonlee, Machamp is outsped and killed) and Venusaur/Exeggutor (Champion). He doesn't learn any Rock attacks but it's not really relevant because Blizzard destroys flying types, Surf destroys Fire types and Omastar doesn't have any business to be out against Lorelei.
Matchups:
Erika: While you most likely will not have Omanyte before facing her, it is still possible. Anyway, Omanyte even with Blizzard has no business in this gym.
Sabrina: While you most likely will not have Omanyte before facing her, it is still possible. Omanyte doesn't hit anything hard here and Alakazam's crit hit rate may destroy it.
Blaine: Surf virtually OHKOes everything.
Giovanni: Surf OHKOs everything except Persian in Yellow who can't do anything back. Nidos in Yellow possess Thunder/Earthquake/Double Kick, while Dugtrio outruns, has a monstrous crit rate and hence may OHKO with EQ.
Lorelei: Omastar doesn't really have business facing her. He can't really deal decent damage.
Bruno: Omastar destroys his Onixes and Hitmonchan, but Hitmonlee and Machamp may outrun/survive a Surf and attack back.
Agatha: Her lead Gengar in RB has Mega Drain, but aside from that not really much of a threat.
Lance: Take care of Thunderbolt Dragonair and Thunder Dragonite in Yellow, and Gyarados in both, and Omastar has a field day here. RB Lance is basically trivialised thanks to Omastar resisting everything.
Blue: Only RB Venusaur/Yellow Jolteon is even a threat. Exeggutor mysteriously doesn't carry even Mega Drain.
AC: Omanyte hits hard from the get-go and has immediate access to useful moves. He also gets a gym to destroy, if anything.
Sandshrew - High Tier
Availability: Sandshrew is only available in Blue and Yellow. You can get it on Route 4 in Blue, or even earlier on Route 3 or Mt Moon (1F) if you're playing Yellow.
Stats: This line has some pretty good Attack and Defense. Nothing else really stands out, but it has enough Speed to get the jump on most enemies as long as it's got the usual level advantage. That sore Special is only a problem when it has to take a hit.
Movepool: It learns Slash at L17, giving Sandshrew 62.5% chance to score a CH. Sandslash has the full 99.6%. However, beyond that, the level-up movepool is completely barren. The best TM move you can teach it is Dig, which is also the only TM it will ever really need to perform well. It's a costly one, though, but few Pokemon can claim to use it better. Earthquake TM can be a nice PP addition or even replacement for Dig when you get it in Silph Co. Rock Slide might come in handy occasionally, but usually you can use Slash on fliers and bugs to come out on top.
Power: As soon as Sandshrew evolves at L22, it should be able to sweep just about anything with Slash and Dig thanks to its 100 base Attack. Only bulky enemies will be able to survive.
Match-ups:
Misty - Really bad match-up.
Lt. Surge - Autowin, even without Dig his Pokemon just can't outdamage Slash.
Erika - You don't really want to get tangled up with her if you're Sandslash.
Koga - Autowin.
Blaine - You should be able to Dig or Earthquake his Pokemon into oblivion. Flamethrower/Fire Blast can be painful but in Blue only Arcanine has either of those, and in Yellow only Ninetales and Arcanine do. You will be able to take at least one strong attack.
Giovanni - You have a typing advantage over 4/5 of his team in Blue, and 3/5 in Yellow. He shouldn't be a problem.
Lorelei - Every single one of her Pokemon has a Water or Ice move, so Sandslash should sit this one out.
Bruno - While Sandslash doesn't do badly, you probably have Pokemon in your party that can OHKO all of his Pokemon, especially the Onixes.
Agatha - Chances are everything on her team will get OHKO'd by Earthquake, except for Golbat, which you can probably beat too despite confusion. Mega Drain and Psychic from the Gengars in Yellow can sting but won't OHKO.
Lance - You should avoid Gyarados and its Hydro Pump, and Aerodactyl too unless you have Rock Slide. Everything else is fair game in Blue, though a Pokemon with an Ice move would be better. In Yellow, Dragonite and the second Dragonair have Ice moves, so Sandslash is even more restricted there.
Overall, Sandslash's important battle match-ups are on the shaky side, but it can pull its weight overall considering just how powerful Slash and STAB Dig are. If you don't have the Dig TM to spare on your playthrough, he becomes significantly less powerful until Silph Co.
-Shellder - High Tier
-Availability: There are numerous methods for obtaining Shellder. It is possible to fish it up with the Super Rod. This isn’t the best choice in RB because it is severely underleveled. In Yellow, it is more viable because it can be obtained as high as level 40. In RB, you are better off waiting until you reach the Seaform Islands, where it comes at a more reasonable level (28-33, depending on version). Although this may seem a bit low compared to what your team will be at, it can (like most later game water types) head to Cinnabar and gain levels easily using the wild Pokémon and trainers in the Mansion and Gym. Despite coming somewhat late, Shellder comes at the time where Water/Ice coverage is most valuable. It should also be noted that Shellder can be evolved right away, which means you don’t have to worry about using the weaker Shellder at all.
-Stats: The most striking stat is the huge 180 Defence. Cloyster has 95 Attack and 85 Special, allowing it to hit reasonably hard from both ends of the spectrum. 70 Speed is adequate for in-game runs. Cloyster’s only low stat is its 50 HP, but this isn’t a huge concern for a simple run through of the main game, and in terms of physical bulk its insane Defence makes up for it.
-Movepool: Cloyster starts off with Surf and an Ice move, assuming you catch it at level 30 (which is required for Aurora Beam). In fact, having Aurora Beam this early allows you to avoid using one of the Ice TMs on it if required. However, Cloyster greatly appreciates Ice Beam/Blizzard. Beyond its STABs, all it gets are Normal attacks. Tri Attack is probably the pick of the lot because it has decent power with no drawbacks, and the fact that it is such an exclusive move means that it is very likely to be available to Cloyster.
-Power: Cloyster is strong enough for what it needs to do, and that is take advantage of the excellent coverage that its STABs provide late game. Powerful moves and solid stats serve it well. Note that Cloyster, like many Water types, will struggle a bit against opposing Water types. Tri Attack helps but does not solve the problem completely, although Cloyster can probably defend itself better than many other Water types thanks to higher Attack, Water and Ice resistance, and great Defence to take Normal attacks.
-Type: Water/Ice is a fantastic offensive combination considering when Cloyster joins the team. It covers many of the important trainers towards the end, which is invaluable. Cloyster does have a few nasty weaknesses though. Its massive Defence allows it to take Fighting and Rock attacks but Electric and Grass attacks will sting. Thankfully, as long as you have good knowledge of the movesets of your opponents, particularly Gym Leaders and Elite 4 members, these attacks are easy to predict and avoid.
-Match-ups: Blaine – You have STAB Surf on your side. You laugh at their physical attacks. Just don’t underestimate the power of STAB Fire Blast. 85 Special is good but 50 HP may leave you vulnerable, especially in Yellow where Ninetales is the lead.
Giovanni – Surf (or an Ice attack) basically adds up to a clean sweep. Persian isn’t doing much to you with your 180 Defence. Be careful about Thunder from Nidoqueen and Nidoking though.
Lorelei – Mirror Match. There are better choices but you can actually do better here than some of the other water types. 180 Defence combined with your Water and Ice resistances makes it a bit difficult for her to harm you significantly, and you have Tri Attack backed up by 95 Attack. Only Slowbro (in Yellow) has a Special attack that can hit you neutrally. Naturally, Cloyster should probably sit this out for a more efficient choice, but knowing that Cloyster can tank most of her Pokémon’s attacks is reassuring if you need a back up.
Bruno – Surf covers Onix, and it hits his Fighting types hard too. The Fighting weakness isn’t that bad considering your 180 Defence. You should be able to pull off a sweep.
Agatha – No type advantage here. You can hit Golbat with an Ice attack, and Arbok is weak. The ghosts are trickier because there are bulky on the special side and can annoy you with status. Also, watch out for the Gengar with Mega Drain in Yellow.
Lance – Your STABs cover everything except Gyarados. Even Gyarados can be beaten one on one with Tri Attack and 180 Defence, although it is easier to send your Thunderbolt Pokémon in to deal with it. In Yellow, Dragonite and Dragonair have Electric moves. However, given how Dragonair is fairly weak and Dragonite is probably going to be OHKOed by your Ice attack, it isn’t a huge deal.
Blue – You can beat Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Venusaur, Sandslash, Ninetales and Flareon for sure. If you want, you can take on his Water Pokémon too. Just steer clear of his Electric types and you’ll be fine. Cloyster is unbelievably useful for this battle.
-Additional Comments: This is a good water Pokémon for late game use. It has competition from other water types like Omaster, Dewgong and Starmie though. Cloyster is a good Pokémon in its own right regardless of comparisons, and it distinguishes itself with its massive Defence and above average Attack. The biggest advantage it has over its competition is its efficiency. By coming at a high level and having access to a great moveset without any significant sacrifices, Cloyster can fit in on almost any team.
Snorlax - High Tier
Availability: 2 that are available after getting the Pokeflute. Comes at a whopping level 30 (should be about the same or better than your other teammates). You can even use both if you want (1 with Surf, and another with Ice Beam / Blizzard / EQ, lol).
Stats: Some of the best stats in the game-- Snorlax is an OU level beast with fantastic HP and ATK. It's speed is bad, and its defensive stats are more than passable with that MONSTER HP. Amnesia can patch up its special... very fast...
Movepool: Comes with Headbutt and quickly gets Body Slam (one of the best Normal moves in the game), which also preserves your precious Body Slam TM. It comes with Rest + Amnesia (+ Pokeflute) which is stupid, especially since Body Slam + boosted Surf can destroy everything in the game. Body Slam / Rest / Surf / Amnesia is probably the best in-game set, especially if you aren't cloning TMs. Basically, Snorlax can rape everything without using any TMs. If you are cloning TMs, you can give it Earthquake or Blizzard. Not really important, but it learns Hyper Beam on its own too...
Power: It has awesome ATK, and Amnesia pumps up its Special like crazy. It can sweep on either side.
Type: Normal is arguably better than Psychic. While it has no resistances (much like Psychic), it also has basically no weaknesses as Fighting attacks are almost non-existent (Fighting Gym/Bruno's Hitmonlee, Bruno's Machamp--that's it). Normal has perfect or near-perfect coverage with so many types in the game-- Rhydon/Golem and Gengar are the only things in all of RBY that hold up to Normal attacks, and Snorlax has access to Surf, Blizzard/Ice Beam, and Earthquake. Yeah, no problemo.
Match-ups:
Erika: Snorlax laughs at status, Amnesia's through all their attacks, and destroys them with Headbutt/Body Slam. If you gave Snorlax Ice Beam... Ice Beam + Amnesia, lol
Koga: A little bit tough since Sludge hits Snorlax's weak physical side, but you can Amnesia up against something weak like Koffing, Rest of any Poison/damage and sweep with Surf / Ice Beam.
Sabrina: Amnesia to max special against Kadabra / Mr. Mime. Sweep with Ice Beam / Surf / Body Slam. Body Slam from a decent leveled Snorlax OHKO's Alakazam, and comes close even through Reflect. Psychic from Alakazam does laughable damage when Snorlax is at +6 Special. Sucks if Psychic crits you though...
Blaine: Amnesia + Rest + Surf= lol If you went with Earthquake, you'll be getting hit hard by Fire Blasts but you'll OHKO everything while you still have health. If you taught Snorlax Ice Beam / Blizzard, it still does well with Body Slam. Sucks if Arcanine's Fire Blast crits you.
Giovani: Amnesia + Surf + Rest = Sweep
Lorolei: It'll take some effort to break through her Ice-types relying on Body Slam, but she won't be able to touch you without a critical hit once you've amnesia'd up against Dewgong. Sucks if something crits you with Blizzard though...
Bruno: Just watch out for Hitmonlee and Machamp. Surf Snorlax destroys everything else.
Agatha: Gengars can literally do nothing to Snorlax, especially after it Amnesia's up. Amnesia + Surf / Ice Beam for the sweep. If you went with Earthquake, you'll OHKO everything except Golbat, who will die to Body Slams. Agatha is no threat.
Lance: Snorlax won't like repeated Hyper Beams, but it can definitely hold its own (especially if you taught it Ice Beam / Blizzard)
Rival: Pidgeot can't do shit to Snorlax, so feel free to set up Amnesia and sweep his whole team. Pokemon Yellow is harder since Sand Attack and powerful physical attacks from Sandslash are annoying, but Snorlax will still hold its own as a powerful attacker.
Additional Comments: Snorlax has the power and movepool to destroy everything. It requires minimum TM investment (none at all if you abuse Surf + Amnesia), and almost no healing item support thanks to Rest + Pokeflute. It can even sweep using Strength + Surf, packing HMs while beating shit up simultaneously. Snorlax's only real problem is being slow... really slow... which means it can really get fucked up by critical hits in RBY. Since Snorlaxe's Special Defense is only 65 in RBY, a crit at the wrong time can be really bad when Amnesia-boosted Snorlax gets OHKO'd by a Psychic, Blizzard or Fire Blast it would have otherwise lol'd at. If you just pack some extra Hyper Potions to help Snorlax out in the face of some unfortunate hax, it can sweep through most enemies.
-Squirtle (Yellow) - High Tier
-Availability: This is obtained in Vermillion city after you beat Lt. Surge. It comes at level 10, which is rather low. Although this does mean you have to grind it (which slows things down a bit), it doesn’t take particularly long. The trainers east of Vermillion provide an excellent source of experience (you’ll need to baby it though). You should be close to level 20 by the time all the trainers are beaten. From there, Diglett’s Cave can be used to finish the job. After this, more experience can be gained from beating the Hikers between Cerulean City and Lavender Town. By then, Yellow Squirtle should play similarly to RB Squirtle.
-Stats: Blastoise’s stats are solid overall, if not spectacular. His highest stat is Defence (100) but his other stats are perfectly acceptable for in-game play. He has enough Attack and Special to hit things hard and he has enough Speed to be going first most of the time.
-Movepool: Squirtle’s level up movepool is not particularly noteworthy. Bubble and Water Gun provide STABs early on, and Bite is decently powerful (although a tad too late to be overly useful), but other than that it’ll be relying on TM/HM support. Thankfully, Blastoise gets lots to choose from. BubbleBeam is an excellent STAB move early on, and Surf comes just as BubbleBeam is starting to lose its usefulness. It can learn Ice Beam and Blizzard, giving it nice coverage. It also gets Dig/Earthquake, Submission and Body Slam (plus the numerous other Normal TMs). You should have no problem putting a good moveset together.
-Power: Blastoise should be at least 2HKOing everything thanks to its excellent coverage, and it is capable of outspeeding and OHKOing plenty of things. It is very consistent and its power will never lag, making it useful throughout the whole game.
-Type: Water is a very good type in this game. It particularly shines towards the end, where it eats the last few gyms alive and matches up well with the elite 4. The Electric weakness is hardly an issue since Electric moves are rare. The Grass weakness is a bit more concerning, but it is a weakness that can easily be covered by teammates, and Blastoise can still use an Ice attack to defend itself.
-Match-ups: Erika – Wartortle isn’t that good here. You should hopefully have Ice Beam which helps a lot, but it isn’t strong enough to OHKO her Pokémon and that leaves him vulnerable to a status move or Grass move.
Koga – Type-wise there isn’t much to say, but Blastoise should do well here based on Power alone. Venonat is a weakling, though Venomoth can be a tough opponent.
Sabrina – No type advantage to mention. If you have physical moves then they will help out, but you may find yourself outsped and KOed. At the very least, you’ll beat Abra, and Kadabra is beatable too.
Blaine – There is absolutely no reason why you would lose here. You have a clear type advantage and you have the stats to pull off a sweep.
Giovanni – Basically what applies to Blaine applies here too. You have to watch for Nidoqueen and Nidoking though, as they will try to Thunder you.
Lorelei – This is a mirror match. You don’t ‘lose’ but there are superior choices for this battle. You can beat Jynx just fine though.
Bruno – This is easy. Onix is Surf bait and his Fighting types can’t stomach Special moves for long. Blastoise has the bulk to take a hit.
Agatha – Earthquake is a huge help here for Arbok and the Ghosts (Arbok can’t take Surf well anyway), and Ice Beam covers Golbat. However, the Ghosts might outspeed and status you. One of the Gengar has Mega Drain too.
Lance – Ice Beam/Blizzard covers the Dragons, and Surf nails Aerodactyl. Gyarados is beatable, though you can’t exactly plow through it. Watch out for Electric moves from his Dragons too.
Blue – You should be fine to take on Sandslash, Alakazam, Exeggutor, Ninetales, Vaporeon, Cloyster and Flareon.
-Additional Comments: This suffers a bit in Yellow from poor availability, but it is an issue that can be overcome somewhat easily, and the results are definitely worth it.
-Staryu - High Tier
-Availability: Like most late-game Water-types, Staryu can be found in Seafoam Islands, at or around level 30. However, if you're really impatient, you can use a Super Rod at Fuschia City to catch one, but keep in mind that it can only be found at level 15 by that method. Being a stone evolution Pokemon, Staryu can evolve whenever you want.
-Stats: Starmie's Speed allows it to outspeed everything in the game (except for your rival's Jolteon in Yellow, but Jolteon wins that match-up regardless) as well as giving it a formidable 22.5% critical hit ratio, while its Special makes it a solid special attacker and also giving it decent special bulk.
-Movepool: Its unimpressive level-up movepool (barring the almighty Recover) is a double-edged sword; while it allows you to evolve Staryu as soon as you catch it, it also means it's largely reliant on TMs and Surf to be good. Thankfully, all it really needs is Surf and Psychic (whose competition is Mr. Mime, Jynx, and maybe Drowzee. In other words, fellow Psychic-types) to be a quality contributor. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam are just additional perks.
-Power: From the moment you evolve it and teach it Surf (and hopefully Psychic as well), Starmie is ready to duke it out with a good amount of trainers, and it will need to beat a lot in order to completely catch up, as the rest of your team should be at least level 36, while Starmie's only level 30-32, and it takes longer for it to level up than most others. Despite being on even playing ground in terms of levels, Starmie can still easily plow through opponents, provided it can hit them super-effectively. Once it's caught up, it can wash unresisted opponents away with Surf alone, and it's also one of the few late-game Water-types that doesn't have too much difficulty with fellow Water-types (thanks, Psychic and Thunderbolt!).
-Type: Starmie is one of a few Pokemon that have not just one, but two great STABs to use; Psychic is super-effective on a wide variety of things, and Surf allows it to absolutely flood Cinnabar and Viridian Gyms. Even Water Gun (which it should know when you catch it) can be useful for dealing with some Water-weak Pokemon, such as Rhyhorn or Growlithe, without wasting Surf's PP. Also, Grass, Electric, and Bug are all uncommon types in-game, meaning Starmie's opponents will most likely not be able to threaten it too much, thanks to Recover.
-Match-ups:
--Lt. Surge: Provided Raichu's Thunderbolt doesn't crit, Starmie has a pretty smooth time against him.
--Erika: To make a long story short, Starmie has no trouble with her if it knows Ice Beam or Psychic.
--Koga: Because you need to beat him to Surf outside of battle, you'll have to use one caught via the Super Rod, and thus have to train it up at least 20 levels to stand a chance against him. For the battle itself, Psychic destroys him in Red and Blue, and in Yellow, its performance is a bit rougher, but still doable.
--Sabrina: Starmie's at a stalemate against her Alakazam, as Surf and Psychic each do less than Recover heals. Your chances of victory in Yellow are slimmer, thanks to the level bump.
--Blaine: Swept away by Surf.
--Giovanni: Persian and Nidoqueen can take a Surf, but aside from that, he's the same as Blaine.
--Lorelei: Lapras is the only Pokemon on her team that can deal notable damage to Starmie, but Starmie will have a lot of trouble if it doesn't know Thunderbolt.
--Bruno: Considering that his entire team is weak to Starmie's STABs, not to mention the fact that none of them have good Special, this outcome should be obvious.
--Agatha: Her Ghost-types have enough special bulk to take a Psychic and confuse Starmie or put it to sleep. Her other Pokemon aren't too bad.
--Lance: Starmie sweeps his team, but only if it knows both Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. The former is needed for Gyarados, while the latter OHKOes his Dragonair and Dragonite.
--Rival: How well it does depends on what you taught it, but keep in mind that it will almost never beat his Alakazam, Magneton, or Jolteon.
-Additional Comments: Of all the late-game Water-types, Starmie stands out as quite possibly the (second) best of them, due to its great stats and wide (albeit TM dependent) movepool. While it doesn't excel from the moment you get it (not to mention it takes a while to catch up to the rest of the team), once it's caught up, it becomes a great Pokemon that's capable of beating most of the major battles by itself, given the proper support.
-Tentacool - High Tier
-Availability: The best way to obtain Tentacool is to encounter it by surfing. The Tentacool south of Fuchsia City vary wildly in level, ranging from level 5 to level 40. However, it doesn’t take very long to get a high level Tentacool, and by using Repels strategically you can encounter one sooner. It is also possible to use the Super Rod to fish one up in various locations. This is really only viable in Yellow because the RB Tentacool caught by fishing are underleveled (and you can even fish up a Tentacruel in Yellow). Tentacool evolves at level 30 so if you catch a high level one you can obtain Tentacruel quickly. Although Tentacool is relatively late, it comes at a convenient time where Tentacruel’s strengths are most useful.
-Stats: The stat that should get the most attention is Special. At an incredible 120, Tentacruel edges out Omaster as the most powerful Water type when hitting from the special side. This is supported by 100 Speed, which is outspeeding practically all opponents in game. Tentacruel’s only remotely poor stat is Defence, but it isn’t at the same level of “pathetic” as something like Alakazam, and thanks to its high power this is easy to work around.
-Movepool: Tentacruel doesn’t have much of note within its level up move, although Hydro Pump is very powerful and Barrier can be used to patch up its weak Defence if you so wish. Its best moves come from TMs. It is a given that Tentacruel will get Surf, which hits like a truck from its 120 Special. It gets Ice Beam and Blizzard for coverage and although both are valuable TMs, it is standard to give at least one of those to the water type on your team. As such, Tentacruel can safely assume access to an Ice move. Tentacruel is also compatible with Mega Drain, and is the only Water type capable of learning the attack. It isn’t something Tentacruel absolutely must have, but it provides super-effective coverage against opposing Water types while recovering HP at the same time. Water types love being able to hit other Water types, and with 120 Special and its resistances to back it up, Tentacruel can use it hold its own against Water types much better than many of its Water type brethren.
-Power: With its stats and coverage, Tentacruel is a destructive force to be reckoned with. Many of the late game opponents simply cannot stand up to Tentacruel. Tentacruel can plow through certain teams with ease, making the last parts of the game much easier for you.
-Type: Tentacruel is the only Water/Poison type in RBY, although the Poison type doesn’t help it at all. STAB Water attacks are invaluable late game thank to super-effective hits on Fire and Ground types. Water provides it with resistances to Water, Ice and Fire. Tentacruel carries a weakness to Electric carried by all Water types, so make sure you have teammates that can take them. The Poison type neutralises the usual Grass weakness of Water, but at the same time adds Bug, Ground and Psychic weaknesses. This is of little concern because Bug attacks are weak in general, Tentacruel can destroy pretty much anything with a Ground move before they strike, and Psychic types are rare after Sabrina.
-Match-ups: Sabrina – Many Water types tend to struggle against Sabrina’s Psychic types, but Tentacruel has it particularly bad because it is actually weak to Psychic moves. You do have your high Special on your side and Tentacruel can contribute somewhat against her weaker pokemon, but using Tentacruel for this battle isn’t the best idea and sending it in on Alakazam is foolish.
Blaine – You absolutely destroy Blaine. They absolutely cannot stand up to your extreme power.
Giovanni – The is a similar story to Blaine, but it is more risky in Yellow because Dugtrio might outspeed you and nail you with Earthquake. If Persian outspeeds you then its Slash may sting (Tentacruel should still win as long as you have plenty of HP in reserve though). Other than that, you can pretty much kill anything else effortlessly.
Lorelei – Tentacruel fairs better than most Water types because of Mega Drain and its 120 Special. Tentacruel shouldn’t be the number one choice for this battle (that honour goes to your STAB Electric spammer should you be carrying one) but Tentacruel can definitely pull its wait here.
Bruno – This is an easy battle for you. Onix is a joke, and Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are frail. Machamp has the option of hitting you with a crit Karate Chop in Yellow, but other than that you should have no serious issues. The fact that Tentacruel resists Fighting attacks is the icing on the cake.
Agatha – Golbat and Arbok shouldn’t prove to be a problem. The ghosts are more concerning since they have high Specials and annoying status moves. One of her Gengar even has Psychic in Yellow. Using Tentacruel against the ghosts isn’t the best way to deal with them.
Lance – Water/Ice coverage covers most of his team. Gyarados should be dealt with using a different Pokémon because Hyper Beam hits Tentacruel hard. Some of his Dragons have Electric attacks in Yellow but Tentacruel should have the speed advantage and it can take a non-STAB Thunderbolt/Thunder.
Blue – Tentacruel’s coverage really comes in handy here. If you have Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard and Mega Drain, you can hit Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Blastoise and Venusaur in RB. In Yellow, the hitlist is Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales, Vaporeon, Cloyster and Flareon. The main things to avoid would be Alakazam and the Electric types.
-Additional Comments: Tentacruel is yet another great late game Water type. The main things differentiating it from the competition are its massive Special, its Poison type (for better or for worse) and Mega Drain. Tentacruel’s only “problem” is its lateness, but Tentacruel comes just when it’s needed and unless you started with Squirtle your Water type options are fairly limited before Tentacruel anyway.
-Vaporeon - High Tier
-Availability: Given to you in Celadon City at level 25. You need a Water Stone to evolve Eevee into this.
-Stats: Vaporeon has one of the best stat spreads for in-game use. While its Speed might seem mediocre, it's actually just enough for it to outspeed most of the in-game threats and OHKO them, thanks to its more than adequate Special. If it gets outsped, or if the opponent survives a hit, it won't be taking much damage thanks to its massive HP.
-Movepool: BubbleBeam and Ice Beam (via TMs 11 and 13, respectively) are all it gets in terms of moves when you get it, but that's really all it needs. When you get to Fuchsia, you can teach it Surf as well, but keep Bubblebeam. It also learns Ice Beam by TM and Aurora Beam by level-up (note: it only learns Aurora Beam in Yellow), allowing you to deal with the Bird Keepers without wasting Bubblebeam's or Surf's PP. Keep in mind that BubbleBeam and Ice Beam are both exclusive TMs, and as such Vaporeon might have competition with your other team members. Another thing of note is it's bulky enough to utilize the Rest/Poke Flute combination for (somewhat) reliable recovery.
-Power: From the moment you get it and teach it Bubblebeam, Vaporeon performs excellently against most of its adversaries. In fact, it can take out the Celadon Grunts by itself if you're willing to teach it Ice Beam and use a few Super Potions. After that, Vappy should be caught up with the rest of your team. Unfortunately, the Ghost-types of Lavender Tower are faster than Vaporeon, but it can still do adequately, provided you don't get confused and paralyzed at the same time. From then on, Vappy does quite well against most of the remaining trainers, save for the abundant Swimmers late-game.
-Type: Unlike most other Water-types, Vaporeon doesn't have a second type or a move that hurts fellow Water-types effectively, meaning it can't really do much between Fuchsia and Cinnabar.
-Match-ups: Generally, Vaporeon's high HP and Special allow it to perform adequately against the Gym Leaders and Elite Four.
Lt. Surge: If you choose to fight him right after obtaining Vaporeon, don't expect a victory from it, as his Raichu does around half with Thunderbolt, and you have to defeat his Voltorb (which knows Sonicboom) and Pikachu before fighting it. In Yellow, Raichu is his only Pokemon, but its "possible 2HKO" gets bumped up to a "solid 2HKO". In other words, don't use Vaporeon against him, at least not without prior training.
Erika: Her Victreebel/Weepinbell happens to know Razor Leaf, which is almost guaranteed to KO in one hit. However, it is also OHKOed by Ice Beam, so whether Vaporeon or Victreebel comes out alive depends on who's faster. Tangela is more easily beaten, regardless of which game you're playing. Vileplume/Gloom knows Petal Dance, and Vileplume in particular can stomach an Ice Beam. Did I forget to mention Tangela is the only Pokemon of hers that doesn't know Sleep Powder?
Koga: Much more managable than above, thanks to the neutral type match-up, and the fact that his Pokemon have shabby Special. In Yellow, he has 3 Venonats and a Venomoth, all of which are at least level 44 and know status-inducing moves.
Sabrina: Her Pokemon, for the most part, are faster than Vaporeon, but Vappy's great special bulk will allow it to take a few Psychics, along with high HP allowing it to take (seemingly) minimal damage from Psywave. Unfortunately, it can't do too much back, thanks to their high Special. It can still beat at least one of her Pokemon by itself.
Blaine: Literally, the only thing on his team that's actually threatening is Rapidash, and that's only if it spams Fire Spin for about 25 turns.
Giovanni: Provided Dugtrio doesn't spam Sand Attack, you're good to go. In Yellow, his Persian can leave a mark with Slash, and his Nidos know Thunder, but he's still not too threatening.
Lorelei: Don't expect much to come from this fight, as they resist each other's STABs.
Bruno: His Onix are merely speed bumps, and the Hitmons have seemingly no Special. Vaporeon also has enough bulk to take a Hi Jump Kick or Submission if need be, and if it does get hit by Submission, Machamp will lose a chunk of its HP on recoil alone.
Agatha: About her Ghost-types: think of them similarly to Sabrina's Kadabra and Alakazam, except with the threat of status instead of STAB Psychic. Also, the first Gengar knows Mega Drain in Yellow. Aside from that, she's pretty mild.
Lance: All of his Pokemon, barring Gyarados, are OHKOed by Ice Beam, and his Aerodactyl can even be dealt with by Bubblebeam. Vappy also has the bulk to take a non-crit Hyper Beam, but it can't do much to Gyara, and Dragonite knows Thunder (Yellow only) and outspeeds it. Another thing to watch out for is his second Dragonair, as it knows Thunderbolt.
Blue: In Red and Blue, the only ones on his team Vappy shouldn't take on by itself would be Alakazam, Venusaur, and possibly Gyarados. In Yellow, it has a bit more trouble, as Ninetales and Cloyster can continuously trap it with Fire Spin and Clamp, respectively. Also, it is recommended not to have Vaporeon fight Magneton or Jolteon, for obvious reasons.
-Additional comments: From the moment you get it, Vaporeon is a great Pokemon, thanks to its barely-high-enough Speed, high Special, and great endurance. It doesn't even need grinding, thanks to Team Rocket, and it only has 2 problems: While it's effective when fighting most of the Pokemon in the game, it can't really do much to other Water-types not named Gyarados. It's also greatly dependent on BubbleBeam in order to be useful before Fuschia
-Availability: You get it at around the second gym at level 10. It comes under-levelled, but there is a patch of grass nearby containing Bellsprout, Oddish and Venonat, all of which Charmander can beat and all of which give plenty of experience. It does slow your playthrough a bit but it does not take Charmander too long to catch up and it’s worth it in the long run.
-Stats: Charizard’s stats are reasonably balanced. It’s fast, hits hard and can take a hit or two, making it a solid battler.
-Movepool: Its level up movepool is not that great early on. Charmeleon needs Dig. Without it, Charmeleon is quite mediocre until it gets Slash at level 33. This is issue since Dig is a valuable TM, but Charizard is a great user of Dig so don’t think of it as a waste. Charizard only needs Dig and Slash to dominate, and Fly and Flamethrower are mere bonuses.
-Power: Charizard is one of the best in-game Pokémon, powering through opponents with ease. Charmeleon is not quite as powerful which is awkward since it evolves at level 36, but it does well enough to justify waiting for it to evolve.
-Type: It learns Fly and Flamethrower, but Charizard doesn’t even NEED them because Slash and Dig cover everything anyway. Defensively, it has a niche as a Fire type that is immune to Ground. Water, Rock, Ice and Electric weaknesses aren’t helpful but in most battles they are irrelevant because Charizard will kill opponents before they move.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge – If you have Dig and are at an acceptable level, you will do well here. Without Dig Raichu will simply be too good.
Erika – The sad thing is that Ember is not that powerful despite the type advantage, but the grass resistance should be enough for you to do well.
Koga – Venonat is weak so it shouldn’t be an issue. Fly is super-effective against his whole team and Psychic doesn’t exactly take Charizard down instantly.
Sabrina – Slash deals plenty of damage on her Pokémon’s lower defence stat. AS long as you are at a reasonable level you should be fine.
Blaine – You win with Dig. If Arcanine uses Reflect then use Slash to ignore it!
Giovanni – You beat Dugtrio, as well as Persian due to strength alone. Dig is super-effective against Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon but you have to be careful around Thunder and Rock Slide.
Lorelei – Charizard is actually weak to Ice in RBY (plus Water obviously) so this isn’t a good match-up. Slash should beat Jynx though.
Bruno – Dig for Onix, but they have Rock Slide. Fighting resistance is helpful for Hitmonlee and Machamp.
Agatha – Dig is great against everything except Golbat, who isn’t that strong anyway. You do well here.
Lance – Its weaknesses to Ice, Electric and Water hurt it, and Aerodactyl is the only Pokémon in the game to resist all of Charizard’s main moves. This isn’t a great match-up for Charizard.
Blue – You should be fine to take on Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales and Flareon, and Alakazam is perfectly beatable thanks to Slash.
-Additional Comments: The main thing that prevents Charmander being Top tier in Yellow is its availability. However, this flaw is made up for by Charizard’s incredible power, making it an excellent choice for an efficient run through Yellow.
- Doduo - High Tier
-Availability: After Gym 3, once the player has made it to Celadon. Doduo can be found in RB at a rate of 25% between the levels of 18-22 on Route 16. In Yellow, it can be found at a rate of 35% between the levels of 22-26. Doduo can also be found on Route 17, 18 and in the Safari Zone. Wild Dodrio can also be found at level 29 at a rate of 1% on Route 17 in Yellow - that's probably not worth your time, though.
-Stats: Doduo, and later Dodrio, has strong attack and speed stats. It's not as strong on the defensive side, with middling HP, defense and special.
-Movepool: While extremely shallow, Doduo's move pool is tailor made towards its stats and typing. Through level up, it learns mostly normal and flying type attacks which are physical - notably Drill Peck at a mere level 30. It starts with Peck and Growl but can inexplicably be taught the Fly HM (conveniently located right on Route 16!) for a great, early attack. Doduo's move pool is so shallow that it actually wants the Fly HM; quite convenient. While it learns Tri Attack naturally, TM49 can be obtained in the Celadon Department Store on the roof in exchange for a Lemonade. Not many pokemon can learn and effectively make use of the Tri AttackTM so it's a worthwhile investment on Doduo. It can also learn TM08 Body Slam and TM10 Double-Edge for other normal STABs but Tri Attack will arguably suffice if those two TMs need to be saved. Later, Dodrio can learn TM15 Hyper Beam which makes for a strong finishing move. Recommended move set for Doduo/Dodrio would be Drill Peck, Tri Attack, Fly, and one of Body Slam, Double-Edge or Hyper Beam.
-Power: The attack stat coupled with STAB on its damaging moves gives Doduo/Dodrio a lot of punch. Most pokemon that don't resist normal or flying will have a difficult time standing up to Drill Peck and Tri Attack. The speed stat allows for a quick strike and more critical hits, making Doduo/Dodrio even more dangerous.
-Type: While Normal/Flying typing doesn't scream "offensive dynamo," not much in the gameplay can actually stand up to that combination of STAB attacks. Most pokemon will at least take neutral damage from either Flying or Normal attacks. The only type to watch out for is Rock, which can handily be disposed of by a Grass or Water type partner. Defensively, Electric, Ice and Rock moves are what to watch out for but with low HP and defensive stats, hard hitters of any type can be a threat - especially because Dodrio only resists Grass and Bug moves (the latter of which is extremely rare).
-Match-ups: If obtained before taking on Team Rocket and Gym Leader Erika, Doduo can make quick work of the Rocket Grunts in Celadon Game Corner and all of the trainers in the Celadon Gym. This is made even easier by teaching Fly and Tri Attack. From there on, Doduo/Dodrio should be similar or higher in level when compared to most opponents and will rely on its speed advantage and strong attack stat and STABs. Koga in RB features a group of poison types which can be hit for decent damage with STABs. Yellow version Koga is destroyed by Flying type attacks. Team Rocket Grunts can be steamrolled again in Saffron City. Sabrina's Psychic types are weak on the defensive side and will take plenty of damage from Drill Peck or Tri Attack. Gain some quick extra levels before the 5th Gym by squashing the Fighting Dojo. Blaine's gym might be weak to Water attacks but again, STAB Drill Peck hits hard. Dodrio will need to sit the Viridian City gym out as many of those trainers carry Rock types. Two of the Elite Four members can be handled by Dodrio: Bruno and Agatha. The former carries Fighting types with their weakness to Drill Peck and the latter's ghosts can be hit hard by Drill Peck, though not for super effective damage. Just watch out for Onix on Bruno's team. Dodrio can be used against the champion's Venusaur/Exeggutor for super effective results and against his Pidgeot and Alakazam for large chunks of neutral damage.
Additional comments: A smart Doduo trainer will beeline west from Rock Tunnel to Route 16 immediately and make capture a priority. This allows for maximum opportunities to get Doduo up to par level and moveset wise. Probably one of the few notable downsides to Doduo is that it's slightly behind when you catch it. That said, Doduo's placement just outside of Celadon couldn't be more perfect. There are plenty of useful, new TMs that Doduo learns that become available in Celadon and many fodder trainers to use for experience growth, especially everyone in the 4th Gym. It also evolves at level 31 into Dodrio which is a huge power boost. No TMs are a must but it is recommended that the Tri AttackTM be used instead of waiting until level 45 for Dodrio to learn it. Fly is also recommended as there's space in the move set for it without sacrificing another attack. It's very handy when a roster mon can also assist with HM duties without any drawbacks. Doduo/Dodrio is a quick, straight forward attacker which has the ability to quickly one shot many trainer opponents with its high attack and speed and for that it deserves a spot among the better Pokemon in the game.
Gastly/Haunter - High Tier
Availability: Lavender Town, after defeating Celadon Rockets, comes at a decent level of around 25 (slightly below or equal to your teammates). The weaker unevolved Ghastly is also available, and you're guaranteed to run into them--but why bother when you can catch a wild Haunter relatively easily? Haunter should be immediately evolved to its final form, Gengar.
Stats: Excellent Speed and Special, all it needs to excel despite its poor physical bulk and low Attack.
Movepool: Gengar's biggest problem is a lack of any STAB attacks (besides lick, which we might as well forget). Even if it had STAB attacks, its STABs are both physical. Gengar pretty much needs TM support to be effective, and will be using up some combination of Psychic / Thunderbolt / Mega Drain. If you really don't want to give it your Psychic TM, you can try relying on the shaky accuracy of Hypnosis to abuse Dream Eater, a TM you can easily get by flying back to Viridian from Celadon. With Gengar's frail bulk though, you're usually best off not relying on shaky accuracy moves like Hypnosis and Thunder.
Power: Hits more than reasonably hard. Don't expect it to wipe teams out like Alakazam (since it has no STAB) but it can definitely dish out the pain.
Type: Ah, here's the real attraction. Immunity to Normal attacks is HUGE in RBY, in-game as well as competitively, since basically everything relies on Normal attacks for coverage. With just that, Gengar is immune to more than half of all the attacks of all the NPC characters, and its resistances to Poison and Grass only sweeten the deal, as does immunity to poison status. The Weakness to Psychic is a problem only against a handful of the stronger characters, and the weakness to Ground is almost irrelevant as so few foes actually carry Ground-type attacks. At the very least, Gengar is great for lol'ing at all the Self Destruct and Explosion users in the tail end of the game.
Match-ups:
Erica: You're not awfully likely to still have this match-up at the point you get Gengar, but Gengar excels here nonetheless. Psychic destroys all of Erica's Pokemon (her two strongest are Poison-types), and Gengar is immune to Poison Powder and resists Grass-type attacks.
Koga: Gengar can easily take on his entire team, being 4x resistant to Sludge and being immune to all Normal-type attacks, including Koga's most dangerous technique, Self-Destruct. However, Gengar's Speed and powerful Psychic attack would destroy Koga regardless.
Saffron Rockets: Gengar's immunity to Normal-type attacks will mean the vast majority of foes here can't even touch it, and its speed and powerful Psychic attack will lay waste to most enemies.
Sabrina: Hahahahaha... use something else... No, Lick does not work...
Blaine: Not a great match-up but Gengar does have the advantage since Blaine's Pokemon (who incidentally have high Attack but low Special) will have to rely on their Special Fire-type attacks to damage Gengar, who will defend and attack with its high Special against their low Special.
Giovani: With Psychic and Mega Drain, Gengar can basically take out everything Giovani has. If he tries to hit Gengar with Dugtrio's Dig, just switch to a Flying-type.
Lorelei: Gengar can do well here, but only if you gave it Thunderbolt or Thunder.
Bruno: Hahahaha... with Psychic and Mega Drain Gengar out speeds and one shots everything Bruno has.
Agatha: Psychic kills all her Pokemon. The only attack she has that is of any threat is Dream Eater, so just use the Pokeflute to avoid it completely. Keep in mind that her boss Gengar has Psychic itself in Yellow version, so you will have to level up Gengar to beat hers in this quick-draw Psychic battle.
Lance: In Red and Blue, Gengar is immune to every attack Lance has except for Dragon Rage (lol) and Gyarados's Hydro Pump (so just teach Gengar Thunderbolt...). In the Yellow, his Dragon's can attack you with their weak un-STAB elemental attacks, but really, they're not that much of a threat.
Rival: With Thunderbolt / Psychic / Mega Drain, Gengar destroys Pidgeot, Rhydon, Arcanine (Ember is its only Fire-type move...), Ninetales (It's slower and only has Fire Spin...), Exeggcutor (Barrage and Stomp are its only moves...), Venusaur, Cloyster, Gyarados, and Vaporeon. Charizard, Flareon, Jolteon, and Magneton can give Gengar some trouble, while Alakazam and Sandslash kill Gengar outright.
Additional Comments: With its fantastic typing and stats, Gengar can really excel against numerous foes of the in-game world-- only problem is it sucks up a lot of useful TMs. If you don't need to give Psychic to something else, it's worth a go, and if you (for some bizarre reason) don't mind giving up Thunderbolt, definitely give Gengar a go. Offensively, it's inferior to Alakazam and Starmie, but it's far superior to both defensively thanks to its amazing typing. Gengar is also easier to obtain than either, not requiring the bullshit Abra gives you to capture and evolve it to Kadabra, and appears much earlier than Staryu.
-Growlithe (Red) - High Tier
-Availability: In RB, it is found on Route 8. It is slightly under-levelled but as long as you teach it the right moves then it catch up pretty quickly by grinding against the wild Pokémon and the trainers along the route.
-Stats: Arcanine has excellent stats. 110 Attack and 95 Speed make it a powerful physical attacker. It has 90 HP, 80 Defence and 80 Special, giving it good bulk and allowing it to use its STAB moves effectively.
-Movepool: Growlithe’s movepool is small overall but it has everything it needs to work. Growlithe’s level up movepool isn’t the greatest, but it starts with Bite, which is decent enough, and it learns Take Down a bit later if you are willing to hold off on evolution (and are willing to risk the recoil and miss chance). It also gets Flamethrower but it comes quite late and it isn’t worth delaying evolution. Arcanine gets Dig from TM, which you’ll need if you want Arcanine to reach its full potential. Body Slam is also helpful but not required (Double-Edge and Take Down are acceptable but inferior alternatives and although they aren’t great moves they are tolerable if you are using Dig as your main attack), and Fire Blast can also be used although it comes late.
-Power: Growlithe isn’t particularly powerful but you can evolve it almost as soon as you get it. Arcanine is a powerhouse, blasting through almost all trainers with ridiculous ease. Pretty much everything is at least 2HKOed, and most regular trainer Pokémon are OHKOed.
-Type: Fire is certainly not the best STAB in the game but you probably won’t be using it throughout most of your playthrough anyway (Fire Blast comes late and Ember is useless). Fire has a few annoying weaknesses but in most cases Arcanine doesn’t care because it kills things so efficiently.
-Match-ups: Erika - Ember is too weak to kill Victreebel and Vileplume quickly but Tangela can be 2HKOed in RB.
Koga – It can sweep through Koga just fine in RB because of Dig. His team isn’t that great and even if you lose you’ll inflict enough damage to fiish off with something else.
Sabrina – No type advantage but you actually do ok here because you have enough bulk to take a hit and you are hitting against the weaker Defence stat.
Blaine – You can sweep with Dig. Ponyta and Growlithe are weak and you should have enough power to take down Rapidash and Arcanine
Giovanni – You should do ok with Dig, and most of the team lacks super-effective moves (Dugtrio has Dig but it can be avoided with a Dig of your own).
Lorelei – You should stay away from her Water types, but Jynx is beatable.
Bruno – You can beat the fighting types as long as you are at a good enough level. You have Dig for Onix.
Agatha – Dig smacks her Ghosts and Arbok around. You can beat Golbat on pure strength alone.
Lance - This isn’t a particularly good match-up. Aerodactyl walls you and Gyarados has Hydro Pump. You can beat the Dragons as long as your level is good enough because they have bad move sets.
Blue – Honestly the only things you’ll have significant trouble beating are Blastoise and Gyarados and Sandslash. You should have a good chance against everything else thanks to stats and move set. Either way, Arcanine will leave its mark here.
-Additional Comments: Arcanine is basically a Charizard clone in the sense that they should be treated in exactly the same way. It is hurt mainly by reliance on TMs, but if you are willing to give them to Growlithe then it is an excellent choice that will help you speed through the game.
Hitmonlee - High Tier
-Availability: Right after Lt Surge, if you make a beeline to Celadon to get to Saffron. You get one at level 30, your choice.
-Stats: Decent speed and large attack make Hitmonlee quite dangerous offensively.
-Movepool: His main move, Jump Kick/HJP he learns on his own and will carry him against all neutral opponents, as well as the plethora of normals. Normal moves will round out his coverage, but Hitmonlee will forever be unable to hit Ghosts.
-Power: Decent speed and high power make Hitmonlee a force to be reckoned, he hits everything that doesn't resist him hard.
-Type: He a fighting type, so not so good in that department, but at least he can take out the Rock and Normal types with ease.
-Match-ups:
Erika: Provided you give him a decent Normal-type move, Hitmonlee should do well against Erika. It's not a full sweep though, and he can be wrecked by paralysis.
Koga: Not great here because all of Koga's pokemon resist Fighting-type moves. Hitmonlee can do well after 2 Meditates if you taught it Swift as the first Koffing is fairly easy to set up on. Watch out for Weezing's Self-Destruct. In Yellow, the fight is comparable as the Venonats are easy set-up bait, but watch out for Venemoth's Psybeam.
Sabrina: Sabrina is hard for obvious reasons, type disadvantage is going to hurt here, although if Hitmonlee is around level 44 it can outspeed Kadabra and probably take out Mr Mime and Venomoth, but that's with difficulty. Hitmonlee doesn't stand a chance against Alakazam. Even though Hitmonlee can set up 6 meditates on Sabrina's Abra in Yellow, both Kadabra and Alakazam outspeed and KO anyway.
Blaine: Hitmonlee sweeps with relative ease using only Jump Kick, and OHKOing both Growlithe and Ponyta. While it may take 2 hits to take out Rapidash and Arcanine, if you set up a few meditates on Blaine's joke Pokemon, you will be all right. Hitmonlee is a good choice here as nothing in Blaine's team resists Fighting.
Giovanni: Even though Hitmonlee gets type advantage against Rhyhorn and Rhydon, their high defense mean that Hitmonlee will not be scoring OHKO's unless he is carrying HJK, which is available at level 48. Still, Hitmonlee does well here provided you gave him Double-Edge or Body-Slam. The trick is to Meditate on Rhyhorn to get your attack up a few levels, and then just sweep with your best moves. Use your kick attack (JK or HJK) for Rhyhorn, Rhydon and Dugtrio, and use Body-Slam or Double-Edge on the Nidos, which will ensure the sweep. Persian is also a joke, being a Normal-type with poor defense doesn't help his case.
Lorelei: Hitmonlee performs very admirably here as he has a great type advantage against numerous Pokemon that Lorelei has, including Dewgong, Lapras and Cloyster. In addition, Jynx can only hit you neutrally as she has no Psychic-type attacks. The real problem of this fight is Slowbro who will Amnesia until it's capable of wrecking your entire team. Your best bet is to switch into something faster with Razor Leaf to ensure that he doesn't set up.
Bruno: Despite having a Hitmonlee himself, yours should be better. Use Onix to set up multiple Meditates and proceed to sweep his team with High Jump Kick.
Agatha: Hitmonlee's Elite 4 run was going so well, what happened? Hitmonlee's only disadvantage from Hitmonchan is his inability to hit Ghosts at all. Agatha has 3 ghosts, and 2 poison types and one flying type. This is not a good match-up in any way for you, just pick a Psychic-type to do the work here.
Lance: Lance isn't easy, but he isn't difficult either. Both Dragonairs and Aerodactyl are neutral to Hi Jump Kick, so Hitmonlee does have room for damage. Just beware of Gyarados and Dragonite, who are both bulky and can do some serious damage in response.
Rival: No matter which starter you pick, Hitmonlee will have trouble here in various amounts as your rival will always carry numerous flying types (Charizard, Gyarados, Pidgeot), a poison type (Venasaur) and numerous Psychics (Alakazam, Exeggutor). That being said, Hitmonlee can deal serious damage to any pokemon that doesn't resist Fighting, and you can look no further than Rhydon for that. Hitmonlee does much better in Yellow as there are less Pokemon in Gary's team that resist High Jump Kick, so feel free to go nuts here.
Additional Comments: Hitmonlee is arguably the best Fighting-type in the game. It has great stats, it gets the best Fighting-type move and you get it at level 30, which is around the level your team would be at the time. The biggest problem Hitmonlee faces regularly is the fact that it can't touch Ghosts. Hitmonlee can't hit a Ghost to save his life, and it really lets him down. With that being said, the amount of Normal types and Rock types in the game provide Hitmonlee with many opponents he can take down. Overall he is a great Pokemon and a worthy choice for any team.
-Jolteon - High Tier
-Availability: Jolteon is given to you as a level 25 Eevee in Celadon City. It evolves to Jolteon through use of a Thunderstone, which happen to be for sale in Celadon Department Store.
-Stats: With base 110 Special, Jolteon's attacks pack quite a punch against anything that don't resist them, while base 130 Speed ensures that it outpaces everything, with very few exceptions. Its physical isn't the best in the world, but it usually won't matter in most situations as most physical attackers (barring Ground-types, of course) don't have the bulk to take a Thunderbolt.
-Movepool: Jolteon's movepool basically consists of Thundershock, Thunderbolt, and filler such as Pin Missile. Thunderbolt is the attack Jolteon should be using in most situations, and it's very close to being necessary for Jolteon to do well. Thundershock allows it to take care of the Pokemon weak to Thunderbolt (which happen to be quite common after dealing with the Snorlax on Route 12) without wasting too much PP, but keep in mind it can't learn Thundershock in Yellow. Of all of Jolteon's remaining moves, the one with the most potential would be Pin Missile. It is learned at level 36 in Yellow and hits Psychic-types super effectively, but don't be surprised if they survive due to Jolteon's below average Attack. Still, it's likely to be better than Thunderbolt against Psychic-types, but Jolteon can't really use it in Red or Blue due to not learning it until level 48. It also hits every Grass-type not named Tangela or Parasect for 4x effective damage, making it very useful against them, but Grass-types are uncommon after Celadon Gym. While Double Kick is a Fighting-type move, it fails to do significant damage to Rock-types, making it almost completely useless. Another possible move Jolteon might make use of is Thunder Wave, as it can paralyze speedy Pokemon for a slow teammate to crush or set up on, but it has very little use otherwise, as the best thing to do in most other situations is to just attack.
-Power: The only things that can reliably take Jolteon's Thunderbolt are either Ground- or Grass-types, and Jolteon doesn't even need Thunderbolt for Flying- or Water-types, as Thundershock will usually get the job done against them. Notable exceptions to the above are Lapras and Slowbro.
-Type: Electric-type moves have great neutral coverage, only being resisted by Ground-types and Grass-types, both of which are quite uncommon outside of the Viridian and Celadon Gyms, respectively. It also hits Flying-types and Water-types super effectively, both of which are quite common after Pokemon Tower.
-Match-ups:
--Erika: Jolteon can't do much here due to her Pokemon all having both good Special and a resistance to Electric-type moves.
--Koga: Sludge can hurt quite a bit, especially from Muk, the Pokemon on his team most likely to withstand a Thunderbolt. Things are better in Yellow as none of his Pokemon have (threatening) STAB and are generally frailer than in Red and Blue.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon all have high Special, canceling out Jolteon's impressive Special, but Thunderbolt deals more damage to Kadabra than Recover heals, meaning Jolteon is guaranteed to take down at least 3 of her Pokemon in Red and Blue. Despite being able to learn Pin Missile at that point in Yellow, it actually does worse against her than in Red and Blue, due to all of her Pokemon actually having a Speed advantage against it.
--Blaine: As with RB Sabrina, Jolteon can beat all of his Pokemon minus Arcanine.
--Giovanni: Jolteon can't do much of anything here.
--Lorelei: Jolteon can beat Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro with little trouble. It can also defeat Jynx one-on-one, but Lapras can take a hit and retaliate with either a 120 base power STAB move or with Body Slam/Confuse Ray to inflict status.
--Bruno: His duo of Onix wall Jolteon without hesitation or worry, but his Fighting-types will easily fall to Thunderbolt.
--Agatha: Each of her Ghost-types can take a Thunderbolt, albeit without losing a noticeable chunk of HP, and proceed to status Jolteon; however, should they not, Jolteon can beat them.
--Lance: His Gyarados is fried before you can bat an eye. Aerodactyl is also OHKOed, but it is faster due to its higher level, and Hyper Beam hits like a truck. His other Pokemon can easily take a Thunderbolt and Hyper Beam in return.
--Rival: Regardless of the game, his Water-type will always be beaten. His Grass-type can be taken down with Pin Missile, but don't expect Jolteon to get off scot free. His Charizard, should he have it, is another Pokemon who's defeated without much worry, and the same can be said about Pidgeot. There's no way Jolteon's getting past Rhydon (RB) or Sandslash (Y), and it also has trouble with Alakazam.
-Availability: Jolteon is given to you as a level 25 Eevee in Celadon City. It evolves to Jolteon through use of a Thunderstone, which happen to be for sale in Celadon Department Store.
-Stats: With base 110 Special, Jolteon's attacks pack quite a punch against anything that don't resist them, while base 130 Speed ensures that it outpaces everything, with very few exceptions. Its physical isn't the best in the world, but it usually won't matter in most situations as most physical attackers (barring Ground-types, of course) don't have the bulk to take a Thunderbolt.
-Movepool: Jolteon's movepool basically consists of Thundershock, Thunderbolt, and filler such as Pin Missile. Thunderbolt is the attack Jolteon should be using in most situations, and it's very close to being necessary for Jolteon to do well. Thundershock allows it to take care of the Pokemon weak to Thunderbolt (which happen to be quite common after dealing with the Snorlax on Route 12) without wasting too much PP, but keep in mind it can't learn Thundershock in Yellow. Of all of Jolteon's remaining moves, the one with the most potential would be Pin Missile. It is learned at level 36 in Yellow and hits Psychic-types super effectively, but don't be surprised if they survive due to Jolteon's below average Attack. Still, it's likely to be better than Thunderbolt against Psychic-types, but Jolteon can't really use it in Red or Blue due to not learning it until level 48. It also hits every Grass-type not named Tangela or Parasect for 4x effective damage, making it very useful against them, but Grass-types are uncommon after Celadon Gym. While Double Kick is a Fighting-type move, it fails to do significant damage to Rock-types, making it almost completely useless. Another possible move Jolteon might make use of is Thunder Wave, as it can paralyze speedy Pokemon for a slow teammate to crush or set up on, but it has very little use otherwise, as the best thing to do in most other situations is to just attack.
-Power: The only things that can reliably take Jolteon's Thunderbolt are either Ground- or Grass-types, and Jolteon doesn't even need Thunderbolt for Flying- or Water-types, as Thundershock will usually get the job done against them. Notable exceptions to the above are Lapras and Slowbro.
-Type: Electric-type moves have great neutral coverage, only being resisted by Ground-types and Grass-types, both of which are quite uncommon outside of the Viridian and Celadon Gyms, respectively. It also hits Flying-types and Water-types super effectively, both of which are quite common after Pokemon Tower.
-Match-ups:
--Erika: Jolteon can't do much here due to her Pokemon all having both good Special and a resistance to Electric-type moves.
--Koga: Sludge can hurt quite a bit, especially from Muk, the Pokemon on his team most likely to withstand a Thunderbolt. Things are better in Yellow as none of his Pokemon have (threatening) STAB and are generally frailer than in Red and Blue.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon all have high Special, canceling out Jolteon's impressive Special, but Thunderbolt deals more damage to Kadabra than Recover heals, meaning Jolteon is guaranteed to take down at least 3 of her Pokemon in Red and Blue. Despite being able to learn Pin Missile at that point in Yellow, it actually does worse against her than in Red and Blue, due to all of her Pokemon actually having a Speed advantage against it.
--Blaine: As with RB Sabrina, Jolteon can beat all of his Pokemon minus Arcanine.
--Giovanni: Jolteon can't do much of anything here.
--Lorelei: Jolteon can beat Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro with little trouble. It can also defeat Jynx one-on-one, but Lapras can take a hit and retaliate with either a 120 base power STAB move or with Body Slam/Confuse Ray to inflict status.
--Bruno: His duo of Onix wall Jolteon without hesitation or worry, but his Fighting-types will easily fall to Thunderbolt.
--Agatha: Each of her Ghost-types can take a Thunderbolt, albeit without losing a noticeable chunk of HP, and proceed to status Jolteon; however, should they not, Jolteon can beat them.
--Lance: His Gyarados is fried before you can bat an eye. Aerodactyl is also OHKOed, but it is faster due to its higher level, and Hyper Beam hits like a truck. His other Pokemon can easily take a Thunderbolt and Hyper Beam in return.
--Rival: Regardless of the game, his Water-type will always be beaten. His Grass-type can be taken down with Pin Missile, but don't expect Jolteon to get off scot free. His Charizard, should he have it, is another Pokemon who's defeated without much worry, and the same can be said about Pidgeot. There's no way Jolteon's getting past Rhydon (RB) or Sandslash (Y), and it also has trouble with Alakazam.
-Additional Comments: If you plan on using Jolteon, teaching it Thunderbolt is almost a necessity, as its movepool is quite barren otherwise. This is especially notable in Yellow, as it can't even learn Thundershock in that game. However, if given Thunderbolt, Jolteon will excel and cruise through more than half the time it's in your party, with the only times it does poorly being Celadon and Viridian Gyms.
- Jynx - High Tier
-Availability: Jynx is obtained through a trade in Cerulean City in Red and Blue, but the Poliwhirl you need in order to get it is unavailable until you have the Super Rod. That means you can obtain Jynx as soon as you get the Poke Flute, as you can fish for Poliwhirl in Celadon City/Route 10 and have a 50% chance to get it. From there, Jynx has about half the game ahead of it.
-Stats: Jynx is fragile, but fast enough to outspeed pretty much anything with a level lead. It can be outraced by something like Lance's Aerodactyl if you didn't use an X-Speed though.
-Movepool: When you get your (probably L23 or so) Jynx, the only good move it will have is Lovely Kiss. However, the Ice Beam and Psychic TMs are available to it as soon as you get it. If you don't want to invest Ice Beam into Jynx, it also learns Ice Punch at L31, and even Blizzard at L58 (though it's unlikely to end up that high if your party is reasonably large, so if you want Blizzard just use the TM). It also learns Body Slam naturally at L39, which can be used against fellow Psychics.
-Power: Jynx's Special is pretty good, Attack not so much. However, its attacking moves are backed by high base power, STAB, AND usually a type advantage, so it tends to destroy everything from the getgo.
-Type: Ice/Psychic is the best offensive typing you could get in-game, probably. Both of its types hit super effective on a lot of common and important enemies. Jynx's weaknesses generally don't end up being exploited because the types it's weak to are fairly rare other than perhaps Fire, plus it's so fast and powerful that whatever gets hit by it ends up crumbling. For example, it's weak to Rock Slide, but Jynx isn't afraid of Rhydon.
-Match-ups: The best part about Jynx. With just the Psychic TM, Jynx can go the distance against Team Rocket in Silph Co., the Fighting Dojo, the Bikers on the Cycling Road, Erika and Koga. It might not OHKO all of these right away, but it grows really fast thanks to the trade EXP bonus, so it will soon enough. Ice Punch or Ice Beam works well against Giovanni's gym. From there, Jynx does fine against Lorelei (though if you want to conserve her PP, its best to leave her out of that one), and then proceeds to massacre Bruno, Agatha and Lance (except Gyarados, but you can Lovely Kiss that). Jynx can also assist in battles against Gary, able to do a number on Pidgeot, Rhydon, and Venusaur/Exeggutor. It's also one of the safer ways to tackle Sabrina and Gary's Alakazam, since it can paralyze them with Body Slam, freeze with an Ice move, and/or use Psychic to drop their Special without being at risk of getting KO'd in the meantime.
Additional comments: Jynx does pretty much require the Psychic TM, so obviously don't use it in the same playthrough as something else that wants to use that. Even though Jynx will start underleveled, the trade EXP and its high offense let it stand on its own legs very quickly. Lovely Kiss is also very powerful in a game where you can't attack on the same turn you wake up. It lets Jynx put strong enemies to sleep and stay in with very little risk, and it also assists in catching Pokemon.
-Krabby – High Tier (Low Tier in Red)
-Availability: While Krabby can be caught in its base form by fishing with the Super Rod in various areas including (but not limited to) Fuschia City, Vermilion City, and Routes 11, 12, 18, it'll only be level 15, meaning it would have quite a long way to catch up the rest of the party. Krabby can also be found in Seafoam Islands in Blue and Yellow with their levels being in the low 30's. Its evolved form, Kingler, can be found in each of the games. In Red, the best you can do in terms of obtaining it is fishing it up with the Super Rod in Route 23 at level 23, which is better than being level 15 but still has quite a while to catch up. In Yellow, it can be found in the bottom 2 floors of Seafoam Islands by means of the Super Rod at level 35. However, Kingler's availability in Blue is the best out of the original 3 games. In the B3 floor of Seafoam Islands, Kingler can be found at level 39, which should be very similar in level to the rest of your team, provided you went to get it before clearing out Silph Co. While they only have a 4% chance of appearing, Repels remedy this, provided the Pokemon leading your party isn't below level 34 or above level 39 at the time. Krabby can evolve at level 28, in other words right after being caught.
-Stats: Kingler has a massive base 130 Attack, which is tied with Rhydon and Flareon and second only to Dragonite, which is almost impossible to get in-game without a large amount of grinding. Its Defense isn't too far behind, and its Speed is enough to outpace an almost all of the game's remaining Pokemon (at least those who aren't higher leveled than it). However, Kingler's weakest stat is Special, at a dismal base 50. Of course, If you settled for Krabby to get earlier access to Crabhammer, you don't have to worry too much, as it still has solid Attack and Defense.
-Movepool: Krabby and Kingler have exclusive access to the move Crabhammer, which acts like a slightly more powerful, 85% accurate, Water-type Slash, and as such is the best Water-type move in the game. As such, it makes up for Kingler's pathetic Special, and is almost mandatory on it. Kingler, like most other Water-types, has access to Ice Beam and Blizzard, but its awful Special means its usability outside of Lance is just as bad. Also, Kingler can learn Guillotine, which is an OHKO move and as such can make it quite useful for major battles in combination with X Accuracy and X Speed when Crabhammer and Strength can't cut it. Kingler learns Guillotine at level 25 and Crabhammer at level 42. Also, catching Krabby rather than Kingler in Yellow for an earlier Crabhammer is a definite option, as Krabby learns it at level 35. If you teach Kingler Surf and Strength, it can also act as a useful HM slave alongside its role of killing things with Crabhammer.
-Power: Against the majority of trainers, Kingler does well, with Crabhammer to annihilate anything weak to it and Strength to deal with everything else. Crabhammer and Water-typing combined with a titanic Base 130 Attack make Kingler a mixed attacker capable of holding its own against almost every remaining trainer in the game.
-Type: While Kingler is a Water-type with no secondary typings, it isn't too bad, because Kingler's weaknesses are both very uncommon, meaning Kingler won't have much to worry about in the majority of battles as far as type match-ups are concerned.
-Match-ups: The X item + Guillotine combination will not be taken into account for these battles, as Kingler defeats everybody (with the exceptions of Agatha and Sabrina) with it.
--Sabrina: Although Strength hits her Pokemon like a truck, the majority of her Pokemon are faster than Kingler and hurt it hard due to its dismal Special.
--Blaine: Considering the fact that his Pokemon are weak to Crabhammer and the fact that Kingler can confidently take physical hits not boosted by STAB, the outcome of this should be easy to see.
--Giovanni: Giovanni is steamrolled in Red and Blue, but he is definitely more threatening to Kingler in Yellow, as both his Nidos know Thunder, meaning if they survive a Crabhammer, there's a 70% chance of it getting fried.
--Lorelei: Unfortunately for Kingler, Lorelei happens to have Cloyster, Slowbro, and Lapras: the 3 Water-types that give Kingler the most trouble, in her arsenal.
--Bruno: Kingler can take a good amount of his Pokemon's attacks and whack them hard with Crabhammer, but don't expect Kingler to take hits from his entire team, as it only 2HKOes the Fighting-types, meaning they're guaranteed to get at least one hit in, and Hitmonlee can attack a second time before going down, thanks to its superior Speed.
--Agatha: Her Ghost-types can comfortably take everything Kingler can throw at it, although multiple Crabhammers will wear them down over time. It doesn't help that her first Gengar in Yellow knows Mega Drain.
--Lance: While Kingler can withstand more than one Hyper Beam, the only Pokemon it can do large amounts of damage against without the need for TMs is Aerodactyl. If Blizzard is added to the mix, Kingler can take out some of his Dragon-types, but they're merely 2HKOes against them, which when combined with Blizzards pathetic 5 PP means it usually won't be able to defeat his 2 Dragonair and his Dragonite in the same battle. In Yellow, Lance's first Dragonair and Dragonite know Thunderbolt and Thunder, respectively, neutralizing any attempts at chilling them to the bone.
--Rival: Needless to say, Alakazam, Magneton, and Jolteon beat Kingler with little trouble. Venusaur also does this, but it would require you to start the game with Squirtle, which means that scenario is very unlikely to happen. Gyarados, Cloyster, and Vaporeon can cause trouble, thanks to their usable, stellar, and solid (respectively) physical bulk. Everything else is handily beaten.
-Additional Comments: Arguably the best thing about Kingler is that it can learn very powerful moves (Strength hurts a ton when coming off a base 130 Attack) with absolutely no TM support, which sets it apart from almost every other Water-type that can be found in Seafoam Islands. This combined with its respectable physical bulk and perfect neutral coverage in just two moves allows it to be a surprisingly good Pokemon, at least in Blue and Yellow. In Red, it can only be obtained at level 23, which is a far cry from Yellow's 35 and Blue's 39.-Availability: While Krabby can be caught in its base form by fishing with the Super Rod in various areas including (but not limited to) Fuschia City, Vermilion City, and Routes 11, 12, 18, it'll only be level 15, meaning it would have quite a long way to catch up the rest of the party. Krabby can also be found in Seafoam Islands in Blue and Yellow with their levels being in the low 30's. Its evolved form, Kingler, can be found in each of the games. In Red, the best you can do in terms of obtaining it is fishing it up with the Super Rod in Route 23 at level 23, which is better than being level 15 but still has quite a while to catch up. In Yellow, it can be found in the bottom 2 floors of Seafoam Islands by means of the Super Rod at level 35. However, Kingler's availability in Blue is the best out of the original 3 games. In the B3 floor of Seafoam Islands, Kingler can be found at level 39, which should be very similar in level to the rest of your team, provided you went to get it before clearing out Silph Co. While they only have a 4% chance of appearing, Repels remedy this, provided the Pokemon leading your party isn't below level 34 or above level 39 at the time. Krabby can evolve at level 28, in other words right after being caught.
-Stats: Kingler has a massive base 130 Attack, which is tied with Rhydon and Flareon and second only to Dragonite, which is almost impossible to get in-game without a large amount of grinding. Its Defense isn't too far behind, and its Speed is enough to outpace an almost all of the game's remaining Pokemon (at least those who aren't higher leveled than it). However, Kingler's weakest stat is Special, at a dismal base 50. Of course, If you settled for Krabby to get earlier access to Crabhammer, you don't have to worry too much, as it still has solid Attack and Defense.
-Movepool: Krabby and Kingler have exclusive access to the move Crabhammer, which acts like a slightly more powerful, 85% accurate, Water-type Slash, and as such is the best Water-type move in the game. As such, it makes up for Kingler's pathetic Special, and is almost mandatory on it. Kingler, like most other Water-types, has access to Ice Beam and Blizzard, but its awful Special means its usability outside of Lance is just as bad. Also, Kingler can learn Guillotine, which is an OHKO move and as such can make it quite useful for major battles in combination with X Accuracy and X Speed when Crabhammer and Strength can't cut it. Kingler learns Guillotine at level 25 and Crabhammer at level 42. Also, catching Krabby rather than Kingler in Yellow for an earlier Crabhammer is a definite option, as Krabby learns it at level 35. If you teach Kingler Surf and Strength, it can also act as a useful HM slave alongside its role of killing things with Crabhammer.
-Power: Against the majority of trainers, Kingler does well, with Crabhammer to annihilate anything weak to it and Strength to deal with everything else. Crabhammer and Water-typing combined with a titanic Base 130 Attack make Kingler a mixed attacker capable of holding its own against almost every remaining trainer in the game.
-Type: While Kingler is a Water-type with no secondary typings, it isn't too bad, because Kingler's weaknesses are both very uncommon, meaning Kingler won't have much to worry about in the majority of battles as far as type match-ups are concerned.
-Match-ups: The X item + Guillotine combination will not be taken into account for these battles, as Kingler defeats everybody (with the exceptions of Agatha and Sabrina) with it.
--Sabrina: Although Strength hits her Pokemon like a truck, the majority of her Pokemon are faster than Kingler and hurt it hard due to its dismal Special.
--Blaine: Considering the fact that his Pokemon are weak to Crabhammer and the fact that Kingler can confidently take physical hits not boosted by STAB, the outcome of this should be easy to see.
--Giovanni: Giovanni is steamrolled in Red and Blue, but he is definitely more threatening to Kingler in Yellow, as both his Nidos know Thunder, meaning if they survive a Crabhammer, there's a 70% chance of it getting fried.
--Lorelei: Unfortunately for Kingler, Lorelei happens to have Cloyster, Slowbro, and Lapras: the 3 Water-types that give Kingler the most trouble, in her arsenal.
--Bruno: Kingler can take a good amount of his Pokemon's attacks and whack them hard with Crabhammer, but don't expect Kingler to take hits from his entire team, as it only 2HKOes the Fighting-types, meaning they're guaranteed to get at least one hit in, and Hitmonlee can attack a second time before going down, thanks to its superior Speed.
--Agatha: Her Ghost-types can comfortably take everything Kingler can throw at it, although multiple Crabhammers will wear them down over time. It doesn't help that her first Gengar in Yellow knows Mega Drain.
--Lance: While Kingler can withstand more than one Hyper Beam, the only Pokemon it can do large amounts of damage against without the need for TMs is Aerodactyl. If Blizzard is added to the mix, Kingler can take out some of his Dragon-types, but they're merely 2HKOes against them, which when combined with Blizzards pathetic 5 PP means it usually won't be able to defeat his 2 Dragonair and his Dragonite in the same battle. In Yellow, Lance's first Dragonair and Dragonite know Thunderbolt and Thunder, respectively, neutralizing any attempts at chilling them to the bone.
--Rival: Needless to say, Alakazam, Magneton, and Jolteon beat Kingler with little trouble. Venusaur also does this, but it would require you to start the game with Squirtle, which means that scenario is very unlikely to happen. Gyarados, Cloyster, and Vaporeon can cause trouble, thanks to their usable, stellar, and solid (respectively) physical bulk. Everything else is handily beaten.
-Mr. Mime - High Tier
-Availability: Obtained from a trade (Abra in RB and Clefairy in Yellow). Its level depends on the level of the Pokémon you are trading. Chances are it will be underleveled unless you happen to level up the Pokémon you are going to trade away as you are going. However, the boosted experience allows Mr. Mime to gain levels very quickly and it will catch up to the rest of your team in a flash.
-Stats: Mr. Mime has good Speed and Special, giving it strong battling capabilities. The HP and Defence are low but it isn’t a crippling problem because most opponents will fold before they strike.
-Movepool: Sadly, Mr. Mime has a poor level-up movepool. Confusion is its only decent attack. On the plus side, it can learn Psychic through TM, which is pretty much all it needs. It also gets Thunderbolt, but it isn’t something that Mr. Mime particularly benefits from (although it is its best option against other Psychics).
-Power: Mr. Mime is actually the weakest fully evolved pure-Psychic type, but this is more of a reflection of the quality of the other Psychics rather than Mr. Mime itself. It doesn’t quite OHKO everything with Confusion like Kadabra/Alakazam can but it is still a powerful Pokémon, and when it gets Psychic before Erika it becomes a killing machine.
-Type: Psychic is highly regarded as the best type in RBY. Psychic is super-effective against Fighting and Poison, allowing it to blast through Team Rocket grunt, and it is only resisted by itself.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge – Unfortunately, Confusion isn’t enough in Yellow. Mega Kick and Mega Punch will kill Mr. Mime too quickly. In RB you should do ok with Voltorb and Pikachu at least.
Erika – Psychic destroys pretty much everything in this whole gym. Tangela can take it better than Gloom/Vileplume and Weepinbell/Victreebel but it can’t do much back.
Koga – Psychic is super-effective against everything and it resists the Psychic attacks being fired back at it in Yellow. It should do great here.
Sabrina – Pretty much a mirror match. The outcome depends on level but Recover gives Kadabra and Alakazam a bit of an edge. You should beat Venomoth in RB easily though.
Blaine – This also depends on level but Mr. Mime’s high special helps it take Flamethrower/Fire Blast. It doesn’t dominate but it can contribute.
Giovanni – Psychic makes short work of Nidoqueen and Nidoking. His other Pokémon have poor Special stats so it is a good choice for this battle.
Lorelei – A neutral match-up overall, although Slowbro and Jynx resist Psychic so they are tricky to take down (note that Slowbro has Amnesia).
Bruno – You win easily here. His fighting Pokémon are doomed to fail and Onix is frail on the special side.
Agatha – Psychic is super-effective against everything. You win unless you get unlucky with confusion damage or something.
Lance – There isn’t really an advantage or a disadvantage type wise. Mr. Mime won’t want to take Hyper Beam too much, but it can take special attacks which is handy in Yellow.
Blue – None of his Pokémon are actually weak to Psychic except Venusaur, so this will come down to stats. You should be able to at least beat (efficiently) Pidgeot, Rhydon, Venusaur, Magneton, Ninetales, Flareon and Vaporeon, though honestly it all depends on level.
-Additional Comments: Technically this is just a worse Alakazam, but it is still a great battler and the massive amount of experience this gains from battling makes it a great choice. Not only does this allow Mr. Mime to grow quickly, it also give more opportunities for its teammates to jump into battle and gain experience
Omanyte - High Tier
Availability: Technically available as soon as Surf is obtained, which is after Koga is beaten. However, Erika/Koga/Sabrina/Blaine can be beaten in any order (the only condition being Koga beaten before Blaine because Surf). Generally though, it is obtained before Blaine.
Stats: Monstrous Defense and Special, bad Speed, average HP and irrelevant Atk. Omanyte has higher Special than Blastoise, serving to show how amazing it is.
Movepool: Gets Surf instantly, Blizzard (which is great in RBY due to 90% accuracy) is found in Pokemon Mansion. Those two can literally carry Omanyte throughout the game.
Power: Possesses great bulk on both ends of the spectrum and really is only let down by bad speed.
Type: His weaknesses aren't really relevant when you get him except for Ground (Giovanni), Fighting (limited to... Bruno's Hitmonlee, Machamp is outsped and killed) and Venusaur/Exeggutor (Champion). He doesn't learn any Rock attacks but it's not really relevant because Blizzard destroys flying types, Surf destroys Fire types and Omastar doesn't have any business to be out against Lorelei.
Matchups:
Erika: While you most likely will not have Omanyte before facing her, it is still possible. Anyway, Omanyte even with Blizzard has no business in this gym.
Sabrina: While you most likely will not have Omanyte before facing her, it is still possible. Omanyte doesn't hit anything hard here and Alakazam's crit hit rate may destroy it.
Blaine: Surf virtually OHKOes everything.
Giovanni: Surf OHKOs everything except Persian in Yellow who can't do anything back. Nidos in Yellow possess Thunder/Earthquake/Double Kick, while Dugtrio outruns, has a monstrous crit rate and hence may OHKO with EQ.
Lorelei: Omastar doesn't really have business facing her. He can't really deal decent damage.
Bruno: Omastar destroys his Onixes and Hitmonchan, but Hitmonlee and Machamp may outrun/survive a Surf and attack back.
Agatha: Her lead Gengar in RB has Mega Drain, but aside from that not really much of a threat.
Lance: Take care of Thunderbolt Dragonair and Thunder Dragonite in Yellow, and Gyarados in both, and Omastar has a field day here. RB Lance is basically trivialised thanks to Omastar resisting everything.
Blue: Only RB Venusaur/Yellow Jolteon is even a threat. Exeggutor mysteriously doesn't carry even Mega Drain.
AC: Omanyte hits hard from the get-go and has immediate access to useful moves. He also gets a gym to destroy, if anything.
Sandshrew - High Tier
Availability: Sandshrew is only available in Blue and Yellow. You can get it on Route 4 in Blue, or even earlier on Route 3 or Mt Moon (1F) if you're playing Yellow.
Stats: This line has some pretty good Attack and Defense. Nothing else really stands out, but it has enough Speed to get the jump on most enemies as long as it's got the usual level advantage. That sore Special is only a problem when it has to take a hit.
Movepool: It learns Slash at L17, giving Sandshrew 62.5% chance to score a CH. Sandslash has the full 99.6%. However, beyond that, the level-up movepool is completely barren. The best TM move you can teach it is Dig, which is also the only TM it will ever really need to perform well. It's a costly one, though, but few Pokemon can claim to use it better. Earthquake TM can be a nice PP addition or even replacement for Dig when you get it in Silph Co. Rock Slide might come in handy occasionally, but usually you can use Slash on fliers and bugs to come out on top.
Power: As soon as Sandshrew evolves at L22, it should be able to sweep just about anything with Slash and Dig thanks to its 100 base Attack. Only bulky enemies will be able to survive.
Match-ups:
Misty - Really bad match-up.
Lt. Surge - Autowin, even without Dig his Pokemon just can't outdamage Slash.
Erika - You don't really want to get tangled up with her if you're Sandslash.
Koga - Autowin.
Blaine - You should be able to Dig or Earthquake his Pokemon into oblivion. Flamethrower/Fire Blast can be painful but in Blue only Arcanine has either of those, and in Yellow only Ninetales and Arcanine do. You will be able to take at least one strong attack.
Giovanni - You have a typing advantage over 4/5 of his team in Blue, and 3/5 in Yellow. He shouldn't be a problem.
Lorelei - Every single one of her Pokemon has a Water or Ice move, so Sandslash should sit this one out.
Bruno - While Sandslash doesn't do badly, you probably have Pokemon in your party that can OHKO all of his Pokemon, especially the Onixes.
Agatha - Chances are everything on her team will get OHKO'd by Earthquake, except for Golbat, which you can probably beat too despite confusion. Mega Drain and Psychic from the Gengars in Yellow can sting but won't OHKO.
Lance - You should avoid Gyarados and its Hydro Pump, and Aerodactyl too unless you have Rock Slide. Everything else is fair game in Blue, though a Pokemon with an Ice move would be better. In Yellow, Dragonite and the second Dragonair have Ice moves, so Sandslash is even more restricted there.
Overall, Sandslash's important battle match-ups are on the shaky side, but it can pull its weight overall considering just how powerful Slash and STAB Dig are. If you don't have the Dig TM to spare on your playthrough, he becomes significantly less powerful until Silph Co.
-Shellder - High Tier
-Availability: There are numerous methods for obtaining Shellder. It is possible to fish it up with the Super Rod. This isn’t the best choice in RB because it is severely underleveled. In Yellow, it is more viable because it can be obtained as high as level 40. In RB, you are better off waiting until you reach the Seaform Islands, where it comes at a more reasonable level (28-33, depending on version). Although this may seem a bit low compared to what your team will be at, it can (like most later game water types) head to Cinnabar and gain levels easily using the wild Pokémon and trainers in the Mansion and Gym. Despite coming somewhat late, Shellder comes at the time where Water/Ice coverage is most valuable. It should also be noted that Shellder can be evolved right away, which means you don’t have to worry about using the weaker Shellder at all.
-Stats: The most striking stat is the huge 180 Defence. Cloyster has 95 Attack and 85 Special, allowing it to hit reasonably hard from both ends of the spectrum. 70 Speed is adequate for in-game runs. Cloyster’s only low stat is its 50 HP, but this isn’t a huge concern for a simple run through of the main game, and in terms of physical bulk its insane Defence makes up for it.
-Movepool: Cloyster starts off with Surf and an Ice move, assuming you catch it at level 30 (which is required for Aurora Beam). In fact, having Aurora Beam this early allows you to avoid using one of the Ice TMs on it if required. However, Cloyster greatly appreciates Ice Beam/Blizzard. Beyond its STABs, all it gets are Normal attacks. Tri Attack is probably the pick of the lot because it has decent power with no drawbacks, and the fact that it is such an exclusive move means that it is very likely to be available to Cloyster.
-Power: Cloyster is strong enough for what it needs to do, and that is take advantage of the excellent coverage that its STABs provide late game. Powerful moves and solid stats serve it well. Note that Cloyster, like many Water types, will struggle a bit against opposing Water types. Tri Attack helps but does not solve the problem completely, although Cloyster can probably defend itself better than many other Water types thanks to higher Attack, Water and Ice resistance, and great Defence to take Normal attacks.
-Type: Water/Ice is a fantastic offensive combination considering when Cloyster joins the team. It covers many of the important trainers towards the end, which is invaluable. Cloyster does have a few nasty weaknesses though. Its massive Defence allows it to take Fighting and Rock attacks but Electric and Grass attacks will sting. Thankfully, as long as you have good knowledge of the movesets of your opponents, particularly Gym Leaders and Elite 4 members, these attacks are easy to predict and avoid.
-Match-ups: Blaine – You have STAB Surf on your side. You laugh at their physical attacks. Just don’t underestimate the power of STAB Fire Blast. 85 Special is good but 50 HP may leave you vulnerable, especially in Yellow where Ninetales is the lead.
Giovanni – Surf (or an Ice attack) basically adds up to a clean sweep. Persian isn’t doing much to you with your 180 Defence. Be careful about Thunder from Nidoqueen and Nidoking though.
Lorelei – Mirror Match. There are better choices but you can actually do better here than some of the other water types. 180 Defence combined with your Water and Ice resistances makes it a bit difficult for her to harm you significantly, and you have Tri Attack backed up by 95 Attack. Only Slowbro (in Yellow) has a Special attack that can hit you neutrally. Naturally, Cloyster should probably sit this out for a more efficient choice, but knowing that Cloyster can tank most of her Pokémon’s attacks is reassuring if you need a back up.
Bruno – Surf covers Onix, and it hits his Fighting types hard too. The Fighting weakness isn’t that bad considering your 180 Defence. You should be able to pull off a sweep.
Agatha – No type advantage here. You can hit Golbat with an Ice attack, and Arbok is weak. The ghosts are trickier because there are bulky on the special side and can annoy you with status. Also, watch out for the Gengar with Mega Drain in Yellow.
Lance – Your STABs cover everything except Gyarados. Even Gyarados can be beaten one on one with Tri Attack and 180 Defence, although it is easier to send your Thunderbolt Pokémon in to deal with it. In Yellow, Dragonite and Dragonair have Electric moves. However, given how Dragonair is fairly weak and Dragonite is probably going to be OHKOed by your Ice attack, it isn’t a huge deal.
Blue – You can beat Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Venusaur, Sandslash, Ninetales and Flareon for sure. If you want, you can take on his Water Pokémon too. Just steer clear of his Electric types and you’ll be fine. Cloyster is unbelievably useful for this battle.
-Additional Comments: This is a good water Pokémon for late game use. It has competition from other water types like Omaster, Dewgong and Starmie though. Cloyster is a good Pokémon in its own right regardless of comparisons, and it distinguishes itself with its massive Defence and above average Attack. The biggest advantage it has over its competition is its efficiency. By coming at a high level and having access to a great moveset without any significant sacrifices, Cloyster can fit in on almost any team.
Snorlax - High Tier
Availability: 2 that are available after getting the Pokeflute. Comes at a whopping level 30 (should be about the same or better than your other teammates). You can even use both if you want (1 with Surf, and another with Ice Beam / Blizzard / EQ, lol).
Stats: Some of the best stats in the game-- Snorlax is an OU level beast with fantastic HP and ATK. It's speed is bad, and its defensive stats are more than passable with that MONSTER HP. Amnesia can patch up its special... very fast...
Movepool: Comes with Headbutt and quickly gets Body Slam (one of the best Normal moves in the game), which also preserves your precious Body Slam TM. It comes with Rest + Amnesia (+ Pokeflute) which is stupid, especially since Body Slam + boosted Surf can destroy everything in the game. Body Slam / Rest / Surf / Amnesia is probably the best in-game set, especially if you aren't cloning TMs. Basically, Snorlax can rape everything without using any TMs. If you are cloning TMs, you can give it Earthquake or Blizzard. Not really important, but it learns Hyper Beam on its own too...
Power: It has awesome ATK, and Amnesia pumps up its Special like crazy. It can sweep on either side.
Type: Normal is arguably better than Psychic. While it has no resistances (much like Psychic), it also has basically no weaknesses as Fighting attacks are almost non-existent (Fighting Gym/Bruno's Hitmonlee, Bruno's Machamp--that's it). Normal has perfect or near-perfect coverage with so many types in the game-- Rhydon/Golem and Gengar are the only things in all of RBY that hold up to Normal attacks, and Snorlax has access to Surf, Blizzard/Ice Beam, and Earthquake. Yeah, no problemo.
Match-ups:
Erika: Snorlax laughs at status, Amnesia's through all their attacks, and destroys them with Headbutt/Body Slam. If you gave Snorlax Ice Beam... Ice Beam + Amnesia, lol
Koga: A little bit tough since Sludge hits Snorlax's weak physical side, but you can Amnesia up against something weak like Koffing, Rest of any Poison/damage and sweep with Surf / Ice Beam.
Sabrina: Amnesia to max special against Kadabra / Mr. Mime. Sweep with Ice Beam / Surf / Body Slam. Body Slam from a decent leveled Snorlax OHKO's Alakazam, and comes close even through Reflect. Psychic from Alakazam does laughable damage when Snorlax is at +6 Special. Sucks if Psychic crits you though...
Blaine: Amnesia + Rest + Surf= lol If you went with Earthquake, you'll be getting hit hard by Fire Blasts but you'll OHKO everything while you still have health. If you taught Snorlax Ice Beam / Blizzard, it still does well with Body Slam. Sucks if Arcanine's Fire Blast crits you.
Giovani: Amnesia + Surf + Rest = Sweep
Lorolei: It'll take some effort to break through her Ice-types relying on Body Slam, but she won't be able to touch you without a critical hit once you've amnesia'd up against Dewgong. Sucks if something crits you with Blizzard though...
Bruno: Just watch out for Hitmonlee and Machamp. Surf Snorlax destroys everything else.
Agatha: Gengars can literally do nothing to Snorlax, especially after it Amnesia's up. Amnesia + Surf / Ice Beam for the sweep. If you went with Earthquake, you'll OHKO everything except Golbat, who will die to Body Slams. Agatha is no threat.
Lance: Snorlax won't like repeated Hyper Beams, but it can definitely hold its own (especially if you taught it Ice Beam / Blizzard)
Rival: Pidgeot can't do shit to Snorlax, so feel free to set up Amnesia and sweep his whole team. Pokemon Yellow is harder since Sand Attack and powerful physical attacks from Sandslash are annoying, but Snorlax will still hold its own as a powerful attacker.
Additional Comments: Snorlax has the power and movepool to destroy everything. It requires minimum TM investment (none at all if you abuse Surf + Amnesia), and almost no healing item support thanks to Rest + Pokeflute. It can even sweep using Strength + Surf, packing HMs while beating shit up simultaneously. Snorlax's only real problem is being slow... really slow... which means it can really get fucked up by critical hits in RBY. Since Snorlaxe's Special Defense is only 65 in RBY, a crit at the wrong time can be really bad when Amnesia-boosted Snorlax gets OHKO'd by a Psychic, Blizzard or Fire Blast it would have otherwise lol'd at. If you just pack some extra Hyper Potions to help Snorlax out in the face of some unfortunate hax, it can sweep through most enemies.
-Squirtle (Yellow) - High Tier
-Availability: This is obtained in Vermillion city after you beat Lt. Surge. It comes at level 10, which is rather low. Although this does mean you have to grind it (which slows things down a bit), it doesn’t take particularly long. The trainers east of Vermillion provide an excellent source of experience (you’ll need to baby it though). You should be close to level 20 by the time all the trainers are beaten. From there, Diglett’s Cave can be used to finish the job. After this, more experience can be gained from beating the Hikers between Cerulean City and Lavender Town. By then, Yellow Squirtle should play similarly to RB Squirtle.
-Stats: Blastoise’s stats are solid overall, if not spectacular. His highest stat is Defence (100) but his other stats are perfectly acceptable for in-game play. He has enough Attack and Special to hit things hard and he has enough Speed to be going first most of the time.
-Movepool: Squirtle’s level up movepool is not particularly noteworthy. Bubble and Water Gun provide STABs early on, and Bite is decently powerful (although a tad too late to be overly useful), but other than that it’ll be relying on TM/HM support. Thankfully, Blastoise gets lots to choose from. BubbleBeam is an excellent STAB move early on, and Surf comes just as BubbleBeam is starting to lose its usefulness. It can learn Ice Beam and Blizzard, giving it nice coverage. It also gets Dig/Earthquake, Submission and Body Slam (plus the numerous other Normal TMs). You should have no problem putting a good moveset together.
-Power: Blastoise should be at least 2HKOing everything thanks to its excellent coverage, and it is capable of outspeeding and OHKOing plenty of things. It is very consistent and its power will never lag, making it useful throughout the whole game.
-Type: Water is a very good type in this game. It particularly shines towards the end, where it eats the last few gyms alive and matches up well with the elite 4. The Electric weakness is hardly an issue since Electric moves are rare. The Grass weakness is a bit more concerning, but it is a weakness that can easily be covered by teammates, and Blastoise can still use an Ice attack to defend itself.
-Match-ups: Erika – Wartortle isn’t that good here. You should hopefully have Ice Beam which helps a lot, but it isn’t strong enough to OHKO her Pokémon and that leaves him vulnerable to a status move or Grass move.
Koga – Type-wise there isn’t much to say, but Blastoise should do well here based on Power alone. Venonat is a weakling, though Venomoth can be a tough opponent.
Sabrina – No type advantage to mention. If you have physical moves then they will help out, but you may find yourself outsped and KOed. At the very least, you’ll beat Abra, and Kadabra is beatable too.
Blaine – There is absolutely no reason why you would lose here. You have a clear type advantage and you have the stats to pull off a sweep.
Giovanni – Basically what applies to Blaine applies here too. You have to watch for Nidoqueen and Nidoking though, as they will try to Thunder you.
Lorelei – This is a mirror match. You don’t ‘lose’ but there are superior choices for this battle. You can beat Jynx just fine though.
Bruno – This is easy. Onix is Surf bait and his Fighting types can’t stomach Special moves for long. Blastoise has the bulk to take a hit.
Agatha – Earthquake is a huge help here for Arbok and the Ghosts (Arbok can’t take Surf well anyway), and Ice Beam covers Golbat. However, the Ghosts might outspeed and status you. One of the Gengar has Mega Drain too.
Lance – Ice Beam/Blizzard covers the Dragons, and Surf nails Aerodactyl. Gyarados is beatable, though you can’t exactly plow through it. Watch out for Electric moves from his Dragons too.
Blue – You should be fine to take on Sandslash, Alakazam, Exeggutor, Ninetales, Vaporeon, Cloyster and Flareon.
-Additional Comments: This suffers a bit in Yellow from poor availability, but it is an issue that can be overcome somewhat easily, and the results are definitely worth it.
-Staryu - High Tier
-Availability: Like most late-game Water-types, Staryu can be found in Seafoam Islands, at or around level 30. However, if you're really impatient, you can use a Super Rod at Fuschia City to catch one, but keep in mind that it can only be found at level 15 by that method. Being a stone evolution Pokemon, Staryu can evolve whenever you want.
-Stats: Starmie's Speed allows it to outspeed everything in the game (except for your rival's Jolteon in Yellow, but Jolteon wins that match-up regardless) as well as giving it a formidable 22.5% critical hit ratio, while its Special makes it a solid special attacker and also giving it decent special bulk.
-Movepool: Its unimpressive level-up movepool (barring the almighty Recover) is a double-edged sword; while it allows you to evolve Staryu as soon as you catch it, it also means it's largely reliant on TMs and Surf to be good. Thankfully, all it really needs is Surf and Psychic (whose competition is Mr. Mime, Jynx, and maybe Drowzee. In other words, fellow Psychic-types) to be a quality contributor. Thunderbolt and Ice Beam are just additional perks.
-Power: From the moment you evolve it and teach it Surf (and hopefully Psychic as well), Starmie is ready to duke it out with a good amount of trainers, and it will need to beat a lot in order to completely catch up, as the rest of your team should be at least level 36, while Starmie's only level 30-32, and it takes longer for it to level up than most others. Despite being on even playing ground in terms of levels, Starmie can still easily plow through opponents, provided it can hit them super-effectively. Once it's caught up, it can wash unresisted opponents away with Surf alone, and it's also one of the few late-game Water-types that doesn't have too much difficulty with fellow Water-types (thanks, Psychic and Thunderbolt!).
-Type: Starmie is one of a few Pokemon that have not just one, but two great STABs to use; Psychic is super-effective on a wide variety of things, and Surf allows it to absolutely flood Cinnabar and Viridian Gyms. Even Water Gun (which it should know when you catch it) can be useful for dealing with some Water-weak Pokemon, such as Rhyhorn or Growlithe, without wasting Surf's PP. Also, Grass, Electric, and Bug are all uncommon types in-game, meaning Starmie's opponents will most likely not be able to threaten it too much, thanks to Recover.
-Match-ups:
--Lt. Surge: Provided Raichu's Thunderbolt doesn't crit, Starmie has a pretty smooth time against him.
--Erika: To make a long story short, Starmie has no trouble with her if it knows Ice Beam or Psychic.
--Koga: Because you need to beat him to Surf outside of battle, you'll have to use one caught via the Super Rod, and thus have to train it up at least 20 levels to stand a chance against him. For the battle itself, Psychic destroys him in Red and Blue, and in Yellow, its performance is a bit rougher, but still doable.
--Sabrina: Starmie's at a stalemate against her Alakazam, as Surf and Psychic each do less than Recover heals. Your chances of victory in Yellow are slimmer, thanks to the level bump.
--Blaine: Swept away by Surf.
--Giovanni: Persian and Nidoqueen can take a Surf, but aside from that, he's the same as Blaine.
--Lorelei: Lapras is the only Pokemon on her team that can deal notable damage to Starmie, but Starmie will have a lot of trouble if it doesn't know Thunderbolt.
--Bruno: Considering that his entire team is weak to Starmie's STABs, not to mention the fact that none of them have good Special, this outcome should be obvious.
--Agatha: Her Ghost-types have enough special bulk to take a Psychic and confuse Starmie or put it to sleep. Her other Pokemon aren't too bad.
--Lance: Starmie sweeps his team, but only if it knows both Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. The former is needed for Gyarados, while the latter OHKOes his Dragonair and Dragonite.
--Rival: How well it does depends on what you taught it, but keep in mind that it will almost never beat his Alakazam, Magneton, or Jolteon.
-Additional Comments: Of all the late-game Water-types, Starmie stands out as quite possibly the (second) best of them, due to its great stats and wide (albeit TM dependent) movepool. While it doesn't excel from the moment you get it (not to mention it takes a while to catch up to the rest of the team), once it's caught up, it becomes a great Pokemon that's capable of beating most of the major battles by itself, given the proper support.
-Tentacool - High Tier
-Availability: The best way to obtain Tentacool is to encounter it by surfing. The Tentacool south of Fuchsia City vary wildly in level, ranging from level 5 to level 40. However, it doesn’t take very long to get a high level Tentacool, and by using Repels strategically you can encounter one sooner. It is also possible to use the Super Rod to fish one up in various locations. This is really only viable in Yellow because the RB Tentacool caught by fishing are underleveled (and you can even fish up a Tentacruel in Yellow). Tentacool evolves at level 30 so if you catch a high level one you can obtain Tentacruel quickly. Although Tentacool is relatively late, it comes at a convenient time where Tentacruel’s strengths are most useful.
-Stats: The stat that should get the most attention is Special. At an incredible 120, Tentacruel edges out Omaster as the most powerful Water type when hitting from the special side. This is supported by 100 Speed, which is outspeeding practically all opponents in game. Tentacruel’s only remotely poor stat is Defence, but it isn’t at the same level of “pathetic” as something like Alakazam, and thanks to its high power this is easy to work around.
-Movepool: Tentacruel doesn’t have much of note within its level up move, although Hydro Pump is very powerful and Barrier can be used to patch up its weak Defence if you so wish. Its best moves come from TMs. It is a given that Tentacruel will get Surf, which hits like a truck from its 120 Special. It gets Ice Beam and Blizzard for coverage and although both are valuable TMs, it is standard to give at least one of those to the water type on your team. As such, Tentacruel can safely assume access to an Ice move. Tentacruel is also compatible with Mega Drain, and is the only Water type capable of learning the attack. It isn’t something Tentacruel absolutely must have, but it provides super-effective coverage against opposing Water types while recovering HP at the same time. Water types love being able to hit other Water types, and with 120 Special and its resistances to back it up, Tentacruel can use it hold its own against Water types much better than many of its Water type brethren.
-Power: With its stats and coverage, Tentacruel is a destructive force to be reckoned with. Many of the late game opponents simply cannot stand up to Tentacruel. Tentacruel can plow through certain teams with ease, making the last parts of the game much easier for you.
-Type: Tentacruel is the only Water/Poison type in RBY, although the Poison type doesn’t help it at all. STAB Water attacks are invaluable late game thank to super-effective hits on Fire and Ground types. Water provides it with resistances to Water, Ice and Fire. Tentacruel carries a weakness to Electric carried by all Water types, so make sure you have teammates that can take them. The Poison type neutralises the usual Grass weakness of Water, but at the same time adds Bug, Ground and Psychic weaknesses. This is of little concern because Bug attacks are weak in general, Tentacruel can destroy pretty much anything with a Ground move before they strike, and Psychic types are rare after Sabrina.
-Match-ups: Sabrina – Many Water types tend to struggle against Sabrina’s Psychic types, but Tentacruel has it particularly bad because it is actually weak to Psychic moves. You do have your high Special on your side and Tentacruel can contribute somewhat against her weaker pokemon, but using Tentacruel for this battle isn’t the best idea and sending it in on Alakazam is foolish.
Blaine – You absolutely destroy Blaine. They absolutely cannot stand up to your extreme power.
Giovanni – The is a similar story to Blaine, but it is more risky in Yellow because Dugtrio might outspeed you and nail you with Earthquake. If Persian outspeeds you then its Slash may sting (Tentacruel should still win as long as you have plenty of HP in reserve though). Other than that, you can pretty much kill anything else effortlessly.
Lorelei – Tentacruel fairs better than most Water types because of Mega Drain and its 120 Special. Tentacruel shouldn’t be the number one choice for this battle (that honour goes to your STAB Electric spammer should you be carrying one) but Tentacruel can definitely pull its wait here.
Bruno – This is an easy battle for you. Onix is a joke, and Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are frail. Machamp has the option of hitting you with a crit Karate Chop in Yellow, but other than that you should have no serious issues. The fact that Tentacruel resists Fighting attacks is the icing on the cake.
Agatha – Golbat and Arbok shouldn’t prove to be a problem. The ghosts are more concerning since they have high Specials and annoying status moves. One of her Gengar even has Psychic in Yellow. Using Tentacruel against the ghosts isn’t the best way to deal with them.
Lance – Water/Ice coverage covers most of his team. Gyarados should be dealt with using a different Pokémon because Hyper Beam hits Tentacruel hard. Some of his Dragons have Electric attacks in Yellow but Tentacruel should have the speed advantage and it can take a non-STAB Thunderbolt/Thunder.
Blue – Tentacruel’s coverage really comes in handy here. If you have Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard and Mega Drain, you can hit Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Blastoise and Venusaur in RB. In Yellow, the hitlist is Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales, Vaporeon, Cloyster and Flareon. The main things to avoid would be Alakazam and the Electric types.
-Additional Comments: Tentacruel is yet another great late game Water type. The main things differentiating it from the competition are its massive Special, its Poison type (for better or for worse) and Mega Drain. Tentacruel’s only “problem” is its lateness, but Tentacruel comes just when it’s needed and unless you started with Squirtle your Water type options are fairly limited before Tentacruel anyway.
-Vaporeon - High Tier
-Availability: Given to you in Celadon City at level 25. You need a Water Stone to evolve Eevee into this.
-Stats: Vaporeon has one of the best stat spreads for in-game use. While its Speed might seem mediocre, it's actually just enough for it to outspeed most of the in-game threats and OHKO them, thanks to its more than adequate Special. If it gets outsped, or if the opponent survives a hit, it won't be taking much damage thanks to its massive HP.
-Movepool: BubbleBeam and Ice Beam (via TMs 11 and 13, respectively) are all it gets in terms of moves when you get it, but that's really all it needs. When you get to Fuchsia, you can teach it Surf as well, but keep Bubblebeam. It also learns Ice Beam by TM and Aurora Beam by level-up (note: it only learns Aurora Beam in Yellow), allowing you to deal with the Bird Keepers without wasting Bubblebeam's or Surf's PP. Keep in mind that BubbleBeam and Ice Beam are both exclusive TMs, and as such Vaporeon might have competition with your other team members. Another thing of note is it's bulky enough to utilize the Rest/Poke Flute combination for (somewhat) reliable recovery.
-Power: From the moment you get it and teach it Bubblebeam, Vaporeon performs excellently against most of its adversaries. In fact, it can take out the Celadon Grunts by itself if you're willing to teach it Ice Beam and use a few Super Potions. After that, Vappy should be caught up with the rest of your team. Unfortunately, the Ghost-types of Lavender Tower are faster than Vaporeon, but it can still do adequately, provided you don't get confused and paralyzed at the same time. From then on, Vappy does quite well against most of the remaining trainers, save for the abundant Swimmers late-game.
-Type: Unlike most other Water-types, Vaporeon doesn't have a second type or a move that hurts fellow Water-types effectively, meaning it can't really do much between Fuchsia and Cinnabar.
-Match-ups: Generally, Vaporeon's high HP and Special allow it to perform adequately against the Gym Leaders and Elite Four.
Lt. Surge: If you choose to fight him right after obtaining Vaporeon, don't expect a victory from it, as his Raichu does around half with Thunderbolt, and you have to defeat his Voltorb (which knows Sonicboom) and Pikachu before fighting it. In Yellow, Raichu is his only Pokemon, but its "possible 2HKO" gets bumped up to a "solid 2HKO". In other words, don't use Vaporeon against him, at least not without prior training.
Erika: Her Victreebel/Weepinbell happens to know Razor Leaf, which is almost guaranteed to KO in one hit. However, it is also OHKOed by Ice Beam, so whether Vaporeon or Victreebel comes out alive depends on who's faster. Tangela is more easily beaten, regardless of which game you're playing. Vileplume/Gloom knows Petal Dance, and Vileplume in particular can stomach an Ice Beam. Did I forget to mention Tangela is the only Pokemon of hers that doesn't know Sleep Powder?
Koga: Much more managable than above, thanks to the neutral type match-up, and the fact that his Pokemon have shabby Special. In Yellow, he has 3 Venonats and a Venomoth, all of which are at least level 44 and know status-inducing moves.
Sabrina: Her Pokemon, for the most part, are faster than Vaporeon, but Vappy's great special bulk will allow it to take a few Psychics, along with high HP allowing it to take (seemingly) minimal damage from Psywave. Unfortunately, it can't do too much back, thanks to their high Special. It can still beat at least one of her Pokemon by itself.
Blaine: Literally, the only thing on his team that's actually threatening is Rapidash, and that's only if it spams Fire Spin for about 25 turns.
Giovanni: Provided Dugtrio doesn't spam Sand Attack, you're good to go. In Yellow, his Persian can leave a mark with Slash, and his Nidos know Thunder, but he's still not too threatening.
Lorelei: Don't expect much to come from this fight, as they resist each other's STABs.
Bruno: His Onix are merely speed bumps, and the Hitmons have seemingly no Special. Vaporeon also has enough bulk to take a Hi Jump Kick or Submission if need be, and if it does get hit by Submission, Machamp will lose a chunk of its HP on recoil alone.
Agatha: About her Ghost-types: think of them similarly to Sabrina's Kadabra and Alakazam, except with the threat of status instead of STAB Psychic. Also, the first Gengar knows Mega Drain in Yellow. Aside from that, she's pretty mild.
Lance: All of his Pokemon, barring Gyarados, are OHKOed by Ice Beam, and his Aerodactyl can even be dealt with by Bubblebeam. Vappy also has the bulk to take a non-crit Hyper Beam, but it can't do much to Gyara, and Dragonite knows Thunder (Yellow only) and outspeeds it. Another thing to watch out for is his second Dragonair, as it knows Thunderbolt.
Blue: In Red and Blue, the only ones on his team Vappy shouldn't take on by itself would be Alakazam, Venusaur, and possibly Gyarados. In Yellow, it has a bit more trouble, as Ninetales and Cloyster can continuously trap it with Fire Spin and Clamp, respectively. Also, it is recommended not to have Vaporeon fight Magneton or Jolteon, for obvious reasons.
-Additional comments: From the moment you get it, Vaporeon is a great Pokemon, thanks to its barely-high-enough Speed, high Special, and great endurance. It doesn't even need grinding, thanks to Team Rocket, and it only has 2 problems: While it's effective when fighting most of the Pokemon in the game, it can't really do much to other Water-types not named Gyarados. It's also greatly dependent on BubbleBeam in order to be useful before Fuschia
-Bellsprout (Blue and Yellow only) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Bellsprout can be caught as early as Route 24. This is convenient because this is around the same time as the Misty battle, where it acts as one of the better counters to her. It ranges from level 12-14, which isn’t a complete disaster. It evolves at level 21 and then again using a Leaf Stone.
-Stats: The Bellsprout family has a focus on offense. Bellsprout actually starts with decent 75 Attack and 70 Special. Once fully evolved, Victreebel sports impressive 105 Attack and 100 Special, backed up by a usable 70 Speed. It’s only remotely poor stat is Defence, but it doesn’t really harm Victreebel much in-game.
-Movepool: This is probably where Victreebel suffers a bit. It basically has the same movepool as Venusaur, but it takes longer to get its best moves. Razor Leaf is the best Grass type attack in the game, but it comes quite late. In fact, it may be better to prevent Bellsprout from evolving for a while so it can get it at level 33. In the meantime, you’ll be using Vine Whip and Wrap as your main offense. Bellsprout also gets the status powders early, which is helpful for a while until it gets Razor Leaf to kill things. It gets Growth early as well, and it can potential run a boosting set with Sleep Powder and Mega Drain. Although this isn't as immediately as powerful as Razor Leaf spam, it does do better against certain trainers and it allows you to fully evolve sooner. Beyond its grass STAB, it gets Body Slam but only as Victreebel, so you won’t be able to get it until Celadon City. You may prefer to use Double-Edge instead (or in the meantime). It also gets Acid, but it is very weak. Acid does seem useful in theory to cover Bug and Grass types, but a large number of them have secondary typings that remove the weakness, making this irrelevant.
-Power: Bellsprout is ok for a while but it will struggle against anything that resists Grass, especially before it gets a strong Normal attack. It doesn’t really take off until Razor Leaf and Body Slam/Double-Edge come along. Even then, it will still suffer a bit from having its strongest STAB resisted by many opponents, although there are many opponents that don’t and Razor Leaf is brutal against them.
-Type: As an offensive type, Grass is very hit-and-miss. Grass has coverage against some important types (Water, Ground and Rock), but it is resisted by common Poison, Bug, Grass, Fire, and Flying types (as well as the less common Dragon). Weaknesses to Fire, Flying, Psychic, Bug and Ice are irritating as well. Victreebel may need to be a bit more selective about what to take on if it wants to avoid damage, but Grass definitely has its uses.
-Match-ups: Misty – This match-up is one of the best reasons to use Bellsprout. Resisting BubbleBeam makes this quite a bit easier and with STAB Vine Whip on your side you can’t afford to lose. Just make sure you are at a reasonable level, although this shouldn’t be a problem.
Lt. Surge – Another good match-up in RB. Electric resistance allows you to take Thunderbolt from Raichu, and if you can stop that then you can stop the others. Don’t get reckless in Yellow though. Raichu’s Mega Kick and Mega Punch are brutal. You may need to try a status move to win.
Erika – This isn’t a great match-up for either side. However, Victreebel can work out well here. Grass resistance and Body Slam from 105 Attack is potent, and being immune to PoisonPowder can provide free turns in RB assuming she is stupid. You are still vulnerable to Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, but you have those on your side as well. If you are still Bellsprout/Weepinbell, you can try the same thing with Double-Edge over Body Slam, but it isn’t as effective.
Koga – You aren’t really useful here. His Pokémon resist Grass and high Defence allows them to take Body Slam (especially Weezing and Muk). Of course, they have terrible movesets so they can’t really do too much back, so you can “win” if you must use Victreebel. In Yellow, Body Slam is a more potent weapon, but they can hit you with Psychic moves. Venomoth is pretty much the only threatening Pokémon on his team though.
Sabrina – Stay away. Super-Effective Psychic moves make this a battle that Victreebel should sit out. Still, Body Slam from 105 Attack is powerful against her frail Pokémon, so you may be able to take some of them out.
Blaine – Another gym that you aren’t that useful in. In RB, you can beat Growlithe and Ponyta, but Fire Blast from Arcanine is devastating to Victreebel. In Yellow, Growlithe and Ponyta have been replaced by a Ninetales with Flamethrower, making the match-up even worse.
Giovanni – This is the first gym in a while where you have a good match-up. Razor Leaf dispatches of Rhyhorn, Rhydon, Dugtrio and Persian. Nidoqueen and Nidoking aren’t weak to Grass but can be beaten.
Lorelei – Razor Leaf is super effective against most of her team (and Jynx hates Body Slam from 105 Attack) but then you are weak to Psychic and Ice attacks. A Growth boosting set may actually do better here than Razor Leaf spam, and although it isn't the absolute best choice it can get the job done. Use it if you want, but have a back-up ready.
Bruno – You destroy Onix, and Razor Leaf hits his Fighting types hard as well. You also resist Fighting, so this is a good match-up overall.
Agatha – You are kind of useless here. You really can’t do anything to her Ghosts, and although you can beat Golbat and Arbok with Body Slam an attempt to do so may result in confusion or paralysis.
Lance – His Dragon types resist Grass. Relying on Body Slam probably won’t be enough for a clean sweep, but Razor Leaf should be enough for Aerodactyl. In Yellow, you have to watch out for Ice, Fire and Flying moves.
Blue – Using its resistances, and Razor Leaf and Body Slam, you can beat Rhydon, Exeggutor, Blastoise, Venusaur, Sandslash, Cloyster, Vaporeon, Magneton and Jolteon. Just watch out for Ice moves from the Water types, and Pin Missile from Jolteon.
-Additional Comments: This is pretty much the best Grass type if you don’t go with Bulbasaur, and in Yellow it gives Bulbasaur some serious competition because of the nerf Bulbasaur got in its availability. It is a useful Pokémon thanks to its good stats and the sheer power of Razor Leaf, but tends to be hit-and-miss thanks to its somewhat limited movepool, and unlike RB Bulbasaur it doesn’t provide a no-drawbacks win condition against Brock and Misty.
Bulbasaur (Yellow) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Given to you in Cerulean City, at level 10. Keep in mind that to get it, you need Pikachu to have high happiness.
-Stats: Decent all around, with good Special.
-Movepool: It starts off without any STAB moves, meaning you're not exactly doing well with it until it gets to level 13, when it gets Vine Whip, which has a staggering 35 base power and a shocking 10 PP. However, 17 levels (assuming you evolved it, which you should've) later, it gains access to the far superior Razor Leaf, which is better than Vine Whip in every way. Aside from that, keep in mind that it's a Grass-type that can't use Stun Spore or Sleep Powder (although it can learn Sleep Powder, it doesn't get the chance until level 55, and you should've beaten the game by then). Body Slam is quite helpful for those who aren't hit super-effectively by Vine Whip, but keep in mind that you're using up an exclusive TM, and resisted Razor Leaf does around the same amount of damage (assuming criticals and a 2x resistance, of course).
-Power: Since you get it at the measly level 10, when the rest of your party should be at least level 15, Bulbasaur is underlevelled when you get it, and it can't really do anything to anybody until it learns Vine Whip. Early evolution is helpful, but it'll eventually fall behind again, specifically after you get through Rock Tunnel, as seemingly half the trainers have a Pokemon that resists Vine Whip. Body Slam can help, as it has notably more Base Power than Vine Whip. Once it learns Razor Leaf, expect things to take a turn for the better, and thanks to evolving again 2 levels after that, Venusaur will pulverize everything that doesn't resist Grass, and even some things that do. Once you get to the water routes, it'll be smooth sailing for Venusaur.
-Type: Grass is useful until you get through Rock Tunnel, and picks up again when you get finish Silph. Shame its secondary typing doesn't really do much to help it aside from making it neutral to Poison and immune to Poison (status), as it gives almost no extra coverage and also adds a weakness to Psychic.
-Match-ups:
Misty: Assuming you went to see Bill first, you should be fine, because of Ivysaur's good (at the time) Special combined with its type advantage should give you an easy victory. Don't use it against her if you just got it, though, because of a severe level disadvantage as well as the fact that Bulbasaur doesn't know any Grass-type moves (ignoring the useless Leech Seed) when you get it.
Lt. Surge: Not quite as easy as Misty, as his Raichu knows Mega Kick and has a solid Attack stat to back it up.
Erika: Seeing as how her entire team resists Grass-type moves (in fact, Weepinbell and Gloom resist Razor Leaf with the critical factored in), and 2 of her Pokemon know Sleep Powder, using Ivysaur against her is not recommended.
Koga: His team resists Razor Leaf even with criticals factored in, and they all know Psychic. Even though they don't get STAB from it, his weakest Pokemon is level 44.
Sabrina: Beating her Abra without taking any damage isn't notable, as even a Magikarp could do it. Her other Pokemon have high Special, are level 50, and get STAB on Psychic, which means you'll have to rely on them using Psywave and getting low damage rolls as you Body Slam them.
Blaine: Venusaur can take a Fire Blast if necessary, but don't expect it to take repeated uses of it.
Giovanni: All of his Pokemon (minus Persian, who has Slash which is still quite powerful) know Earthquake, which can leave a dent in Venusaur, but all of them are OHKOed by Razor Leaf, barring the Nidos.
Lorelei: 4 of her Pokemon are weak to Razor Leaf, but Lapras can take a hit, while Jynx outright outspeeds Venusaur, allowing both of them to attack it with Blizzard and Ice Punch, respectively.
Bruno: *insert sentence here about his Onix getting destroyed by even Vine Whip* Overall, his Pokemon have low Special, and Venusaur resists Fighting, and both of these things mean that your Venusaur should have little trouble dealing with him.
Agatha: Her Ghosts are a nightmare, as they have high Special, are resistant to Grass-type moves, and are immune to Normal. Her Golbat 4x resists Razor Leaf, meaning that you're best off using Venusaur against her Arbok or not at all.
Lance: Venusaur can beat Gyarados 1-on-1, but is defeated by his first Dragonair, Aerodactyl, and Dragonite. Not much else to say here.
Gary: Sandslash, Cloyster, Magneton, and Jolteon (keep an eye out for Pin Missile, though) are the only things Venusaur has a likely victory against on its own. If you have the Poke Flute with you (which you should) and taught Venusaur Body Slam, you can add Exeggutor to that list, as it doesn't know any Psychic-type moves. The reason why it can't easily beat his other Pokemon can be explained as such: Alakazam has a type advantage (not to mention the fact that it's Alakazam), Ninetales knows Fire Spin and Confuse Ray, Vaporeon has great special bulk and knows Aurora Beam, and Flareon knows Fire Spin and Flamethrower.
-Additional Comments: Bulbasaur has a (very) weak start, and only ascends to "average" until it learns Razor Leaf and evolves again. When those things happen, expect OHKOes on everything that doesn't resist it, and even a few that do. Keep in mind, however, that you need to baby it for the first few levels, and it can't really do anything in places like Lavender Tower.
Drowzee - Mid Tier
-Availability: Drowzee are at Route 11, at levels 9-15 in Red and Blue and at 15-19 in Yellow. The chance of finding them is 1-in-4, so you don't have to worry about scouring the Route for hours on end looking for them. They evolve at level 26, which is when you should be either fighting the last trainers on the S.S. Anne or approaching Rock Tunnel.
-Stats: Unfortunately, Drowzee's uncomfortably slow and (physically) weak. Thankfully, its impressive Special makes up for its Speed somewhat. When Drowzee evolves, it can outspeed most Pokemon in the game that aren't considerably fast (or in the possession of a Gym Leader/Elite Four member). Its Special also gets a nice boost, and its increased Defense means that if it fails to OHKO its opponent (which is a fair assumption considering how late it gets Psychic), it won't have to worry about counterattacks as much.
-Movepool: Unless you're playing Yellow and caught it at level 17 or higher, Drowzee won't know Confusion, having only the pathetic Pound with which to harm others. Headbutt is usable, but is only useful for fellow Psychic-types, as they usually have high Special and resist Psychic-type attacks, not to mention Hypno's Special is far greater than its Attack. Also, Hypno doesn't learn Psychic naturally until level 37, so teaching it that via TM29 isn't completely unreasonable. Drowzee also knows Hypnosis from the moment you catch it, but its unreliable accuracy means that it's far from necessary.
-Power: As mentioned above, Drowzee won't know Confusion until level 17, so until then, it has to 6HKO its enemies with Pound. Once it knows Confusion, it starts to do adequately, and when it evolves, it gets even better, but despite this, its Confusion has a tendency not to OHKO things that aren't weak to it. Psychic, whether it be at level 37 or when you first enter Saffron City, fixes this problem and allows it to deal heavy damage to anything that's not a fellow Psychic-type. Unfortunately, Hypno doesn't do as well as Mr. Mime or Abra in Pokemon Tower, mainly due to it being slower than the numerous Gastly and Haunter, and some of them tend to go for the Confuse Ray on the first turn, and their high Special allows them to survive a Confusion more often than not.
-Type: Psychic is well known for being the best type back in the day, and not having a second type isn't the end of the world, as Psychic-type attacks have great coverage on their own, only being resisted by fellow Psychic-types, who can't do much to Hypno in return.
-Match-ups: While you could just use Hypnosis against everybody, these match-ups will assume you don't use it.
--Lt. Surge: You can handle him in Red and Blue if Drowzee's evolved by this point. In Yellow, however, Mega Punch and Mega Kick leave marks regardless of whether it's a Drowzee or Hypno you're using.
--Erika: Victreebel/Weepinbell is faster than Hypno and can trap it continuously with Wrap. The rest of her team is much easier to deal with, just watch out for Sleep Powder. Getting Hypno statused prior to the battle, which shouldn't be too much of a problem considering the fact that half of the Gym's trainers know status-inducing moves, prevents the threat of Sleep Powder and allows Gloom/Vileplume to be pulverized. Keep in mind that if Hypno gets paralyzed, it's vulnerable to Bind from Tangela.
--Koga: Hypno should have Psychic by this point, but even Confusion has enough power to OHKO his Koffings. Psychic, however, is needed to OHKO his Muk and Weezing, and greatly helps its performance against him in Yellow, although it never really struggles against him in the first place.
--Sabrina: Hypno resists Psychic-type attacks, causing Sabrina's Pokemon to use everything but Psychic-type moves, allowing Hypno to Headbutt them until they're down. Alakazam, though, is a problem, as Recover its its only non-Psychic-type attack, meaning it will endlessly spam it, healing off more than Headbutt will do. There are 2 possible solutions to this, but neither are efficient: the first being to use Disable (which Hypno knows when you catch it) and hope it disables Recover, or to use Meditate (which is learned at level 43) so Headbutt does more than Recover heals.
--Blaine: Fire Spin is annoying, as is Confuse Ray from Ninetales (only appears in Yellow), but Hypno does decently against him otherwise.
--Giovanni: Everything on his team, save for Persian in Yellow and Dugtrio. Hypno can beat them one-on-one, but not both of them in the same match.
--Lorelei: Hypno doesn't do too poorly against her, but Slowbro and Lapras can comfortably take whatever Hypno throws at them.
--Bruno: Ignoring the Onix because they're terrible, Hypno can take on all of his Fighting-types, at least assuming Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee don't use Mega Punch and Mega Kick, respectively.
--Agatha: Her Ghosts and Golbat know Confuse Ray and are faster than Hypno, potentially leading to a very frustrating battle.
--Lance: Hypno can take a Hyper Beam from his Dragonair, but nothing else on his team. As such, Hypno can beat one of his Dragonair, but good luck defeating anything else on his team with it.
--Rival: To make things short: Pidgeot, Rhydon, and Venusaur are easily beaten. Hypno vs. Alakazam results in a stalemate, due to Alakazam's only Normal-type attack being Recover. Exeggutor can be beaten, but it'll take a while. Arcanine, Magneton, Vaporeon, and Jolteon can be troublesome but still manageable provided Hypno doesn't take too much damage against others. Finally, Fire Spin and Clamp make Ninetales and Cloyster infuriating, and Sandslash's, Gyarados's, and Flareon's Attack makes having Hypno fight them inadvisable.
-Additional Comments: Drowzee is a good Pokemon, but one who has competition with Abra and Mr. Mime, the former of which comes earlier and has better stats, and the latter gains boosted exp due to being a traded Pokemon. However, Drowzee is much easier to obtain than its competition, as Abra Teleports away on the first turn and Mr. Mime requires either an Abra or a Clefairy, depending on the version, while Drowzee has a decent chance to appear and it doesn't Teleport away from battle. Of course, its forgettable start also hampers it somewhat, but its solid match-ups against the game's bosses makes up for it.
-Electabuzz (Red only) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Electabuzz can only be found at the Power Plant, meaning you need to have beaten Koga to access it, and you need to noticeably out of the way, as you can't directly Fly to Route 10's Pokemon Center like you can in later generations. Electabuzz themselves aren't the most common encounter (5%) and they can tend to be more stubborn than others when it comes to actually being caught, on par with that of Onix. Also, Electabuzz appear at levels 33-36.
-Stats: Statistically, Electabuzz is very similar to Raichu, but with (slightly) better Speed at the cost of some Attack. This poses a problem for Electabuzz, as Raichu can be caught as early as Viridian Forest (as a Pikachu, of course), which is before the first Gym, while Electabuzz is completely unavailable until after the fifth.
-Movepool: Electabuzz's movepool is slightly larger than that of fellow Electric-types and includes moves such as Thunderpunch (which is essentially a weaker but still Thunderbolt) and Psychic. Electabuzz also learns dual screens, but it has to wait until level 49 for Light Screen, and you should either be fighting the Elite Four or have beaten the game by that point.
-Power: If given Thunderbolt, Electabuzz acts almost entirely the same as Raichu would, due to their similar stats and typing, but if given Psychic, Electabuzz suddenly has the ability to OHKO every Grunt's Poison-types, something Raichu could not hope to do without a crit. Of course, the schools of Water-types are no match for an Electabuzz that knows Thunderpunch, which it should know by that point.
-Type: Electabuzz comes at a time when Water-types are quite commonplace, which is good for Electabuzz considering it's an Electric-type.
-Match-ups: These match-ups are all assuming you taught Electabuzz Psychic, as all it has for offense is Quick Attack, Thundershock, and Thunderpunch otherwise.
--Sabrina: Electabuzz isn't sweeping her any time soon, but it can beat at least 2 of her Pokemon most of the time.
--Blaine: Electabuzz can beat Growlithe and Ponyta easily, and occasionally Rapidash depending on how much damage it (Electabuzz) took against Blaine's previous two Pokemon.
--Giovanni: How well Electabuzz does against Giovanni depends on whether you taught it Psychic or not: if you did, it can do respectably against his entire team except for Dugtrio, but it has absolutely no chance against him if it doesn't know Psychic.
--Lorelei: Jynx's neutrality to Electric-type attacks and Lapras's immense special bulk allow them to take on Electabuzz, but the rest of Lorelei's team easily falls. Just make sure you don't allow Slowbro to get more than one Amnesia up, though!
--Bruno: This fight is very similar to Giovanni: If Electabuzz knows Psychic, it wins. If it doesn't, it can beat Hitmonchan and maybe Hitmonlee, but has some trouble with Machamp and (embarassingly) can't touch his 2 Onix.
--Agatha: each of her Ghosts can stomach a Psychic, and their naturally high Speed allows each of them (with the possible exception of Haunter) to Confuse Electabuzz or put it to sleep. Golbat and Arbok on the other hand are jokes.
--Lance: Gyarados is completely fried, as is Aerodactyl if it uses Take Down, Leer, or Fly rather than Hyper Beam or Supersonic. Electabuzz can't do much else to Lance's team, unfortunately.
--Rival: Pidgeot, Gyarados, Cloyster, and possibly Vaporeon and Blastoise are all (predictably) beaten, but Electabuzz doesn't exactly excel against anything else on his team, save for Rhydon if it knows Psychic.
-Additional Comments: Electabuzz is an adequate Pokemon, one with a good typing for the time in the game it's caught as well as being unique in that it's one of the very few Generation I Electric-types who don't need Thunderbolt thanks to its exclusive access to Thunderpunch. However, Electabuzz suffers from having solid competition from Raichu, who has similar stats but can be obtained earlier, and Zapdos, who is in the same area as Electabuzz but has a much higher level and better stats all around. Electabuzz's main niche in all of this is its exclusive (for Electric-types, at least) access to Psychic and Thunderpunch, eliminating its need for Thunderbolt (as mentioned above) that all other Electric-types demand. In other words, if you're not going to teach Electabuzz Psychic, don't use it, as other Electric-types can do its job better otherwise.
Farfetch'd (RB) - Mid Tier
Availability: Somewhat early, as you trade Spearow for it in Vermilion city. BTW, you can catch Spearow easily just outside Vermilion if you haven't got one already.
Stats: Its stats are terrible. It is outclassed by every other normal/flying type in the game in stats, even Pidgeot is better.
Movepool: Cut + Fly... NICE!! Farfetch'd is the only Pokemon in the game to get Cut + Fly, two relatively poorly distributed HM moves. Dux is obtained in the same town as Cut, so the same time you'll start needing him. He's also there ready and waiting when you get Fly. Cut + Fly is incredibly useful in moving in and around Celadon and Fusia, and moving between all the main mid-game towns. This makes Farfetch'd arguably the most useful HM slave in the whole game. Also, Farfetch'd gets the 140 base power Slash (with the crit), and Swords Dance (which works with Fly or Hyper Beam). DUX also gets boosted experience points. Not saying that any of this makes it better than a Dodrio or Fearow, but it's not completely unusable as a battler.
Power: Quack Slash / Swords Dance kind of make up for crappy ATK.
Type: A million other options with this typing, which is just ok. Repetitive STABs, not-so-useful resistances.
Match-ups:
Lt. Surge: No.
Erika: You get Fly in Celadon, so Farfetch'd can basically roll through her, just like any flying type in Celadon.
Koga: You're too weak to do much here as his pokes have great DEF... too bad there are no venonats...
Sabrina: You will probably get fried before you get to do much. If for some reason you don't get killed instantly, Slash will hit her pokes very hard.
Blaine: Farfetch'd can beat growlithe, and can do a bit of damage. Don't expect it to sweep the gym though...
Giovanni: His pokes mostly have great DEF and hit hard. Rhydon laughs at anything and everything you could do. This is not a great gym for DUX.
Lorelei: Beam'd to death...
Bruno: If you have leveled up sufficiently, Dux can kind of help against the fighting types.
Agatha: Since her pokes are often faster, expect to be confused and haxed a lot. You can do some damage with SD + Fly if you manage to attack alright.
Lance: Hyper Beam'd to death...
Rival: Pokemon you can beat: Exeggcutor. Pidgeot too. Time your Fly to dodge Sky Attack and you'll be fine. With SD up it can potentially be helpful against things not named Rhydon.
Additional Comments: There are 2 things a player should do to make his RB run faster and more convenient/fun. The first is get the bicycle, the second is add DUX to his party. Just remember that DUX is probably the best HM slave in all the RBY universe. If we were tiering it purely based on utility, it would be top tier. Unless you really hate the mental image of dry humping a small duck to go from town to town, there's really no reason why you WOULDN'T have DUX on your team between Vermillion/Lavender/Saffron/Fushia. It's just so good as a HM slave, unless you enjoy inconvenience, DUX should probably be on your RB team at some point.
Flareon - Mid Tier
-Availability: Flareon is given to you as a level 25 Eevee, and can be evolved via a Fire Stone, which costs an easily affordable 2100 Poke.
-Stats: Flareon not only posesses high attacking stats on both ends of the spectrum, but it also has enough speed to outpace anything that isn't particularly fast or is used by a Gym Leader/Elite Four member. Its Defense and HP do let it down, though.
-Movepool: Flareon starts off with Tackle (Quick Attack in Yellow) as its most powerful move, which makes Body Slam an option to be considered. However, Flareon learns an adequate move a few levels after obtaining it (Bite at level 30 in Yellow and Ember at level 31 in Red and Blue), but Body Slam should still be at least considered, as its extra base power nets it OHKOes where Bite and Ember do not. Of course, being a Fire-type, Flareon has TM access to Fire Blast, and considering the fact that all Flareon learns in terms of attacks are either Fire-type or Normal-type moves (unless you're actually counting the pathetic Smog as a usable attack), Flareon will easily have space for it. Also, Flareon learns Fire Spin at level 42 (level 36 in Yellow), but while Fire Spin's trapping effect might seem appealing at first glance, it slows the game's progress immensly, making it not recommended.
-Power: As mentioned above, before it learns Ember/Bite (and also assuming that you didn't teach it Body Slam), it has a noticable lack of power and as such has trouble early on when you first get it. Once it learns Ember/Bite, its combat abilities improve considerably, but its low combined Defense and HP cause its health to wear down quickly, and more often than not, it generally ends up being the first Pokemon in your party to faint. When the water routes come along, Flareon predictably has a bit of a rough time, but its incredible Attack allows it to fend for itself better than an Arcanine or Ninetales would. Also, teaching it Body Slam helps it out greatly, allowing it to achieve multiple OHKOes that Bite and Ember can't.
-Type: Fire typing, while helpful in Celadon and against the random Grass-type user, doesn't really stand out anywhere else, and causes it to have trouble late-game, where Water-types are abundant.
-Match-ups:
--Erika: Her Victreebel happens to be faster than you and knows Wrap. Thankfully, her Tangela and Vileplume happen to be slower than you and thanks to RBY's AI, they will never use Mega Drain or Petal Dance against you, as it would be not very effective, thus allowing Flareon to Bite (or better yet, Ember) its way through her team.
--Koga: Let's face it. While Ember's power is enough to cut it against the average trainer, it's just not enough to so much as 3HKO his Muk or Weezing. Things might seem better in Yellow at first glance, with his entire team being weak to Fire-type attacks and weak overall, but the problem is that Flareon's only Fire-type attack at that point in the game is Fire Spin, which burns time more efficiently than Koga's multiple Venonat.
--Sabrina: By this time, Flareon should be high enough in level that it can withstand 2 Psybeams from her Pokemon, and Bite should be doing more to Kadabra than Recover heals. Flareon can also beat Alakazam if it knows Body Slam, but only if it paralyzes it. In Yellow, however, Flareon would need to be lucky to beat her Kadabra by itself, and this is assuming it knows Body Slam!
--Blaine: Thanks to RBY's AI as mentioned above, Blaine's Pokemon will never use a single Fire-type attack against Flareon. It still has to watch out for Rapidash's Stomp and Arcanine's Take Down, with the former being faster than Flareon, thus giving Stomp the chance at flinching Flareon, and the latter coming off of a respectable Attack stat. Still, Flareon should be able to beat every Pokemon on his team, with the possible exception of Arcanine, with little worry.
--Giovanni: Flareon can't do much to Rhyhorn or Rhydon without wasting Fire Blast's PP, which isn't enough to deal with both of them. Also, every one of Giovanni's Pokemon (except Persian) threatens Flareon in Yellow, thanks all of them knowing Earthquake, but regardless of version, Flareon flat out loses to Dugtrio. Thankfully, the Nidos are manageable in Red and Blue.
--Lorelei: Simply put, the only Pokemon of hers you should even consider having Flareon fight is Jynx. It falls on its face against anybody else.
--Bruno: The 2 Onix he has aren't worth wasting Fire Blast's PP. Let somebody else deal with them. Fire Blast OHKOes both of the Hitmons, but Machamp can stomach a blast. Keep in mind though that his Hitmons are faster than Flareon.
--Agatha: Flareon can't do much to her Ghosts, thanks to their having a Special that is enough to take minor damage from even Fire Blast combined with an immunity to Normal-type attacks. Her Golbat and Arbok are both faster than Flareon and can withstand a Fire Blast, but outside of status, Golbat (and Arbok in Red and Blue) won't be doing much back.
--Lance: Flareon won't be doing much of anything this fight, as all of them not only resist Fire Blast, Flareon's main attack, but they all know Hyper Beam, which does a large amount of damage to whatever doesn't resist it or have respectable Defense, and simply put, Flareon does not fit either of the above criteria.
--Rival: Pidgeot, Exeggutor, and Venusaur are all easily beaten. Flareon can potentially beat Alakazam, but it needs Body Slam and don't expect it to do much else, as Psychic can easily wear it down, and the same goes with Jolteon. Also, unless you're using it as fodder (which I hope you're not), Flareon should never go up against Gyarados, Cloyster, or Blastoise, for obvious reasons.
-Additional comments: While Flareon isn't much of a help against the game's major battles, its performance against the trainers after Pokemon Tower (as well as doing better against Water-types than its non-Charmander competition) makes up for it, and makes Flareon an acceptable choice for a spot on your team.
Geodude - Mid Tier
Availability: Early! Comes after Mount Moon and is the first OU family you will meet. Evolves quickly, reaching Graveler (and immediately Golem by trade) at level 25.
Stats: 110 Attack is great, and its 130 Defense is absolutely monstrous! Unfortunately, its Special and Speed stats are equally awful.
Movepool: Geodude has a fantastic movepool, getting Rock Throw at level 16, which will tide you over until you get Rock Slide (still very early in the game in Celadon City!). They can make great use of the Dig TM, but Earthquake also comes quickly, Geodude picking it up at level 31 and Graveler/Golem getting it at level 36. They can also make use of the power normal TMs, Mega Punch, Body Slam, Strength, and Hyper Beam. While not great in-game, they also get Self-Destruct and Explosion.
Power: Edge-Quake coverage is awesome, being totally unresisted (though Norma/Ground is also unresisted), and getting excellent super effective coverage. 110 Attack makes these attacks very formidable.
Type: Rock / Ground is one of the best competitive types, but unfortunately it's set back a lot in-game. While it out-right manhandles all the Normal-, Flying-, Electric-, and Poison-type enemies, it's absolutely destroyed by the Grass-, Water-, and Ice-type attacks that become more and more prevalent as you proceed through the game.
Match-ups:
Misty: lol... Bubblebeam of death... fuck, even Water Gun kills you...
Lt. Surge: Geodude/Golem destroys Surge outright with Dig.
Erika: lol... you will be instantly killed.
Celadon Rockets: Golem basically man-handles all rockets and Giovanni.
Koga: Golem's Earthquake/Dig and resistances to Sludge and Explosion make it basically unstoppable here.
Saffron Rockets: Not much has changed since Celadon...
Sabrina: Special attacks... you will be instantly killed...
Blaine: Resist or no, Fire attacks hurt (since your Special is SO bad...), but you still have the advantage. Basically, a Water-type clears this gym better.
Giovanni: Most of his Pokemon are weak to Ground. However, you're slow, and Earthquakes from the opposing side (especially in Yellow) will hurt bad. Basically, a Water- or Psychic-type clears this gym better.
Lorelei: hahahaha... once more, Golem will die instantly.
Bruno: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Machamp all hit you for super effective damage. In Yellow, the Onyx's can also hurt you with Dig / Earthquake. While you're Defense is massive and Hitmonchan's Special is pathetic (meaning Golem can fight here), you're just so much better off using a Water- or Psychic-type.
Agatha: You definitely have the advantage of typing, but the difference in Speed... be prepared for a long bout of annoyance by Confusion, Sleep, Paralysis and Poison if you try to defeat her with Golem. In Yellow, the first Gengar has Mega Drain (instant death) and the second has Psychic (close to instant death). Again, you'd be better off with a speedy Psychic user like Alakazam, Starmie, or your own Gengar.
Lance: In RB, Golem can trounce everything besides Hydro Pump Gyarados. In Yellow, basically everything trounces Golem except the 1st Dragonair and Aerodactyle.
Rival: Geh... Golem beats Pidgeot, Rhydon, Fire-types, Electric-types, and Exeggcutor (who only has Stomp and Barrage for some reason). Everything else kicks your ass.
Additional Comments: In competitive RBY, Rock/Ground is essential, with Rhydon or Golem being on every team, and Rhyhorn appears horribly late in-game, making Golem your only real choice. However, while their ability to flat-out wall Zapdos and other opponents on the competitive scene is useful, Golem's horribly slow Speed and awful Special handicaps it against a good portion of opponents in-game, starting with Misty and Erika and becoming increasingly bad as more Water- and Ice-type users appear later. It's low Special means it's outright destroyed by Psychic-type users as well. Golem has great stats, moves, and completely destroys many opponents, but there are so many that also destroy it. Early game, it's no better than the Nidos (who appear early, are immune to Poison status and are useful throughout the game), and late game, it's outclassed by Water/Psychic types, who destroy the enemy Ground / Rock / Fire / Poison types more easily. If you real hate enemy Self Destruct / Explosion users though, it's a solid choice.
-Goldeen - Mid Tier
-Availability: This can be obtained as soon as you get the Super Rod. RB players should head over to Route 23 and fish up a level 23 Seaking. This is slightly underleveled but it’s not unsalvageable. Yellow players can catch a level 30 Seaking north of Cerulean City, which requires no grinding at all. If preferred, Yellow players can also wait until they get Surf, which allows them to Surf to the Cerulean City water and fish up a Level 40 Seaking. Given that Water types really take off towards the end of the game, this is a viable choice too.
-Stats: With 92 Attack and 80 Special, Seaking has the stats to hit reasonably hard from both sides of the spectrum. 68 Speed is a bit on the low side but it’s just enough to ensure that you are only outsped by the fastest opponents (e.g. Alakazam). Seaking has decent special bulk, although its physical bulk isn’t that great. This is not a serious issue against regular trainers though.
-Movepool: Seaking’s main problem is that it has no good physical moves to use with its good Attack. It has to turn to Double-Edge or Horn Attack to deal with opposing Waters, although Horn Drill can be used to deal with them. Seaking gets BubbleBeam/Surf and Ice moves and this is what it will be using most of the time. Seaking has enough Special to make good use of them too.
-Power: Seaking’s power is adequate when using Surf and Ice moves, and its Normal moves will allow it to beat most Water types one-on-one, if a bit slowly. Seaking is far from spectacular but as a Water type it gets the job done.
-Type: Water proves to be very useful throughout the game, but is particularly great late-game thanks to good match-ups. Water covers a lot of the late-game Pokémon and with Ice moves for coverage it should be a helpful tool to get you through the end of the game. Water’s defensive weaknesses are usually a non-issue. Ice moves hit Grass types and Electric moves are rare and predictable for the most part.
-Match-ups: Koga – Nothing to say here really. STAB Surf hits his specially frail Pokémon fairly well in RB, although a sweep is difficult. In Yellow, don’t expect a sweep either and just be content with taking down a Venonat or two.
Sabrina – Like many Water types, Seaking isn’t that useful here. The large Special stats of her Pokémon soak up Surf fairly easily and Seaking is too slow to try sweeping with its Normal moves.
Blaine – An excellent match-up. STAB Surf hits his Pokémon hard. Be careful around Arcanine’s Take Down though, as it hits you on your weaker side.
Giovanni – Another good match-up. Surf covers everything bar Persian, who you may be better off leaving to someone else (you can beat it but it will leave you with a bit a damage). Yellow is a tougher battle because of the better move sets you are facing (e.g. Thunder from Nidoqueen and Nidoking).
Lorelei – Seaking is fairly worthless here. Double-Edge and Horn Attack aren’t going to be enough to sweep, and you may have to resort to Horn Drill if you really must use Seaking. You are always better off using something else though.
Bruno – Onix dies fairly easily, and Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee have poor Specials and lose quickly to Surf. However, be prepared for Hitmonlee and Machamp hitting you with powerful physical attacks.
Agatha – Golbat is weak to Ice, and Arbok isn’t that powerful. Leave the ghosts to something else. They’ll just outspeed and status you (one of the Gengar even has Mega Drain), and you can’t do much back
Lance – With Surf and an Ice move, you cover everything except Gyarados, who should be dealt with by other means. Be careful around Dragonite especially; if it outspeeds you then you may eat a Thunder.
Blue – With Surf and Ice Beam/Blizzard, you can hit Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard and Arcanine in RB, and Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales, and Flareon in Yellow.
-Additional Comments: Goldeen is an outclassed fish and it has little merit over many of the other Water types in the game. However, it can still get the job done adequately if you are willing to give it a try. It brings the usual benefits of Water types to the team, isn’t too taxing on your TM stash, and is fairly easy to obtain. Overall, Seaking is a fine choice, although there is little reason to use it over its competition unless you think it looks cool or something.
Horsea - Mid Tier
-Availability: Mid-game with the Super Rod just below Fuchsia. It only comes at level 15. In Yellow it comes at higher levels at other places, and even as a Seadra, it just means slightly less grinding.
-Stats: Horsea has all-round good stats, and a decent Special and Defense meaning it can take the odd hit or two. Speed is average, so it will not be outspeeding everything, but some things.
-Movepool: Horsea's entire usable movepool consists of Surf, Ice Beam, Blizzard and Hydro Pump. You get Horsea at Fuchsia so Surf is a standard. Ice Beam is important for coverage and is obtainable at Celadon so it's not too far away.
-Power: Horsea is quite strong because it can hit a lot of types with Super Effective moves with its Ice/Water coverage. Once it gets rolling, Horsea can OHKO many different pokemon comfortably.
-Type: Water types have 2 weaknesses, Grass and Electric, neither of which are common. Resisting Fire, Ice and Water is quite useful, especially since many of the end-game trainers have those types on-hand.
-Match-ups:
Erika: It's unlikely you have Horsea at this point, but it's possible. Still, Horsea does not belong in this gym battle, unless it's a decent level and has Ice Beam. Ice Beam sweeps, but Vileplume is bulky enough to take a few and hit back with Petal Dance. Horsea will not like status.
Koga: Sweeps fairly easily, but if you fail to KO a Pokemon, be prepared to be frustrated by Smokescreen/Minimize a little more. May take more than one hit to KO Weezing, depending on your level. Watch out for Self-Destruct.
Sabrina: Seadra can do well here, provided you can outspeed, but it all depends as even with STAB Surf, you fail to OHKO the likes of Kadabra and Mr Mime. In addition, it's almost impossible to beat Alakazam even at a higher level, his Special is too high and Psybeam does too much damage. You could try using moves like Double-Edge and Body Slam for this battle, but it won't necessarily be worth wasting a TM on Seadra for this one battle, especially since her Attack stat isn't spectacular.
Blaine: Surf sweeps Blaine even if you are underleveled. Seadra also won't be taking a lot of damage from anything Blaine can do, so even if you fail to OHKO Arcanine, you can be sure that he won't hit you very hard back. In Yellow, Ninetails may try to give you problems as it can take a couple of Surfs with it's high Special, but it will not be hitting you hard back.
Giovanni: Surf will ensure that Horsea will OHKO every Pokemon on his team, due to their cumulative weaknesses and terrible Special stats.. Also viable moves Seadra can use in this battle to score OHKOs include Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Ice Beam, Bubblebeam and Water Gun. Even though Persian is neutral to Water-type moves, he will still be at Seadra's mercy here.
Lorelei: This is a bad match-up here, because all her Pokemon resist Water and Ice (barring Jynx from the former). You resist it too, but there's nothing of value gained here, save your PP for later.
Bruno: Clean sweep to say the least, Surf should take out pretty much anything on his team. There's not much his Pokemon can respond with in return, even Thunderpunch off Hitmonchan will be pathetic at best.
Agatha: Agatha isn't as easy as she looks. Gengar and Haunter can take a few Surfs to take down and can whittle you away with Confuse Ray and Night Shade. It really comes down to your level versus theirs, but you won't be hitting them efficiently. Golbat is easy enough, going down to Ice Beam, but beware paralysis from Arbok's Glare.
Lance: Water types always do well against Lance, and this is no exception. Surf nails Aerodactyl, while Ice Beam takes out Dragonair and Dragonite. Gyarados is neutral to all of your attacks, and while it is better to let an Electric-type handle it, it just means Seadra will be weakened.
Rival: Your rival will be difficult under any circumstance, certain pokemon can be beaten much easier than others. Rhydon, Charizard and Arcanine fall to Surf, Pidgeot, Venasaur and Exeggutor lose to Ice Beam. And it is likely you will lose out to the likes of Alakazam and Jolteon, while Gyarados and Blastoise will hit you hard with their powerful normal moves. It's worse for Seadra in Yellow as now Gary has an Electric-type Pokemon which Seadra will have trouble getting past.
Additional comments: While Horsea does have some good points, overall you will find yourself wishing you had chosen Staryu instead, as Staryu's superior stats, improved movepool and superior typing make it much easier to use. Being outclassed doesn't mean Horsea isn't great though, as it holds its own quite well throughout the game and you get it around the time you get Surf which is a huge plus. Overall a decent Pokemon, shame she can barely touch other Water types.
-Kabuto - Mid Tier
-Availability: It is obtained from the Dome Fossil. You can obtain it as soon as you get Surf. It comes at level 30 and starts off a bit slowly. However, Kabuto catches up quickly thanks to being able to grind easily at the Pokémon Mansion. It evolves at level 40, which doesn’t actually take that long from the level that you obtain it.
-Stats: Although Kabuto isn’t particularly powerful stat wise, Kabutops has good stats overall. 115 Attack is nothing to scoff at. 70 Special is not that bad for the purposes of Surf, 80 Speed is fast enough for in-game, and it also has decent 60/105/80 defences.
-Movepool: It has a small movepool but it gets everything it needs without any TM support. Slash is awesome from 115 Attack, and Surf from 70 Special is an acceptable secondary attack. It also gets Submission, Ice Beam and Blizzard but it does not need any of these to be successful. The main downside is its lack of physical STAB, but Slash is a good alternative.
-Power: Kabuto is mediocre but you don’t have to put up with it for long. When it evolves, Kabutops becomes a great sweeper. Slash can make short work of many teams thanks to its high Attack and decent Speed. Surf deals with the Rock types that resist it.
-Type: STAB on Water is not a bad thing to have in this game, especially because it deals with all of the Slash-resisting Rock types. From a defensive standpoint, Rock/Water has some interesting resistances. Normal resistance is so useful, especially because many things in the game are limited to STAB + Normal coverage. Kabutops flat-out walls some Pokémon, especially Fire and Flying types. Of course, Rock/Water has some annoying weaknesses too (especially Grass), so you need to be careful when these types pop up in important battles (using something else is safer but Kabutops can still win on power alone).
-Match-ups: Sabrina – Slash is brutal against her. At this point you should be able to out-speed and sweep her entire team.
Blaine – You can’t possibly lose here unless you get extremely unlucky. You wall his whole team completely and you can hit them with Surf.
Giovanni – You can sweep with Surf (Slash is fine for Persian), but look out for Thunder and Earthquake in Yellow.
Lorelei – Aside from Jynx, her team is rather bulky. Slash hits everything but a full sweep is asking a lot of Kabutops. Its lack of Rock Slide is really noticable here.
Bruno – Onix is beaten with Surf. You should probably stay away from Hitmonlee and Machamp (you can beat them but their Fighting attacks are brutal. Hitmonchan is too weak to be that much of an issue unless you get surprised by Counter!
Agatha – This is a bit tricky. You should beat Golbat and Arbok but the Ghosts are immune to Slash and can take Surf easily. One of them has Mega Drain. Stay away from the Ghosts.
Lance – You are good to go in RB because you wall Aerodactyl and all of the Dragons. Gyarados can leave a bit of a dent with Hydro Pump though. This is harder in Yellow where you have to deal with Thunderbolt and Thunder. Aerodactyl still can’t touch you and the Ice Beam/BubbleBeam Dragonair is beatable.
Blue – You actually do really well against Blue. You can take on Pidgeot, Alakazam (Slash destroys it), Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Ninetales and Flareon. The Water types are doable, as is Sandslash (Earthquake is powerful against it though).
-Additional Comments: This comes a bit late and starts off a bit weak, but Kabutops is a powerful team member with good stats and a small but precise movepool that has strong match-ups against many of the important trainers that it will likely face during its time on your team. You could do a lot worse.
Magikarp - Mid Tier
-Availability: You can buy it almost for free (500 Poke, to be precise) after the first time, but at level 5. It evolves at level 20.
-Stats: As a Magikarp, it's got nothing going for it, except for okay Speed. Once it evolves, all of its stats (minus Speed) grow from pathetic to great.
-Movepool: As a Magikarp, it starts out with the useless Splash, and can't properly defend itself until it grows to level 15 and learns Tackle. Once it's a Gyarados, however, it gets the more powerful Bite, and you can teach it BubbleBeam via TM11. BubbleBeam can later by upgraded to Surf or Hydro Pump, where as Bite can be upgraded to Body Slam or Strength. It can also learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam by TM, and Dragon Rage and Hyper Beam through level up.
-Power: For the first 15 levels, it won't be able to beat even a Caterpie 1-on-1. After it evolves, it can occasionally take on entire Routes by itself.
-Type: Water's great when you get it, but it can't use any Water-type moves when you get it. When it evolves, its weakness to Electric becomes more amplified, but it loses its weakness to Grass and gains an immunity to Ground. Its newfound weaknesses to Rock isn't too bad, because Rock-types are washed away by Water moves.
-Match-ups: Because of how pathetic it is as a Magikarp, all of the following are assuming it's a Gyarados.
--Misty: High Attack and resistance to Water mean that Misty's Pokemon are reliably beaten; however, it's quite unlikely that you'll have evolved Magikarp by the time you fight her.
--Lt. Surge: As Gyarados suffers a double weakness to Electric, Raichu's Thunderbolt will OHKO Gyarados.
--Erika: At this point of the game you can give Gyarados the Ice Beam TM, which allows it take out Grass Pokemon easily. Even without Ice Beam, Bite is powerful enough to take out her Pokemon besides Tangela. Tangela shouldn't be a problem in RB due to being underleveled and its poor moveset, but can be troublesome for non-Ice Beam Gyarados in Yellow version.
--Koga: Surf hits his Pokemon's weaker Special, often KOing in 2 hits.
--Sabrina: Bite/Body Slam/other Normal attack squishes her fragile Psychic-types.
--Blaine: Gyarados resists Fire, and his STAB Water moves make short work of Blaine.
--Giovanni: Gyarados is immune to Ground, and Surf hits his entire team for Super Effective damage except for Persian. Keep in mind in Pokemon Yellow, his Nidoqueen and Nidoking know Thunder.
--Lorelei: If Gyarados was give the Thunderbolt TM he can do serious damage to her Pokemon, but without it he will struggle due to Lorelei's Pokemon having good Physical Bulk and a resistance to Water.
--Bruno: His 2 Onix are turned to rubble by (insert Water-type attack here), and Hi Jump Kick/Submission is resisted by Gyarados's Flying secondary typing.
--Agatha: Golbat and Arbok are easily beaten, but her Ghosts are immune to Gyarados's Physical Moves and have the bulk to take Surf. Don't use it against her unless you like seeing your sea serpent get statused.
--Lance: Aerodactyl is weak to Water, but his other Pokemon all resist it. If Gyarados was taught Thunderbolt he can take out Lance's Gyarados and if Gyarados was taught Ice Beam/Blizzard, it can take out Lance's Dragons. In Yellow, keep in mind that one of his Dragonair and Dragonite know Thunderbolt and Thunder, respectively.
-Additional Comments: As shown above, Gyarados is awesome, but if you want to use it, you'll have to bear with the completely useless Magikarp for 15 long levels, due to its experience curve (Slow). Another problem is that Gyarados is TM dependent as it a lot of its sweeping potential relies on BoltBeam coverage. Once it evolves and has the right coverage, however, it becomes incredibly powerful and self-sufficient.
-Magnemite - Mid Tier
-Availability: In RB, you can find it in the Power Plant. Wild Magnemite are at a rather low level, but Magneton can be caught at a higher level and require less catch-up time. In Yellow it is obtained sooner just outside the entrance to Rock Tunnel. It will require a bit of grinding but not so much as to completely slow down your playthrough.
-Stats: Magnemite evolves quite quickly into Magneton, who has an impressive 120 Special and is fairly bulky overall. It isn’t the fastest Pokémon around but as long as you are at a good level you will be going first most of the time.
-Movepool: Magneton has a terrible level-up movepool. In fact, you absolutely NEED to give this Thunderbolt for it to be worthwhile. If not, you’ll be using Thundershock for a while until you get the unreliable Thunder. Thankfully, Thunderbolt covers a lot of Pokémon by itself.
-Power: Magneton’s Thunderbolt allows it to OHKO almost anything that doesn’t resist it. Magneton will power through many trainers with ease. However, due to mono-Electric coverage it struggles against Ground types (particularly Rock/Ground types), Grass types and opposing Electric types (the latter 2 groups can survive Thunderbolt and hit back with paralysis).
-Type: Electric gives plenty of coverage, and is particularly powerful against the Water types that appear late game, although the things that resist it appear frequently throughout the game too, lowering its power a bit. Electric isn’t particularly useful defensively. Flying resistance is unnecessary because all the birds are OHKOed, and Electric resistance isn’t helpful because opposing Electric types resist your main attack anyway.
-Match-ups: Erika – You don’t do well here. Her Pokémon take Thunderbolt and hit back with whatever they want.
Koga – RB Koga is a joke. Thunderbolt is strong enough to sweep him. In Yellow, Magneton really benefits from having a high Special, which allows it to take Psychic.
Sabrina – This is basically a battle of the Special stats. If you can paralyse with Thunder Wave or something then this will make this battle a bit easier.
Blaine – No type advantage, but you can win if you have a sufficient level. This is notably easier in RB due to the worse team he has there.
Giovanni – You are quite hopeless here. In Yellow you can at least beat Persian, but everything else walls you (although in RB Rhydon is the only thing with a Ground move so I guess that’s something... or not).
Lorelei – Thunderbolt eats most of her team alive. It is evenly matched with Jynx but watch out for Lovely Kiss in Yellow.
Bruno – You should beat his fighting types, but you should use something else for Onix.
Agatha – Golbat and Arbok should not be a problem to beat. Gengar and Haunter may outspeed and try to confuse and sleep you though.
Lance – You beat Gyarados and Aerodactyl. Dragonair resist Thunderbolt though you may be able to beat them just because they suck so much. Dragonite is beatable unless you have been weakened.
Blue – You beat Pidgeot, Gyarados, Charizard, Blastoise, Cloyster and Vaporeon, and you should be able to take on Alakazam, Arcanine and Ninetales too.
-Additional Comments: Magneton packs incredible power. However, it is severely let down by its necessity for Thunderbolt. If you have it reserved for something else then Magneton is less useful. It also requires support to get around anything that resists Thunderbolt, lowering its killing potential. If you can get around these issues then it is a good choice that will contribute to beating the game efficiently.
Mankey (unavailable in Blue) - Mid Tier
-Availability: In Yellow, you can find it as early as Route 22, while in Red, you'll have to wait until Route 5, where it can be found at levels 10, 12, 14, and 16. It evolves at level 28, which is rather late for a Pokemon that only evolves once.
-Stats: Standard combination of good Speed and Attack, even though it's somewhat lacking for the latter. Admittedly, its Speed could be considered overkill, considering the fact that Karate Chop, its main move, crits all of the time.
-Movepool: In terms of level-up moves, it doesn't really gain much of note outside of Low Kick (Yellow only) and Karate Chop. For TMs, it greatly appreciates Dig to hit Poison-types. It's also one of the few Pokemon that can learn and make good use of Rock Slide. Believe it or not, Submission, its best STAB, is actually not as good as you might think, because despite the fact that it nabs several KOes Karate Chop can't, its 80% accuracy combined with its 1/3 recoil.
-Power: Mankey's between a rock and a hard place here, as unless it's using Submission (which makes its frailty even more noticable), its neutral hits just barely miss out on OHKOing its opponents, even after evolving. This holds true for the entire game.
-Type: Fighting is resisted by the majority of Pokemon in the game, and the lack of a secondary type doesn't exactly help it in that regard.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: He is swept, thanks to Low Kick.
--Misty: Mankey's just too frail to stand up to Starmie.
--Lt. Surge: Victory or loss agaist Lt. Surge in Red depends on whether you taught Mankey Dig or not. However, in Yellow, Raichu outspeeds Mankey and OHKOes it.
--Erika: Primeape can beat either Vileplume or Victreebel, but not both. It beats Tangela no matter what.
--Koga: In Red, all of his Pokemon are able to stomach a Dig and strike back with Sludge or Selfdestruct, and in Yellow, his entire team knows Psychic.
--Sabrina: Primeape's fast enough to get the first swing in, but can't OHKO any of her Pokemon. It then gets OHKOed with Psybeam or Psychic. At least it can beat Mr. Mime and Venomoth.
--Blaine: Fire Blast and Take Down both hurt, but if Primeape knows Dig (which it should if you're using it), it can beat all of his Pokemon, save for Arcanine.
--Giovanni: All of his Pokemon (except for Persian) can withstand a Submission and strike back with Earthquake/Thunder/Body Slam.
--Lorelei: Dewgong will spam Rest even if it's at full health because it's a Psychic-type move, allowing Primeape to beat it easily. The same applies for Slowbro and Amnesia, but it's easily more durable, taking as much damage from Karate Chop as a Super Potion heals, leading to a stalemate. It can also beat Jynx and Cloyster, but has trouble with Lapras.
--Bruno: This is an uncommon scenario: one where Hitmonchan is actually threatening. The reason? Counter. If you use any attacking move not called Rock Slide or Dig on Hitmonchan, it can Counter it and most likely KO Primeape. Hitmonlee's and Machamp's attacks also hurt.
--Agatha: This battle is a lost cause if Primeape doesn't know Dig, but with Dig, she is swept, save for Golbat, who can be crushed by Rock Slide.
--Lance: In Red, his Dragonair and Dragonite know non-damaging Psychic-type attacks, allowing Primeape to beat them without taking any damage. In Yellow, however, Lance's entire team becomes much more threatening, and Primeape can only beat the Dragonair.
--Rival: Alakazam and the starter always win against Primeape, while the rest of his team has varying levels of easiness (Gyarados = no dice, Pidgeot, Ninetales, Cloyster, and Sandslash are risky but doable, Rhydon and Exeggutor don't stand much of a chance).
-Additional Comments: Mankey is a poor man's Sandshrew, seeing as how it's weaker, frailer, and evolves later. Despite this, Mankey is definitely usable and has potential to be good, albeit at the price of Dig and possibly Rock Slide.
-Meowth (Blue only) - Mid Tier
-Availability: The Scratch Cat Pokemon can be seen in the routes bordering Saffron City, the earliest of which being Routes 5 and 6. Out of all the Pokemon in those routes, approximately one fourth of them are Meowth, their levels ranging from 10 to 16. Meowth tend to evolve when they reach level 28.
-Stats: When looking at Meowth's stats, its Speed is far above the rest, being double any of its other stats, which are in the range of usability offensively, but leaves something to be desired defensively. Its evolution, Persian, follows this trend with all of its stats being noticeably higher than Meowth's, but keeping the theme of blazing speed and its other stats being average.
-Movepool: All Meowth level 12 or higher have Bite, a move with solid base power and the potential to flinch its target, in their arsenal. Meowth are also known for using Pay Day, a move which has the same power as Scratch but has the added effect of getting extra money at the end of battles. However, the sheer amount of trainers in the game means that you won't need it and will find it more of a hindrance than anything else. While Persian does eventually learn Slash, it won't do so until level 53, by which time you should have beaten the game.
Being a Normal-type, Meowth and Persian have a usable TM movepool, though not as impressive as some of its fellow Normal-types. It has access to Bubblebeam and Thunderbolt, the former being useful against the Ground-types in Rock Tunnel and the latter being helpful for the Bird Keepers and Swimmers that become quite common after Pokemon Tower (as well as being ironic). However, both of those TMs are exclusive, so if you're also using (or plan to use) an Electric-type or a (non-Seafoam Islands) Water-type in addition to Meowth, the Scratch Cat most likely won't be able to use either of those moves. Meowth can also learn Water Gun, but it is not recommended as it fails to OHKO anything that's even 4x weak to it. As with several Pokemon, Meowth can be taught Body Slam, but the fact that it has Bite in its arsenal when you get it means Meowth benefits less from it than a teammate such as Ivysaur would.
-Power: Bite allows Meowth to be a reliable, albeit frail, attacker once it catches up, and it's not defenseless before it catches up. Its previously mentioned frailty can be a problem, though. It can't do much in Pokemon Tower, for obvious reasons, but it does quite well in Routes 13 and 14 as well as the water Routes if it is taught Thunderbolt. Overall, Persian doesn't usually disappoint, but at the same time its performance doesn't regularly blow people away.
-Type: Having a Normal typing can be useful in the early-game, as most Pokemon typically have only Normal-type damaging moves in their arsenal at that point in the game. However, Meowth comes a bit late to the party, because by that point in the game the Bubblebeam and Dig TMs are available, and Pokemon who learn STAB my means of leveling up starts to learn those moves at the point Meowth becomes available. After that, Normal STAB becomes less and less useful due to it having absolutely no super effective coverage, despite having impressive neutral coverage. This is where secondary typings would come in handy, but Persian doesn't have one, hampering its potential usefulness.
-Match-ups:
--Lt. Surge: Due to Meowth's frailty, the chance of it taking more than one Thunderbolt is almost null.
Oddish - Mid Tier
-Availability: Red and Yellow only. Available north of Cerulean (Route 24) and several others routes at L12-L14.
-Stats: The Oddish line is on the slow side (30-50 base), but most of the things it should be facing will be even slower. Everything else is about average (somewhere between 70 and 90 base).
-Movepool: Pretty much only learns Grass and Normal attacking moves. Absorb and Cut will have carry it for a pretty long time, which is rather bad when they don't get the job done. It does learn both Stun Spore and Sleep Powder extremely early, which are more useful than powerhouse attacks when capturing or fighting a really difficult enemy. Mega Drain TM can boost its power a little, but the only way to get some real power is to wait until L38 to evolve your Gloom and get Petal Dance. You can cleverly use the Shift mode to get around its side effect, but you really shouldn't be waiting that long to evolve Gloom.
-Power: Oddish isn't inherently powerful, but it does get the job done just fine when facing things weak or neutral to it. It's not going to steamroll through stronger opponents though unless it has a type advantage, and might have to rely on Sleep Powder to comfortably win a one on one, which is not good.
-Type: Grass is bad offensively for about half the game, good for a third, and okay versus the rest. It beats anything Hikers and Swimmers throw at it, but a lot of other generic enemies (such as Bird Keepers) make it seem mediocre.
-Match-ups: Oddish is really good against Misty's, which is the first gym you face after catching it, resisting Bubblebeam and Lt Surge's Thunderbolt and using Absorb to get health back. After that, its performance takes a dip as it can barely hurt Team Rocket, Gastly/Haunter, Erika, Sabrina, Koga or Blaine. The only things it really beats in Elite Four are non-threatening things that anything can beat (Onix and Rhydon).
-Pikachu (RB) - Mid Tier
-Availability: It can be caught as early as Viridian Forest, although it is at a low level and will require grinding to catch-up. It evolves with the Thunderstone, which you can obtain at Celadon City. Feel free to do so as soon as possible because Pikachu doesn’t have anything to wait for.
-Stats: Speed is its main claim to fame. Before it evolves its stats are otherwise poor overall, but Raichu has 90 Attack and Special. This gives it good power from both ends and allows it to take special attacks well. It still has poor physical tanking abilities though.
-Movepool: ThunderShock from the start is useful for the early game birds, and Thunder Wave is always useful, but otherwise Pikachu’s level-up movepool is nothing special. From TMs, Pikachu gets the powerful Thunderbolt, as well as Body Slam/Mega Punch and the unnecessary Submission. It can achieve nice coverage but requires TMs to do so.
-Power: Pikachu’s power is adequate for the time you have it. It will start to lag a bit, but you’ll be able to evolve just in the nick of time, where Raichu will take over with its superior stats. Raichu’s power will not have your jaw dropping but it will certainly pull its weight.
-Type: Electric has good coverage, although it should be said that Grass and Ground types are common and Raichu isn’t really able to cover these with the rest of its movepool. Electric has few weaknesses but few resistances. There isn’t really much else to say otherwise.
-Match-ups: Brock – You suck here. The best you can do is support with Growl, but otherwise you are useless.
Misty – Despite the type advantage you don’t get a free ride here simply because Starmie is so strong. You can do ok here though. Starmie can be beaten if Misty is stupid (which she often is) and of course Staryu loses to you.
Lt. Surge – Mirror match! You can actually do ok because his Pokémon don’t really have any powerful moves that you don’t resist, especially if you gave it Body Slam.
Erika – You should be fully evolved by now but it isn’t a good idea to use Raichu here. Body Slam isn’t enough to stop you from getting statused.
Koga – Thunderbolt is potent against his Pokémon but Raichu won’t enjoy the physical assaults coming back at it. Koffing is a joke though so...
Sabrina – If you have Body Slam and are at a good level then you can do well here. Thunder Wave is useful for paralysing Alakazam.
Blaine – Type-wise there isn’t much to say but Growlithe and Ponyta are rubbish. It can take on the others too.
Giovanni – This isn’t a good match-up, but at the same time Dugtrio is the only thing with a Ground move not called Fissure. With Body Slam you can at least take on Dugtrio (switch out of Dig), Nidoqueen and Nidoking. Let something else take on Rhyhorn and Rhydon.
Lorelei – This is a great match-up. Thunderbolt nails everything except Jynx, who will not enjoy Body Slam.
Bruno – Onix should be left to something else. The Hitmons and Machamp can be beat with Thunderbolt, but have a back-up just in case Machamp survives and kills you with a physical move.
Agatha – This match-up is ok. Golbat and Arbok should be beaten just fine. Honestly the Ghosts can be beaten too, but as usual be ready for status.
Lance – Gyarados and Aerodactyl lose to you. Dragonite can also be beaten but Hyper Beam hurts quite a bit. The Dragonair resist Thunderbolt, although they are quite weak so you can beat them one-on-one with Body Slam.
Blue – Your main targets are Pidgeot, Gyarados, Charizard and Blastoise. Things like Arcanine, Alakazam and even Exeggutor can also be taken on if required. All in all, Raichu is reasonably useful in this battle.
-Additional Comments: Raichu can be described as ‘adequate’. It isn’t particularly outstanding in any way but it is a good Pokémon that is useful during many points of the game. Its biggest flaw is probably the way it eats up some useful TMs to be as good as it can be, but it is still an decent option.
-Pikachu (Yellow) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Pikachu is a starter Pokémon which is a good thing for obvious reasons. However, Pikachu’s biggest flaw is undoubtedly its inability to fully evolve, which means you have to use Pikachu for the whole game if you want to use it.
-Stats: Pikachu has the worst stats in the game for a ‘fully evolved’ Pokémon (which it basically is in Yellow). 90 Speed is good, allowing it to outspeed pretty much everything. However, 55 Attack and 50 Speed make it a weak attacker, and its abysmal 35 HP and 30 Defence mean that it can be KOed by a light breeze. Its stats are ok early on, but towards the end it will start to lag.
-Movepool: Pikachu actually gained a larger level-up movepool in Yellow, but most of it isn’t particularly useful. What Pikachu did gain that was useful is Thunderbolt at level 26. This makes it the only Pokémon with Thunderbolt from level-up, which is useful because it allows you to save the TM for something else. Aside from Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave (which really helps out against faster opponents like Misty's Starmie), Pikachu’s movepool isn’t that great. It can use Body Slam/Mega Punch and Submission, but other than that you’ll be using Thunderbolt most of the time.
-Power: Pikachu’s power probably peaks when it first learns Thunderbolt. Before then, it has to rely on that weaker Thundershock, which is fine for killing birds but will struggle to do a lot against anything else. Thunderbolt allows Pikachu to 2HKO most things that don’t resist it. However, as the game goes on you’ll find that Pikachu’s awful defences will start to rear its head, and it will only be useful for taking on things that are weak to Electric.
-Type: Electric is a good offensive type. The things that are weak to it are fairly common, although on the flip side the things that resist it appear frequently too. Regardless, STAB Electric coverage is quite useful. The problem with Electric from a defensive point of view is not so much that it has lots of weaknesses (it’s only weak to Ground) but that it lacks resistances, which the frail Pikachu is in desparate need for.
-Match-ups: Brock – This sucks because his Pokémon are immune to ThunderShock. It is actually possible for Pikachu to win with a combination of Double Team, Tail Whip and Quick Attack, but this is slow and requires a bit of overleveling to get Double Team at level 15.
Misty – You have the type advantage but it isn’t as easy as you might think. Starmie is a fast and powerful Pokémon that can beat with BubbleBeam. To beat it you kind of have to hope that Misty shoots herself in the foot by using Tackle, Harden and X Defend. Thankfully this actually isn’t too uncommon. At the very least, Pikachu can beat Staryu guaranteed and can at least wound Starmie for a partner to finish off.
Lt. Surge – If you are at a reasonable level and have given Pikachu Body Slam, then you can actually take him on. However, you still rely a bit on luck because Mega Punch and Mega Kick will hurt.
Erika – Don’t bother. They resist Thunderbolt and will shrug off anything else you can throw at them.
Koga – You can take the Venonats because they are just as weak as you are! Venomoth will beat you down though.
Sabrina – You get badly out-Specialed here. Abra is obviously beatable, but Alakazam is a bit much for it.
Blaine – Actually not that different from Sabrina. Ninetales can take Thunderbolt and hit back with Flamethrower, as can Arcanine. Rapidash is probably the best match-up, but overall Pikachu is just too frail to work without grinding for levels.
Giovanni – You would be foolish to try anything here, although Persian can be beaten.
Lorelei – You do ok here. Thunderbolt is super-effective on 4 of her Pokémon. However, your low stats make it difficult to beat everything here.
Bruno – Your best match-up is Hitmonchan because it is frail on the Special side and relies on pathetic elemental punches to do damage. Hitmonlee is just as frail but hits you hard, and Machamp is even worse. Stay away from Onix.
Agatha – Golbat is Thunderbolt bait. Arbok and Haunter are beatable too. Gengar is trickier since it can take your Thunderbolts and status you.
Lance – Gyarados is your main target, and Aerodactyl should be beatable too. However, Dragonair resists Thunderbolt and Dragonite is just too strong for you.
Blue – You really don’t have many targets. You’re stuck with Cloyster and Vaporeon, with potentially the Electric types, the Fire types and Alakazam also (you probably won’t be strong enough beat all of these at once though). If you have Body Slam then you might be able to expand your targets but you should really leave it to something else.
-Additional Comments: This is clearly the worst starter in RBY, and perhaps even one of the worst starters in the whole series. What saves it is Thunderbolt by level-up, which allows it to be useful against regular trainers for quite a while and early on it can perform just as well as most of the stuff that’s available at that point. Just make sure you have some stronger teammates at your side to bit those tougher match-ups.
-Poliwag - Mid Tier
-Availability: You can catch this as a Poliwag or a Poliwhirl with a rod. You need to beat Pokémon Tower to get the rods, so you can get it mid-game at the earliest. In RB its highest level is in the mid 20s, but in Yellow you can catch it as high as level 40 (you need 4 badges to reach the water on route 23 though). You can then evolve it straight away (or level it up for Body Slam)
-Stats: Poliwrath is basically a middleman. All of its stats are decent without being particularly outstanding. This allows it to be a solid Pokémon on the battlefield.
-Movepool: Poliwrath has a great movepool. It is notable that it has Body Slam in its movepool, which means it can learn Body Slam without using up the TM. It learns BubbleBeam/Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Psychic, Earthquake and Submission from TM/HM, allowing it to gain excellent coverage. It also has Amnesia if you don’t mind boosting.
-Power: Poliwrath just doesn’t have the stats to power through absolutely everything, but the awesome coverage allows it to be useful during many parts of the game. It will always contribute, though it won’t do anything amazing.
-Type: Water is a great STAB, and although Poliwrath’s Special isn’t as high as it could be, Surf should be sufficient to gain at least a 2HKO on most things. Its typing is unique, but to be honest the Fighting type hurts it more than it helps it, adding Psychic and Flying weaknesses in addition to the Electric and Grass ones.
-Match-ups: Koga – You should be fine in RB, especially if you gave it Psychic, but in Yellow you have a Psychic weakness to deal with.
Sabrina – You’re a Fighting type. This is a Psychic gym. It won’t end well.
Blaine – You do great here. Surf will deal with his Pokémon nicely.
Giovanni – Basically the same as Blaine, but you have to watch for Thunder from Nidoqueen and Nidoking. You should be able to take at least 1 though.
Lorelei – An even match. If you have Submission you can hit her Ice types harder than they can hit back. Watch for Psychic from Slowbro in Yellow.
Bruno – Onix dies to Surf and the Hitmons have horrible Specials. This should be easy.
Agatha – Being weak to Psychic isn’t helpful, particularly in Yellow (one of her Gengar has Psychic in Yellow). It’s more manageable in RB as long as you don’t stay asleep for too long. If you have Earthquake then it should be effective here, and Golbat is weak to Ice Beam.
Lance – Ice Beam is a huge help against the Dragons and Aerodactyl, though there are better choices are Gyarados. Yellow is harder thanks to Fly and Thunderbolt.
Blue – You can actually take on anything except Alakazam (and perhaps Venusaur) in RB, particularly Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard and Arcanine. In Yellow, you should be fine against everything except Jolteon, Magneton and Alakazam.
-Additional Comments: It just doesn’t have enough power for high tier, and it suffers a bit in RB for availability, but regardless it is a decent choice that sets itself apart from other water types with its impressive movepool. It provides a Surfer that can also battle well, and it has great match-ups against important trainers towards the end of the game.
Ponyta - Mid Tier
-Availability: Level 32 on Cinnabar Island is a little late in the game, and it's fairly late evolution means it does lag behind a bit. In Yellow it's found on Cycling Road, making it usable against Koga.
-Stats: Rapidash is quick and has a very decent attack stat, making any physical move hurt. In addition, her stats are quite well rounded as well, Rapidash can best be compared to a Fire-type Tauros.
-Movepool: Very poor, as Rapidash only really gets Fire Spin and Ember via level up, and is actually incompatible with Flamethrower. On the physical side it's much better, as she can learn great moves like Hyper Beam and Body Slam allowing her to round out her coverage, but Rapidash really wishes for Dig or Earthquake.
-Power: Good Attack and a decent Special mean Rapidash can pack a punch on both sides of the spectrum. In addition, Rapidash has a high speed, often hitting first, hitting hard and scoring a good amount of critical hits. In addition, Ponyta's starting stats are the best overall
-Type: Being a Fire type means Rapidash gets the short end of the stick defensively, she doesn't resist common moves and doesn't hit much in the late game for super effective damage.
Match-ups:
Erika: You can have Ponyta at this point, but you would have gone quite out of your way to get her just for this battle. Ponyta sweeps outright here, no contest.
Koga: (Yellow Only) It is impossible to fight Koga in RB with Ponyta, as you need Surf to get it without a trade. In Yellow you can find Ponyta on the way, and she sweeps fairly comfortably, as Koga's Pokemon are all Bug types and you will be faster than all of them.
Sabrina: Ponyta is weird here, it's more likely Rapidash at this point though. Stomp pretty much eliminates Kadabra and Alakazam in 1 shot, Fire Spin is great for both Mr Mime and Venomoth as it traps them until Stomp/Take-Down/Body-Slam can OHKO them. In addition, Rapidash can take a couple of hits so it can afford to miss occasionally. Rapidash is one of the few Pokemon that can actually sweep Sabrina comfortably.
Blaine: Blaine is an idiot, and will spam super potions because he doesn't do anything else. Once he runs out, then he starts to attack, but don't worry, there is little he can do. Everything you can't KO with Hyper Beam/Body Slam/Stomp in 1 shot, you can Fire Spin until it is weak enough to be KO'd, although only Arcanine poses any sort of threat. In Yellow, you will now have to watch for Ninetails as well, but she's not a problem as she has very little she can hit you back with.
Giovanni: Rapidash is surprisingly good, despite not being able to learn a move that hits either Rhyhorn or Rhydon supereffectively. Fire Spin is able to trap any Pokemon that won't be KO'd by Fire Blast until they get into the range that it will. Even better, Body Slam will score some great KO's, and Hyper Beam will wreck Dugtrio, Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Just be wary of Dig from Dugtrio, as it will hurt.
Lorelei: The fact that 4 of her Pokemon are Water-type doesn't help Rapidash here. Rapidash's best strategy is to Fire Spin Pokemon into Body Slam range, but it's going to severely drain her PP. Use her for Jynx alone and don't even go near Slowbro.
Bruno: Not a bad match-up here, Onix has a terrible Special so Fire Blast should KO it quickly. The Fighting-types won't like taking Body Slams and Hyper Beams, so distribute those liberally. Overall, Rapidash can sweep quite well.
Agatha: Since Rapidash relies on it's Normal-type coverage to score KO's, and because her PP is limited, this is not a great match-up. You are far better off sticking with something else, preferably something with Psychic or Ground moves.
Lance: Not a bad match-up but not great either. Rapidash can continue to rely on it's Normal-Type attacks, and do some decent damage, just avoid Aerodactyl and Gyarados. In Yellow, watch out for Bubblebeam from Dragoinair too, it packs a punch.
Rival: Rapidash has decent typing here, even Rhydon's poor Special mean's he won't like taking a Fire Blast. The thing to note is that Gary will always have a Water type, and you should make sure you avoid using Rapidash there, unless you are going to try and weaken it with Hyper Beam. In Yellow you will come up against a variety of types, but just watch out for Vaporeon as she packs a punch.
Additional Comments: Like it was mentioned above, Rapidash is basically a poor man's Tauros. They both learn similar moves, have similar stats and both rely on their Normal-type moves for coverage. Rapidash is better used by smarter players, basically it's main strategy is to use Fire Spin to trap opponents until they are in KOing range. Hyper Beam is practically mandatory, while Stomp/Body Slam gives you a higher PP option. Fire Spin is useful far into the endgame and Fire Blast is necessary for a high-powered STAB attack. Overall, Rapidash finds many places to shine and can work wonders for your team, but it has definite trouble in some spots more than others.
Psyduck - Mid Tier
-Availability: Psyduck can be caught at Seafoam Islands or using Super Rods at certain Routes. Both Seaform Islands and Super Rod are only accessible around Koga, so mid-late game. In Yellow, he is found by Surfing Route 6.
-Stats: Golduck's stats can be described as "Jack of all Trades, Master of None." All his stats are good, but none of them particularly stand out.
-Movepool: Golduck's movepool is pretty much the same as most water types. It can get by on STAB Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard TM, and Strength for Physical Coverage. Golduck also learns Confusion via levelup, but Confusion has a low base power means that even a STAB Surf will do more damage than a Super Effective Confusion most of the time.
-Power: As a Psyduck, it doesn't hit hard at all. However, the ones at Seaform Island can be caught at level high enough that it will evolve into Golduck fast. Golduck is good at taking foes out.
-Type: Water. Water is a great type to get in the late-game, as it hits the final two gyms for Super Effective. Water is weak to Grass and Electric, but those moves are not common in the later parts of Red and Blue.
-Match-ups:
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon have powerful Special stats that wear fast. Golduck can stay in against Venomoth, but don't expect a sweep here.
--Blaine: Golduck resists Fire, and his STAB Surf hits Blaine's entire team for Super Effective damage.
--Giovanni: Giovanni's whole team is weak to Water, so Surf will take them out easily. In Yellow, this match will be tougher due to his Persian not being weak to Water, and his Nidoqueen/Nidoking having Thunder.
--Lorelei: With the exception of Jynx her whole team resists Water and is good at taking Physical Attacks/Ice moves. So don't use Golduck unless its a last resort.
--Bruno: Surf OHKO's both Onix, and easily deposes of his Fighting Pokemon due to their weak Special.
--Agatha: Golbat and Arbok are manageable, but her Ghosts have high Specials and can wear you down easily.
--Lance: Aerodactyl is weak to Water and the Dragons go down to Ice Moves. Gyarados can take Golduck's attacks and packs a powerful Hyper Beam, so have a teammate eliminate Gyarados before attempting a Golduck sweep. Keep in mind in Yellow version, one of his Dragonair's and his Dragonite have Thunderbolt and Thunder
--Rival: Golduck can beat Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor (with an Ice attack), and his Fire Pokemon (either Charizard or Arcanine). However Alakazam, Venusaur, and his Water types can be problematic for Golduck.
In Yellow, Golduck can beat Exeggutor, Sandslash, Ninetails, Vaporeon and Flareon. It loses to Jolteon, Magenton, Alakazam, and Cloyster.
-Additional Comments: As you can see, Golduck seems like a generic in-game Water type. What makes Golduck excel so well it comes at the right time and at the right moment. It comes at a time where Water becomes a highly relevant type, with the Fire and Ground bosses being at the late game. Overall, Golduck doesn't really anything that makes it stand out compared to other Water Pokemon, but it fulfills the niches of a Water Pokemon well.
-Rattata - Mid Tier
-Availability: Obtainable on the very first route in all versions and is exceedingly common and easy to catch. Will likely be one of the first two Pokemon you catch.
-Stats: Only Speed is above average, with the others ranging from average (Attack) to outright terrible (Special).
-Movepool: Get's all sorts of cool TMs but since they're almost all Special attacks they're pretty much useless. Hyper Fang is accessed at a very low level though and is very powerful at that point in the game. STAB Quick attack is very useful for picking off weakened foes. Gets STAB on Double-Edge if you want more power, but the recoil will hurt. Water Gun and Bubblebeam have some utility against Rock types, but are frequently better spent on other Pokemon since Raticate has piss poor special. But then again, what else are you going to teach Raticate? Raticate can make good use of Dig too, assuming you can spare it.
-Power: Rattata starts off strong, becomes a liability before evolving, get's strong again after evolving before slowly petering off. However, Raticate's decent Attack and High speed can actually prove surprisingly effective late game, making Raticate a good choice for quickly striking fast but frail threats such as Kadabra and Jynx.
-Type: It's a Normal-Type, what more is there to say? Complete lack of coverage outside of normal type moves bites.
-Match-ups:
Brock- Will be out-damaged even if you try Tail Whip shenanigans.
Misty- Can handle Staryu fine but Starmie creams just about everything at that level unless it has a resistance and Rattata is no exception.
Lt. Surge - His weaker Pokemon are actually beaten fairly handily, but Raichu will eat Raticate for breakfast. Give him Dig and it's another story though.
Erika - Raticate's low special means he'll probably get his ass handed to him, especially if he gets paralyzed.
Sabrina - Surprisingly actually one of the best options for her, able to move faster and hit hard enough to KO her weaker Pokemon. Can't take a hit from them though, so if it doesn't OHKO it'll probably go down.
Koga - His Pokemon are just too bulky and Raticate is just too frail. Even with Dig something else is probably a better option, though with it Raticate will do in a pinch
Blaine - Fares very well if you give it Dig, but less well if you don't have it. Will take lots of damage from Fire Blast, beware.
Giovanni - Might stand a chance against Dugtrio and Persian, but the others have too much bulk for Raticate to beat reliably. Again, having Dig gives Raticate a much bigger chance against them.
Lorelei - Might handle Jynx, but low Special and the bulk of her Pokemon means he won't last long.
Bruno - Oh god no. Don't even think of it. I suppose you could Bubblebeam his Onix?
Agatha - Well Arbok and Golbat shouldn't be too rough. Raticate can't really scratch her ghost types without Dig, but with it might actually be a good choice.
Lance - Same issue as Lorelei, too much bulk on their side and not enough on Raticate's.
Blue - Might be able to beat Pidgeot and MAYBE Alakazam, but the rest are all risky propositions due to their bulk and power. Again, Dig will give it more usefulness against some such as Jolteon and Arcanine, but remember Raticate likely won't survive the counter-attack.
Slowpoke - Mid Tier
-Availability: Slowpoke can be caught in Seafoam Islands, and its levels vary from 28 to 33, but keep in mind that if you're playing Blue, it'll only appear on the ground floor, and at level 28, and it's notably harder to find (5% encounter as opposed to 15%). However, if you're lucky/patient enough, you might encounter a level 37 or 39 Slowbro, which is mostly caught up to the rest of your team. Slowbro also appear in Blue and Yellow, but it's a 1% (as opposed to 4% in Red) encounter in both games and Slowbro will only be level 31 in Yellow.
-Stats: If there's anything Slowpoke's known for, that would be its pathetic Speed that that causes it to be outsped by almost everything. When it evolves, its Speed improves to "half the game outspeeding you" as opposed to "almost all of the game outspeeding you". Its Defense also becomes quite respectable, and its Special (which is quite meager as a Slowpoke) becomes more usable.
-Movepool: Slowpoke has a surprisingly large movepool which not only includes standards such as Surf and Ice Beam, but less likely options like Earthquake and even Fire Blast! However, the jewel in Slowpoke's movepool is Amnesia, which is essentially 2 Calm Minds in one turn. It gets it a bit late, though, at level 44 (level 40 if you can bear with Slowpoke not evolving for 3 more levels. Unfortunately, Slowbro doesn't have much else in its movepool (it learns Psychic naturally, but at level 55 which it shouldn't normally be at before the end of the game), making it reliant on TMs to fight adequately, and the TMs it desires are Blizzard/Ice Beam and Psychic, both of which are exclusive and as such will have competition from others.
-Power: Simply put, Slowpoke, with its average bulk and awful Speed mean that it won't exactly be doing well until it evolves. Slowbro, on the other hand, is quite decent, although its still poor speed combined with its Special not being high enough to OHKO enemies with neutral hits hurts it somewhat.
-Type: Slowpoke and Slowbro have 2 of the best types in the game, with Psychic hitting the remaining Rockets super-effectively and only being resisted by fellow Psychic-types, most of which can be set up on with Amnesia. Being a Water-type also gives Slowbro the ability to breeze past Fire-types and Ground-types without having to waste Psychic's PP.
-Match-ups: This list is assuming you caught Slowpoke (or Slowbro) at the Seafoam Islands, which is why Koga is not listed.
--Sabrina: Slowbro can deal with all of her Pokemon easily, with the exception of Alakazam, who, thanks to RBY's AI, will repeatedly use Recover, which heals more damage than Surf deals, meaning that if you plan on having Slowbro take her on by itself, it should know Amnesia beforehand (which is not likely if you evolved it immediately). Setting up in Yellow is far less doable, at least against her Abra, as due to the aforementioned AI, it will use Flash over and over... and over... and over... Fortunately, the only non-Psychic-type attack Kadabra and Alakazam knows is Recover, allowing for an easy setup against them.
--Blaine: The outcome of this fight should be obvious, taking type-match up alone into account, and this is true in Red and Blue, with Slowbro's high defense allowing it to take repeated Normal-type attacks with ease. In Yellow, though, his Ninetales knows Confuse Ray and will use it often. The rest of his team is easily beaten.
--Giovanni: First of all, the only Pokemon in his party that's not hit super-effectively is Persian in Yellow. Secondly, while his Nidos in Yellow know Thunder, it's nothing an Amnesia or two beforehand cand remedy. Third of all, Slowbro's Defense allows it to take a good amount of Earthquakes. Watch out for Dugtrio in Yellow, as it knows Fissure and is easily faster than Slowbro.
--Lorelei: Her Pokemon can't significantly harm Slowbro, easily allowing it to get to +6, and it needs to be at least at +4 to beat her Slowbro. Once her Slowbro is down, the rest of the fight should finish quickly.
--Bruno: Well, considering the fact that his Onix are demolished with the drop of a hat and that Slowbro has high Defense and resists Fighting-type moves...
--Agatha: Her Pokemon are all faster than Slowbro, and RBY's AI happens to register that Ghost-type moves are super-effective against Psychic-types, so if you're having Slowbro fight her Ghost-types, expect to get constantly confused. Also, her first Gengar in Yellow knows Mega Drain. Arbok and Golbat are manageable, but still frustrating to fight against.
--Lance: His team is faster than you, and while Slowbro can take two Hyper Beams, it needs to set up in order to seriously harm his Pokemon, especially if it doesn't know Ice Beam or Blizzard. In Yellow, things are harder for Slowbro, as Lance's second Dragonair and his Dragonite know SE attacks, which while they can be stomached with enough Amnesias, Slowbro will need to be at +6 for them to do less than Hyper Beam.
--Rival: Slowbro can easily set up on Pidgeot and proceed to plow through his team, with the exception of Venusaur, which is only on his team if you started with Squirtle, and if you did that, there would be almost no reason to use Slowpoke. In Yellow, his Sandslash knows Toxic and Sand Attack, making setting up on it inadvisable. However, Slowbro can set up on his Alakazam and do the same thing to his team that it would in Red and Blue, with the roadblocks being a Ninetales that knows Confuse Ray and a Jolteon that has a ~23% critical hit rate.
-Additional comments: Slowpoke has a bit of a slow start, but after it evolves, it becomes a solid Pokemon that can beat a good amount of the game's remaining bosses. Of course, its middling Speed is a definite problem that causes it to be worn down faster than other potential team members despite its high Defense and decent Special.
-Spearow - Mid Tier
-Availability: Spearow can be caught at Route 22 at levels 3 through 5 in Red and Blue and at levels 2 through 6 in Yellow. However, finding them could potentially be time-consuming, as it has a one-in-ten chance of appearing. As for evolving, Spearow evolve at the fairly average level of 20.
-Stats: Spearow and Fearow are fast and have a solid Attack stat, but they're both frail. Also, their Attack tends to fade into the "average" range as the game reaches its climax.
-Movepool: Spearow's movepool isn't exactly vast; the only moves it can learn, with the exception of Agility, which is rather useless due to Spearows high Speed, are either Normal- or Flying-type. It gets Peck from the start, which allows it to differentiate itself from Pidgey in addition to mauling almost everything in Viridian Forest. Fury Attack, while time-consuming due to it being a multi-hit attack, is more powerful against those neutral to Peck on average. Later on, Spearow (which should be a Fearow by then) learns Drill Peck at level 34, which is after it gets access to Fly, but since the two have similar base powers and Fly is a 2-turn attack, Drill Peck is often the better choice between the two. Mirror Move, while unreliable, has its uses, and with Drill Peck and Fly being the only mandatory moves, Fearow definitely has room for it.
-Power: As mentioned above, Spearow destroys everything in Viridian Forest, barring the hard-to-find Pikachu in Red and Blue and the occasional Pidgey as well as the Nidoran trainer in the bottom left corner of the woods. While Spearow doesn't exactly do well in Mt. Moon or Rock Tunnel, the small amount of Rock-types in between allows Spearow to hold its own. After Rock Tunnel come Pokemon Tower and Celadon Gym, both of which are handily beaten by Fearow, courtesy of Fly. However, once those areas are cleared, Koffing and Weezing appear, causing Fearow's usefulness to decrease to the part of the game before Rock Tunnel but after Mt. Moon.
-Type: Normal doesn't do much for Spearow, but its secondary Flying typing allows it to crush the Bug-types that are commonplace early on in the game, but also leaves it vulnerable to the Rock-types that appear shortly afterward. Another thing to take into account is the redundant coverage Fire- and Flying-type moves have: they both hit Grass- and Bug-types super effectively, and they're both resisted by Rock-types. This means that if you chose Charmander as your starter, you probably shouldn't be using Spearow.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Spearow isn't of much help to you in this fight, due to Peck being resisted by both of his Pokemon.
--Misty: While Spearow's attacks aren't resisted by any of her Pokemon, her Starmie outspeeds it and deals a hefty chunk of damage to it with Bubblebeam.
--Lt. Surge: Same story as Brock, but Lt. Surge actually has a move that hits Fearow super-effectively.
--Erika: While her Victreebel/Weepinbell does know Wrap, Fearow is faster and it should know Fly at that point. Also, because Erika will not attack Fearow with a move that it resists, even if it doesn't do damage in the first place, none of her Pokemon will not use Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, or Petal Dance against it, making Fearow's job much easier. In fact, if you wanted, you could possibly defeat the entire Gym with Fearow alone.
--Koga: Unfortunately for Fearow, Koga's team in Red and Blue has 3 Pokemon with respectable Defense, meaning that while it does better against him than against Brock, it doesn't exactly excell against him either. In Yellow, it's a different story, thanks to his team literally consisting of 3 Venonat and a Venomoth. Repeated Psychic-type attacks do take their toll, however.
--Sabrina: In Red and Blue, this fight is the best shot Fearow has at utilizing Mirror Move. If Mr. Mime uses Light Screen, Fearow can Mirror Move it, halving all special damage (barring Psywave). However, if Mr. Mime doesn't use Light Screen, odds are that Fearow will lose against Alakazam. In Yellow, all of Sabrina's Pokemon are a whopping level 50, and as such are faster than Fearow. When this is combined with Kadabra and Alakazam's incredible Special, it shouldn't take long to notice that Fearow doesn't do too well.
--Blaine: Honestly, this fight could go either way, but the odds are somewhat in Blaine's favor due to Rapidash's Fire Spin and Arcanine's surprisingly usable bulk.
--Giovanni: It should go without saying that Fearow shouldn't even come near his Rhyhorn or Rhydon. In Red and Blue, Dugtrio has Slash, which Fearow will gladly Mirror Move back in its face for the probable OHKO, while Dugtrio can't even touch Fearow in Yellow. Speakin of which, Yellow has Persian, who also knows Slash, which does a ton when used against it via Mirror Move. Finally, the Nidos, while easily manageable in Red and Blue, know Thunder in Yellow, causing Fearow to have second thoughts about taking them on.
--Lorelei: All of Lorelei's Pokemon either have great physical bulk, an Ice-type attack, or both. The outcome of this match is obvious.
--Bruno: His Fighting-types are soundly beaten, while his 2 Onix stand(?) tall against Fearow's assault.
--Agatha: While Fearow does impeccably in Pokemon Tower, that performance doesn't transition to the fight against Agatha, mainly due to the fact that the Ghost-types in Pokemon Tower were lower-levelled than Fearow while it's the other way around for Agatha. However, her main strategy in Red and Blue is to put her opponents to sleep or confuse them, and the former can be remedied via the Poke Flute.
--Lance: Considering Fearow's forgettable physical bulk as well as the considerable strength of most of Lance's Pokemon, it should be safe to assume that Fearow's not going to be taking any Hyper Beams from them any time soon. In Yellow, his 2 Dragonair and Dragonite know moves super effective against Fearow, meaning they might not even have to use Hyper Beam against it.
--Rival: Unfortunately for Fearow, the only notable Pokemon it can beat on a regular basis is Venusaur. Everything else either beats it or isn't impressive to beat.
-Additional Comments: Spearow is your average early-game Flying-type: it's great against the numerous Bug-types early on and is otherwise solid whenever it isn't face to face with a Rock-type, but it isn't always the best choice in a major battle, due to its poor bulk and lack of coverage outside of STAB. It also has to contend with being mediocre when being used with Pikachu and Charmander: the former due to the fact that it tends to hog the Viridian Forest exp. while being no good against Brock and the latter due to redundant type coverage. However, Spearow is still a solid Pokemon, notably one that is able to clear out Pokemon Tower without having to use Dig or a Psychic-type attack.
Voltorb - Mid Tier
-Availability: Fairly early, before Lt Surge but most likely afterwards. Voltorb is found much later in Yellow, but you can get a high level Electrode once you get Surf and go to the power plant, compensating for the difference.
-Stats: Enormous speed coupled with a decent Special means Voltorb will be hitting hard and first.
-Movepool: Barren offensive movepool is an understatement. Sonicboom is good for early grinding but loses its usefulness quickly. Requires Thunderbolt from Lt Surge to function throughout the game, and while it has a good Normal-type movepool, it's attack is atrocious making those moves basically useless.
-Power: Does high damage to any Pokemon that isn't Ground, Grass or Electric.
-Type: Being weak only to Ground is great, but doesn't have a lot of resistances and offensively Voltorb is dependent on Normal-type moves to get around Ground and Grass types.
-Match-ups:
Lt Surge: If you insist on using Voltorb against Surge, it's worth noting that it will take 10 Sonicbooms to beat his entire team (3 for Voltorb, 3 for Pikachu, 4 for Raichu). He can win, but it's dependent on move selection and accuracy.
Erika: Electrode hates Grass-types. While he cannot KO them, they can status him in return or just KO outright. Don't use Electrode here.
Koga: Even at a lower level he sweeps with Thunderbolt. Koga is a joke though, and even though Muk and Weezing will take 2 hits, they won't hurt you too bad. You are more likely to faint post-battle due to poison, rather than lose here.
Sabrina: If you let Electrode learn Light Screen then you are a real chance here. Set up on Kadabra and then go for the KO with STAB Thunderbolt. Even though physical moves are an option, only resort to them if Sabrina uses Light Screen. You will out-speed her team, because Electrode is one of the few Pokemon who can, however they pack more of a punch overall, and Alakazam has the potential to wreck you even with Light Screen protection. While not a guaranteed sweep, Electrode is a good choice here.
Blaine: Electrode can spam Thunderbolt to pretty much sweep this gym. None of Blaine's pokemon can do too much damage in retaliation, assuming they aren't OHKO'd. Arcanine is the only Pokemon you may have trouble beating as it will take 3 hits to take him out, but only 2 if he uses Take-Down. In Yellow, Ninetails will be able to handle your attacks quite well due to her high Special and will hit you back hard, so make sure to take advantage of your speed.
Giovanni: Electrode can only hit his Pokemon with Normal-type attacks. Don't use him here unless he's your last Pokemon, it will not end well. On the plus side, he can KO Rhyhorn with Sonicboom, but it takes 9 uses of it and risks getting KO'd himself. In Yellow, Persian is obliterated by Electrode, but don't keep him in against the ground types.
Lorelei: Electrode does great here, especially if you set up. On the first turn use Light Screen to protect yourself from Special attacks. The reason for this is because Dewgong and the like will be bulky enough to take your attacks quite well, and so you want Electrode to have the same level of survivability. With that being said, you should still sweep fairly comfortably as not even Jynx will like taking your attacks.
Bruno: This one is a mixed bag. Electrode is one of the very few Pokemon that Onix is actually a threat to, so obviously get someone to take them out. However, Machamp, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee will not like taking your electric attacks so there is definite opportunity for Electrode to shine here.
Agatha: Much harder than the others, Gengar and the like may not resist your attacks but their sky-high Special means you won;t be doing much outside of critical hits. It's worth noting that as long as you have the Pokeflute, the best they can do to you is chip away with Night Shade and confuse you with Confuse Ray. It really just comes down to luck here, you could win or lose either way.
Lance: Not an easy fight here, his 3 dragons outright resist your attacks and can whittle you down with Dragon Rage and Slam. It's worth noting that Gyarados is scared shitless of Electrode, as is Aerodactyl, which means with smart switching, Electrode becomes quite viable.
Rival: Mixed bag here. Exeggutor is your worst nightmare here as he resists your attack with his humongous Special and type advantage and responds with anything. Rhydon is definitely a big deal as well, and you don't to mess with Alakazam, Jolteon, Magneton or Venasaur. But on the plus side, if you picked Venasaur as your starter, he will have 3 Pokemon that are taken out by Electric attacks (Pidgeot, Charizard and Gyarados). In Yellow it's much the same deal, the variety of types is essentially the same so use the chart to your advantage.
Additional Comments: Despite being walled to hell and back by every Ground type in the game, Electrode is a great Pokemon and should be considered for every team. It's great utility combined with a great Speed stat, decent special and one of the best offensive types in the game, you have one hell of a Pokemon. It is worth noting that Electrode's poor movepool really lets it down, and it won't be soloing the entire game for you, but there are many Pokemon that just won't be able to take it on in any form. In Yellow, Electrode is completely outclassed by Zapdos, which is essentially found in the same area.
-Availability: Bellsprout can be caught as early as Route 24. This is convenient because this is around the same time as the Misty battle, where it acts as one of the better counters to her. It ranges from level 12-14, which isn’t a complete disaster. It evolves at level 21 and then again using a Leaf Stone.
-Stats: The Bellsprout family has a focus on offense. Bellsprout actually starts with decent 75 Attack and 70 Special. Once fully evolved, Victreebel sports impressive 105 Attack and 100 Special, backed up by a usable 70 Speed. It’s only remotely poor stat is Defence, but it doesn’t really harm Victreebel much in-game.
-Movepool: This is probably where Victreebel suffers a bit. It basically has the same movepool as Venusaur, but it takes longer to get its best moves. Razor Leaf is the best Grass type attack in the game, but it comes quite late. In fact, it may be better to prevent Bellsprout from evolving for a while so it can get it at level 33. In the meantime, you’ll be using Vine Whip and Wrap as your main offense. Bellsprout also gets the status powders early, which is helpful for a while until it gets Razor Leaf to kill things. It gets Growth early as well, and it can potential run a boosting set with Sleep Powder and Mega Drain. Although this isn't as immediately as powerful as Razor Leaf spam, it does do better against certain trainers and it allows you to fully evolve sooner. Beyond its grass STAB, it gets Body Slam but only as Victreebel, so you won’t be able to get it until Celadon City. You may prefer to use Double-Edge instead (or in the meantime). It also gets Acid, but it is very weak. Acid does seem useful in theory to cover Bug and Grass types, but a large number of them have secondary typings that remove the weakness, making this irrelevant.
-Power: Bellsprout is ok for a while but it will struggle against anything that resists Grass, especially before it gets a strong Normal attack. It doesn’t really take off until Razor Leaf and Body Slam/Double-Edge come along. Even then, it will still suffer a bit from having its strongest STAB resisted by many opponents, although there are many opponents that don’t and Razor Leaf is brutal against them.
-Type: As an offensive type, Grass is very hit-and-miss. Grass has coverage against some important types (Water, Ground and Rock), but it is resisted by common Poison, Bug, Grass, Fire, and Flying types (as well as the less common Dragon). Weaknesses to Fire, Flying, Psychic, Bug and Ice are irritating as well. Victreebel may need to be a bit more selective about what to take on if it wants to avoid damage, but Grass definitely has its uses.
-Match-ups: Misty – This match-up is one of the best reasons to use Bellsprout. Resisting BubbleBeam makes this quite a bit easier and with STAB Vine Whip on your side you can’t afford to lose. Just make sure you are at a reasonable level, although this shouldn’t be a problem.
Lt. Surge – Another good match-up in RB. Electric resistance allows you to take Thunderbolt from Raichu, and if you can stop that then you can stop the others. Don’t get reckless in Yellow though. Raichu’s Mega Kick and Mega Punch are brutal. You may need to try a status move to win.
Erika – This isn’t a great match-up for either side. However, Victreebel can work out well here. Grass resistance and Body Slam from 105 Attack is potent, and being immune to PoisonPowder can provide free turns in RB assuming she is stupid. You are still vulnerable to Sleep Powder and Stun Spore, but you have those on your side as well. If you are still Bellsprout/Weepinbell, you can try the same thing with Double-Edge over Body Slam, but it isn’t as effective.
Koga – You aren’t really useful here. His Pokémon resist Grass and high Defence allows them to take Body Slam (especially Weezing and Muk). Of course, they have terrible movesets so they can’t really do too much back, so you can “win” if you must use Victreebel. In Yellow, Body Slam is a more potent weapon, but they can hit you with Psychic moves. Venomoth is pretty much the only threatening Pokémon on his team though.
Sabrina – Stay away. Super-Effective Psychic moves make this a battle that Victreebel should sit out. Still, Body Slam from 105 Attack is powerful against her frail Pokémon, so you may be able to take some of them out.
Blaine – Another gym that you aren’t that useful in. In RB, you can beat Growlithe and Ponyta, but Fire Blast from Arcanine is devastating to Victreebel. In Yellow, Growlithe and Ponyta have been replaced by a Ninetales with Flamethrower, making the match-up even worse.
Giovanni – This is the first gym in a while where you have a good match-up. Razor Leaf dispatches of Rhyhorn, Rhydon, Dugtrio and Persian. Nidoqueen and Nidoking aren’t weak to Grass but can be beaten.
Lorelei – Razor Leaf is super effective against most of her team (and Jynx hates Body Slam from 105 Attack) but then you are weak to Psychic and Ice attacks. A Growth boosting set may actually do better here than Razor Leaf spam, and although it isn't the absolute best choice it can get the job done. Use it if you want, but have a back-up ready.
Bruno – You destroy Onix, and Razor Leaf hits his Fighting types hard as well. You also resist Fighting, so this is a good match-up overall.
Agatha – You are kind of useless here. You really can’t do anything to her Ghosts, and although you can beat Golbat and Arbok with Body Slam an attempt to do so may result in confusion or paralysis.
Lance – His Dragon types resist Grass. Relying on Body Slam probably won’t be enough for a clean sweep, but Razor Leaf should be enough for Aerodactyl. In Yellow, you have to watch out for Ice, Fire and Flying moves.
Blue – Using its resistances, and Razor Leaf and Body Slam, you can beat Rhydon, Exeggutor, Blastoise, Venusaur, Sandslash, Cloyster, Vaporeon, Magneton and Jolteon. Just watch out for Ice moves from the Water types, and Pin Missile from Jolteon.
-Additional Comments: This is pretty much the best Grass type if you don’t go with Bulbasaur, and in Yellow it gives Bulbasaur some serious competition because of the nerf Bulbasaur got in its availability. It is a useful Pokémon thanks to its good stats and the sheer power of Razor Leaf, but tends to be hit-and-miss thanks to its somewhat limited movepool, and unlike RB Bulbasaur it doesn’t provide a no-drawbacks win condition against Brock and Misty.
Bulbasaur (Yellow) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Given to you in Cerulean City, at level 10. Keep in mind that to get it, you need Pikachu to have high happiness.
-Stats: Decent all around, with good Special.
-Movepool: It starts off without any STAB moves, meaning you're not exactly doing well with it until it gets to level 13, when it gets Vine Whip, which has a staggering 35 base power and a shocking 10 PP. However, 17 levels (assuming you evolved it, which you should've) later, it gains access to the far superior Razor Leaf, which is better than Vine Whip in every way. Aside from that, keep in mind that it's a Grass-type that can't use Stun Spore or Sleep Powder (although it can learn Sleep Powder, it doesn't get the chance until level 55, and you should've beaten the game by then). Body Slam is quite helpful for those who aren't hit super-effectively by Vine Whip, but keep in mind that you're using up an exclusive TM, and resisted Razor Leaf does around the same amount of damage (assuming criticals and a 2x resistance, of course).
-Power: Since you get it at the measly level 10, when the rest of your party should be at least level 15, Bulbasaur is underlevelled when you get it, and it can't really do anything to anybody until it learns Vine Whip. Early evolution is helpful, but it'll eventually fall behind again, specifically after you get through Rock Tunnel, as seemingly half the trainers have a Pokemon that resists Vine Whip. Body Slam can help, as it has notably more Base Power than Vine Whip. Once it learns Razor Leaf, expect things to take a turn for the better, and thanks to evolving again 2 levels after that, Venusaur will pulverize everything that doesn't resist Grass, and even some things that do. Once you get to the water routes, it'll be smooth sailing for Venusaur.
-Type: Grass is useful until you get through Rock Tunnel, and picks up again when you get finish Silph. Shame its secondary typing doesn't really do much to help it aside from making it neutral to Poison and immune to Poison (status), as it gives almost no extra coverage and also adds a weakness to Psychic.
-Match-ups:
Misty: Assuming you went to see Bill first, you should be fine, because of Ivysaur's good (at the time) Special combined with its type advantage should give you an easy victory. Don't use it against her if you just got it, though, because of a severe level disadvantage as well as the fact that Bulbasaur doesn't know any Grass-type moves (ignoring the useless Leech Seed) when you get it.
Lt. Surge: Not quite as easy as Misty, as his Raichu knows Mega Kick and has a solid Attack stat to back it up.
Erika: Seeing as how her entire team resists Grass-type moves (in fact, Weepinbell and Gloom resist Razor Leaf with the critical factored in), and 2 of her Pokemon know Sleep Powder, using Ivysaur against her is not recommended.
Koga: His team resists Razor Leaf even with criticals factored in, and they all know Psychic. Even though they don't get STAB from it, his weakest Pokemon is level 44.
Sabrina: Beating her Abra without taking any damage isn't notable, as even a Magikarp could do it. Her other Pokemon have high Special, are level 50, and get STAB on Psychic, which means you'll have to rely on them using Psywave and getting low damage rolls as you Body Slam them.
Blaine: Venusaur can take a Fire Blast if necessary, but don't expect it to take repeated uses of it.
Giovanni: All of his Pokemon (minus Persian, who has Slash which is still quite powerful) know Earthquake, which can leave a dent in Venusaur, but all of them are OHKOed by Razor Leaf, barring the Nidos.
Lorelei: 4 of her Pokemon are weak to Razor Leaf, but Lapras can take a hit, while Jynx outright outspeeds Venusaur, allowing both of them to attack it with Blizzard and Ice Punch, respectively.
Bruno: *insert sentence here about his Onix getting destroyed by even Vine Whip* Overall, his Pokemon have low Special, and Venusaur resists Fighting, and both of these things mean that your Venusaur should have little trouble dealing with him.
Agatha: Her Ghosts are a nightmare, as they have high Special, are resistant to Grass-type moves, and are immune to Normal. Her Golbat 4x resists Razor Leaf, meaning that you're best off using Venusaur against her Arbok or not at all.
Lance: Venusaur can beat Gyarados 1-on-1, but is defeated by his first Dragonair, Aerodactyl, and Dragonite. Not much else to say here.
Gary: Sandslash, Cloyster, Magneton, and Jolteon (keep an eye out for Pin Missile, though) are the only things Venusaur has a likely victory against on its own. If you have the Poke Flute with you (which you should) and taught Venusaur Body Slam, you can add Exeggutor to that list, as it doesn't know any Psychic-type moves. The reason why it can't easily beat his other Pokemon can be explained as such: Alakazam has a type advantage (not to mention the fact that it's Alakazam), Ninetales knows Fire Spin and Confuse Ray, Vaporeon has great special bulk and knows Aurora Beam, and Flareon knows Fire Spin and Flamethrower.
-Additional Comments: Bulbasaur has a (very) weak start, and only ascends to "average" until it learns Razor Leaf and evolves again. When those things happen, expect OHKOes on everything that doesn't resist it, and even a few that do. Keep in mind, however, that you need to baby it for the first few levels, and it can't really do anything in places like Lavender Tower.
Drowzee - Mid Tier
-Availability: Drowzee are at Route 11, at levels 9-15 in Red and Blue and at 15-19 in Yellow. The chance of finding them is 1-in-4, so you don't have to worry about scouring the Route for hours on end looking for them. They evolve at level 26, which is when you should be either fighting the last trainers on the S.S. Anne or approaching Rock Tunnel.
-Stats: Unfortunately, Drowzee's uncomfortably slow and (physically) weak. Thankfully, its impressive Special makes up for its Speed somewhat. When Drowzee evolves, it can outspeed most Pokemon in the game that aren't considerably fast (or in the possession of a Gym Leader/Elite Four member). Its Special also gets a nice boost, and its increased Defense means that if it fails to OHKO its opponent (which is a fair assumption considering how late it gets Psychic), it won't have to worry about counterattacks as much.
-Movepool: Unless you're playing Yellow and caught it at level 17 or higher, Drowzee won't know Confusion, having only the pathetic Pound with which to harm others. Headbutt is usable, but is only useful for fellow Psychic-types, as they usually have high Special and resist Psychic-type attacks, not to mention Hypno's Special is far greater than its Attack. Also, Hypno doesn't learn Psychic naturally until level 37, so teaching it that via TM29 isn't completely unreasonable. Drowzee also knows Hypnosis from the moment you catch it, but its unreliable accuracy means that it's far from necessary.
-Power: As mentioned above, Drowzee won't know Confusion until level 17, so until then, it has to 6HKO its enemies with Pound. Once it knows Confusion, it starts to do adequately, and when it evolves, it gets even better, but despite this, its Confusion has a tendency not to OHKO things that aren't weak to it. Psychic, whether it be at level 37 or when you first enter Saffron City, fixes this problem and allows it to deal heavy damage to anything that's not a fellow Psychic-type. Unfortunately, Hypno doesn't do as well as Mr. Mime or Abra in Pokemon Tower, mainly due to it being slower than the numerous Gastly and Haunter, and some of them tend to go for the Confuse Ray on the first turn, and their high Special allows them to survive a Confusion more often than not.
-Type: Psychic is well known for being the best type back in the day, and not having a second type isn't the end of the world, as Psychic-type attacks have great coverage on their own, only being resisted by fellow Psychic-types, who can't do much to Hypno in return.
-Match-ups: While you could just use Hypnosis against everybody, these match-ups will assume you don't use it.
--Lt. Surge: You can handle him in Red and Blue if Drowzee's evolved by this point. In Yellow, however, Mega Punch and Mega Kick leave marks regardless of whether it's a Drowzee or Hypno you're using.
--Erika: Victreebel/Weepinbell is faster than Hypno and can trap it continuously with Wrap. The rest of her team is much easier to deal with, just watch out for Sleep Powder. Getting Hypno statused prior to the battle, which shouldn't be too much of a problem considering the fact that half of the Gym's trainers know status-inducing moves, prevents the threat of Sleep Powder and allows Gloom/Vileplume to be pulverized. Keep in mind that if Hypno gets paralyzed, it's vulnerable to Bind from Tangela.
--Koga: Hypno should have Psychic by this point, but even Confusion has enough power to OHKO his Koffings. Psychic, however, is needed to OHKO his Muk and Weezing, and greatly helps its performance against him in Yellow, although it never really struggles against him in the first place.
--Sabrina: Hypno resists Psychic-type attacks, causing Sabrina's Pokemon to use everything but Psychic-type moves, allowing Hypno to Headbutt them until they're down. Alakazam, though, is a problem, as Recover its its only non-Psychic-type attack, meaning it will endlessly spam it, healing off more than Headbutt will do. There are 2 possible solutions to this, but neither are efficient: the first being to use Disable (which Hypno knows when you catch it) and hope it disables Recover, or to use Meditate (which is learned at level 43) so Headbutt does more than Recover heals.
--Blaine: Fire Spin is annoying, as is Confuse Ray from Ninetales (only appears in Yellow), but Hypno does decently against him otherwise.
--Giovanni: Everything on his team, save for Persian in Yellow and Dugtrio. Hypno can beat them one-on-one, but not both of them in the same match.
--Lorelei: Hypno doesn't do too poorly against her, but Slowbro and Lapras can comfortably take whatever Hypno throws at them.
--Bruno: Ignoring the Onix because they're terrible, Hypno can take on all of his Fighting-types, at least assuming Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee don't use Mega Punch and Mega Kick, respectively.
--Agatha: Her Ghosts and Golbat know Confuse Ray and are faster than Hypno, potentially leading to a very frustrating battle.
--Lance: Hypno can take a Hyper Beam from his Dragonair, but nothing else on his team. As such, Hypno can beat one of his Dragonair, but good luck defeating anything else on his team with it.
--Rival: To make things short: Pidgeot, Rhydon, and Venusaur are easily beaten. Hypno vs. Alakazam results in a stalemate, due to Alakazam's only Normal-type attack being Recover. Exeggutor can be beaten, but it'll take a while. Arcanine, Magneton, Vaporeon, and Jolteon can be troublesome but still manageable provided Hypno doesn't take too much damage against others. Finally, Fire Spin and Clamp make Ninetales and Cloyster infuriating, and Sandslash's, Gyarados's, and Flareon's Attack makes having Hypno fight them inadvisable.
-Additional Comments: Drowzee is a good Pokemon, but one who has competition with Abra and Mr. Mime, the former of which comes earlier and has better stats, and the latter gains boosted exp due to being a traded Pokemon. However, Drowzee is much easier to obtain than its competition, as Abra Teleports away on the first turn and Mr. Mime requires either an Abra or a Clefairy, depending on the version, while Drowzee has a decent chance to appear and it doesn't Teleport away from battle. Of course, its forgettable start also hampers it somewhat, but its solid match-ups against the game's bosses makes up for it.
-Electabuzz (Red only) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Electabuzz can only be found at the Power Plant, meaning you need to have beaten Koga to access it, and you need to noticeably out of the way, as you can't directly Fly to Route 10's Pokemon Center like you can in later generations. Electabuzz themselves aren't the most common encounter (5%) and they can tend to be more stubborn than others when it comes to actually being caught, on par with that of Onix. Also, Electabuzz appear at levels 33-36.
-Stats: Statistically, Electabuzz is very similar to Raichu, but with (slightly) better Speed at the cost of some Attack. This poses a problem for Electabuzz, as Raichu can be caught as early as Viridian Forest (as a Pikachu, of course), which is before the first Gym, while Electabuzz is completely unavailable until after the fifth.
-Movepool: Electabuzz's movepool is slightly larger than that of fellow Electric-types and includes moves such as Thunderpunch (which is essentially a weaker but still Thunderbolt) and Psychic. Electabuzz also learns dual screens, but it has to wait until level 49 for Light Screen, and you should either be fighting the Elite Four or have beaten the game by that point.
-Power: If given Thunderbolt, Electabuzz acts almost entirely the same as Raichu would, due to their similar stats and typing, but if given Psychic, Electabuzz suddenly has the ability to OHKO every Grunt's Poison-types, something Raichu could not hope to do without a crit. Of course, the schools of Water-types are no match for an Electabuzz that knows Thunderpunch, which it should know by that point.
-Type: Electabuzz comes at a time when Water-types are quite commonplace, which is good for Electabuzz considering it's an Electric-type.
-Match-ups: These match-ups are all assuming you taught Electabuzz Psychic, as all it has for offense is Quick Attack, Thundershock, and Thunderpunch otherwise.
--Sabrina: Electabuzz isn't sweeping her any time soon, but it can beat at least 2 of her Pokemon most of the time.
--Blaine: Electabuzz can beat Growlithe and Ponyta easily, and occasionally Rapidash depending on how much damage it (Electabuzz) took against Blaine's previous two Pokemon.
--Giovanni: How well Electabuzz does against Giovanni depends on whether you taught it Psychic or not: if you did, it can do respectably against his entire team except for Dugtrio, but it has absolutely no chance against him if it doesn't know Psychic.
--Lorelei: Jynx's neutrality to Electric-type attacks and Lapras's immense special bulk allow them to take on Electabuzz, but the rest of Lorelei's team easily falls. Just make sure you don't allow Slowbro to get more than one Amnesia up, though!
--Bruno: This fight is very similar to Giovanni: If Electabuzz knows Psychic, it wins. If it doesn't, it can beat Hitmonchan and maybe Hitmonlee, but has some trouble with Machamp and (embarassingly) can't touch his 2 Onix.
--Agatha: each of her Ghosts can stomach a Psychic, and their naturally high Speed allows each of them (with the possible exception of Haunter) to Confuse Electabuzz or put it to sleep. Golbat and Arbok on the other hand are jokes.
--Lance: Gyarados is completely fried, as is Aerodactyl if it uses Take Down, Leer, or Fly rather than Hyper Beam or Supersonic. Electabuzz can't do much else to Lance's team, unfortunately.
--Rival: Pidgeot, Gyarados, Cloyster, and possibly Vaporeon and Blastoise are all (predictably) beaten, but Electabuzz doesn't exactly excel against anything else on his team, save for Rhydon if it knows Psychic.
-Additional Comments: Electabuzz is an adequate Pokemon, one with a good typing for the time in the game it's caught as well as being unique in that it's one of the very few Generation I Electric-types who don't need Thunderbolt thanks to its exclusive access to Thunderpunch. However, Electabuzz suffers from having solid competition from Raichu, who has similar stats but can be obtained earlier, and Zapdos, who is in the same area as Electabuzz but has a much higher level and better stats all around. Electabuzz's main niche in all of this is its exclusive (for Electric-types, at least) access to Psychic and Thunderpunch, eliminating its need for Thunderbolt (as mentioned above) that all other Electric-types demand. In other words, if you're not going to teach Electabuzz Psychic, don't use it, as other Electric-types can do its job better otherwise.
Farfetch'd (RB) - Mid Tier
Availability: Somewhat early, as you trade Spearow for it in Vermilion city. BTW, you can catch Spearow easily just outside Vermilion if you haven't got one already.
Stats: Its stats are terrible. It is outclassed by every other normal/flying type in the game in stats, even Pidgeot is better.
Movepool: Cut + Fly... NICE!! Farfetch'd is the only Pokemon in the game to get Cut + Fly, two relatively poorly distributed HM moves. Dux is obtained in the same town as Cut, so the same time you'll start needing him. He's also there ready and waiting when you get Fly. Cut + Fly is incredibly useful in moving in and around Celadon and Fusia, and moving between all the main mid-game towns. This makes Farfetch'd arguably the most useful HM slave in the whole game. Also, Farfetch'd gets the 140 base power Slash (with the crit), and Swords Dance (which works with Fly or Hyper Beam). DUX also gets boosted experience points. Not saying that any of this makes it better than a Dodrio or Fearow, but it's not completely unusable as a battler.
Power: Quack Slash / Swords Dance kind of make up for crappy ATK.
Type: A million other options with this typing, which is just ok. Repetitive STABs, not-so-useful resistances.
Match-ups:
Lt. Surge: No.
Erika: You get Fly in Celadon, so Farfetch'd can basically roll through her, just like any flying type in Celadon.
Koga: You're too weak to do much here as his pokes have great DEF... too bad there are no venonats...
Sabrina: You will probably get fried before you get to do much. If for some reason you don't get killed instantly, Slash will hit her pokes very hard.
Blaine: Farfetch'd can beat growlithe, and can do a bit of damage. Don't expect it to sweep the gym though...
Giovanni: His pokes mostly have great DEF and hit hard. Rhydon laughs at anything and everything you could do. This is not a great gym for DUX.
Lorelei: Beam'd to death...
Bruno: If you have leveled up sufficiently, Dux can kind of help against the fighting types.
Agatha: Since her pokes are often faster, expect to be confused and haxed a lot. You can do some damage with SD + Fly if you manage to attack alright.
Lance: Hyper Beam'd to death...
Rival: Pokemon you can beat: Exeggcutor. Pidgeot too. Time your Fly to dodge Sky Attack and you'll be fine. With SD up it can potentially be helpful against things not named Rhydon.
Additional Comments: There are 2 things a player should do to make his RB run faster and more convenient/fun. The first is get the bicycle, the second is add DUX to his party. Just remember that DUX is probably the best HM slave in all the RBY universe. If we were tiering it purely based on utility, it would be top tier. Unless you really hate the mental image of dry humping a small duck to go from town to town, there's really no reason why you WOULDN'T have DUX on your team between Vermillion/Lavender/Saffron/Fushia. It's just so good as a HM slave, unless you enjoy inconvenience, DUX should probably be on your RB team at some point.
Flareon - Mid Tier
-Availability: Flareon is given to you as a level 25 Eevee, and can be evolved via a Fire Stone, which costs an easily affordable 2100 Poke.
-Stats: Flareon not only posesses high attacking stats on both ends of the spectrum, but it also has enough speed to outpace anything that isn't particularly fast or is used by a Gym Leader/Elite Four member. Its Defense and HP do let it down, though.
-Movepool: Flareon starts off with Tackle (Quick Attack in Yellow) as its most powerful move, which makes Body Slam an option to be considered. However, Flareon learns an adequate move a few levels after obtaining it (Bite at level 30 in Yellow and Ember at level 31 in Red and Blue), but Body Slam should still be at least considered, as its extra base power nets it OHKOes where Bite and Ember do not. Of course, being a Fire-type, Flareon has TM access to Fire Blast, and considering the fact that all Flareon learns in terms of attacks are either Fire-type or Normal-type moves (unless you're actually counting the pathetic Smog as a usable attack), Flareon will easily have space for it. Also, Flareon learns Fire Spin at level 42 (level 36 in Yellow), but while Fire Spin's trapping effect might seem appealing at first glance, it slows the game's progress immensly, making it not recommended.
-Power: As mentioned above, before it learns Ember/Bite (and also assuming that you didn't teach it Body Slam), it has a noticable lack of power and as such has trouble early on when you first get it. Once it learns Ember/Bite, its combat abilities improve considerably, but its low combined Defense and HP cause its health to wear down quickly, and more often than not, it generally ends up being the first Pokemon in your party to faint. When the water routes come along, Flareon predictably has a bit of a rough time, but its incredible Attack allows it to fend for itself better than an Arcanine or Ninetales would. Also, teaching it Body Slam helps it out greatly, allowing it to achieve multiple OHKOes that Bite and Ember can't.
-Type: Fire typing, while helpful in Celadon and against the random Grass-type user, doesn't really stand out anywhere else, and causes it to have trouble late-game, where Water-types are abundant.
-Match-ups:
--Erika: Her Victreebel happens to be faster than you and knows Wrap. Thankfully, her Tangela and Vileplume happen to be slower than you and thanks to RBY's AI, they will never use Mega Drain or Petal Dance against you, as it would be not very effective, thus allowing Flareon to Bite (or better yet, Ember) its way through her team.
--Koga: Let's face it. While Ember's power is enough to cut it against the average trainer, it's just not enough to so much as 3HKO his Muk or Weezing. Things might seem better in Yellow at first glance, with his entire team being weak to Fire-type attacks and weak overall, but the problem is that Flareon's only Fire-type attack at that point in the game is Fire Spin, which burns time more efficiently than Koga's multiple Venonat.
--Sabrina: By this time, Flareon should be high enough in level that it can withstand 2 Psybeams from her Pokemon, and Bite should be doing more to Kadabra than Recover heals. Flareon can also beat Alakazam if it knows Body Slam, but only if it paralyzes it. In Yellow, however, Flareon would need to be lucky to beat her Kadabra by itself, and this is assuming it knows Body Slam!
--Blaine: Thanks to RBY's AI as mentioned above, Blaine's Pokemon will never use a single Fire-type attack against Flareon. It still has to watch out for Rapidash's Stomp and Arcanine's Take Down, with the former being faster than Flareon, thus giving Stomp the chance at flinching Flareon, and the latter coming off of a respectable Attack stat. Still, Flareon should be able to beat every Pokemon on his team, with the possible exception of Arcanine, with little worry.
--Giovanni: Flareon can't do much to Rhyhorn or Rhydon without wasting Fire Blast's PP, which isn't enough to deal with both of them. Also, every one of Giovanni's Pokemon (except Persian) threatens Flareon in Yellow, thanks all of them knowing Earthquake, but regardless of version, Flareon flat out loses to Dugtrio. Thankfully, the Nidos are manageable in Red and Blue.
--Lorelei: Simply put, the only Pokemon of hers you should even consider having Flareon fight is Jynx. It falls on its face against anybody else.
--Bruno: The 2 Onix he has aren't worth wasting Fire Blast's PP. Let somebody else deal with them. Fire Blast OHKOes both of the Hitmons, but Machamp can stomach a blast. Keep in mind though that his Hitmons are faster than Flareon.
--Agatha: Flareon can't do much to her Ghosts, thanks to their having a Special that is enough to take minor damage from even Fire Blast combined with an immunity to Normal-type attacks. Her Golbat and Arbok are both faster than Flareon and can withstand a Fire Blast, but outside of status, Golbat (and Arbok in Red and Blue) won't be doing much back.
--Lance: Flareon won't be doing much of anything this fight, as all of them not only resist Fire Blast, Flareon's main attack, but they all know Hyper Beam, which does a large amount of damage to whatever doesn't resist it or have respectable Defense, and simply put, Flareon does not fit either of the above criteria.
--Rival: Pidgeot, Exeggutor, and Venusaur are all easily beaten. Flareon can potentially beat Alakazam, but it needs Body Slam and don't expect it to do much else, as Psychic can easily wear it down, and the same goes with Jolteon. Also, unless you're using it as fodder (which I hope you're not), Flareon should never go up against Gyarados, Cloyster, or Blastoise, for obvious reasons.
-Additional comments: While Flareon isn't much of a help against the game's major battles, its performance against the trainers after Pokemon Tower (as well as doing better against Water-types than its non-Charmander competition) makes up for it, and makes Flareon an acceptable choice for a spot on your team.
Geodude - Mid Tier
Availability: Early! Comes after Mount Moon and is the first OU family you will meet. Evolves quickly, reaching Graveler (and immediately Golem by trade) at level 25.
Stats: 110 Attack is great, and its 130 Defense is absolutely monstrous! Unfortunately, its Special and Speed stats are equally awful.
Movepool: Geodude has a fantastic movepool, getting Rock Throw at level 16, which will tide you over until you get Rock Slide (still very early in the game in Celadon City!). They can make great use of the Dig TM, but Earthquake also comes quickly, Geodude picking it up at level 31 and Graveler/Golem getting it at level 36. They can also make use of the power normal TMs, Mega Punch, Body Slam, Strength, and Hyper Beam. While not great in-game, they also get Self-Destruct and Explosion.
Power: Edge-Quake coverage is awesome, being totally unresisted (though Norma/Ground is also unresisted), and getting excellent super effective coverage. 110 Attack makes these attacks very formidable.
Type: Rock / Ground is one of the best competitive types, but unfortunately it's set back a lot in-game. While it out-right manhandles all the Normal-, Flying-, Electric-, and Poison-type enemies, it's absolutely destroyed by the Grass-, Water-, and Ice-type attacks that become more and more prevalent as you proceed through the game.
Match-ups:
Misty: lol... Bubblebeam of death... fuck, even Water Gun kills you...
Lt. Surge: Geodude/Golem destroys Surge outright with Dig.
Erika: lol... you will be instantly killed.
Celadon Rockets: Golem basically man-handles all rockets and Giovanni.
Koga: Golem's Earthquake/Dig and resistances to Sludge and Explosion make it basically unstoppable here.
Saffron Rockets: Not much has changed since Celadon...
Sabrina: Special attacks... you will be instantly killed...
Blaine: Resist or no, Fire attacks hurt (since your Special is SO bad...), but you still have the advantage. Basically, a Water-type clears this gym better.
Giovanni: Most of his Pokemon are weak to Ground. However, you're slow, and Earthquakes from the opposing side (especially in Yellow) will hurt bad. Basically, a Water- or Psychic-type clears this gym better.
Lorelei: hahahaha... once more, Golem will die instantly.
Bruno: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Machamp all hit you for super effective damage. In Yellow, the Onyx's can also hurt you with Dig / Earthquake. While you're Defense is massive and Hitmonchan's Special is pathetic (meaning Golem can fight here), you're just so much better off using a Water- or Psychic-type.
Agatha: You definitely have the advantage of typing, but the difference in Speed... be prepared for a long bout of annoyance by Confusion, Sleep, Paralysis and Poison if you try to defeat her with Golem. In Yellow, the first Gengar has Mega Drain (instant death) and the second has Psychic (close to instant death). Again, you'd be better off with a speedy Psychic user like Alakazam, Starmie, or your own Gengar.
Lance: In RB, Golem can trounce everything besides Hydro Pump Gyarados. In Yellow, basically everything trounces Golem except the 1st Dragonair and Aerodactyle.
Rival: Geh... Golem beats Pidgeot, Rhydon, Fire-types, Electric-types, and Exeggcutor (who only has Stomp and Barrage for some reason). Everything else kicks your ass.
Additional Comments: In competitive RBY, Rock/Ground is essential, with Rhydon or Golem being on every team, and Rhyhorn appears horribly late in-game, making Golem your only real choice. However, while their ability to flat-out wall Zapdos and other opponents on the competitive scene is useful, Golem's horribly slow Speed and awful Special handicaps it against a good portion of opponents in-game, starting with Misty and Erika and becoming increasingly bad as more Water- and Ice-type users appear later. It's low Special means it's outright destroyed by Psychic-type users as well. Golem has great stats, moves, and completely destroys many opponents, but there are so many that also destroy it. Early game, it's no better than the Nidos (who appear early, are immune to Poison status and are useful throughout the game), and late game, it's outclassed by Water/Psychic types, who destroy the enemy Ground / Rock / Fire / Poison types more easily. If you real hate enemy Self Destruct / Explosion users though, it's a solid choice.
-Goldeen - Mid Tier
-Availability: This can be obtained as soon as you get the Super Rod. RB players should head over to Route 23 and fish up a level 23 Seaking. This is slightly underleveled but it’s not unsalvageable. Yellow players can catch a level 30 Seaking north of Cerulean City, which requires no grinding at all. If preferred, Yellow players can also wait until they get Surf, which allows them to Surf to the Cerulean City water and fish up a Level 40 Seaking. Given that Water types really take off towards the end of the game, this is a viable choice too.
-Stats: With 92 Attack and 80 Special, Seaking has the stats to hit reasonably hard from both sides of the spectrum. 68 Speed is a bit on the low side but it’s just enough to ensure that you are only outsped by the fastest opponents (e.g. Alakazam). Seaking has decent special bulk, although its physical bulk isn’t that great. This is not a serious issue against regular trainers though.
-Movepool: Seaking’s main problem is that it has no good physical moves to use with its good Attack. It has to turn to Double-Edge or Horn Attack to deal with opposing Waters, although Horn Drill can be used to deal with them. Seaking gets BubbleBeam/Surf and Ice moves and this is what it will be using most of the time. Seaking has enough Special to make good use of them too.
-Power: Seaking’s power is adequate when using Surf and Ice moves, and its Normal moves will allow it to beat most Water types one-on-one, if a bit slowly. Seaking is far from spectacular but as a Water type it gets the job done.
-Type: Water proves to be very useful throughout the game, but is particularly great late-game thanks to good match-ups. Water covers a lot of the late-game Pokémon and with Ice moves for coverage it should be a helpful tool to get you through the end of the game. Water’s defensive weaknesses are usually a non-issue. Ice moves hit Grass types and Electric moves are rare and predictable for the most part.
-Match-ups: Koga – Nothing to say here really. STAB Surf hits his specially frail Pokémon fairly well in RB, although a sweep is difficult. In Yellow, don’t expect a sweep either and just be content with taking down a Venonat or two.
Sabrina – Like many Water types, Seaking isn’t that useful here. The large Special stats of her Pokémon soak up Surf fairly easily and Seaking is too slow to try sweeping with its Normal moves.
Blaine – An excellent match-up. STAB Surf hits his Pokémon hard. Be careful around Arcanine’s Take Down though, as it hits you on your weaker side.
Giovanni – Another good match-up. Surf covers everything bar Persian, who you may be better off leaving to someone else (you can beat it but it will leave you with a bit a damage). Yellow is a tougher battle because of the better move sets you are facing (e.g. Thunder from Nidoqueen and Nidoking).
Lorelei – Seaking is fairly worthless here. Double-Edge and Horn Attack aren’t going to be enough to sweep, and you may have to resort to Horn Drill if you really must use Seaking. You are always better off using something else though.
Bruno – Onix dies fairly easily, and Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee have poor Specials and lose quickly to Surf. However, be prepared for Hitmonlee and Machamp hitting you with powerful physical attacks.
Agatha – Golbat is weak to Ice, and Arbok isn’t that powerful. Leave the ghosts to something else. They’ll just outspeed and status you (one of the Gengar even has Mega Drain), and you can’t do much back
Lance – With Surf and an Ice move, you cover everything except Gyarados, who should be dealt with by other means. Be careful around Dragonite especially; if it outspeeds you then you may eat a Thunder.
Blue – With Surf and Ice Beam/Blizzard, you can hit Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard and Arcanine in RB, and Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales, and Flareon in Yellow.
-Additional Comments: Goldeen is an outclassed fish and it has little merit over many of the other Water types in the game. However, it can still get the job done adequately if you are willing to give it a try. It brings the usual benefits of Water types to the team, isn’t too taxing on your TM stash, and is fairly easy to obtain. Overall, Seaking is a fine choice, although there is little reason to use it over its competition unless you think it looks cool or something.
Horsea - Mid Tier
-Availability: Mid-game with the Super Rod just below Fuchsia. It only comes at level 15. In Yellow it comes at higher levels at other places, and even as a Seadra, it just means slightly less grinding.
-Stats: Horsea has all-round good stats, and a decent Special and Defense meaning it can take the odd hit or two. Speed is average, so it will not be outspeeding everything, but some things.
-Movepool: Horsea's entire usable movepool consists of Surf, Ice Beam, Blizzard and Hydro Pump. You get Horsea at Fuchsia so Surf is a standard. Ice Beam is important for coverage and is obtainable at Celadon so it's not too far away.
-Power: Horsea is quite strong because it can hit a lot of types with Super Effective moves with its Ice/Water coverage. Once it gets rolling, Horsea can OHKO many different pokemon comfortably.
-Type: Water types have 2 weaknesses, Grass and Electric, neither of which are common. Resisting Fire, Ice and Water is quite useful, especially since many of the end-game trainers have those types on-hand.
-Match-ups:
Erika: It's unlikely you have Horsea at this point, but it's possible. Still, Horsea does not belong in this gym battle, unless it's a decent level and has Ice Beam. Ice Beam sweeps, but Vileplume is bulky enough to take a few and hit back with Petal Dance. Horsea will not like status.
Koga: Sweeps fairly easily, but if you fail to KO a Pokemon, be prepared to be frustrated by Smokescreen/Minimize a little more. May take more than one hit to KO Weezing, depending on your level. Watch out for Self-Destruct.
Sabrina: Seadra can do well here, provided you can outspeed, but it all depends as even with STAB Surf, you fail to OHKO the likes of Kadabra and Mr Mime. In addition, it's almost impossible to beat Alakazam even at a higher level, his Special is too high and Psybeam does too much damage. You could try using moves like Double-Edge and Body Slam for this battle, but it won't necessarily be worth wasting a TM on Seadra for this one battle, especially since her Attack stat isn't spectacular.
Blaine: Surf sweeps Blaine even if you are underleveled. Seadra also won't be taking a lot of damage from anything Blaine can do, so even if you fail to OHKO Arcanine, you can be sure that he won't hit you very hard back. In Yellow, Ninetails may try to give you problems as it can take a couple of Surfs with it's high Special, but it will not be hitting you hard back.
Giovanni: Surf will ensure that Horsea will OHKO every Pokemon on his team, due to their cumulative weaknesses and terrible Special stats.. Also viable moves Seadra can use in this battle to score OHKOs include Hydro Pump, Blizzard, Ice Beam, Bubblebeam and Water Gun. Even though Persian is neutral to Water-type moves, he will still be at Seadra's mercy here.
Lorelei: This is a bad match-up here, because all her Pokemon resist Water and Ice (barring Jynx from the former). You resist it too, but there's nothing of value gained here, save your PP for later.
Bruno: Clean sweep to say the least, Surf should take out pretty much anything on his team. There's not much his Pokemon can respond with in return, even Thunderpunch off Hitmonchan will be pathetic at best.
Agatha: Agatha isn't as easy as she looks. Gengar and Haunter can take a few Surfs to take down and can whittle you away with Confuse Ray and Night Shade. It really comes down to your level versus theirs, but you won't be hitting them efficiently. Golbat is easy enough, going down to Ice Beam, but beware paralysis from Arbok's Glare.
Lance: Water types always do well against Lance, and this is no exception. Surf nails Aerodactyl, while Ice Beam takes out Dragonair and Dragonite. Gyarados is neutral to all of your attacks, and while it is better to let an Electric-type handle it, it just means Seadra will be weakened.
Rival: Your rival will be difficult under any circumstance, certain pokemon can be beaten much easier than others. Rhydon, Charizard and Arcanine fall to Surf, Pidgeot, Venasaur and Exeggutor lose to Ice Beam. And it is likely you will lose out to the likes of Alakazam and Jolteon, while Gyarados and Blastoise will hit you hard with their powerful normal moves. It's worse for Seadra in Yellow as now Gary has an Electric-type Pokemon which Seadra will have trouble getting past.
Additional comments: While Horsea does have some good points, overall you will find yourself wishing you had chosen Staryu instead, as Staryu's superior stats, improved movepool and superior typing make it much easier to use. Being outclassed doesn't mean Horsea isn't great though, as it holds its own quite well throughout the game and you get it around the time you get Surf which is a huge plus. Overall a decent Pokemon, shame she can barely touch other Water types.
-Kabuto - Mid Tier
-Availability: It is obtained from the Dome Fossil. You can obtain it as soon as you get Surf. It comes at level 30 and starts off a bit slowly. However, Kabuto catches up quickly thanks to being able to grind easily at the Pokémon Mansion. It evolves at level 40, which doesn’t actually take that long from the level that you obtain it.
-Stats: Although Kabuto isn’t particularly powerful stat wise, Kabutops has good stats overall. 115 Attack is nothing to scoff at. 70 Special is not that bad for the purposes of Surf, 80 Speed is fast enough for in-game, and it also has decent 60/105/80 defences.
-Movepool: It has a small movepool but it gets everything it needs without any TM support. Slash is awesome from 115 Attack, and Surf from 70 Special is an acceptable secondary attack. It also gets Submission, Ice Beam and Blizzard but it does not need any of these to be successful. The main downside is its lack of physical STAB, but Slash is a good alternative.
-Power: Kabuto is mediocre but you don’t have to put up with it for long. When it evolves, Kabutops becomes a great sweeper. Slash can make short work of many teams thanks to its high Attack and decent Speed. Surf deals with the Rock types that resist it.
-Type: STAB on Water is not a bad thing to have in this game, especially because it deals with all of the Slash-resisting Rock types. From a defensive standpoint, Rock/Water has some interesting resistances. Normal resistance is so useful, especially because many things in the game are limited to STAB + Normal coverage. Kabutops flat-out walls some Pokémon, especially Fire and Flying types. Of course, Rock/Water has some annoying weaknesses too (especially Grass), so you need to be careful when these types pop up in important battles (using something else is safer but Kabutops can still win on power alone).
-Match-ups: Sabrina – Slash is brutal against her. At this point you should be able to out-speed and sweep her entire team.
Blaine – You can’t possibly lose here unless you get extremely unlucky. You wall his whole team completely and you can hit them with Surf.
Giovanni – You can sweep with Surf (Slash is fine for Persian), but look out for Thunder and Earthquake in Yellow.
Lorelei – Aside from Jynx, her team is rather bulky. Slash hits everything but a full sweep is asking a lot of Kabutops. Its lack of Rock Slide is really noticable here.
Bruno – Onix is beaten with Surf. You should probably stay away from Hitmonlee and Machamp (you can beat them but their Fighting attacks are brutal. Hitmonchan is too weak to be that much of an issue unless you get surprised by Counter!
Agatha – This is a bit tricky. You should beat Golbat and Arbok but the Ghosts are immune to Slash and can take Surf easily. One of them has Mega Drain. Stay away from the Ghosts.
Lance – You are good to go in RB because you wall Aerodactyl and all of the Dragons. Gyarados can leave a bit of a dent with Hydro Pump though. This is harder in Yellow where you have to deal with Thunderbolt and Thunder. Aerodactyl still can’t touch you and the Ice Beam/BubbleBeam Dragonair is beatable.
Blue – You actually do really well against Blue. You can take on Pidgeot, Alakazam (Slash destroys it), Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard, Arcanine, Ninetales and Flareon. The Water types are doable, as is Sandslash (Earthquake is powerful against it though).
-Additional Comments: This comes a bit late and starts off a bit weak, but Kabutops is a powerful team member with good stats and a small but precise movepool that has strong match-ups against many of the important trainers that it will likely face during its time on your team. You could do a lot worse.
Magikarp - Mid Tier
-Availability: You can buy it almost for free (500 Poke, to be precise) after the first time, but at level 5. It evolves at level 20.
-Stats: As a Magikarp, it's got nothing going for it, except for okay Speed. Once it evolves, all of its stats (minus Speed) grow from pathetic to great.
-Movepool: As a Magikarp, it starts out with the useless Splash, and can't properly defend itself until it grows to level 15 and learns Tackle. Once it's a Gyarados, however, it gets the more powerful Bite, and you can teach it BubbleBeam via TM11. BubbleBeam can later by upgraded to Surf or Hydro Pump, where as Bite can be upgraded to Body Slam or Strength. It can also learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam by TM, and Dragon Rage and Hyper Beam through level up.
-Power: For the first 15 levels, it won't be able to beat even a Caterpie 1-on-1. After it evolves, it can occasionally take on entire Routes by itself.
-Type: Water's great when you get it, but it can't use any Water-type moves when you get it. When it evolves, its weakness to Electric becomes more amplified, but it loses its weakness to Grass and gains an immunity to Ground. Its newfound weaknesses to Rock isn't too bad, because Rock-types are washed away by Water moves.
-Match-ups: Because of how pathetic it is as a Magikarp, all of the following are assuming it's a Gyarados.
--Misty: High Attack and resistance to Water mean that Misty's Pokemon are reliably beaten; however, it's quite unlikely that you'll have evolved Magikarp by the time you fight her.
--Lt. Surge: As Gyarados suffers a double weakness to Electric, Raichu's Thunderbolt will OHKO Gyarados.
--Erika: At this point of the game you can give Gyarados the Ice Beam TM, which allows it take out Grass Pokemon easily. Even without Ice Beam, Bite is powerful enough to take out her Pokemon besides Tangela. Tangela shouldn't be a problem in RB due to being underleveled and its poor moveset, but can be troublesome for non-Ice Beam Gyarados in Yellow version.
--Koga: Surf hits his Pokemon's weaker Special, often KOing in 2 hits.
--Sabrina: Bite/Body Slam/other Normal attack squishes her fragile Psychic-types.
--Blaine: Gyarados resists Fire, and his STAB Water moves make short work of Blaine.
--Giovanni: Gyarados is immune to Ground, and Surf hits his entire team for Super Effective damage except for Persian. Keep in mind in Pokemon Yellow, his Nidoqueen and Nidoking know Thunder.
--Lorelei: If Gyarados was give the Thunderbolt TM he can do serious damage to her Pokemon, but without it he will struggle due to Lorelei's Pokemon having good Physical Bulk and a resistance to Water.
--Bruno: His 2 Onix are turned to rubble by (insert Water-type attack here), and Hi Jump Kick/Submission is resisted by Gyarados's Flying secondary typing.
--Agatha: Golbat and Arbok are easily beaten, but her Ghosts are immune to Gyarados's Physical Moves and have the bulk to take Surf. Don't use it against her unless you like seeing your sea serpent get statused.
--Lance: Aerodactyl is weak to Water, but his other Pokemon all resist it. If Gyarados was taught Thunderbolt he can take out Lance's Gyarados and if Gyarados was taught Ice Beam/Blizzard, it can take out Lance's Dragons. In Yellow, keep in mind that one of his Dragonair and Dragonite know Thunderbolt and Thunder, respectively.
-Additional Comments: As shown above, Gyarados is awesome, but if you want to use it, you'll have to bear with the completely useless Magikarp for 15 long levels, due to its experience curve (Slow). Another problem is that Gyarados is TM dependent as it a lot of its sweeping potential relies on BoltBeam coverage. Once it evolves and has the right coverage, however, it becomes incredibly powerful and self-sufficient.
-Magnemite - Mid Tier
-Availability: In RB, you can find it in the Power Plant. Wild Magnemite are at a rather low level, but Magneton can be caught at a higher level and require less catch-up time. In Yellow it is obtained sooner just outside the entrance to Rock Tunnel. It will require a bit of grinding but not so much as to completely slow down your playthrough.
-Stats: Magnemite evolves quite quickly into Magneton, who has an impressive 120 Special and is fairly bulky overall. It isn’t the fastest Pokémon around but as long as you are at a good level you will be going first most of the time.
-Movepool: Magneton has a terrible level-up movepool. In fact, you absolutely NEED to give this Thunderbolt for it to be worthwhile. If not, you’ll be using Thundershock for a while until you get the unreliable Thunder. Thankfully, Thunderbolt covers a lot of Pokémon by itself.
-Power: Magneton’s Thunderbolt allows it to OHKO almost anything that doesn’t resist it. Magneton will power through many trainers with ease. However, due to mono-Electric coverage it struggles against Ground types (particularly Rock/Ground types), Grass types and opposing Electric types (the latter 2 groups can survive Thunderbolt and hit back with paralysis).
-Type: Electric gives plenty of coverage, and is particularly powerful against the Water types that appear late game, although the things that resist it appear frequently throughout the game too, lowering its power a bit. Electric isn’t particularly useful defensively. Flying resistance is unnecessary because all the birds are OHKOed, and Electric resistance isn’t helpful because opposing Electric types resist your main attack anyway.
-Match-ups: Erika – You don’t do well here. Her Pokémon take Thunderbolt and hit back with whatever they want.
Koga – RB Koga is a joke. Thunderbolt is strong enough to sweep him. In Yellow, Magneton really benefits from having a high Special, which allows it to take Psychic.
Sabrina – This is basically a battle of the Special stats. If you can paralyse with Thunder Wave or something then this will make this battle a bit easier.
Blaine – No type advantage, but you can win if you have a sufficient level. This is notably easier in RB due to the worse team he has there.
Giovanni – You are quite hopeless here. In Yellow you can at least beat Persian, but everything else walls you (although in RB Rhydon is the only thing with a Ground move so I guess that’s something... or not).
Lorelei – Thunderbolt eats most of her team alive. It is evenly matched with Jynx but watch out for Lovely Kiss in Yellow.
Bruno – You should beat his fighting types, but you should use something else for Onix.
Agatha – Golbat and Arbok should not be a problem to beat. Gengar and Haunter may outspeed and try to confuse and sleep you though.
Lance – You beat Gyarados and Aerodactyl. Dragonair resist Thunderbolt though you may be able to beat them just because they suck so much. Dragonite is beatable unless you have been weakened.
Blue – You beat Pidgeot, Gyarados, Charizard, Blastoise, Cloyster and Vaporeon, and you should be able to take on Alakazam, Arcanine and Ninetales too.
-Additional Comments: Magneton packs incredible power. However, it is severely let down by its necessity for Thunderbolt. If you have it reserved for something else then Magneton is less useful. It also requires support to get around anything that resists Thunderbolt, lowering its killing potential. If you can get around these issues then it is a good choice that will contribute to beating the game efficiently.
Mankey (unavailable in Blue) - Mid Tier
-Availability: In Yellow, you can find it as early as Route 22, while in Red, you'll have to wait until Route 5, where it can be found at levels 10, 12, 14, and 16. It evolves at level 28, which is rather late for a Pokemon that only evolves once.
-Stats: Standard combination of good Speed and Attack, even though it's somewhat lacking for the latter. Admittedly, its Speed could be considered overkill, considering the fact that Karate Chop, its main move, crits all of the time.
-Movepool: In terms of level-up moves, it doesn't really gain much of note outside of Low Kick (Yellow only) and Karate Chop. For TMs, it greatly appreciates Dig to hit Poison-types. It's also one of the few Pokemon that can learn and make good use of Rock Slide. Believe it or not, Submission, its best STAB, is actually not as good as you might think, because despite the fact that it nabs several KOes Karate Chop can't, its 80% accuracy combined with its 1/3 recoil.
-Power: Mankey's between a rock and a hard place here, as unless it's using Submission (which makes its frailty even more noticable), its neutral hits just barely miss out on OHKOing its opponents, even after evolving. This holds true for the entire game.
-Type: Fighting is resisted by the majority of Pokemon in the game, and the lack of a secondary type doesn't exactly help it in that regard.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: He is swept, thanks to Low Kick.
--Misty: Mankey's just too frail to stand up to Starmie.
--Lt. Surge: Victory or loss agaist Lt. Surge in Red depends on whether you taught Mankey Dig or not. However, in Yellow, Raichu outspeeds Mankey and OHKOes it.
--Erika: Primeape can beat either Vileplume or Victreebel, but not both. It beats Tangela no matter what.
--Koga: In Red, all of his Pokemon are able to stomach a Dig and strike back with Sludge or Selfdestruct, and in Yellow, his entire team knows Psychic.
--Sabrina: Primeape's fast enough to get the first swing in, but can't OHKO any of her Pokemon. It then gets OHKOed with Psybeam or Psychic. At least it can beat Mr. Mime and Venomoth.
--Blaine: Fire Blast and Take Down both hurt, but if Primeape knows Dig (which it should if you're using it), it can beat all of his Pokemon, save for Arcanine.
--Giovanni: All of his Pokemon (except for Persian) can withstand a Submission and strike back with Earthquake/Thunder/Body Slam.
--Lorelei: Dewgong will spam Rest even if it's at full health because it's a Psychic-type move, allowing Primeape to beat it easily. The same applies for Slowbro and Amnesia, but it's easily more durable, taking as much damage from Karate Chop as a Super Potion heals, leading to a stalemate. It can also beat Jynx and Cloyster, but has trouble with Lapras.
--Bruno: This is an uncommon scenario: one where Hitmonchan is actually threatening. The reason? Counter. If you use any attacking move not called Rock Slide or Dig on Hitmonchan, it can Counter it and most likely KO Primeape. Hitmonlee's and Machamp's attacks also hurt.
--Agatha: This battle is a lost cause if Primeape doesn't know Dig, but with Dig, she is swept, save for Golbat, who can be crushed by Rock Slide.
--Lance: In Red, his Dragonair and Dragonite know non-damaging Psychic-type attacks, allowing Primeape to beat them without taking any damage. In Yellow, however, Lance's entire team becomes much more threatening, and Primeape can only beat the Dragonair.
--Rival: Alakazam and the starter always win against Primeape, while the rest of his team has varying levels of easiness (Gyarados = no dice, Pidgeot, Ninetales, Cloyster, and Sandslash are risky but doable, Rhydon and Exeggutor don't stand much of a chance).
-Additional Comments: Mankey is a poor man's Sandshrew, seeing as how it's weaker, frailer, and evolves later. Despite this, Mankey is definitely usable and has potential to be good, albeit at the price of Dig and possibly Rock Slide.
-Meowth (Blue only) - Mid Tier
-Availability: The Scratch Cat Pokemon can be seen in the routes bordering Saffron City, the earliest of which being Routes 5 and 6. Out of all the Pokemon in those routes, approximately one fourth of them are Meowth, their levels ranging from 10 to 16. Meowth tend to evolve when they reach level 28.
-Stats: When looking at Meowth's stats, its Speed is far above the rest, being double any of its other stats, which are in the range of usability offensively, but leaves something to be desired defensively. Its evolution, Persian, follows this trend with all of its stats being noticeably higher than Meowth's, but keeping the theme of blazing speed and its other stats being average.
-Movepool: All Meowth level 12 or higher have Bite, a move with solid base power and the potential to flinch its target, in their arsenal. Meowth are also known for using Pay Day, a move which has the same power as Scratch but has the added effect of getting extra money at the end of battles. However, the sheer amount of trainers in the game means that you won't need it and will find it more of a hindrance than anything else. While Persian does eventually learn Slash, it won't do so until level 53, by which time you should have beaten the game.
Being a Normal-type, Meowth and Persian have a usable TM movepool, though not as impressive as some of its fellow Normal-types. It has access to Bubblebeam and Thunderbolt, the former being useful against the Ground-types in Rock Tunnel and the latter being helpful for the Bird Keepers and Swimmers that become quite common after Pokemon Tower (as well as being ironic). However, both of those TMs are exclusive, so if you're also using (or plan to use) an Electric-type or a (non-Seafoam Islands) Water-type in addition to Meowth, the Scratch Cat most likely won't be able to use either of those moves. Meowth can also learn Water Gun, but it is not recommended as it fails to OHKO anything that's even 4x weak to it. As with several Pokemon, Meowth can be taught Body Slam, but the fact that it has Bite in its arsenal when you get it means Meowth benefits less from it than a teammate such as Ivysaur would.
-Power: Bite allows Meowth to be a reliable, albeit frail, attacker once it catches up, and it's not defenseless before it catches up. Its previously mentioned frailty can be a problem, though. It can't do much in Pokemon Tower, for obvious reasons, but it does quite well in Routes 13 and 14 as well as the water Routes if it is taught Thunderbolt. Overall, Persian doesn't usually disappoint, but at the same time its performance doesn't regularly blow people away.
-Type: Having a Normal typing can be useful in the early-game, as most Pokemon typically have only Normal-type damaging moves in their arsenal at that point in the game. However, Meowth comes a bit late to the party, because by that point in the game the Bubblebeam and Dig TMs are available, and Pokemon who learn STAB my means of leveling up starts to learn those moves at the point Meowth becomes available. After that, Normal STAB becomes less and less useful due to it having absolutely no super effective coverage, despite having impressive neutral coverage. This is where secondary typings would come in handy, but Persian doesn't have one, hampering its potential usefulness.
-Match-ups:
--Lt. Surge: Due to Meowth's frailty, the chance of it taking more than one Thunderbolt is almost null.
--Erika: Persian can beat Victreebel one-on-one, but don't expect it to beat Vileplume afterward.
--Koga: Thanks to Koffing and Weezing being quite sturdy physically, it should come as no surprise that Persian has trouble against Koga if it doesn't have Thunderbolt.
--Sabrina: Persian can take her Alakazam on by itself and come on top in most cases. It also does well against her other Pokemon, but don't expect it to beat her by itself.
--Blaine: Unlike Persian, Blaine's Arcanine has usable bulk and a very threatening (to those who don't resist it, that is) STAB, proving that dogs normally defeat cats in one-on-one fights. Thankfully for Persian, it's faster than Rapidash, meaning that it has less to worry from Fire Spin than a Pokemon like Nidoqueen would.
--Giovanni: There's no way Persian's getting past his Rhydon without Bubblebeam. Dugtrio can be defeated, but it'll take a large chunk of Persian's health in the process, and the Nidos do similarly.
--Lorelei: Without Thunderbolt, Persian can beat Dewgong and Jynx, but nothing else, mainly due to the rest of her team having impressive physical bulk. If Thunderbolt is taken into account, Cloyster can be added to the above list.
--Bruno: Onix can take any of Persian's moves not called Bubblebeam, Hitmonchan can Counter any Normal-type assault from Persian back at it, and Bruno's other Pokemon know Fighting-type moves.
--Agatha: Persian can't do much of anything to her Ghost-types, the most threatening members of her team, but Golbat and Arbok are manageable. Just keep in mind Arbok can Wrap Persian into oblivion if Persian gets paralyzed.
--Lance: Persian might be able to take Gyarados's Hyper Beam or Hydro Pump and fry it with 2 consecutive Thunderbolts (if it has the move), but that's the best Persian can do for this fight.
--Rival: Unlike Sabrina's, the Champion's Alakazam beats Persian more often than the other way around, thanks to its level advantage as well as it actually knowing Psychic. The Champion's Gyarados, just like Lance's, is beaten provided Persian knows Thunderbolt. Everything else on his team that Persian can take down can also be defeated by a number of other Pokemon.
-Additional Comments: Meowth can fend for itself shortly after being caught, but the problem with it (and its evolution) is that outside of its Speed, none of its stats are impressive, despite none of them being truly bad, with the possible exception of Defense (which is a bit mediocre). This causes it to have a consistently average performance. Its movepool can be another problem, as its level-up movepool outside of an early Bite and a too-late Slash is quite scarce. This causes Meowth to be a bit high-maintenance at times, but not necessarily useless if left to its own devices.
--Koga: Thanks to Koffing and Weezing being quite sturdy physically, it should come as no surprise that Persian has trouble against Koga if it doesn't have Thunderbolt.
--Sabrina: Persian can take her Alakazam on by itself and come on top in most cases. It also does well against her other Pokemon, but don't expect it to beat her by itself.
--Blaine: Unlike Persian, Blaine's Arcanine has usable bulk and a very threatening (to those who don't resist it, that is) STAB, proving that dogs normally defeat cats in one-on-one fights. Thankfully for Persian, it's faster than Rapidash, meaning that it has less to worry from Fire Spin than a Pokemon like Nidoqueen would.
--Giovanni: There's no way Persian's getting past his Rhydon without Bubblebeam. Dugtrio can be defeated, but it'll take a large chunk of Persian's health in the process, and the Nidos do similarly.
--Lorelei: Without Thunderbolt, Persian can beat Dewgong and Jynx, but nothing else, mainly due to the rest of her team having impressive physical bulk. If Thunderbolt is taken into account, Cloyster can be added to the above list.
--Bruno: Onix can take any of Persian's moves not called Bubblebeam, Hitmonchan can Counter any Normal-type assault from Persian back at it, and Bruno's other Pokemon know Fighting-type moves.
--Agatha: Persian can't do much of anything to her Ghost-types, the most threatening members of her team, but Golbat and Arbok are manageable. Just keep in mind Arbok can Wrap Persian into oblivion if Persian gets paralyzed.
--Lance: Persian might be able to take Gyarados's Hyper Beam or Hydro Pump and fry it with 2 consecutive Thunderbolts (if it has the move), but that's the best Persian can do for this fight.
--Rival: Unlike Sabrina's, the Champion's Alakazam beats Persian more often than the other way around, thanks to its level advantage as well as it actually knowing Psychic. The Champion's Gyarados, just like Lance's, is beaten provided Persian knows Thunderbolt. Everything else on his team that Persian can take down can also be defeated by a number of other Pokemon.
-Additional Comments: Meowth can fend for itself shortly after being caught, but the problem with it (and its evolution) is that outside of its Speed, none of its stats are impressive, despite none of them being truly bad, with the possible exception of Defense (which is a bit mediocre). This causes it to have a consistently average performance. Its movepool can be another problem, as its level-up movepool outside of an early Bite and a too-late Slash is quite scarce. This causes Meowth to be a bit high-maintenance at times, but not necessarily useless if left to its own devices.
Oddish - Mid Tier
-Availability: Red and Yellow only. Available north of Cerulean (Route 24) and several others routes at L12-L14.
-Stats: The Oddish line is on the slow side (30-50 base), but most of the things it should be facing will be even slower. Everything else is about average (somewhere between 70 and 90 base).
-Movepool: Pretty much only learns Grass and Normal attacking moves. Absorb and Cut will have carry it for a pretty long time, which is rather bad when they don't get the job done. It does learn both Stun Spore and Sleep Powder extremely early, which are more useful than powerhouse attacks when capturing or fighting a really difficult enemy. Mega Drain TM can boost its power a little, but the only way to get some real power is to wait until L38 to evolve your Gloom and get Petal Dance. You can cleverly use the Shift mode to get around its side effect, but you really shouldn't be waiting that long to evolve Gloom.
-Power: Oddish isn't inherently powerful, but it does get the job done just fine when facing things weak or neutral to it. It's not going to steamroll through stronger opponents though unless it has a type advantage, and might have to rely on Sleep Powder to comfortably win a one on one, which is not good.
-Type: Grass is bad offensively for about half the game, good for a third, and okay versus the rest. It beats anything Hikers and Swimmers throw at it, but a lot of other generic enemies (such as Bird Keepers) make it seem mediocre.
-Match-ups: Oddish is really good against Misty's, which is the first gym you face after catching it, resisting Bubblebeam and Lt Surge's Thunderbolt and using Absorb to get health back. After that, its performance takes a dip as it can barely hurt Team Rocket, Gastly/Haunter, Erika, Sabrina, Koga or Blaine. The only things it really beats in Elite Four are non-threatening things that anything can beat (Onix and Rhydon).
-Pikachu (RB) - Mid Tier
-Availability: It can be caught as early as Viridian Forest, although it is at a low level and will require grinding to catch-up. It evolves with the Thunderstone, which you can obtain at Celadon City. Feel free to do so as soon as possible because Pikachu doesn’t have anything to wait for.
-Stats: Speed is its main claim to fame. Before it evolves its stats are otherwise poor overall, but Raichu has 90 Attack and Special. This gives it good power from both ends and allows it to take special attacks well. It still has poor physical tanking abilities though.
-Movepool: ThunderShock from the start is useful for the early game birds, and Thunder Wave is always useful, but otherwise Pikachu’s level-up movepool is nothing special. From TMs, Pikachu gets the powerful Thunderbolt, as well as Body Slam/Mega Punch and the unnecessary Submission. It can achieve nice coverage but requires TMs to do so.
-Power: Pikachu’s power is adequate for the time you have it. It will start to lag a bit, but you’ll be able to evolve just in the nick of time, where Raichu will take over with its superior stats. Raichu’s power will not have your jaw dropping but it will certainly pull its weight.
-Type: Electric has good coverage, although it should be said that Grass and Ground types are common and Raichu isn’t really able to cover these with the rest of its movepool. Electric has few weaknesses but few resistances. There isn’t really much else to say otherwise.
-Match-ups: Brock – You suck here. The best you can do is support with Growl, but otherwise you are useless.
Misty – Despite the type advantage you don’t get a free ride here simply because Starmie is so strong. You can do ok here though. Starmie can be beaten if Misty is stupid (which she often is) and of course Staryu loses to you.
Lt. Surge – Mirror match! You can actually do ok because his Pokémon don’t really have any powerful moves that you don’t resist, especially if you gave it Body Slam.
Erika – You should be fully evolved by now but it isn’t a good idea to use Raichu here. Body Slam isn’t enough to stop you from getting statused.
Koga – Thunderbolt is potent against his Pokémon but Raichu won’t enjoy the physical assaults coming back at it. Koffing is a joke though so...
Sabrina – If you have Body Slam and are at a good level then you can do well here. Thunder Wave is useful for paralysing Alakazam.
Blaine – Type-wise there isn’t much to say but Growlithe and Ponyta are rubbish. It can take on the others too.
Giovanni – This isn’t a good match-up, but at the same time Dugtrio is the only thing with a Ground move not called Fissure. With Body Slam you can at least take on Dugtrio (switch out of Dig), Nidoqueen and Nidoking. Let something else take on Rhyhorn and Rhydon.
Lorelei – This is a great match-up. Thunderbolt nails everything except Jynx, who will not enjoy Body Slam.
Bruno – Onix should be left to something else. The Hitmons and Machamp can be beat with Thunderbolt, but have a back-up just in case Machamp survives and kills you with a physical move.
Agatha – This match-up is ok. Golbat and Arbok should be beaten just fine. Honestly the Ghosts can be beaten too, but as usual be ready for status.
Lance – Gyarados and Aerodactyl lose to you. Dragonite can also be beaten but Hyper Beam hurts quite a bit. The Dragonair resist Thunderbolt, although they are quite weak so you can beat them one-on-one with Body Slam.
Blue – Your main targets are Pidgeot, Gyarados, Charizard and Blastoise. Things like Arcanine, Alakazam and even Exeggutor can also be taken on if required. All in all, Raichu is reasonably useful in this battle.
-Additional Comments: Raichu can be described as ‘adequate’. It isn’t particularly outstanding in any way but it is a good Pokémon that is useful during many points of the game. Its biggest flaw is probably the way it eats up some useful TMs to be as good as it can be, but it is still an decent option.
-Pikachu (Yellow) - Mid Tier
-Availability: Pikachu is a starter Pokémon which is a good thing for obvious reasons. However, Pikachu’s biggest flaw is undoubtedly its inability to fully evolve, which means you have to use Pikachu for the whole game if you want to use it.
-Stats: Pikachu has the worst stats in the game for a ‘fully evolved’ Pokémon (which it basically is in Yellow). 90 Speed is good, allowing it to outspeed pretty much everything. However, 55 Attack and 50 Speed make it a weak attacker, and its abysmal 35 HP and 30 Defence mean that it can be KOed by a light breeze. Its stats are ok early on, but towards the end it will start to lag.
-Movepool: Pikachu actually gained a larger level-up movepool in Yellow, but most of it isn’t particularly useful. What Pikachu did gain that was useful is Thunderbolt at level 26. This makes it the only Pokémon with Thunderbolt from level-up, which is useful because it allows you to save the TM for something else. Aside from Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave (which really helps out against faster opponents like Misty's Starmie), Pikachu’s movepool isn’t that great. It can use Body Slam/Mega Punch and Submission, but other than that you’ll be using Thunderbolt most of the time.
-Power: Pikachu’s power probably peaks when it first learns Thunderbolt. Before then, it has to rely on that weaker Thundershock, which is fine for killing birds but will struggle to do a lot against anything else. Thunderbolt allows Pikachu to 2HKO most things that don’t resist it. However, as the game goes on you’ll find that Pikachu’s awful defences will start to rear its head, and it will only be useful for taking on things that are weak to Electric.
-Type: Electric is a good offensive type. The things that are weak to it are fairly common, although on the flip side the things that resist it appear frequently too. Regardless, STAB Electric coverage is quite useful. The problem with Electric from a defensive point of view is not so much that it has lots of weaknesses (it’s only weak to Ground) but that it lacks resistances, which the frail Pikachu is in desparate need for.
-Match-ups: Brock – This sucks because his Pokémon are immune to ThunderShock. It is actually possible for Pikachu to win with a combination of Double Team, Tail Whip and Quick Attack, but this is slow and requires a bit of overleveling to get Double Team at level 15.
Misty – You have the type advantage but it isn’t as easy as you might think. Starmie is a fast and powerful Pokémon that can beat with BubbleBeam. To beat it you kind of have to hope that Misty shoots herself in the foot by using Tackle, Harden and X Defend. Thankfully this actually isn’t too uncommon. At the very least, Pikachu can beat Staryu guaranteed and can at least wound Starmie for a partner to finish off.
Lt. Surge – If you are at a reasonable level and have given Pikachu Body Slam, then you can actually take him on. However, you still rely a bit on luck because Mega Punch and Mega Kick will hurt.
Erika – Don’t bother. They resist Thunderbolt and will shrug off anything else you can throw at them.
Koga – You can take the Venonats because they are just as weak as you are! Venomoth will beat you down though.
Sabrina – You get badly out-Specialed here. Abra is obviously beatable, but Alakazam is a bit much for it.
Blaine – Actually not that different from Sabrina. Ninetales can take Thunderbolt and hit back with Flamethrower, as can Arcanine. Rapidash is probably the best match-up, but overall Pikachu is just too frail to work without grinding for levels.
Giovanni – You would be foolish to try anything here, although Persian can be beaten.
Lorelei – You do ok here. Thunderbolt is super-effective on 4 of her Pokémon. However, your low stats make it difficult to beat everything here.
Bruno – Your best match-up is Hitmonchan because it is frail on the Special side and relies on pathetic elemental punches to do damage. Hitmonlee is just as frail but hits you hard, and Machamp is even worse. Stay away from Onix.
Agatha – Golbat is Thunderbolt bait. Arbok and Haunter are beatable too. Gengar is trickier since it can take your Thunderbolts and status you.
Lance – Gyarados is your main target, and Aerodactyl should be beatable too. However, Dragonair resists Thunderbolt and Dragonite is just too strong for you.
Blue – You really don’t have many targets. You’re stuck with Cloyster and Vaporeon, with potentially the Electric types, the Fire types and Alakazam also (you probably won’t be strong enough beat all of these at once though). If you have Body Slam then you might be able to expand your targets but you should really leave it to something else.
-Additional Comments: This is clearly the worst starter in RBY, and perhaps even one of the worst starters in the whole series. What saves it is Thunderbolt by level-up, which allows it to be useful against regular trainers for quite a while and early on it can perform just as well as most of the stuff that’s available at that point. Just make sure you have some stronger teammates at your side to bit those tougher match-ups.
-Poliwag - Mid Tier
-Availability: You can catch this as a Poliwag or a Poliwhirl with a rod. You need to beat Pokémon Tower to get the rods, so you can get it mid-game at the earliest. In RB its highest level is in the mid 20s, but in Yellow you can catch it as high as level 40 (you need 4 badges to reach the water on route 23 though). You can then evolve it straight away (or level it up for Body Slam)
-Stats: Poliwrath is basically a middleman. All of its stats are decent without being particularly outstanding. This allows it to be a solid Pokémon on the battlefield.
-Movepool: Poliwrath has a great movepool. It is notable that it has Body Slam in its movepool, which means it can learn Body Slam without using up the TM. It learns BubbleBeam/Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Psychic, Earthquake and Submission from TM/HM, allowing it to gain excellent coverage. It also has Amnesia if you don’t mind boosting.
-Power: Poliwrath just doesn’t have the stats to power through absolutely everything, but the awesome coverage allows it to be useful during many parts of the game. It will always contribute, though it won’t do anything amazing.
-Type: Water is a great STAB, and although Poliwrath’s Special isn’t as high as it could be, Surf should be sufficient to gain at least a 2HKO on most things. Its typing is unique, but to be honest the Fighting type hurts it more than it helps it, adding Psychic and Flying weaknesses in addition to the Electric and Grass ones.
-Match-ups: Koga – You should be fine in RB, especially if you gave it Psychic, but in Yellow you have a Psychic weakness to deal with.
Sabrina – You’re a Fighting type. This is a Psychic gym. It won’t end well.
Blaine – You do great here. Surf will deal with his Pokémon nicely.
Giovanni – Basically the same as Blaine, but you have to watch for Thunder from Nidoqueen and Nidoking. You should be able to take at least 1 though.
Lorelei – An even match. If you have Submission you can hit her Ice types harder than they can hit back. Watch for Psychic from Slowbro in Yellow.
Bruno – Onix dies to Surf and the Hitmons have horrible Specials. This should be easy.
Agatha – Being weak to Psychic isn’t helpful, particularly in Yellow (one of her Gengar has Psychic in Yellow). It’s more manageable in RB as long as you don’t stay asleep for too long. If you have Earthquake then it should be effective here, and Golbat is weak to Ice Beam.
Lance – Ice Beam is a huge help against the Dragons and Aerodactyl, though there are better choices are Gyarados. Yellow is harder thanks to Fly and Thunderbolt.
Blue – You can actually take on anything except Alakazam (and perhaps Venusaur) in RB, particularly Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Charizard and Arcanine. In Yellow, you should be fine against everything except Jolteon, Magneton and Alakazam.
-Additional Comments: It just doesn’t have enough power for high tier, and it suffers a bit in RB for availability, but regardless it is a decent choice that sets itself apart from other water types with its impressive movepool. It provides a Surfer that can also battle well, and it has great match-ups against important trainers towards the end of the game.
Ponyta - Mid Tier
-Availability: Level 32 on Cinnabar Island is a little late in the game, and it's fairly late evolution means it does lag behind a bit. In Yellow it's found on Cycling Road, making it usable against Koga.
-Stats: Rapidash is quick and has a very decent attack stat, making any physical move hurt. In addition, her stats are quite well rounded as well, Rapidash can best be compared to a Fire-type Tauros.
-Movepool: Very poor, as Rapidash only really gets Fire Spin and Ember via level up, and is actually incompatible with Flamethrower. On the physical side it's much better, as she can learn great moves like Hyper Beam and Body Slam allowing her to round out her coverage, but Rapidash really wishes for Dig or Earthquake.
-Power: Good Attack and a decent Special mean Rapidash can pack a punch on both sides of the spectrum. In addition, Rapidash has a high speed, often hitting first, hitting hard and scoring a good amount of critical hits. In addition, Ponyta's starting stats are the best overall
-Type: Being a Fire type means Rapidash gets the short end of the stick defensively, she doesn't resist common moves and doesn't hit much in the late game for super effective damage.
Match-ups:
Erika: You can have Ponyta at this point, but you would have gone quite out of your way to get her just for this battle. Ponyta sweeps outright here, no contest.
Koga: (Yellow Only) It is impossible to fight Koga in RB with Ponyta, as you need Surf to get it without a trade. In Yellow you can find Ponyta on the way, and she sweeps fairly comfortably, as Koga's Pokemon are all Bug types and you will be faster than all of them.
Sabrina: Ponyta is weird here, it's more likely Rapidash at this point though. Stomp pretty much eliminates Kadabra and Alakazam in 1 shot, Fire Spin is great for both Mr Mime and Venomoth as it traps them until Stomp/Take-Down/Body-Slam can OHKO them. In addition, Rapidash can take a couple of hits so it can afford to miss occasionally. Rapidash is one of the few Pokemon that can actually sweep Sabrina comfortably.
Blaine: Blaine is an idiot, and will spam super potions because he doesn't do anything else. Once he runs out, then he starts to attack, but don't worry, there is little he can do. Everything you can't KO with Hyper Beam/Body Slam/Stomp in 1 shot, you can Fire Spin until it is weak enough to be KO'd, although only Arcanine poses any sort of threat. In Yellow, you will now have to watch for Ninetails as well, but she's not a problem as she has very little she can hit you back with.
Giovanni: Rapidash is surprisingly good, despite not being able to learn a move that hits either Rhyhorn or Rhydon supereffectively. Fire Spin is able to trap any Pokemon that won't be KO'd by Fire Blast until they get into the range that it will. Even better, Body Slam will score some great KO's, and Hyper Beam will wreck Dugtrio, Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Just be wary of Dig from Dugtrio, as it will hurt.
Lorelei: The fact that 4 of her Pokemon are Water-type doesn't help Rapidash here. Rapidash's best strategy is to Fire Spin Pokemon into Body Slam range, but it's going to severely drain her PP. Use her for Jynx alone and don't even go near Slowbro.
Bruno: Not a bad match-up here, Onix has a terrible Special so Fire Blast should KO it quickly. The Fighting-types won't like taking Body Slams and Hyper Beams, so distribute those liberally. Overall, Rapidash can sweep quite well.
Agatha: Since Rapidash relies on it's Normal-type coverage to score KO's, and because her PP is limited, this is not a great match-up. You are far better off sticking with something else, preferably something with Psychic or Ground moves.
Lance: Not a bad match-up but not great either. Rapidash can continue to rely on it's Normal-Type attacks, and do some decent damage, just avoid Aerodactyl and Gyarados. In Yellow, watch out for Bubblebeam from Dragoinair too, it packs a punch.
Rival: Rapidash has decent typing here, even Rhydon's poor Special mean's he won't like taking a Fire Blast. The thing to note is that Gary will always have a Water type, and you should make sure you avoid using Rapidash there, unless you are going to try and weaken it with Hyper Beam. In Yellow you will come up against a variety of types, but just watch out for Vaporeon as she packs a punch.
Additional Comments: Like it was mentioned above, Rapidash is basically a poor man's Tauros. They both learn similar moves, have similar stats and both rely on their Normal-type moves for coverage. Rapidash is better used by smarter players, basically it's main strategy is to use Fire Spin to trap opponents until they are in KOing range. Hyper Beam is practically mandatory, while Stomp/Body Slam gives you a higher PP option. Fire Spin is useful far into the endgame and Fire Blast is necessary for a high-powered STAB attack. Overall, Rapidash finds many places to shine and can work wonders for your team, but it has definite trouble in some spots more than others.
Psyduck - Mid Tier
-Availability: Psyduck can be caught at Seafoam Islands or using Super Rods at certain Routes. Both Seaform Islands and Super Rod are only accessible around Koga, so mid-late game. In Yellow, he is found by Surfing Route 6.
-Stats: Golduck's stats can be described as "Jack of all Trades, Master of None." All his stats are good, but none of them particularly stand out.
-Movepool: Golduck's movepool is pretty much the same as most water types. It can get by on STAB Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard TM, and Strength for Physical Coverage. Golduck also learns Confusion via levelup, but Confusion has a low base power means that even a STAB Surf will do more damage than a Super Effective Confusion most of the time.
-Power: As a Psyduck, it doesn't hit hard at all. However, the ones at Seaform Island can be caught at level high enough that it will evolve into Golduck fast. Golduck is good at taking foes out.
-Type: Water. Water is a great type to get in the late-game, as it hits the final two gyms for Super Effective. Water is weak to Grass and Electric, but those moves are not common in the later parts of Red and Blue.
-Match-ups:
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon have powerful Special stats that wear fast. Golduck can stay in against Venomoth, but don't expect a sweep here.
--Blaine: Golduck resists Fire, and his STAB Surf hits Blaine's entire team for Super Effective damage.
--Giovanni: Giovanni's whole team is weak to Water, so Surf will take them out easily. In Yellow, this match will be tougher due to his Persian not being weak to Water, and his Nidoqueen/Nidoking having Thunder.
--Lorelei: With the exception of Jynx her whole team resists Water and is good at taking Physical Attacks/Ice moves. So don't use Golduck unless its a last resort.
--Bruno: Surf OHKO's both Onix, and easily deposes of his Fighting Pokemon due to their weak Special.
--Agatha: Golbat and Arbok are manageable, but her Ghosts have high Specials and can wear you down easily.
--Lance: Aerodactyl is weak to Water and the Dragons go down to Ice Moves. Gyarados can take Golduck's attacks and packs a powerful Hyper Beam, so have a teammate eliminate Gyarados before attempting a Golduck sweep. Keep in mind in Yellow version, one of his Dragonair's and his Dragonite have Thunderbolt and Thunder
--Rival: Golduck can beat Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor (with an Ice attack), and his Fire Pokemon (either Charizard or Arcanine). However Alakazam, Venusaur, and his Water types can be problematic for Golduck.
In Yellow, Golduck can beat Exeggutor, Sandslash, Ninetails, Vaporeon and Flareon. It loses to Jolteon, Magenton, Alakazam, and Cloyster.
-Additional Comments: As you can see, Golduck seems like a generic in-game Water type. What makes Golduck excel so well it comes at the right time and at the right moment. It comes at a time where Water becomes a highly relevant type, with the Fire and Ground bosses being at the late game. Overall, Golduck doesn't really anything that makes it stand out compared to other Water Pokemon, but it fulfills the niches of a Water Pokemon well.
-Rattata - Mid Tier
-Availability: Obtainable on the very first route in all versions and is exceedingly common and easy to catch. Will likely be one of the first two Pokemon you catch.
-Stats: Only Speed is above average, with the others ranging from average (Attack) to outright terrible (Special).
-Movepool: Get's all sorts of cool TMs but since they're almost all Special attacks they're pretty much useless. Hyper Fang is accessed at a very low level though and is very powerful at that point in the game. STAB Quick attack is very useful for picking off weakened foes. Gets STAB on Double-Edge if you want more power, but the recoil will hurt. Water Gun and Bubblebeam have some utility against Rock types, but are frequently better spent on other Pokemon since Raticate has piss poor special. But then again, what else are you going to teach Raticate? Raticate can make good use of Dig too, assuming you can spare it.
-Power: Rattata starts off strong, becomes a liability before evolving, get's strong again after evolving before slowly petering off. However, Raticate's decent Attack and High speed can actually prove surprisingly effective late game, making Raticate a good choice for quickly striking fast but frail threats such as Kadabra and Jynx.
-Type: It's a Normal-Type, what more is there to say? Complete lack of coverage outside of normal type moves bites.
-Match-ups:
Brock- Will be out-damaged even if you try Tail Whip shenanigans.
Misty- Can handle Staryu fine but Starmie creams just about everything at that level unless it has a resistance and Rattata is no exception.
Lt. Surge - His weaker Pokemon are actually beaten fairly handily, but Raichu will eat Raticate for breakfast. Give him Dig and it's another story though.
Erika - Raticate's low special means he'll probably get his ass handed to him, especially if he gets paralyzed.
Sabrina - Surprisingly actually one of the best options for her, able to move faster and hit hard enough to KO her weaker Pokemon. Can't take a hit from them though, so if it doesn't OHKO it'll probably go down.
Koga - His Pokemon are just too bulky and Raticate is just too frail. Even with Dig something else is probably a better option, though with it Raticate will do in a pinch
Blaine - Fares very well if you give it Dig, but less well if you don't have it. Will take lots of damage from Fire Blast, beware.
Giovanni - Might stand a chance against Dugtrio and Persian, but the others have too much bulk for Raticate to beat reliably. Again, having Dig gives Raticate a much bigger chance against them.
Lorelei - Might handle Jynx, but low Special and the bulk of her Pokemon means he won't last long.
Bruno - Oh god no. Don't even think of it. I suppose you could Bubblebeam his Onix?
Agatha - Well Arbok and Golbat shouldn't be too rough. Raticate can't really scratch her ghost types without Dig, but with it might actually be a good choice.
Lance - Same issue as Lorelei, too much bulk on their side and not enough on Raticate's.
Blue - Might be able to beat Pidgeot and MAYBE Alakazam, but the rest are all risky propositions due to their bulk and power. Again, Dig will give it more usefulness against some such as Jolteon and Arcanine, but remember Raticate likely won't survive the counter-attack.
Slowpoke - Mid Tier
-Availability: Slowpoke can be caught in Seafoam Islands, and its levels vary from 28 to 33, but keep in mind that if you're playing Blue, it'll only appear on the ground floor, and at level 28, and it's notably harder to find (5% encounter as opposed to 15%). However, if you're lucky/patient enough, you might encounter a level 37 or 39 Slowbro, which is mostly caught up to the rest of your team. Slowbro also appear in Blue and Yellow, but it's a 1% (as opposed to 4% in Red) encounter in both games and Slowbro will only be level 31 in Yellow.
-Stats: If there's anything Slowpoke's known for, that would be its pathetic Speed that that causes it to be outsped by almost everything. When it evolves, its Speed improves to "half the game outspeeding you" as opposed to "almost all of the game outspeeding you". Its Defense also becomes quite respectable, and its Special (which is quite meager as a Slowpoke) becomes more usable.
-Movepool: Slowpoke has a surprisingly large movepool which not only includes standards such as Surf and Ice Beam, but less likely options like Earthquake and even Fire Blast! However, the jewel in Slowpoke's movepool is Amnesia, which is essentially 2 Calm Minds in one turn. It gets it a bit late, though, at level 44 (level 40 if you can bear with Slowpoke not evolving for 3 more levels. Unfortunately, Slowbro doesn't have much else in its movepool (it learns Psychic naturally, but at level 55 which it shouldn't normally be at before the end of the game), making it reliant on TMs to fight adequately, and the TMs it desires are Blizzard/Ice Beam and Psychic, both of which are exclusive and as such will have competition from others.
-Power: Simply put, Slowpoke, with its average bulk and awful Speed mean that it won't exactly be doing well until it evolves. Slowbro, on the other hand, is quite decent, although its still poor speed combined with its Special not being high enough to OHKO enemies with neutral hits hurts it somewhat.
-Type: Slowpoke and Slowbro have 2 of the best types in the game, with Psychic hitting the remaining Rockets super-effectively and only being resisted by fellow Psychic-types, most of which can be set up on with Amnesia. Being a Water-type also gives Slowbro the ability to breeze past Fire-types and Ground-types without having to waste Psychic's PP.
-Match-ups: This list is assuming you caught Slowpoke (or Slowbro) at the Seafoam Islands, which is why Koga is not listed.
--Sabrina: Slowbro can deal with all of her Pokemon easily, with the exception of Alakazam, who, thanks to RBY's AI, will repeatedly use Recover, which heals more damage than Surf deals, meaning that if you plan on having Slowbro take her on by itself, it should know Amnesia beforehand (which is not likely if you evolved it immediately). Setting up in Yellow is far less doable, at least against her Abra, as due to the aforementioned AI, it will use Flash over and over... and over... and over... Fortunately, the only non-Psychic-type attack Kadabra and Alakazam knows is Recover, allowing for an easy setup against them.
--Blaine: The outcome of this fight should be obvious, taking type-match up alone into account, and this is true in Red and Blue, with Slowbro's high defense allowing it to take repeated Normal-type attacks with ease. In Yellow, though, his Ninetales knows Confuse Ray and will use it often. The rest of his team is easily beaten.
--Giovanni: First of all, the only Pokemon in his party that's not hit super-effectively is Persian in Yellow. Secondly, while his Nidos in Yellow know Thunder, it's nothing an Amnesia or two beforehand cand remedy. Third of all, Slowbro's Defense allows it to take a good amount of Earthquakes. Watch out for Dugtrio in Yellow, as it knows Fissure and is easily faster than Slowbro.
--Lorelei: Her Pokemon can't significantly harm Slowbro, easily allowing it to get to +6, and it needs to be at least at +4 to beat her Slowbro. Once her Slowbro is down, the rest of the fight should finish quickly.
--Bruno: Well, considering the fact that his Onix are demolished with the drop of a hat and that Slowbro has high Defense and resists Fighting-type moves...
--Agatha: Her Pokemon are all faster than Slowbro, and RBY's AI happens to register that Ghost-type moves are super-effective against Psychic-types, so if you're having Slowbro fight her Ghost-types, expect to get constantly confused. Also, her first Gengar in Yellow knows Mega Drain. Arbok and Golbat are manageable, but still frustrating to fight against.
--Lance: His team is faster than you, and while Slowbro can take two Hyper Beams, it needs to set up in order to seriously harm his Pokemon, especially if it doesn't know Ice Beam or Blizzard. In Yellow, things are harder for Slowbro, as Lance's second Dragonair and his Dragonite know SE attacks, which while they can be stomached with enough Amnesias, Slowbro will need to be at +6 for them to do less than Hyper Beam.
--Rival: Slowbro can easily set up on Pidgeot and proceed to plow through his team, with the exception of Venusaur, which is only on his team if you started with Squirtle, and if you did that, there would be almost no reason to use Slowpoke. In Yellow, his Sandslash knows Toxic and Sand Attack, making setting up on it inadvisable. However, Slowbro can set up on his Alakazam and do the same thing to his team that it would in Red and Blue, with the roadblocks being a Ninetales that knows Confuse Ray and a Jolteon that has a ~23% critical hit rate.
-Additional comments: Slowpoke has a bit of a slow start, but after it evolves, it becomes a solid Pokemon that can beat a good amount of the game's remaining bosses. Of course, its middling Speed is a definite problem that causes it to be worn down faster than other potential team members despite its high Defense and decent Special.
-Spearow - Mid Tier
-Availability: Spearow can be caught at Route 22 at levels 3 through 5 in Red and Blue and at levels 2 through 6 in Yellow. However, finding them could potentially be time-consuming, as it has a one-in-ten chance of appearing. As for evolving, Spearow evolve at the fairly average level of 20.
-Stats: Spearow and Fearow are fast and have a solid Attack stat, but they're both frail. Also, their Attack tends to fade into the "average" range as the game reaches its climax.
-Movepool: Spearow's movepool isn't exactly vast; the only moves it can learn, with the exception of Agility, which is rather useless due to Spearows high Speed, are either Normal- or Flying-type. It gets Peck from the start, which allows it to differentiate itself from Pidgey in addition to mauling almost everything in Viridian Forest. Fury Attack, while time-consuming due to it being a multi-hit attack, is more powerful against those neutral to Peck on average. Later on, Spearow (which should be a Fearow by then) learns Drill Peck at level 34, which is after it gets access to Fly, but since the two have similar base powers and Fly is a 2-turn attack, Drill Peck is often the better choice between the two. Mirror Move, while unreliable, has its uses, and with Drill Peck and Fly being the only mandatory moves, Fearow definitely has room for it.
-Power: As mentioned above, Spearow destroys everything in Viridian Forest, barring the hard-to-find Pikachu in Red and Blue and the occasional Pidgey as well as the Nidoran trainer in the bottom left corner of the woods. While Spearow doesn't exactly do well in Mt. Moon or Rock Tunnel, the small amount of Rock-types in between allows Spearow to hold its own. After Rock Tunnel come Pokemon Tower and Celadon Gym, both of which are handily beaten by Fearow, courtesy of Fly. However, once those areas are cleared, Koffing and Weezing appear, causing Fearow's usefulness to decrease to the part of the game before Rock Tunnel but after Mt. Moon.
-Type: Normal doesn't do much for Spearow, but its secondary Flying typing allows it to crush the Bug-types that are commonplace early on in the game, but also leaves it vulnerable to the Rock-types that appear shortly afterward. Another thing to take into account is the redundant coverage Fire- and Flying-type moves have: they both hit Grass- and Bug-types super effectively, and they're both resisted by Rock-types. This means that if you chose Charmander as your starter, you probably shouldn't be using Spearow.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Spearow isn't of much help to you in this fight, due to Peck being resisted by both of his Pokemon.
--Misty: While Spearow's attacks aren't resisted by any of her Pokemon, her Starmie outspeeds it and deals a hefty chunk of damage to it with Bubblebeam.
--Lt. Surge: Same story as Brock, but Lt. Surge actually has a move that hits Fearow super-effectively.
--Erika: While her Victreebel/Weepinbell does know Wrap, Fearow is faster and it should know Fly at that point. Also, because Erika will not attack Fearow with a move that it resists, even if it doesn't do damage in the first place, none of her Pokemon will not use Stun Spore, Sleep Powder, or Petal Dance against it, making Fearow's job much easier. In fact, if you wanted, you could possibly defeat the entire Gym with Fearow alone.
--Koga: Unfortunately for Fearow, Koga's team in Red and Blue has 3 Pokemon with respectable Defense, meaning that while it does better against him than against Brock, it doesn't exactly excell against him either. In Yellow, it's a different story, thanks to his team literally consisting of 3 Venonat and a Venomoth. Repeated Psychic-type attacks do take their toll, however.
--Sabrina: In Red and Blue, this fight is the best shot Fearow has at utilizing Mirror Move. If Mr. Mime uses Light Screen, Fearow can Mirror Move it, halving all special damage (barring Psywave). However, if Mr. Mime doesn't use Light Screen, odds are that Fearow will lose against Alakazam. In Yellow, all of Sabrina's Pokemon are a whopping level 50, and as such are faster than Fearow. When this is combined with Kadabra and Alakazam's incredible Special, it shouldn't take long to notice that Fearow doesn't do too well.
--Blaine: Honestly, this fight could go either way, but the odds are somewhat in Blaine's favor due to Rapidash's Fire Spin and Arcanine's surprisingly usable bulk.
--Giovanni: It should go without saying that Fearow shouldn't even come near his Rhyhorn or Rhydon. In Red and Blue, Dugtrio has Slash, which Fearow will gladly Mirror Move back in its face for the probable OHKO, while Dugtrio can't even touch Fearow in Yellow. Speakin of which, Yellow has Persian, who also knows Slash, which does a ton when used against it via Mirror Move. Finally, the Nidos, while easily manageable in Red and Blue, know Thunder in Yellow, causing Fearow to have second thoughts about taking them on.
--Lorelei: All of Lorelei's Pokemon either have great physical bulk, an Ice-type attack, or both. The outcome of this match is obvious.
--Bruno: His Fighting-types are soundly beaten, while his 2 Onix stand(?) tall against Fearow's assault.
--Agatha: While Fearow does impeccably in Pokemon Tower, that performance doesn't transition to the fight against Agatha, mainly due to the fact that the Ghost-types in Pokemon Tower were lower-levelled than Fearow while it's the other way around for Agatha. However, her main strategy in Red and Blue is to put her opponents to sleep or confuse them, and the former can be remedied via the Poke Flute.
--Lance: Considering Fearow's forgettable physical bulk as well as the considerable strength of most of Lance's Pokemon, it should be safe to assume that Fearow's not going to be taking any Hyper Beams from them any time soon. In Yellow, his 2 Dragonair and Dragonite know moves super effective against Fearow, meaning they might not even have to use Hyper Beam against it.
--Rival: Unfortunately for Fearow, the only notable Pokemon it can beat on a regular basis is Venusaur. Everything else either beats it or isn't impressive to beat.
-Additional Comments: Spearow is your average early-game Flying-type: it's great against the numerous Bug-types early on and is otherwise solid whenever it isn't face to face with a Rock-type, but it isn't always the best choice in a major battle, due to its poor bulk and lack of coverage outside of STAB. It also has to contend with being mediocre when being used with Pikachu and Charmander: the former due to the fact that it tends to hog the Viridian Forest exp. while being no good against Brock and the latter due to redundant type coverage. However, Spearow is still a solid Pokemon, notably one that is able to clear out Pokemon Tower without having to use Dig or a Psychic-type attack.
Voltorb - Mid Tier
-Availability: Fairly early, before Lt Surge but most likely afterwards. Voltorb is found much later in Yellow, but you can get a high level Electrode once you get Surf and go to the power plant, compensating for the difference.
-Stats: Enormous speed coupled with a decent Special means Voltorb will be hitting hard and first.
-Movepool: Barren offensive movepool is an understatement. Sonicboom is good for early grinding but loses its usefulness quickly. Requires Thunderbolt from Lt Surge to function throughout the game, and while it has a good Normal-type movepool, it's attack is atrocious making those moves basically useless.
-Power: Does high damage to any Pokemon that isn't Ground, Grass or Electric.
-Type: Being weak only to Ground is great, but doesn't have a lot of resistances and offensively Voltorb is dependent on Normal-type moves to get around Ground and Grass types.
-Match-ups:
Lt Surge: If you insist on using Voltorb against Surge, it's worth noting that it will take 10 Sonicbooms to beat his entire team (3 for Voltorb, 3 for Pikachu, 4 for Raichu). He can win, but it's dependent on move selection and accuracy.
Erika: Electrode hates Grass-types. While he cannot KO them, they can status him in return or just KO outright. Don't use Electrode here.
Koga: Even at a lower level he sweeps with Thunderbolt. Koga is a joke though, and even though Muk and Weezing will take 2 hits, they won't hurt you too bad. You are more likely to faint post-battle due to poison, rather than lose here.
Sabrina: If you let Electrode learn Light Screen then you are a real chance here. Set up on Kadabra and then go for the KO with STAB Thunderbolt. Even though physical moves are an option, only resort to them if Sabrina uses Light Screen. You will out-speed her team, because Electrode is one of the few Pokemon who can, however they pack more of a punch overall, and Alakazam has the potential to wreck you even with Light Screen protection. While not a guaranteed sweep, Electrode is a good choice here.
Blaine: Electrode can spam Thunderbolt to pretty much sweep this gym. None of Blaine's pokemon can do too much damage in retaliation, assuming they aren't OHKO'd. Arcanine is the only Pokemon you may have trouble beating as it will take 3 hits to take him out, but only 2 if he uses Take-Down. In Yellow, Ninetails will be able to handle your attacks quite well due to her high Special and will hit you back hard, so make sure to take advantage of your speed.
Giovanni: Electrode can only hit his Pokemon with Normal-type attacks. Don't use him here unless he's your last Pokemon, it will not end well. On the plus side, he can KO Rhyhorn with Sonicboom, but it takes 9 uses of it and risks getting KO'd himself. In Yellow, Persian is obliterated by Electrode, but don't keep him in against the ground types.
Lorelei: Electrode does great here, especially if you set up. On the first turn use Light Screen to protect yourself from Special attacks. The reason for this is because Dewgong and the like will be bulky enough to take your attacks quite well, and so you want Electrode to have the same level of survivability. With that being said, you should still sweep fairly comfortably as not even Jynx will like taking your attacks.
Bruno: This one is a mixed bag. Electrode is one of the very few Pokemon that Onix is actually a threat to, so obviously get someone to take them out. However, Machamp, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee will not like taking your electric attacks so there is definite opportunity for Electrode to shine here.
Agatha: Much harder than the others, Gengar and the like may not resist your attacks but their sky-high Special means you won;t be doing much outside of critical hits. It's worth noting that as long as you have the Pokeflute, the best they can do to you is chip away with Night Shade and confuse you with Confuse Ray. It really just comes down to luck here, you could win or lose either way.
Lance: Not an easy fight here, his 3 dragons outright resist your attacks and can whittle you down with Dragon Rage and Slam. It's worth noting that Gyarados is scared shitless of Electrode, as is Aerodactyl, which means with smart switching, Electrode becomes quite viable.
Rival: Mixed bag here. Exeggutor is your worst nightmare here as he resists your attack with his humongous Special and type advantage and responds with anything. Rhydon is definitely a big deal as well, and you don't to mess with Alakazam, Jolteon, Magneton or Venasaur. But on the plus side, if you picked Venasaur as your starter, he will have 3 Pokemon that are taken out by Electric attacks (Pidgeot, Charizard and Gyarados). In Yellow it's much the same deal, the variety of types is essentially the same so use the chart to your advantage.
Additional Comments: Despite being walled to hell and back by every Ground type in the game, Electrode is a great Pokemon and should be considered for every team. It's great utility combined with a great Speed stat, decent special and one of the best offensive types in the game, you have one hell of a Pokemon. It is worth noting that Electrode's poor movepool really lets it down, and it won't be soloing the entire game for you, but there are many Pokemon that just won't be able to take it on in any form. In Yellow, Electrode is completely outclassed by Zapdos, which is essentially found in the same area.
Aerodactyl - Low Tier (at best)
Availability: Cinnabar Island, at Lv. 30. You need the Old Amber.
Stats: The second highest Speed in the game, with nice Attack to boot. It's very fragile, though.
Movepool: To sum its level-up movepool up: Wing Attack (35BP in Gen I), Supersonic, Normal-type Attacks. It can learn Fire Blast, but doesn't have the Special to use it effectively. It also doesn't have access to any Rock-type moves.
Power: It's one of the few Flying-types that are both walled by Rock-types and weak to the abundant Water-types. Lack of good STAB means that it'll generally be reliant on Fly and Take Down for damage. If the opponent can survive a crit Fly/Take Down, it can generally leave Aero in the yellow/red.
Type: Aerodactyl has a great offensive typing. Unfortunately, the best STAB it can use is Fly. Also, while it's the only Pokemon in RBY to resist Normal and Ground, it's also weak to Water, which is all over the place.
Match-ups:
Blaine: Because of Aero's mediocre defenses, STAB Fire Blast is seriously going to hurt, even though it's resisted. Basically, spam Fly and hope for Criticals.
Giovanni: You resist his entire team's moves, except for his Nidoking/queen in Yellow, because of Thunder. Also keep in mind that Aerodactyl can't exactly do anything to Rhyhorn/don.
Lorelei: Her team's STAB is SE on you. No further explanation is necessary.
Bruno: His 2 Onix (embarassingly) wall you, but the rest of his team is easily dealt with by Fly.
Agatha: Her entire team is physically frail, and Aero's naturally faster then all of them.
Lance: While Aerodactyl resists Hyper Beam, Lance's Gyarados knows Hydro Pump. Don't push your luck otherwise. In Yellow, his 2 Dragonair and Dragonite now know moves that are SE against your pterodactyl.
Additional Comments: Aerodactyl is a great example of how important STAB is, in the inverse manner. As you can see, Fly deals heavy damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Lack of Rock-type moves to use, late joining time, and a weakness to Water hamper its usefulness. At least Fly is good on it, thanks to STAB, base 105 Attack, and a 25% crit rate.
-Caterpie - Low Tier
-Availability: It couldn't possibly be any easier to obtain. Common and before the first gym.
-Stats: Butterfree's stats are mediocre. Decent Special and Speed but poor Defence and HP (and Attack). It does help that it evolves early though, since it gives it a moment to shine.
-Movepool: It has access to the powders, giving it some utility, and access to Psychic moves this early is great. However, its moves lack power overall (Psybeam is its strongest attack). It learns Psychic and Mega Drain as TMs but Psychic is quite a valuable TM and Butterfree is probably not the best thing to use it on.
-Power: It has decent power early on, but as the game goes on you'll find that it starts to fail to kill things quickly enough, taking big hits in return.
-Type: It doesn't have any STAB moves. Its typing blows defensively and later on in the game it may limit the number of things that Butterfree should be used against.
-Match-ups: Brock - One of the best choices here since they don't have rock attacks and they lose to Confusion.
Misty - Starmie beats you but it is fairly evenly matched against the others.
Lt. Surge - Electric attacks kill it.
Erika - Wins here.
Koga - Butterfree is actually weak to Poison in 1st gen so its a risky choice in RB (it should still contribute though thanks to its psychic attacks). In Yellow, none of Koga's pokemon have poison attacks so it isn't as bad.
Sabrina - Her pokemon kind of 'out-special' Butterfree. They resist its strongest attack too. Not a good choice here.
Blaine - No.
Giovanni -In RB, it actually isn't THAT bad. It can beat the Nidos, and none of his pokemon have rock attacks. In Yellow it is much worse off because of Rock Slide, Thunder and perhaps Persian's Slash.
Lorelei - You lose here.
Bruno - If you have Mega Drain then you can stop Onix before it can kill you. It resists fighting but Machamp and Hitmonlee's (and Hitmonchan's in RB) normal attacks will do a lot.
Agatha - Psychic is super-effective against all of them. It is weak to Wing Attack and Acid though. As per usual beating the ghosts can come down to luck (you have to hope that Hypnosis misses and that Confuse Ray doesn't completely screw you over).
Lance - Useless here, especially in Yellow.
Blue - In RB it COULD beat Rhydon, Exeggutor and Venusaur. In Yellow, Exeggutor is the only thing I would feel "comfortable" against.
-Additional Comments - I think that Butterfree is somewhat borderline in its tier placement. Its availability, early evolutions, psychic attacks and useful status moves are definite pluses, but its low stats and limited offensive movepool basically mean that it is just medocre on the battlefield. I think that low is appropriate. If low tier gets separated again though, don't put it in Bottom since it does have SOME attributes.
-Chansey - Low Tier
-Availability: Chansey is probably the most unavailable Pokémon in the whole game. It is a rare Pokémon with low catch rate. What’s worse is that it is a Safari Zone Pokémon which means you have little control over whether you will successfully catch it or not. The odds are stacked against you and you will probably be looking for this for a long time.
-Stats: Chansey’s stat distribution is quite unique. Chansey has a ridiculous 250 HP. Backed up by 105 Special, Chansey absolutely cannot be defeated by any special attack, ever. The high Special also makes it a powerful attacker. On the other hand, it only has 5 Attack and Defence. Although the massive HP stat helps with physical attacks somewhat, don’t be surprised when random things like Weezing’s Sludge 2HKO you. Chansey is a bit on the slow side with 50 Speed, but as long as you are at a decent level you should go first most of the time.
-Movepool: Sadly, Chansey’s level up movepool is quite useless. It only learns physical attacks, which do laughable damage, along with a bunch of insignificant support moves. On the plus side, Chansey’s TM compatibility is insane! Between Ice Beam/Blizzard, Thunderbolt, BubbleBeam, Fire Blast, Psychic and SolarBeam, Chansey can throw together a moveset catering to your teams needs. Another thing that can’t be over-looked is its access to Softboiled. With this move in hand, Chansey can become the ultimate support Pokémon by healing its wounded team mates, saving you a trip to the Pokémon centre. Given its incredible HP score, Chansey is more than capable of performing in this role, and it is the only Pokémon able to do so anyway. Finally, Chansey has Thunder Wave which isn’t a required move but it allows it to make up for its low Speed in important battles.
-Power: Chansey is mainly held back by its lack of Special STAB. It can have trouble getting around some Pokémon that aren’t weak to one of its moves. Kadabra, Alakazam and Hypno in particular can cause problems. Still, Chansey has amazing coverage backed by 105 Special, allowing it to kill teams just fine on its own. Chansey’s low Speed can cause problems occasionally, but against most under-levelled you’ll go first anyway.
-Type: It has no use for its Normal STAB thanks to its useless Attack score. Chansey sort of wishes it had more resistances, but it doesn’t really need them. Only powerful Fighting attacks (which are not that common) have a chance to OHKO it without a critical hit, and special attacks do laughable damage to it.
-Match-ups: Koga – Psychic can be used to sweep here if you have it. In RB, you’ll be attacked from the physical side so you may struggle to sweep unassisted. In Yellow, you are much better placed thanks to your special bulk cushioning Psychic.
Sabrina – You start out with an advantage because you shrug off all of their hits. They have high Special stats though so they can survive your hits. You can’t lose unless you suffer several Special drops. Thunder Wave is a useful option here.
Blaine – The fire attacks you will face are easily shrugged off. The physical attacks are more of an issue, although watching Arcanine maim itself with Take Down recoil is satisfying! BubbleBeam is your strongest option here.
Giovanni – BubbleBeam and Ice Beam/Blizzard will cover everything except Persian. You must be careful though, as this is a physically based team and a full sweep is difficult.
Lorelei – On the plus side, you take nothing from their Ice and Water attacks. On the down side, all of her Pokémon have physical attacks except Slowbro, who can set up Amnesia. Lapras is the biggest threat with Body Slam. Thunderbolt covers most of her Pokémon just fine.
Bruno – BubbleBeam/Ice Beam/Blizzard wrecks Onix and Psychic covers everything else. Hitmonchan is a joke, especially in Yellow. Hitmonlee and Machamp are more dangerous thanks to their Fighting attacks.
Agatha – All of her Pokémon can’t really do much to Chansey directly but your low Speed leave you vulnerable to status moves. If luck is on your side then this won’t be an issue though.
Lance – BoltBeam covers everything. This is a bit easier in Yellow because there are more special attacks but everything has at least 1 physical attack. This will make a full solo difficult, but as long as you have the right moves then you can at least contribute.
Blue – What to teach Chansey governs what you can kill. Everything except Alakazam has at least 1 physical attack but not all of his Pokémon can do much with them. Basically, just pick off what you can with the moves you have and leave the rest to something else.
-Additional Comments: Chansey is definitely a good Pokémon if you can get your hands on it. But that’s the problem. Catching it is difficult and can take ages. Much like all of the rare Safari Zone Pokémon, you can waste precious time catching this, and any time that you save by having this on your team will probably not be enough to make up for this.
Clefairy - Low Tier
-Availability: Clefairy can be caught in Mt. Moon, but are quite uncommon there (highest encounter rate in Red and Blue is 6%). Their levels range around 10, with 8 being the lowest and 12 being the highest. They evolve through the use of a Moon Stone, 2 of which happen to be in Mt. Moon, the place where you find Clefairy in the first place! The first one is in the northwest corner of the first floor, and the second is in the bottom floor, hidden 4 steps below and 6 steps to the right of the Super Nerd.
Of course, if you don't want to go on a Clefairy hunt but still want one on your team, you could buy one in the Rocket game corner for a low cost that you should be able to afford (500 coins in Red, 750 coins in Blue, not there in Yellow), but it'll be underleveled in comparison with the rest of your team when you get it meaning you're better off looking for them in Mt. Moon earlier on in the game.
You can evolve Clefairy whenever you want, but it's recommended that you do so once you get a Moon Stone, as Clefairy's level-up movepool leaves quite a bit to be desired.
-Stats: Clefable's stats are average in many areas, with the exception being HP, which is high enough for Clefable to take repeated hits. Unfortunately, its lowest stat (aside from its "good enough" Speed) is its Attack, meaning that despite getting STAB off of Normal-type attacks, Clefable won't have much business using them as opposed to a move from its vast special movepool, such as Thunderbolt or Fire Blast.
-Movepool: Clefairy's level-up movepool is, simply put, bad. Moonlight, the only reason why people would delay evolving Clefairy, doesn't exist yet, thus leaving absolutely no reason for not evolving it immediately outside of "I'm also using a Nidoran and don't know where the hidden Moon Stone is". The problem with this, though, is that because Clefable learns no moves by level-up, making it completely dependant on TMs to keep up. Among these TMs are Water Gun, Mega Punch, Thunderbolt, Psychic, and more, but the problem with all of this is that the TMs that benefit Clefable the most are one-time use TMs (Yes, Mega Punch can be purchased in Celadon City, but by then your Pokemon should have equally powerful/more powerful alternatives for it.), and as such Clefable will face competition for a large amount of them. However, Water Gun is almost necessary early on if you want Clefable to be useful for Mt. Moon and Rock Tunnel. Mega Punch is also quite helpful as a general attacking moves.
-Power: Clefable is quite good in the first half of the game if you give it the right support (read: Water Gun, Mega Punch, Moon Stone), but after Rock Tunnel, Clefable quickly fades into obscurity as it stays the same (unless you use more one-time TMs on it) while everybody around it gets better.
-Type: Normal could be considered the "blank slate" of all the typings, being weak to only Fighting-type attacks, which only comes into play for 2 battles in the entire game, and one of them is optional, while it has no resistances or immunities save for Lick (The other Ghost-type moves, Night Shade and Confuse Ray, aren't affected by type match-ups), which is only appears in Pokemon Tower.
-Match-ups: The following match-ups are assuming you taught Clefable at least Mega Punch, as it does dismally against all of them otherwise.
--Misty: Clefable has the bulk to take 3 Bubblebeams from Starmie (assuming none of them crit, of course) and its Mega Punch is powerful enough to beat Starmie in 3 hits, meaning that if Starmie messes around by using Tackle or the like, Clefable wins.
--Lt. Surge: As with Misty, Clefable can withstand 2 Thunderbolts from Raichu and 2HKO back with Mega Punch. The problem is, Raichu's obviously faster, so Clefable either has to get lucky with a crit or Raichu has to use Growl or Thunder Wave.
--Erika: Cefable's slower than her Victreebel, so it's inevitably going to get trapped by Wrap if it chooses to use it. Tangela and Vileplume are more manageable, especially if Clefable knows Ice Beam. Watch out for Sleep Powder from Vileplume, though.
--Koga: Simply put, if Clefable knows Psychic, it wins, but not smoothly. If it doesn't know Psychic, Koga wins.
--Sabrina: Clefable can beat all of her Pokemon by itself with the exception of Alakazam. It can do decently against it if it didn't fight anything else in her party, but doesn't have a guaranteed victory over it.
--Blaine: Fire Blast can hurt a bit, but Clefable should still be able to beat Growlithe and Ponyta by itself.
--Giovanni: Clefable needs Bubblebeam to stand a chance against him, as Water Gun just does not have enough power behind it to OHKO even his Rhyhorn. Of course, you shouldn't expect Bubblebeam to OHKO either of his Nidos, but at least it's better than only getting a 3HKO against them. In Yellow, his Nidoqueen and Rhydon can actually pose an offensive threat, making things overall more dangerous for Clefable, who will get worn down quite quickly when fighting Dugtrio and Persian alone.
--Lorelei: For Clefable to beat her, you need 3 things:
1. Thunderbolt
2. An X Special
3. At least 2 Hyper Potions.
--Bruno: Watch out for Hi Jump Kick from Hitmonlee and Submission from Machamp. Bruno's Onix are pathetic and Hitmonchan can be easily dealt with if you don't use Mega Punch, Strength, or any other Normal-type attack, as it can Counter it back at you.
--Agatha: Her Ghosts take pathetic damage from all of Clefable's possible attacks (except for Psychic, of course) while Arbok (in Yellow) knows Wrap, which can trap Clefable for an extended period of time, meaning the only Pokemon Clefable should even consider taking on is Golbat.
--Lance: While Clefable's bulk allows it to take a non-critical Hyper Beam from any of his Pokemon, it can't really do much back to them unless you taught it Thunderbolt (for Gyarados) or Ice Beam/Blizzard (for everything else).
--Rival: Whatever Clefable can beat can be easily accomplished by almost every fully evolved Pokemon in the game, so its performance against him isn't too impressive (for those of you wondering, it can beat Pidgeot, Rhydon, and Exeggutor).
-Additional Comments: Simply put, Clefable is one of those Pokemon that's good early on in the game, but falters mid-game and never gets out of its slump. It also needs a large amount of support to be good, and its rarity certainly doesn't help matters much.
Cubone - Bottom Tier
-Availability: Lavender Town is the earliest and they come at level 22 which isn't too far off your team at the time. In Yellow they also appear in the Safari Zone, but that's a bit out of your way.
-Stats: Cubone is slow. He has a decent Attack and a great Defense stat, but he's always taking hits because he is slow.
-Movepool: Comes with STAB moves unlike other Ground types, and can learn some great moves, but Cubone's Special is poor and can only really obtain Normal moves to take advantage of its stats.
-Power: Cubone/Marowak is very strong coming off it's STAB moves, but it's quite slow so it will always be taking a hit which will wear it down significantly.
-Type: Not a lot of trainers use Electric-type moves, meaning Cubone's immunity is useless. In addition, weakness to Grass and Water is not great. Marowak doesn't get a lot of important resistances though, which is unfortunate.
-Match-ups:
Erika: Erika is a problem for Marowak. It's slow, so it can be hit with a status, locked in a constricting move or taken out swiftly with a Super Effective move. However, if you are lucky and you are appropriately leveled, Marowak should KO one of Erika's Pokemon. Just don't expect a sweep.
Koga: Marowak is strong against poison and has a high defense. In addition, Bone Rush hits all of his Pokemon hard. Koga will often be too busy giving his Pokemon X-Attack as well, so you can be comfortable 2HKOing some of his Pokemon. Also worthy of note, Marowak's defense can help cushion Weezing's Self-destruct. In Yellow, Marowak will sweep nicely as well as Venonat is frail, but beware Venomoth's Psybeam as it will hurt you on the Special side.
Sabrina: Marowak is not great here. His low Speed combined with his low Special means he will be hit first and hard, even at level 50. He will KO Kadabra in 1 shot, but he will be hit first. Venomoth will use Stun Spore to slow you down and hit you with Psybeam. Mr Mime can take a hit, but can't do much to you back with Doubleslap. Alakazam can usually take a hit from you and hit you hard back, and since he outspeeds you even with a large level gap, this means he is very likely to KO you regardless.
Blaine: Marowak does well here, as STAB Dig/Earthquake/Bone Rush will OHKO all of Blaine's pokemon. All he will do in response is spam Super Potions and use Normal-type moves, which Marowak can take with ease due to his high defense.
Giovanni: Marowak is a solid performer here, especially if he has Earthquake. His high defense and STAB Earthquakes mean Marowak will be able to take a hit from every Pokemon on his team and strike back hard. He also gets type advantage against Nidoking and Nidoqueen as a bonus.
Lorelei: Unfortunately every Pokemon in Lorlei's team will have a type advantage over Marowak, and many of them will be faster. This is a bad match-up for Marowack.
Bruno: The opposite of Lorelei, Bruno will be hitting you exclusively with Physical attacks and his pokemon will more likely be slower. Marowak will be dealing some serious damage here, this is a great match-up.
Agatha: This match-up is very much mixed. On one hand, all of her Pokemon are poison types, but on the other, they are all faster than you and will status you to high hell and back. This match basically comes down to luck.
Lance: He has 3 Pokemon that are immune to Ground attacks, and many of those Pokemon will be hitting you hard with moves like Hydro Pump and Slam. You don't have it easy here. In Yellow this battle is much harder as his Dragons will now carry the likes of Ice Beam and Bubblebeam.
Rival: There are definitely better match-ups for Marowak, but there are some pros and cons. There will always be a Fire type and he will always have Rhydon, so you have an advantage there, but aside from that you do not want to try to sweep with this match-up. The addition of an Electric-type (and the subsequent removal of Pidgeot) gives Marowak better standing in Yellow, but not by much.
Additional Comments: Sandslash, Dugtrio, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, Golem. Those are all the Ground types that outclass Cubone. Many of them come earlier as well, which means that in many playthroughs Marowak will be overlooked. That being said, there are a number of benefits to Cubone, one such being that he learns high base power Ground moves and works with good TM support to round out his coverage. His middling Speed and weaknesses to Grass and Water let him down. Essentially, while he has his uses, Cubone is situational at best and he is best left to be the best of the Bottom Tier.
Ditto - Bottom Tier
Availability: The earliest you can get it is Route 13, but only in Red and Blue. You can find it in Pokemon Mansion in Yellow.
Stats: Untrasnformed, Ditto has a BST of 288, just enough to be absolutely useless. When transformed, Ditto copies the opponents stats aside from HP, which is still pitifully low. This works very much against Ditto. Unlike every other Pokemon in the game, Ditto's stats are forced to be terrible because he can never truly "outlevel" the opponent. He is stuck with the stats he Transforms, which takes away the advantage of being a higher level.
Movepool: Transform. Most ingame trainers use terrible movesets as well, so don't think that will save you, either.
Power: Depends entirely on what you turn in to. If you turn in to Fearow, who has high Attack but low Defense, you're golden. If you transform in to Onix, who has garbage Attack and insane Defense, well, you're not golden. Oh, and since the Special stat isn't split, you will always be doing disappointing damage there.
Type: Ditto is a Normal-type with no STAB. If a Pokemon is carrying a move super-effective against itself, pray you don't get hit by it after you Transform.
Match Ups:
Erika - You are REALLY going out of your way to get Ditto if you are using it against Erika. You can actually do pretty well here: she leads of with Pokemon that use trapping moves.
Koga - You are going to be walling each other, so expect a long fight. Except in Yellow version, since he runs Psychic on his Pokemon.
Sabrina - You wall each other. Not exactly the base way to go. You can probably oneshot Venomoth, though.
Blaine - Again, you pretty much wall each other. Don't bother.
Giovanni - In R/B, don't expect Ditto to do anything. In Yellow, Transform into Dugtrio and spam Earthquake, which hits everything but Persian and his own Dugtrio super-effective (but they are frail as hell anyways).
Lorelei - You wall each other. Don't use Ditto here.
Bruno -If you can Transform into Hitmonlee, you can spam Hi-Jump Kick. Good luck surviving long enough to do so.
Agatha - You can do extremely well against her with her high level Gengar. Just not anything else.
Lance - None of Lance's Pokemon are exceptionally vulnerable to each other, except for Yellow Dragonite who can easily clean his own team.
Additional Comments: Ditto may seems to do actually well against a few major fights, but keep in mind that they can use the same strategy to beat Ditto you are using to beat them. You can't breed in Gen I, so that utility is gone too. Don't use Ditto.
-Dratini - Low Tier
-Availability: In RB, you can theoretically get it as soon as you get to Celadon by buying it from the Game Corner. It is cheaper in Red but is at a lower level and therefore requires more grinding (level 18 for 2800 coins in Red and level 24 for 4600 coins in Blue). So either you’ll have to fork over a bit of money but spend time grinding, or you’ll get it at a more manageable level but have to spend up bigger. Neither is particularly desirable in an efficient playthrough. Another more minor issue is the fact that you can only buy 50 coins at a time, which slows things down compared to later generations. Alternatively, you can catch it in the Safari Zone with a Super Rod at level 15. This is probably a bit more practical and cheaper, but you are at the mercy of the Safari Zone mechanics and the level is a lot worse especially at that point in the game. In Yellow, it can only be obtained from the Safari Zone, and it is a bit rarer. It comes at the same level. Note that it is possible to catch Dragonair as well, but since you’ll likely have to go past level 30 for Dragonair to match your team, this isn’t really much of an advantage.
-Stats: Dragonite has excellent stats, but Dratini and Dragonair don’t. It will struggle compared to the rest of your team until it evolves, by which time most of the game will be done anyway.
-Movepool: Dratini’s level up movepool is not that good. Hyper Beam comes way too late. Slam has decent power but is inaccurate, though Thunder Wave has some utility until stronger moves come along. Dratini can also use the Agility/Thunder Wave + Wrap combo to get around troublesome opponents, but this is slow and not very reliable. On the plus side, Dratini has great TM/HM compatibility. Pick from Surf, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt or Body Slam. Obviously this comes with opportunity costs (except Surf) but chances are that you will have at least a few of these free so it isn’t so bad.
-Power: Well, Dragonite has power, but Dratini and Dragonair don’t. Dragonair will not be sweeping through enemies on its own. Dragonite potentially can, but as I said most of the trainers will be defeated once you get it so it hardly matters.
-Type: It doesn’t learn any STAB moves sadly (not even Fly). From a defensive point of view, pure Dragon is nice. A strong set of resistances is backed up a general lack of Ice moves throughout the game. It is also unique to Dragonair. However, Dragon doesn't resist everything and Dragonair will end up relying on stats alone in these instances.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge: In the unlikely scenario that you have Dratini at this point, it should go ok in RB, but in Yellow Raichu will win using Mega Punch and Mega Kick.
Erika: Grass resistance, but you need Ice Beam to really be helpful at all. If you do then it should go ok though it won’t absolutely dominate the gym.
Koga: Neutral, in terms of type advantages. Koga sucks in RB so pretty much anything can work here (Dragonair is no exception but a full solo might be a bit much). Venonat is weak so Yellow is probably the same deal (if you have Fire Blast at this point then you do even better).
Sabrina: Alakazam will be too strong to handle. It probably doesn’t do well in the gym overall, though Thunderbolt can help against the Slowbro and Slowpoke used by the gym trainers.
Blaine: This gym is one of your best match-ups. Surf is probably the best move to teach Dragonair simply due to it being a HM rather than a TM, and Surf + Fire resistance gives it a good showing here.
Giovanni: Chances are you’ll have at least one move that hits Ground super-effective (Surf most likely), so you do alright here too.
Lorelei: Ice attacks are being thrown out a lot here so don’t bother.
Bruno: Onix dies to Surf. Dragonite should be strong enough to kill everything else but Dragonair isn’t.
Agatha: Golbat is weak to Thunderbolt and Ice Beam/Blizzard, but if it outspeeds and confuses you then you may lose anyway. Arbok shouldn’t be too much of an issue but Gengar can still win if you are unlucky.
Lance: Depends on your moves it has. Thunderbolt hits Gyarados, Ice Beam/Blizzard hits the dragons and Aerodactyl is weak to both. In Yellow you need to watch out for an ice attack from Lance’s Dragonair and Dragonite.
Blue: In theory, you can hit pretty much everything super-effectively but again it depends on what you gave it.
Additional comments: Dragonite is awesome, but because it evolves so late it may as well not exist before the Elite 4 (and even then you may not have it yet). Instead, what you are essentially getting is Dragonair, who has below average stats. Combine this with how tedious it can be to obtain in the first place and you have a pokemon that is clearly at home in Low tier.
Ekans - Low Tier
Availability: Red version only, right after Mt. Moon.
Stats: All of Arbok's stats are average or below average. It can't do much damage directly without a super effective hit and it can't take too many hits either.
Movepool: Only Ekans and Arbok learn Glare, which while inaccurate is only move that can paralyze every single Pokemon in the game. They also learns other useful moves like Wrap, Dig, Earthquake, Fissure, Strength and Rock Slide. Their main fault is a lack of a good STAB move. Acid is complete garbage.
Power: Technically speaking, Arbok can probably beat 90% of the Pokemon you will encounter in the game with Glare + Wrap, but doing so is extremely time consuming and risky due to low accuracy. A super-effective Rock Slide or Dig might do some damage, but Arbok's Attack and Special are just too low to do any significant damage.
Type: Pure Poison is a pretty lousy typing. Arbok gains no good STAB and a weakness to Psychic. It also has a Ground-type weakness, but Ground-type moves are rarer than Psychic-type moves. It's resistances aren't anything to write home about either.
Match ups: With Dig/Earthquake, Arbok could potentially bring the pain train to Lt. Surge, Koga, Blaine and Agatha, but otherwise Arbok doesn't really excel in any way. Keep it away from Sabrina and Giovanni: they will eat Arbok for breakfast. Again, it can use Glare + Wrap if you have the patience, but otherwise keep Arbok on the sidelines for most of the major fights.
Additonal Comments: RBY is tough on pure Poison-types because they lack a good STAB move. Their best move is Sludge, which Arbok can't even learn. If you want a ParaWrap abuser, Arbok is probably your best bet in Red version due to its availability. But Arbok's low stats, mediocre typing and reliance of TMs for good moves make it difficult to place on a team.
Exeggcute - Low Tier
Availability: Pretty damn late... it appears in the Safari Zone, though it's fairly common and easy to catch, and comes at a max of level 26-27, which is...possibly useable... but decidedly under leveled. It can be immediately evolved with a Leaf Stone.
Stats: The evolved Exeggcutor has freaking amazing stats-- of course, it's one of the most used OU Pokemon after all. Massive fat 125 Special, and above average stats everywhere but Speed-- stats are a major reason why Exeggcutor is an amazing force in competition.
Movepool: Exeggcute comes to you with a pretty meh movepool of Hypnosis, Barrage, and Reflect, and immediately learns the similarly almost-good-but-still-meh Leech Seed. It's best Grass Stab is Mega Drain (ew...), so like competitive sets, you will likely be depending on the Psychic TM as your main means of doing damage; though you do have immediate access to the Psychic TM at the point in the game you get Exeggcute. Exeggcutor does have a decent 95 Attack stat and can use Strength, Stomp, or Hyper Beam. It gets the powders too, but really late (level 48 for Sleep Powder... ew...), so you'll likely be immediately evolving and just enduring with Hypnosis. Explosion, probably don't want to use it in-game.
Power: Psychic and 125 Special rips shit up. Mega Drain can do decent damage against opponents it hits super effectively, and Exeggcutor's decent Attack means it can actually best other Psychic-types like Alakazam by stomping them to death on their weaker physical side.
Type: Grass / Psychic is obviously good typing in general-- it's the main reason Exeggcutor is so popular in OU. However, in-game, Grass does more to hurt Exeggcutor than help, especially at the point in the game you get it. Ground-, Electric-, and Water-type attacks are rare enough that these much-sought resistances in the competitive scene are less useful in game. Low Speed and weaknesses to Fire-, Poison-, and Ice-type attacks are a bit of a burden.
Match-ups:
Koga: If you evolve it and teach it Psychic, it can destroy anything he has. Keep in mind you will be horribly outmatched level-wise (you catch Exeggcutor in Fushia at max level 27, Koga's Pokes are all level 37-50). In RB, if you don't do some major grinding, his pokes will outrun and smack you with powerful super effective Sludge attacks. In Yellow, the Venonats can only status you, but Venomoth carries the 4x super effective Leech Life (though... it is only Leech Life), and is at level 50.
Saffron Rockets: You have STAB Psychic, and resist Electric, so you will have a big advantage.
Sabrina: Exeggcutor can do well here if you have trained it sufficiently and taught it Stomp or Strength. Its Psychic resistance, high Special, and decent Attack give it a significant advantage--again, assuming you've leveled up sufficiently.
Blaine: Er... just don't get hit by a Fire-type attack. Yeah...
Giovanni: Exeggcutor obviously dominates this gym.
Lorelei: Exeggcutor's not dead weight here, with its massive Special allowing it to whether some Ice-type attacks, and retaliate with super effective Mega Drain (healing back in the process). However, your low Speed, high probability of being under leveled, and the sheer power of Lapras's Blizzard will not make this an easy match up for Eggy.
Bruno: Eggy basically laughs at anything Bruno can do (again, provided you get to a decent level).
Agatha: Everything she has will be destroyed by a STAB Psychic attack, but with your low speed, prepared to face several turns of sleeping and hurting yourself in confusion (and being extremely annoyed) before you can claim victory here... eventually.
Lance: You're slow and will not like taking repeated Hyper Beams. In Yellow, 2nd Dragonair and Dragonite can hit you with powerful super effective attacks. Not dead weight, but not great.
Rival: Exeggcutor has an advantage against most of his Pokemon. Just be wary of those with Flying and Fire attacks.
Additional Comments: All things considered, the above information definitely doesn't look bad. Good stats, a usable movepool (fuck, in RBY, STAB Psychic = usable movepool), and a few favorable match-ups. So, what's the problem? The problem is that in addition to Eggy coming so late and under-leveled in the game, it's further hindered by a really slow experience curve and low Speed. In terms of power, experience curve, and availability, you could compare it to Tauros and Staryu-- except that both of those Pokemon have a much better Speed stat. Better Speed allows them to rapidly sweep through opponents and "grind" their way to catch up to the rest of the team with comparable ease. With Exeggcutor, you will find yourself constantly stopping to bust out healing items as you try to catch up to the rest of the team-- making it decidedly more annoying to train. Given dedication, Eggy will blossom to its potential, as one of the most popular of competitive Pokemon-- in-game though, you're probably much better off with Venusaur or Victrebel... or Alakazam.
-Farfetch’d (Yellow) - Low Tier
-Availability: Farfetch’d isn’t available until after you get passed the sleeping Snorlax in Yellow, on routes 12 and 13. It can be obtained as high as level 31, although a level 31 Farfetch’d is quite rare and you may have to settle for level 26.
-Stats: Awful. 65 Attack and 60 Speed are poor, and it is frail with 52/55/58 Defences.
-Movepool: Access to Swords Dance and Agility by level up is pretty cool. Slash is a nice move too, although it comes late and Farfetch’d doesn’t even have a 100% crit rate when using it (although >93% is pretty close to perfect). Farfetch’d’s once famous access to both Cut and Fly is now useless because it comes so late that Cut doesn’t even give access to anything anymore, but at least dropping Cut allows it to run both of its boosting moves at the same time (with Fly for boosted hits and Slash when you don’t want to boost).
-Power: Farfetch’d needs to boost with Swords Dance to sweep, but a Swords Dance boosted Fly is surprisingly strong. Farfetch’d can sweep whole teams quickly using the tactic. However, having to boost every time it faces a team with more than 1 Pokémon is a pain as Farfetch’d doesn’t have the bulk to keep doing it over and over. This is especially true against faster teams, since it may need to use Agility too. Overall, Farfetch’d sweeps are satisfying but they aren’t the most efficient way to go about things.
-Type: Normal/Flying is not a unique combination, but it is a pretty good type to have. You get walled by Rock types, but these are pretty rare when you get Farfetch’d. Rock, Electric and Ice weaknesses aren’t particularly problematic because they are overall rare.
-Match-ups: Koga – You can sweep him in Yellow by setting up on the first Venonat and hitting his team with Fly. Setting up is risky though because Venonat can hit you surprisingly hard with Psychic and can inflict Toxic to wear you down as you set up.
Sabrina – You can set up on Abra but it will Flash you, and a single miss with Fly will likely lead to Farfetch’d fainting.
Blaine – Farfetch’d just doesn’t have the bulk to set up here, especially since its Low speed necessitates the use of Agility. Don’t bother.
Giovanni – You can set up on Dugtrio, but it might Sand Attack you. If it doesn’t, you can blast through a lot of his team. Rhydon can end your sweep though, and even Persian can screw you if it sets up Double Team on the first turn of Fly.
Lorelei – You are weak to Ice, so you aren’t going to do much.
Bruno – In theory, you can hit his Fighting types hard, but the problem is that Onix stops your sweep partway through so you switch out and lose your boosts. Your best bet is to just try hitting without boosting and hope you don’t die. Good luck with that.
Agatha – The interesting thing here is that you can actually set up on the first Gengar because it simply refuses to attack you with Mega Drain (due to resistance), which means all it will do is spam Substitute and Confuse Ray. If you can survive Confuse Ray, you can set up enough to ensure a sweep against her frail team! There are better ways of dealing with her, but Farfetch’d can work with a bit of luck.
Lance – Not worth it. Aerodactyl walls you, the Dragons hit you with Electric and Ice moves, and Gyarados is just too strong.
Blue – The problem here is that it is very difficult to find a safe Pokémon to set up on because all of his Pokémon have something to hit you with. You may be best trying on Exeggutor or Ninetales, but really you should just use something faster and more reliable.
-Additional Comments: Farfetch’d is a fun gimmick, and that’s it. In RB it was actually useful but Yellow nerfed it badly. Boosted experience? Gone. Early and convenient availability? Gone. Access to Cut and Fly? Still true, but now useless because of how late it arrives. Farfetch’d just isn’t worth it in Yellow.
Grimer-Low
Availability: It can be caught in the Pokemon Mansion in all three games, but is much easier to find in Blue and Yellow
Stats: Above average HP and Attack, middling Defense, and horrible Speed and Special.
Movepool: He should only be a few levels aways from Sludge when you catch he if he doesn't have it already. That's important, because it's his only STAB and most of his usable TMs run off his bad Special. When you need to seriously consider running Mimic, you know your movepool is horrible. If you haven't used the Body Slam TM yet, Muk can make decent use of it. Without it, you'll be forced to run crap like Toxic or Screech in the fourth moveslot.
Power: Grimer blows (especially that late in the game), but should be pretty close to evolving to Muk if you didn't just catch the evolved version to begin with. Sludge can actually do some decent damage thanks to Muk's 105 Base Attack. That said, 99% of teams will carry something that can do more damage to any given threat by the time Grimer is available. Grimer's biggest problem comes from the fact that Poison hits almost nothing relevant for SE damage by the time you get him.
Typing: As touched on in the last section, Poison is a horrible typing. This is made worse because by the time you catch him, there aren't really any more Bug type or Grass type pokemon to prey on, and most of the important fights put him at a big disadvantage.
Matchups:
Blaine- Muk can't really trade blows thanks to his low Special and low BP STAB.
Giovanni- This is a horrible, horrible idea. Don't even bother trying
Lorielli- Gets hit on his Low Special all match, and can't really threaten anything she has.
Bruno- Muk can beat all three Fighting types in both versions, as long as your level is higher than his Machamp's to negate the threat of Fissure.
Agatha- All five pokemon resist your STAB and three are immune to Normal moves. So no.
Lance- Muk can take a Hyper Beam and multiple Dragon Rages from the Dragonairs if you're desperate, but Gyarados and Aerdactyl beat him and D-Nite probably will as well. In Yellow, everything beats him.
Rival- Muk can trade blows with Venusaur if you picked Squirtle. That's about it.
Additional Comments: Muk could probably be bumped up a tier if it didn't come so late. Unfortunately, by the time you get him his typing is a big hinderance and there are many better options. You could technically beat Koga early and Surf down to Cinnabar to get it earlier, but it's really not worth the extra effort. Disappointing.
-Growlithe (Yellow) - Low Tier
-Availability: Growlithe can only be found on the first floor of the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. It can be found as high as level 38, but this is very rare even with the repel trick, so you may have to settle for something more underleveled.
-Stats: Excellent overall. There is little reason not to evolve it straight away, at which point it gets 110 Attack, 80 Special and 95 Speed. With 90/80/80 bulk, Arcanine can take hits well too.
-Movepool: Arcanine requires TM support to work. This was tolerable in Red given how early it arrives, but in Yellow it is much hard to justify saving TMs for it. Dig, for example, it a near requirement on Arcanine, and keeping it for Arcanine can hurt the many things that benefit from it earlier on. Without Dig or Body Slam, Arcanine is stuck with Take Down/Double-Edge and Fire Blast for coverage, and both of those have drawbacks that make relying on them difficult.
-Power: With the right moves, Arcanine is a powerful attacker. Even with just Take Down it can hit somewhat hard. However, if you aren’t using Dig or Body Slam, then you are using moves with recoil and accuracy issues, and all of this can take its toll on Arcanine as it builds up damage, causing you to heal it frequently.
-Type: Fire really isn’t that useful considering how late you get Arcanine. The weaknesses to Water, Ground and Rock are not appreciated, and Fire’s coverage is somewhat poor late-game.
-Match-ups: Sabrina – You can do ok here as you have decent bulk and speed, and you hit her Pokémon hard with physical moves. Take Down recoil (or a miss) may lesve you open to a kill from Alakazam though).
Blaine – If you have Dig then you pretty much win be default, but it’s a mirror match without it.
Giovanni – Ground and Rock weaknesses aren’t fun are they? Persian doesn’t have either though so you can beat that. Dig is useful for Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon if you have it.
Lorelei – You have a weakness to Water so you are a bit limited. Jynx is beatable.
Bruno – You can’t touch Onix without Dig. The Hitmons are fried by Fire Blast, and Machamp doesn’t have a specific answer to you either.
Agatha – Use Dig if you have it. If you don’t, her Ghosts are going to be tough with Normal immunities and high Specials. Just focus on Golbat and Arbok instead.
Lance – Gyarados has Hydro Pump, Aerodactyl walls you and you aren’t exactly OHKOing the Dragons (one even has BubbleBeam).
Blue – If you have Dig then you can do pretty well, but without it just focus on Alakazam, Ninetales, Flareon and Exeggutor.
-Additional Comments: The transition from Red to Yellow involved a simple availability change for Arcanine, but it proves to have a significant impact on its usefulness. Arcanine’s performance was at its best during the middle of the game, but being locked away on Cinnabar Island causing it to miss out on most of this. Being such a late Pokémon with reliance on such an exclusive TM seals its fate.
-Hitmonchan - Low Tier
-Availability: You can get this as soon as you get to Celadon by heading to Saffron straight away and fighting through the Dojo. This isn’t particularly hard, and Hitmonchan comes at level 30, which should be around what your team is at.
-Stats: 105 Attack is pretty good and it has a decent enough speed for in-game purposes. Its Special is horrible though, which is a shame given its movepool.
-Movepool: Hitmonchan is a case of a Pokémon who has a movepool that doesn’t match its stats. It is the only Pokémon with all 3 elemental punches, but 35 Special makes these completely useless. It has no STAB moves by level up. It absolutely needs TM support to work. Submission is obtained from Celadon, and it gets Body Slam, Mega Punch and Double-Edge to pick from, all of which are powerful enough for that point in the game. Body Slam is the best choice for reliability but it may not be available. It gets Strength later though which is a reasonable substitute.
-Power: Initially it can actually power through weaker opponents using stats alone. As the game goes on, Submission's recoil begins to become a issue and its lack of STAB outside of Submission begins to show. It becomes less useful as a result.
-Type: Submission is its only real STAB and be obtained by TM as soon as you get Hitmonchan, and although it has great power it is inaccurate and deals recoil (which is bad for Hitmonchan’s poor HP stat). Fighting is a bad defensive type overall. Flying and Psychic attacks are common in this game are fairly common, which hurts Hitmonchan as a viable choice.
-Match-ups: Erika – Neutral overall, but it isn’t particularly useful. Her Pokémon can take hits and can strike back with a status move, or just hit hard with a special attack.
Koga – In RB, his Pokémon are bulky and can poison you, but otherwise this isn’t a particularly bad match-up (a full solo might be a bit much though). In Yellow he gets screwed over by Psychic, though he might take down a Venonat!
Sabrina – I shouldn’t have to explain why this is a bad match-up. Hitmonchan just dies here and is completely useless.
Blaine – Hitmonchan is crippled by its poor Special. Flamethrower and Fire Blast do tons of damage to it, making it a mediocre choice at best for this battle.
Giovanni – Dugtrio and Persian can be beaten due to frailty. Nidoqueen and Nidoking are tougher, particularly in Yellow where they have Thunder. Rhyhorn and Rhydon are weak to Submission. It doesn’t flat out lose here like in other gyms but it isn’t particularly great either.
Lorelei – Well you should have Submission now, but it still doesn’t do that well. Submission is so risky and those Ice and Water attacks will hurt.
Bruno – Mirror Match, except for his Onix who you can beat with Submission. Beating everthing else depends on level really.
Agatha – Holy crap you are awful here. Gengar and Haunter are IMMUNE TO ALL OF YOUR PHYSICAL MOVES! None of the elemental punches are going to help you win. Arbok and Golbat resist fighting but can be beaten with whatever normal move you have. You will probably get statused though.
Lance – You might beat Aerodactyl, Dragonair or Dragonite because their movesets suck, but Gyarados has Hydro Pump. In Yellow things are tough because everything except Aerodactyl has special attacks, but Aerodactyl has Fly anyway.
Blue – You stand a chance against Rhydon, Exeggutor and Sandslash, but everything else is a risky match-up due to special/super-effective moves within their movesets.
-Additional Comments: Hitmonchan started off decently thanks to its high starting level and above average attack, but it became quite poor in the long run. Its horrible movepool, lack of RELIABLE STAB, terrible match-ups during key battles and that awful Special really work against Hitmonchan and I just can’t see why anyone would use this for an efficient run.
-Kangaskhan - Low Tier
-Availability: It can only be caught in the Safari Zone. This is a problem because it means you are left in the hands of the Safari Zone capture mechanics. It doesn’t help that Kangaskhan is a rare Pokémon with a low capture rate. Unless you can very lucky, you will be looking for it for a long time. It also comes at a level that will probably be lower than your team’s average, but it is powerful and can grind up quite easily.
-Stats: Kangaskhan is built as a physical sweeper with its 95 Attack and 90 Speed. Although they aren’t jaw-droppingly awesome, they are good enough for in-game purposes. With 105 HP and 80 Defence it can take physical hits comfortably. However, 40 Special is poor and powerful special attacks will do a lot of damage to Kangaskhan.
-Movepool: Kangaskhan only learns Normal moves by level-up, although they have plenty of neutral coverage so you could almost get away with just running a mono-Normal moveset. However, Kangaskhan has an extensive TM/HM movepool. It has Earthquake and Rock Slide which will complement the Normal coverage well. Kangaskhan also has a large special movepool, capable of getting Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Fire Blast and Thunderbolt. However, Kangaskhan’s low Special limits the use of these and there are better choices for these moves.
-Power: Kangaskhan is a strong attacker thanks to its decent attack and great physical movepool. It can comfortably run through the weaker trainers in the game easily. It often can’t OHKO stronger opponents with its STAB but it should have no problem 2HKOing things at the very least.
-Type: Normal has no super-effective coverage unfortunately, but it does hit neutral on everything except Rock types and the 3 Ghosts, both of which are covered by Earthquake. Normal has one weakness and one immunity, though both are mostly irrelevant for in-game playthroughs.
-Match-ups: Koga – In RB you may struggle a bit unless you have Earthquake already because they have good bulk. However, they can’t do much back to you either. In Yellow, you have Rock Slide for his bugs, but they are hitting you on your weak Special and Venomoth may be a difficult opponent.
Sabrina – This is an interesting match-up because you both do heavy damage to each other. They hit you on your Low Special and you hit back at their low Defence. This battle will probably come down to level.
Blaine – You have either Rock Slide or Earthquake and can attempt a sweep. However, Arcanine’s Fire Blast hits you very hard and can burn you.
Giovanni – Earthquake is a good choice here since it covers the stronger Pokémon on his team, and Dugtrio and Persian should be beaten with brute force. Even Surf could be a viable option! Thunder is really the only thing that you care about here.
Lorelei – You have Rock Slide but they are hitting you on your low Special so be careful.
Bruno – Hitmonlee and Machamp are brutal with their Fighting moves, but the others should be easily beaten.
Agatha – You do nicely here. Earthquake and Rock Slide cover everything and you have the power to beat her quickly. As usual you can lose if you are unlucky, but that’s assumed.
Lance – Rock Slide covers his stronger Pokémon and Dragonair are easy to beat. Gyarados will hit you for large damage with Hydro Pump. This is harder in Yellow since he has more special attacks.
Blue – It depends on what you taught him. Earthquake gets Jolteon, Magneton and the Fire types. Rock Slide hits Charizard, Pidgeot and Gyarados. You can contribute here, but as usual look out for Special moves.
-Additional Comments: Kangaskhan is Low simply because it is one of the most unavailable Pokémon in the game. It is a decent Pokémon in its own right, but unless you get very lucky in obtaining it you’ll be looking for it for a while. Any time you gain from using Kangaskhan will probably be insufficient for the purposes of making up for lost time looking for it. If you do get lucky and catch it quickly then it can be awesome, but actually PLANNING to have it as part of your team and specifically looking for it is not recommended.
Koffing - Low Tier
Availability: Koffing is not available in Pokemon Yellow. In Red/Blue, the moment you can use Surf outside of battle, you have access to Koffing. You can find it in the Pokemon Mansion at L30-L32 at fairly common rates, or if you're really patient you can find Weezing at L37 or L39 (1% or 4% encounter rates though). Probably best to stick with Koffing and level it up to L35.
Stats: This line's stats are about the opposite of what you would hope for in-game. Weezing is slow, and its Attack and Special are average at best. The one thing it has going for it is Defense.
Movepool: Koffing can consider himself lucky to actually get a half decent STAB move in Sludge (but that still clocks in at a modest 65 base power). However, the next best moves that it learns naturally happen to be suicide moves. Thunderbolt is the only TM it can take early on, and it's quite a coveted one. Thunder and Fire Blast are out there as well, but you get them much, much later.
Power: Koffing has no problems beating a Bird Keeper with Thunderbolt, or a random Paras with Sludge. The problem is when it doesn't have an overwhelming type advantage, or when you don't have the TMs to spare for it. In those cases, you'll find that it will take a quite a while before he wins, and he's at the mercy of annoying status moves or even super effective moves in the meantime.
Type: Poison is a horrible type offensively and defensively, offering no real meaningful advantages other than Erika's gym (but there's only a total of two Pokemon Sludge can hit for double damage there). Thunderbolt is actually effective against a lot of things, though.
Match-ups:
Erika - If you go through the effort of getting yourself a Weezing before you fight Erika, this is his one chance to shine (sort of). He can outlast all the Pokemon in the gym (Exeggcute doesn't even have any Psychic moves), but because most of them are part Poison you are not going to do a whole lot against them unless you somehow got Fire Blast.
Sabrina - If it can use a Psychic move, Koffing pretty much loses. If it can't, then you should be okay, though you will need Thunderbolt to really do anything to Gastly/Haunter. You can Thunderbolt a couple of Slowpokes/Slowbros, perhaps.
Blaine - An even match-up at best. Koffing can beat joke Pokemon that don't use any "real" moves against him, but he's not going to outlast anything that uses Flamethrower/Fire Blast.
Giovanni - This gym actually only has two Ground moves to worry about: Rhydon's Fissure (which won't affect you if you're faster), and Dugtrio's Dig (which is telegraphed). But on the other hand, Sludge and Thunderbolt will do absolutely nothing, and Weezing's only other remotely viable options have 5 PP each (Hyper Beam and Fire Blast).
So our beloved mascot has average availability, and poor everything else. Not recommended.
Jigglypuff - Low Tier
-Availability: You can catch it at Route 3 in Red and Blue, at levels 3, 5, and 7. In Yellow, you have to wait until you get to Route 5. It evolves by using a Moon Stone, which can be obtained shortly after catching Jigglypuff.
-Stats: The only stat that can be considered "good" is HP, which is actually a curse in disguise, as if it has low health, it'll take more items to heal it than others. It's also one of those Pokemon that are actually outsped by some of the non-boss trainers' Pokemon.
-Movepool: Considering its only move before reaching level 9 is Sing, it needs Water Gun and/or Mega Punch to actually fight. Also, aside from Rest and Body Slam at levels 29 and 34, respectively, its level-up movepool is absolutely barren, thus requiring the use of even more TMs for it to try to keep up.
-Power: If you evolved it ASAP (which you should have) and taught it Mega Punch, it's actually pretty decent. Then you reach Rock Tunnel, and it can't do much in there unless you taught it Water Gun/BubbleBeam/Seismic Toss, and it has trouble in Pokemon Tower no matter what you taught it. The Poison-types of Cycling Road and Silph are also a pain unless you taught it Psychic. To make a long story short, Wigglytuff needs TMs to be usable for at least half of the game.
-Type: Normal has no type advantages against anything else, not even Ghost because the only Ghost-type move that won't affect Normal-types is the pathetic Lick. The fact that Normal-types don't hit anything super-effectively balances out how uncommon Fighting-types are in-game.
-Match-ups:
--Misty: An interesting trick against Misty that actually works: Before fighting her, make sure Wigglytuff knows Mega Punch and Bide. Then, when fighting her, defeat Staryu normally, with Mega Punch. After that, use Bide. Wigglytuff's bulk should allow it to take 4 BubbleBeams (barring crits, of course), and if it loses at least 30 HP, its Bide will be strong enough to OHKO Starmie.
--Lt. Surge: Wigglytuff can take a Thunderbolt from Raichu, but not much else on top of it.
--Erika: You'll get Wrapped up when fighting Victreebel. It can beat her other Pokemon, but only if you taught it Ice Beam or Psychic.
--Koga: In Red and Blue, his Pokemon are physically defensive juggernauts, all of which take minor damage from Strength, and in Yellow, they all know some sort of status move. Keep in mind that his Pokemon are most likely faster than Wigglytuff.
--Sabrina: Wigglytuff can defeat her Kadabra if it knows Body Slam and manages to paralyze it. For the others, it has to hope they use Psywave instead of Psybeam/Psychic.
--Blaine: Fire Blast is going to do a lot, regardless of who's using it. Don't forget that Ninetales (Yellow only) and Rapidash know Fire Spin. Also, Arcanine can actually survive 2 uses of Strength.
--Giovanni: Wigglytuff needs Ice Beam or Blizzard for this fight, or else it's going to be walled. The sad thing is, his Nidos, Dugtrio, and Persian are all faster than Wiggs, and of those, Dugtrio's the only one that can't withstand a Blizzard.
--Lorelei: Thunderbolt is required here, as 3 of her Pokemon have great physical bulk, and Dewgong (obviously not one of the above 3) has Rest. Of course, Thunderbolt has trouble 2HKOing the majority of her team, all of which (minus Slowbro) are faster than it, meaning it'll most likely take at least 3 hits from each mon.
--Bruno: I don't think any explanation as to how Bruno defeats Wigglytuff is necessary.
--Agatha: If Wigglytuff has a hard time in Pokemon Tower, how well do you honestly think it'll do against Agatha?
--Lance: It's a sad day when a Thunderbolt fails to even 2HKO a Gyarados. Same goes for Blizzard and everything else on his team, except for Aerodactyl and Dragonite. Thankfully, Wigglytuff has just enough bulk to survive a Hyper Beam from anything not named Gyarados or Dragonite.
--Rival: It needs TMs to do well against any of his Pokemon, with the exceptions of Exeggutor, which is the worst Pokemon on his team, and his Alakazam and starter, which can't be beaten regardless of what you taught Wigglytuff. Ninetales also poses a serious threat, thanks to Fire Spin.
-Additional Comments: Third worst Pokemon in the game, right here. Jigglypuff is comparable to a parasite, as they both rob you of important things (exclusive TMs for the former, nutrients for the latter) and weaken your performance overall. Thankfully, Jigglypuff is easier to get rid of than a parasite, and the way do do so is as follows:
Step 1: Deposit Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff.
Step 2: Release Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff.
That's pretty much all you need to know about Jigglypuff.
Lapras - Low Tier (possibly Bottom)
Availability: Given to you by a Silph Employee, at level 15.
Stats: All of Lapras's stats are okay, with the exceptions of massive HP and unappealing Speed.
Movepool: Learns Body Slam and Ice Beam by level-up, and has TM access to Thunderbolt and Psychic. It's notably the one of the few non-starter gift Pokemon to learn both Surf and Strength.
Power: Because you get it at Lv. 15, when the levels of your opponents' Pokemon are in the high 20's to low 30's, don't expect it to be winning any fights on its own.
Type: Well, it's a Water-type with STAB on Ice Beam...
Match-ups: Because you get it at the pitiful level 15, you'll definitely need to grind to acheive good results against the remaining Gym Leaders.
Erika: Lapras won't have learned Ice Beam by then unless you used up TM13, and there's no reason to put off Erika until you get Lapras in the first place.
Koga: Surf hits his Pokemon's weak Defense, and Lapras has the bulk to take a Selfdestruct.
Sabrina: Her Pokemon are trampled on by Body Slam.
Blaine: Lapras resists Fire despite being part Ice, and gets STAB on Surf.
Giovanni: His Ground-types are washed away by Surf.
Lorelei: Lapras can go toe-to-toe against her, but don't expect it to take out more than 2 of her Pokemon.
Bruno: Lapras can take out his 2 Onix and Hitmonchan any day of the week, but it's weak to Hi Jump Kick and Submission.
Agatha: Gengar's high Speed and Lapras's low Speed mean that Lapras will usually put to sleep before it can take out her first Gengar.
Lance: Ice Beam hits his Pokemon for SE damage, and has just enough bulk to survive 2 Hyper Beams.
Additional Comments: Lapras is held back by 2 things: its late joining time, and its poor level when you get it. If it came earlier, or at a more convenient level, it would be great, but alas it isn't. At least it's a good HM Slave.
Lickitung - Low Tier
Availability: Only one (trade a Slowbro for one at Route 18 fairly late game) in Red/Blue or Cerulean Cave in Yellow.
Stats: MARC (that's his name, don't wear it out) has got pretty good HP, but is decidedly below average in every other field, especially speed. On the plus side, it does get an experience boost.
Movepool: Terrible level-up learnset full of nothing but Normal attacks (the best of which being Stomp), but has an incredibly wide TM movepool. This walking saliva factory can learn 27 out of 50 TMs and 3 HMs, including such gems as Earthquake, Blizzard, Fire Blast, BubbleBeam, Thunder, and Seismic Toss. It's also the only Normal type besides Farfetch'd to learn Swords Dance, also by TM.
Power: Despite potentially gargantuan type coverage depending on how many TMs you want to put into this thing, it's awful offensive stats mean that Swords Dance is pretty much necessary to sweep even semi-effectively.
Type: Offensively and defensively speaking, Normal is anything but mundane in Gen I. However, The Pink One faces stiff competition from the likes of Snorlax (who actually ties it in speed) and Tauros, both of which can be obtained at about the same time, and both require far less setup to be useful.
Match-ups: Lickitung's battle prowess is completely dependent on which TMs the player is willing to part with in order to make it do anything other than give the opponent a good tongue trashing. In particular:
-- Koga and Agatha: Licky shakes things up with Earthquake, but might end up taking a status first.
-- Sabrina: Swords Dance + any decent STAB attack will make short work of her whole psychic hotline, but your low Special means you can't take it as well as you can dish it out.
-- Blaine: Licktung extinguishes his hot-blooded hench-'mon, but only if it's packing BubbleBeam.
-- Bruno: Earthquake makes his rock types go all to pieces, but unless you're overleveled his Hitmon's could easily beat him to the punch.
-- Lance: Blizzard leaves his whole squad out in the cold, but more than likely you're going to take a few licks yourself from his speedier Dragons.
- Bottom Line: While Lickitung could fill just about any gap your team is missing, it is precisely this unspecialization that unfortunately dooms poor MARC to the low tiers. In nearly every case, there are faster, bulkier, more powerful, or simply better choices.
Machop - Low Tier(Red and Blue)
Availability: Towards the middle of the Game, Rock Tunnel specifically.
Stats: Machoke has a good Attack stat with average or less-than-average stats everywhere else.
Movepool:Starts with Karate Chop, which has a high critical hit ratio. Low Kick and Submission are its only STAB options, neither of which are exceptionally good. Moves like Strength, Rock Slide, Mega Kick, Earthquake and Fissure can be used to fill in the gaps in its level up movepool, which in all honesty isn't that good. Don't use Focus Energy.
Power: Unless you are playing Yellow version or somehow find someone who still has a link cable (props if you do!), you are likely going to be using Machoke. It can do decent damage with its 100 base Attack, but you are probably better off with Hitmonlee or Primeape, who deal more damage and are faster.
Type: In a game dominated by Normal-types, Machop and its evolutions STAB moves, as mediocre as they are, are incredibly helpful. Just stay away from the almost equally dominant Flying-types and rarer but much more dangerous Psychic-types. Machop can't take a Psychic-type attack to save its life.
Match Ups: By the time you get Machop, it is almost useless against the remaining major battles. It can be somewhat helpful against Giovanni and Lorelei, but it doesn't excel against any of the Gyms or Elite Four. This line is much more suited for regular trainer battles.
Machamp: Low Tier
-Availability: Machamp is obtained through a traded Cubone, who is available at Pokemon Tower. So Mid-Game.
-Stats: Machamp has a huge Attack stat, but has rather average defenses and low Speed.
-Movepool: Mostly TM dependent, Rock Slide and Earthquake provide good coverage.
-Power: Due to his huge Attack stat, Machamp hits hard.
-Type: Fighting. In a game where Dark and Steel don't exist, and Poison types are omnipresent. Fighting isn't the best STAB to have.
-Matchups:
--Koga: His whole team packs Super Effective Psychic which takes Machamp down easily.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon outspeed and pack Super Effective Psychic to take Machamp out.
--Blaine: Machamp can hit his Pokemon hard with Dig or Earthquake, but keep in mind all of his Pokemon outspeed Machamp and Machamp doesn't enjoy taking Fire moves. A Fire Blast burn will put a huge damper on Machamp's performance.
--Giovanni: Machamp can beat Persian due to fighting STAB, and Earthquake hits majority of his team for Super Effective damage. However, Giovanni's Nidos and Rhydon can take a hit and retaliate with their own offensive moves.
--Lorelei: Fighting is Super Effective on Ice, but Submission is a bad STAB move due to accuracy and recoil issues. Meanwhile, Machamp is worn down by Special Attacks.
--Bruno: Fighting verse Fighting, Machamp breaks even here if you are at similar levels.
--Agatha: Earthquake hits her team for Super Effective, while Rock Slide deals with Golbat. However, keep in mind her Pokemon are fast and her final Gengar knows Psychic.
--Lance: While Rock Slide is Super Effective against half his Pokemon, Machamp wont enjoy taking Special Attacks or Hyper Beam. Not to mention Aerodactyl has Super Effective STAB Fly.
--Gary: Machamp can take on Sandslash, and Exeggutor has he doesn't pack Psychic. But that is it.
Additional Comments: Despite his strong power, Machamp is held back by his Speed and frailness. There's never really a point of the game where he dominates, and even the ones that he does fair well on, another Pokemon can easily do the job much better.
-Magmar (Blue only) - Low Tier
Moltres - Low Tier
-Availability: Available through a detour at Victory Road at the end of the game. It comes at the level 50 and is hard to catch, so be sure to have a ton of Ultra Balls and save before you fight the legendary bird.
-Stats: Moltres has one of the best BST's in the game, most notable of its stat is it 100 Base Attack and 125 Special.
-Movepool: When you get it, the only moves it has are Peck and Fire Spin. Peck can be replaced by Fly, and if you kept TM38 you can give Moltres Fire Blast. However Moltres cannot learn Flamethrower, which is an issue as Fire Blast can quickly run out of PP. At Level 55 Moltres learns Agility, allowing you to use the Agility + Fire Spin combo. However, trapping moves are time consuming and have unreliable accuracy.
-Power: Fly off a 100 Base Attack will hurt anything that doesn't resist it, and his Fire Blast is tied with Articuno's Blizzard and Zapdos' Thunder as the most powerful Special move int he game.
-Type: Here is where Moltres falls apart. Its Fire/Flying type doesn't do it many favors. It's typing helps it overwhelm the E4's Fighting and Grass types, but those are minor threats. Not to mention it gives Moltres an unwanted weakness to Water, Ice, Rock, and Electric.
--Lorelei: Moltres is weak to Water and Ice moves, which are omnipresent in this battle. The only notable fight here is Jynx, who despite knowing an Ice move, is weak to Fire Blast.
--Bruno: Fly easily disposes of his Fighting types. While Fire Blast can overwhelm Onix, it is not recommended due to Fire Blast's limited PP, Fire Blast's 15% chance of missing, and the fact that Onix has Rock moves - which Moltres is quadruply weak to.
--Agatha: Much like Articuno, Moltres can easily overwhelm her team through sheer force. Just watch out for Confuse Ray hax.
--Lance: His entire team resists Fire, and in every version he leads off with a Gyarados with STAB Hydro Pump. In R&B, Moltres can spam Fly against the two Dragonair's and hope for a lucky break, but in Yellow all of his Dragons including Dragonite know Super Effective moves. It should be noted that although Aerodactyl resists Fire, its low defenses means that it will take a ton of damage from Fire Blast. Just make sure you don't run out of Fire Blast PP if you dare to challenge Aerodactyl.
--Gary: Moltres walls his Grass types, and it can take on Pidgeot. Moltres can also take a Psychic from Alakazam and hit back with Fly, but Alakazam can use the set up turn of Fly as a chance to set up Reflect or even just Recover. Don't bother fighting his Water Types or Rhydon. In the Yellow version of this fight - Exeggutor, Ninetails/Flareon, and Sandslash are your main targets.
-Additional Comments: Moltres has high stats and comes at Level 50 just like Articuno and Zapdos, so where did it go wrong? Simple, its typing. By the time you get to the E4, Fire/Flying is only good against E4 Pokemon who are not really a big threat, such as Exeggutor. Another problem is that it doesn't get Flamethrower, meaning you'll only have Fire Blast limited PP to take on the E4 with.
-Onix - Low Tier
-Availability: Rock Tunnel. Could technically be obtained before Lt. Surge, so it can be obtained fairly early. It is at a level that may require some grinding to match your team though.
-Stats: Its attack stat is awful. Its high defense and decent speed help it beat things but if you are playing for efficiency then Onix is not a good choice because it often can't OHKO things.
-Movepool: Its level up movepool is poor. Slam is its strongest attack from level up. It requires TM support (Earthquake/Dig and Rock Slide) to work properly, which comes with an opportunity cost. Why would you use these TMs on Onix when there are better choices?
-Power: Pretty much what I said in the stats section applies here. Its attack stat is too low for it to "sweep through enemies", despite the power of its best STAB attacks. It can take hits from the physical side, so it can beat things one-on-one, but it isn't what I would call efficient (and it flat out loses to some special attacks).
-Type: Its typing is a mixed bag. Offensively it is quite good. Ground/Rock is a great STAB combination (unresisted I believe). Defensively, it has some useful resistances and it can beat most normal types, but it has crippling grass and water weaknesses so it will struggle along routes with lots of lasses carrying Oddish/Bellsprout. Another thing to consider it that Onix's typing is not unique. Golem and Rhydon carry more power and have similar bulk. Onix is faster but you will be at a level where you will be outspeeding most stuff anyway, making it a rather insignificant advantage most of the time. Geodude is also obtained earlier than Onix (Rhyhorn has terrible availability so it is probably a even match).
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge - wins here, assuming you haven't done the battle already.
Erika - Nope.
Koga - In RB, it should do well, but it will not enjoy taking Psychic from Venomoth in Yellow (Venonat shouldn't be as bad but they also carry Psychic attacks).
Sabrina - Psychic does lots to Onix's bad special. Onix's low attack means that it won't be able to kill Alakazam anyway most likely. Easier in Yellow (it can kill Abra OMG).
Blaine - You win here, but so do a lot of things.
Giovanni - Does ok in RB (just watch for Fissure from Rhydon), but in Yellow all of his pokemon except Persian carry Earthquake.
Lorelei - No.
Bruno - Can beat his Onix in RB. In Yellow they have Earthquake so it isn't as easy.
Agatha - Should beat Arbok and Golbat. How it goes against the ghosts comes down to luck. One of the Gengar in Yellow has Mega Drain apparently so look out.
Lance - In RB, Gyarados is the main threat. His Dragonair will also chip away at Onix's low HP with Dragon Rage so that sticks. He walls Dragonite and Aerodactyl though. In Yellow, Dragonite has Blizzard and on of the Dragonair has Ice Beam but he walls Aerodactyl and the Thunderbolt Dragonair.
Champion - In RB, he beats Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Arcanine and Charizard. In Yellow, he beats Exeggutor, Magneton, Ninetales, Jolteon and Flareon. Overall not bad.
-Additional Comments - I think what I should stress is that Onix is not absolutely terrible. It can work if you are willing to put in the effort. It's just that it is outclassed. It would rather use Geodude, even if I couldn't trade for Golem, due to the superior power. Definitely Low.
-Paras - Low Tier
-Availability: Paras are found in Mt. Moon, and the deeper you go, the more common (and higher leveled) Paras will be. For comparison's sake, they have a 10% encounter rate at level 10 (9-11 in Yellow) in the middle floor and have a 15% chance of appearing in the deepest floor, at levels 10-12 (13 in Yellow). They can be found on the ground (top) floor in Red and Blue, but not in Yellow. They're only a 5% encounter there, so you're better off looking in the lower floors. Paras evolve at level 24.
-Stats: As with most early-game Bug-types, Paras have unimpressive stats all around. Their only stat that could be considered better than "average" is Attack, but it quickly falls behind due to a forgettable physical movepool. As for Speed, Parasect is up there with speed demons Snorlax and Slowbro.
-Movepool: Paras starts with Scratch as its only move, but gains Stun Spore at level 13, not too far from when you catch it. Stun Spore could potentially be very helpful, but the fact that you have to waste a turn to use it means it's only useful against Gym Leaders (that is, those that Paras and Parasect have a chance at beating). Paras's only STAB moves are Leech Life and Mega Drain; however, Leech Life is weaker that Scratch in any scenario other than ones where Leech Life deals super effective damage, and Mega Drain's power isn't too much better. Paras and Parasect also learn Slash, but not until level 39, and Parasect is one of the few users of Slash to not have a guaranteed critical hit when using it (for reference, Parasect's chance of landing a critical hit with Slash is 48.88%). Because of this, Body Slam is a great alternative, as it has a higher base power and Parasect also appreciates the paralysis chance. Other moves in Parasect's arsenal include Spore, which is very helpful against several bosses, and Swords Dance, whose sole purpose is to make Leech Life usable. Paras and Parasect also have access to Dig, which is possibly their best damaging move. Unfortunately for Paras, having it learn Dig means having none of your other Pokemon learn it, and Dig is a highly-contested TM, which might cause trouble for other Pokemon who might also greatly benefit from it.
-Power: With an initially average Attack stat and no STAB moves, it should come as no surprise that Paras starts off doing poorly. Even after it evolves and all of its stats get a much-needed (but not quite as much as it would have liked) increase, its performance never exceeds being average, thanks to its 4x weakness to Flying-type attacks as well as its pathetic speed and unimpressive defenses.
-Type: Paras's typing is infamous for having the most 4x weaknesses in the game, at 3. Said weaknesses are to Fire-, Poison-, and Flying-type moves, the latter two being quite common after Pokemon Tower. Also, while Bug and Grass are both helpful STABs at certain points in the game, Parasect just doesn't have the stats or moves to utilize them.
-Match-ups: The following match-ups will not take Spore into account, as a majority of them would be made easier, but longer.
--Misty: While Paras does have a resistance to Bubblebeam, it still has trouble with Misty if it doesn't know Leech Life due to its Scratch doing less to her Starmie than said Starmie's Tackle does in return.
--Lt. Surge: Parasect runs into a similar problem here, just replace Leech Life with Dig. Also, the problem is much more noticeable in Yellow due to his Raichu knowing Mega Kick.
--Erika: Her Victreebel (Weepinbell in Yellow) will not hesitate to Wrap Parasect into oblivion, but her other Pokemon fall quite easily to Leech Life.
--Koga: Koga's Pokemon all either have good defensive stats, allowing them to not faint in 2 Digs (Red/Blue), or are higher in level than Parasect, possess a neutrality to Dig, and can fire back with Psychic (Yellow)
--Sabrina: Leech Life does less to Alakazam than Recover heals, meaning you'll have to be reliant on Slash (which might as well be a coinflip) or Body Slam (which is learned via an exclusive TM) to beat it. This is not taking into account her previous Pokemon, which could capably weaken (if not KO) Parasect on their own.
--Blaine: Parasect is sluggish and has a 4x weakness to Fire Blast. Nothing more needs to be said.
--Giovanni: How well Parasect does against his Rhydon depends on whether or not it knows Mega Drain. While Dig gets the job done, it takes more hits to beat Rhydon with it than Mega Drain. Persian can be an annoyance, but the Nidos are far from intimidating, thanks to them having few attacks effective against Parasect.
--Lorelei: Considering all of her Pokemon (barring Slowbro for whatever reason) know Ice-type attacks of some sort, it should be safe to say Parasect should not be fighting her.
--Bruno: As with Giovanni's Rhydon, Bruno's Onix can either be taken down by 5, 2, or countless hits, depending on whether you taught Parasect Dig, Mega Drain, or neither. However, his Fighting-types can be beaten without Dig, with the exception of R/B Hitmonchan, as it knows Counter.
--Agatha: First of all, Parasect needs Dig to beat her Ghost-types. Secondly, she has a tendency to switch to Golbat when an opponent goes underground. Thirdly, all of her Pokemon are faster than Parasect and know status-inducing moves, which can be quite irritating.
--Lance: While Parasect might be able to withstand a Hyper Beam and then proceed to sleep something with Spore, that's all it can do against Lance.
--Rival: Most of the things Parasect can beat (and there are only 2-3 of those) are easily taken down by several different Pokemon, with the exception of Jolteon in Yellow if Parasect knows Dig.
-Additional Comments: Paras and Parasect were never good. This is mainly due to its lack of usable (outside of super effective hits) STAB, poor typing, and middling stats. While Spore is a great move, it was unfortunately given to a Pokemon that didn't have the Speed, defenses, or typing to utilize it to its greatest effect. As such, Paras (and Parasect) should not be considered for anything in Generation I. Even its utility of being a good HM Slave for Rock Tunnel because of its ablility to learn both Cut and Flash is only applicable to the remakes due to Paras not being able to learn Flash until Generation II.
-Pidgey - Low Tier
-Availability: Immediately available as soon as you can catch Pokemon on the very first route, and is very easy to catch. Likely will be among the very first Pokemon you obtain.
-Stats: The Pidgeot line is an example of extreme mediocrity when it comes to stats All of them are middle of the road with speed being slightly higher than average and Special being slight lower.
-Movepool: Pidgeot's level-up movepool is sorely lacking in powerful attacks, and requires TM and HM support to become useful, and even then remains quite limited, with only Normal and Flying type moves available. Worse, no Flying type STAB move is available until either HM 02 Fly is obtained (recommended) or Wing Attack is learned at level 31 (not recommended since it really blows in generation I). This is due to Gust being Normal Type in Generation I. However, most of the most beneficial TMs for Pidgeot such as Take Down, Reflect, and Fly are easily obtainable once the player reaches Celadon City.
-Power: Pidgeot is quite average in both attacking and defensive strengths. The length of time one must wait for a Flying Type STAB greatly reduces Pidgeot's effectiveness early game however. Once the moves are obtained though Pidgeot can hold its own against most foes.
-Type: Flying Type is quite useful early game... shame Pidgey doesn't get any flying moves until Celadon City, rendering this advantage moot. Once you do get Fly though, Pidgeot makes a rather effective substitute for a Fire type, since the selection available is quite slim unless you chose Charmander as a starter.
-Match-ups:
Brock - Very little chance, though if you're in a real bind Pidgey can use Sand Attack to increase your chances of success
Misty - Staryu won't provide Pidgeotto with any challenge, but Starmie will prove a very great challenge due to its much higher special and Bubblebeam
Lt. Surge - Since his Voltorb has no electric moves Pidgeotto can handle it, but Pikachu and Raichu will probably destroy you.
Erika - Status is annoying, but if you can keep Pidgeotto alive and have taught it Fly before the fight, Pidgeotto should absolutely demolish Erika.
Koga - Due to the high defensive stats of Koga's Pokemon Pidgeot isn't a very good choice for this battle, and is all to likely to get taken out by Self-Destruct
Sabrina - Hitting quickly and fairly hard on the physical side, Pidgeot can actually stand a fair chance here. Does not take their attacks particularly well though, but better than some at least.
Blaine - Average at best, and must look out for random burns. While not a terrible choice, you probably have better Pokemon for the job at this point.
Giovanni - Matches fairly well against his Pokemon without Rock Typing, but very poorly against those that do.
Lorelei - They all carry Ice type attacks except for Slowbro and are too bulky for Pidgeot to OHKO, with the possibel exception of Jynx. Best to stay out of this one.
Bruno - Matches up very well against his fighting types, but very poorly against his Onix. Don't worry too much about Ice and Thunder punch from Hitmonchan; coming off his special they're laughably weak.
Agatha - Fares as well as anything does that doesn't hit them super-effectively. Simply be on top of any status inflicted on Pidgeot and you should be fine, though the battle will be longer than if you used a psychic or ground type.
Lance - Matches up pretty poorly against most of his team, though might stand up to his Dragonair should it be required.
Rival - Works well against Exeggutor and Venusaur, but distinctly less well against the rest of his team, who all hit too hard and are not OHKO'd by Pidgeot.
Additional comments: Not sure on the tier to be mid or low. While Pidgeot is quite severely outclassed by Fearow, it's not a bad Pokemon and I have brought it to the end of the game several times without regrets. It just doesn't stand out.
Pinsir (Bottom Tier)
Availability: (Blue/Yellow Only) Players who want Pinsir can buy him from the Rocket Game Corner if they have the coins. He's only 2500 in Blue, but costs a ridiculous 6500 in Yellow. Alternatively, he's in the Safari Zone, but he's rare and pretty difficult to catch.
Stats: Pinsir has great Attack and good Defense, but is really let down by his average Speed and terrible HP and Special.
Movepool: Pinsir may have the worst move pool in the game. He learns no STAB moves and he can only learn non-Normal moves (besides Seismic Toss) through TM. It's not all horrible though; Pinsir gets Swords Dance and Guillotine through Level-Up and can make decent use of the buyable Submission TM. However, unless you want to waste your Body Slam TM on him, it'll be stuck with Slash in the fourth slot, which has pretty terrible synergy with Swords Dance. In Yellow it gets Bind, so it can trap whatever is slower with some luck.
Power: All in all, even though Pinsir has decent stats it's entirely outclassed by almost everything. It doesn't have the bulk to tank hits while setting up Swords Dance, and doesn't get any STAB to work with. Even off that great Attack stat, it'll hardly ever get OHKOs and gets wrecked by any Special, Flying, or Rock move sent his way. You can fish for OHKOs with Guillotine, but Pinsir's low Speed means it's not reliable. If you teach it Submission you can do some damage to things weak to Fighting, but it doesn't have any other redeeming qualities.
Type: Pinsir is really just a Fighting-type wannabe. It would be much better if it had STAB on Submission. Heck, even being Normal would be an improvement. As it is, Bug typing really hurts him since it means he has no STAB at all. Being weak to for somewhat common types (mainly Flying and Poison) doesn't help either.
Match Ups: Pinsir does horrible against almost everything. What did you expect with such horrible typing and coverage?
--Erika:It can chip away at Tangela, but shouldn't face anything with a poison-type move.
--Koga: Koga destroys you. End of story.
--Sabrina: Pinsir's low Special and HP means he can't take many Psychic hits. He should sit this one out too.
--Blaine: Lol
--Giovanni: Pinsir can actually do okay against Rhyhorn, Rhydon and Dugtrio in Blue and Persian in Yellow, but needs Submission.
--Lorelei: Pinsir can dish out some damage with Submission, but is let down by his low Special, so he can't take hits.
--Bruno: A Fighting resistance actually comes in handy here. You can set up Swords Dance against Hitmonlee and Machamp (both versions) or Hitmonchan in Blue and sweep with Strength or Submission.
--Agatha: Pinsir can't even touch 3/5 pokemon. Pass.
--Lance: Not great in Blue, but even worse in Yellow since Lance's Dragons get better moves.
--Blue: He can take on Rhydon in Blue and Sandslash in Yellow, but you should really have a better option for both of those.
Additional Comments: If the analysis hasn't convinced you, let me make this clear. There is no good reason to use Pinsir. He has horrible typing, an even worse move pool, and embarrassing Special and HP for a fully evolved pokemon. His middling Speed is the final nail in the coffin, meaning his great Attack is really wasted. He's not even a good HM slave since he comes too late for Cut and you probably have plenty of other things to learn Strength. In a nutshell, there's nothing Pinsir can do that something else can't do much better. If you must use Pinsir, be sure to teach him Submisison and then hope for the best.
-Porygon - Low Tier
-Availability: Porygon is obtained as a prize from the Game Corner. In Red and Yellow, it costs an obscene 9999 coins and comes at level 26. In Blue, it is a relatively more reasonable 6500 coins, but comes at level 18, somewhat cancelling out the advantage (although Blue players probably do have it better). Although this may seem like it would take ages to obtain, it is possible to obtain it at least mid-game, before the 5th gym (and even before the 4th in Blue). This involves finding and selling every single item that you don’t absolutely need, including useless TMs and vitamins. You should keep your spending to a minimum, and you should do every battle possible to get as much money as possible. Then you simply buy all the coins that are required. This is the quickest way to get it, although this requires you to sacrifice many items. If you aren’t willing to be that anal about it, then you don’t have to be, but don’t expect to get Porygon before late-game.
-Stats: Porygon has poor stats overall. Its highest stat, Special, is a mere 75, giving it barely average special hit taking abilities, and limiting its power. 60 Attack makes it hard to use STABs properly, 65 Defence is not impressive, and 40 Speed makes it slow as hell. These deficiencies will really begin to show as the game goes on.
-Movepool: Porygon actually has an interesting level-up movepool, although that doesn’t necessarily translate to a great one. Tackle, Psybeam and Tri Attack are all it gets for offensive options. What Porygon DOES get is Recover, which is useful on anything that gets it. It also gets the gimmicky Conversion, which works well in 1st gen thanks to most opponents only running STAB + Normal coverage. Changing into a type that resists itself can improve its survivability, especially with Recover. It is a bit too slow to abuse this properly though. Agility can be run to fix its speed issues. Porygon’s offense will come from TMs, where you have Ice Beam/Blizzard, Thunderbolt and Psychic to pick from. This provides excellent coverage and makes Porygon much more useful, albeit at the cost of the TMs.
-Power: If you can get it mid-game, Porygon can pull its weight for a little while. It can carry Psychic + Electric coverage, which is phenomenal along the routes heading towards Fuchsia. It also works well against Rocket Grunts. However, later in the game where everything is fully evolved and has better stats, Porygon’s poor stats really begin to show.
-Type: ‘Beige’ is probably the best way to describe Normal. Normal has no super-effective coverage, which contributes to why Porygon shouldn’t really be using STAB moves in the first place (the low Attack is also a key reason). Porygon also lacks resistances which is disappointing. It would really kill for some to potentially give it better bulk. Of course, this all gets thrown out the window when Conversion comes into play!
-Match-ups: Koga – Conversion is a huge help in RB, allowing you to take his hits much more easily. Psychic coverage helps immensely. Don’t use Conversion in Yellow, as you’ll make yourself weak to Psychic. Just spam Psychic attacks until you die.
Sabrina – Avoid this battle. Porygon is too slow and weak. Conversion may seem helpful but it’ll be hard to pull it off before you get hit. Clearly you’ll beat Abra in Yellow though.
Blaine – You get screwed by your low stats once again. In RB, Growlithe and Ponyta are beatable, but otherwise you don’t do much.
Giovanni – Again, stats prevent you from truely owning this battle, despite the type coverage.
Lorelei – Conversion + Thunderbolt can work here, but only if you manage to pull it off in time (you are so slow). Lapras is the toughest opponent thanks to Body Slam.
Bruno – You can beat Onix with Blizzard. Hitmonchan is beatable with Psychic since it lacks any Fighting attacks besides Counter. Avoid Hitmonlee and Machamp.
Agatha – Psychic covers everything, but have fun getting a hit in while she has her way with you with her annoying status moves. If she switches a lot against you, you might be able to do something.
Lance – Blizzard and Thunderbolt provide perfect coverage. You can actually do ok here since his Pokémon use mostly crappy or unSTABed moves, but a full sweep is difficult to pull off.
Blue – Interestingly, if you carry Thunderbolt, Blizzard/Ice Beam and Psychic, you have super-effective coverage on everything except Alakazam, Arcanine, Magneton, Ninetales and Jolteon. You can contribute here, but your low stats will make a complete sweep a real challenge.
-Additional Comments: This just isn’t a good Pokémon. It is way too much trouble to obtain, requiring a lot of sacrifices to get at a reasonable time. Once you get it, it just doesn’t perform well enough to justify obtaining it in the first place. It is an interesting choice, but this should be left for your fun teams.
Rhyhorn - Low Tier
Availability: Mid-game at the earliest. It is uncommonly found at levels 25-26 in the Safari Zone, and it is found in 2 of the 3 areas. There is a 15% chance of encountering one, so it is likely you will find a Rhyhorn somewhere. Their catch rate isn't too bad either, it can take a few attempts to get one. The only other place you can get one is in Cerulean Cave in Pokemon Yellow Version, but that's much later than practical.
Stats: Massive Attack and Defense make Rhyhorn/Rhydon an absolute powerhouse, and with a great HP stat it makes it a very strong pokemon. Unfortunately, it's low speed really hinders it and it's low special means that it should stay away from special moves.
Movepool: Rhyhorn has incredible TM capability, the kind most special sweepers would dream of, despite having a terrible special stat. As for level-up, Rhyhorn gets very little moves of any worth, and actually relies on TMs to give it STAB moves.
Power: Pure power best describes Rhydon, anything it hits, it KO's. It doesn't score many critical hits, but the raw damage output is always significant.
Type: Rock and Ground type are both great offensively, but defensively it's so-so. Immunity to Electric and resistance to Fire and Normal is great, but weakness to Grass (x4), Water (x4), Fighting (x2) and Ice (x2) is less than desirable.
Match-ups:
Erika: If you have Rhyhorn at this point (unlikely) then this is the last place to use it. Everything in this gym is faster and can cripple you with status or OHKO with STAB 4x Grass moves against your miserable Special stat. Leave Rhyhorn at home.
Koga: Rhyhorn wrecks if you gave it Dig or Earthquake, but if you didn't, it's very likely you will have normal-type moves. Rhyhorn still does ok in that case though, but watch out for poison.
Sabrina: Sabrina wrecks you here. Her pokemon are fast, high-powered and hit you in your pathetic Special stat. Even without weaknesses this is a bad match-up, although if you can survive a hit you can beat Kadabra as it's frail. But that's still a big IF.
Blaine: You come in with type advantage, but you won't like fighting here. Everything is faster than Rhyhorn, and even though he resists Fire, his special stat is atrocious. In addition, if Rhyhorn is burned, it will be pretty much useless. That being said, Rhydon should be able to take out Growlithe. The biggest threats come from Ponyta and Rapidash, who will both be faster than you and will trap you with Fire Spin. If you can move successfully however, you should take them out in 1 shot. Arcanine is a much bigger deal as you will be weakened by the time he arrives, and even though you resist Fire Blast, it can still KO you (or burn and cripple your attack stat).
Giovanni: This match-up very much depends on whether you taught Rhydon Earthquake/Dig, and only fight with Rhydon if he's level 51 to outspeed Giovanni's Rhydon, otherwise you risk Fissure. In this battle, Rhyhorn only knows crappy normal moves, Nidoking/Queen only have normal and poison moves and Rhydon can only hurt you with a lucky Fissure/Horn Drill. All of these Pokemon are hit supereffectively by Ground moves as well, but watch out for Dugtrio, because you won't like a STAB Dig (but is countered by your own Dig funnily enough).
Lorelei: Avoid avoid avoid. Lorlei can hit you with 4x Water moves and 2x Ice moves, and most of her Pokemon will be significantly faster than you. However, if you MUST fight her with Rhydon, make sure he knows Rock Slide to hit them back for 2x damage.
Bruno: Odd, but he actually does OK here. Both Onix are no trouble at all, and he can probably take down one Fighting-type Pokemon due to his high defense. However, Rhydon get's worn down very easily here, and won't solo unless he is extremely over-levelled.
Agatha: The sheer speed of her Pokemon plus Confusion/Sleep hax that her pokemon carry don't guarantee a quick or efficient sweep. If you can avoid these though (unlikely), then it's a clean sweep for Rhydon, as the best move each of them carry is essentially Night Shade.
Lance: If Rhydon ever picked a single moment to shine, it's here. Aside from Gyarados, Rhydon picks apart this team like it's no big deal. The only moves that any of them use are normal-type, and with Rhydon's massive defense and type resistance, it will be able to shake off the damage. It's worth noting though, Aerodactyl is still dangerous with Supersonic and immunity to Ground-type moves. In Yellow, Rhydon has a tougher time as his Dragonair has Ice Beam and Bubblebeam, while Dragonite now has Blizzard, but on the flip side, Aerodactyl no longer has supersonic, and the other Dragonair carries Thunderbolt (which you are immune to).
Rival: It doesn't matter what your Rival will be using here, he's going to have a different way of ending Rhydon in almost all circumstances. Charizard is the best starter to come up against due to it's weakness to Rock, but your terrible special means you will be eating Fire Blasts. Your Rhydon should be able to beat Pidgeot though, as it's frail. Exeggutor can be annoying with Hypnosis, but he only knows normal moves so he's no threat. Arcanine is easily beat, as Ember is piss-poor and his other moves just aren't up to scratch. The key Pokemon for Rhydon to completely avoid here is Blastoise, Venasaur, Alakazam and Gyarados who can all outspeed and OHKO.
Additional Notes: Rhydon would be awesome if it actually learned a single STAB move by level-up. And while it is able to beat regular trainers, it's useless in almost all of the important battles. It's unlikely that you saved Dig for Rhydon, and I would be hesitant to teach it Rock Slide and/or Earthquake. But, if you HAVE to use Rhydon, you need to give it these moves, it depends on them. Rhydon's TM movepool is amazing when it comes to special attacks, but unlike the Nidos, he doesn't have the stats to use them. In fact, Rhydon is a great special attacker in the same way Alakazam is a great physical wall. Rhydon does have a couple of interesting uses outside of battle, as it is able to use both Surf and Strength, so it's not a terrible HM slave. Overall, stick with Golem, Sandslash, Dugtrio, Nidoking or Nidoqueen, Rhyhorn is completely outclassed.
Scyther (unavailable in Blue) - Low Tier
-Availability: There are 2 ways to get a Scyther, and neither of them are pretty. The less expensive but also less recommended way is by looking for it in the Safari Zone. Keep in mind that it's a 4% encounter at best, and they tend to run away after one turn. The recommended but far more expensive method is to spend 110,000 poke (130,000 in Yellow) at the Game Corner. Regardless of the method, it'll be at level 25 (or close to it) when you get it.
-Stats: It has good Attack and great Speed. It also has enough bulk to take a few neutral physical hits.
-Movepool: Scyther's movepool is disappointingly shallow, outside of Slash (which it learns at level 29). It learns Swords Dance and Agility, but it never has a use for either of them, as Slash's omnipresent criticals negate the attack boosts from Swords Dance and Scyther's already faster than almost everything already, making Agility useless. Also, its attacking movepool is composed entirely of Normal-type attacks, with the exception of Wing Attack in Yellow, but Scyther doesn't learn it until level 50, and it's so weak that the only thing it hits harder than Slash is Ghost-types, which are in only one battle in the game by the time Scyther might have learned it.
-Power: By the time you get it (assuming you played the game normally), you'll be at Pokemon Tower, where the majority of enemies happen to be Ghost-types, which wall Scyther completely. Assuming you chose to go to Cycling Road first, Scyther's going to have a very rough time catching up thanks to seemingly everybody there having a Poison-type with good Defense. Also, even with Slash, it still has a bit of trouble OHKOing Pokemon that have decent Defense.
-Typing: With everything else it has in mind, Scyther really would've appreciated if it was at least part Normal-type, so it would get STAB from Slash. Instead, it gets no STAB whatsoever (if you say Wing Attack...) as well as a weakness to Poison-type attacks. At least it isn't part Grass-type...
-Match-ups: Note: All of the following are assuming Scyther knows Slash, as its capabilities are quite feeble without it.
--Lt. Surge: His team is swept in Red, but Raichu can occasionally survive a Slash in Yellow thanks to its higher level and then proceed to OHKO with Thunderbolt.
--Erika: Scyther's faster than her team, making Wrap not as threatening as it would've been (unless of course Scyther got paralyzed prior to the fight), and it has a 4x resistance to Grass-type moves.
--Koga: Considering Scyther's weak to Poison-type attacks and Slash failing to 2HKO Koffing, things won't go well for it in Red. In Yellow, it has a better chance, and might be able to take down more than one of his Pokemon, assuming none of them use Stun Spore or Sleep Powder.
--Sabrina: Her entire team is outsped, and Kadabra and Mr. Mime are flat out OHKOed by Slash. Venomoth and Alakazam can both survive one Slash, but they need to use Psybeam and Psychic to beat Scyther. In Yellow, Scyther loses the Speed advantage and the ability to OHKO Kadabra, because of it being higher levelled.
--Blaine: Every member of his team knows Fire Blast, and as such I feel no need to explain what the outcome of this battle might be.
--Giovanni: His Rhyhorn/don wall Scyther, and the Nidos have enough bulk to take a Slash. In the transition from Red to Yellow, there's good news and bad news: the good news it that he got rid of his Rhyhorn and Dugtrio can no longer touch Scyther. The bad news is that Persian can do more to you than Rhyhorn can, and the Nidos learned Thunder.
--Lorelei: All of her Pokemon (barring Jynx, who is outsped and OHKOed) fit at least 1 of 2 criteria:
1. Can take repeated Slashes.
2. Know an Ice-type move of some sort.
--Bruno: This battle features a double rarity: His Onix actually holding their own against something, and Hitmonchan being genuinely threatening (thanks, Counter!).
--Agatha: Nothing doing.
--Lance: Hyper Beam does a chunk regardless of who's using it, and Scyther has trouble 2HKOing anything on his team. In Yellow, things are even more hostile, as all of his Pokemon, with the exception of Gyarados, know super-effective moves.
--Rival: First of all, make a list of every Pokemon he'll use when you fight him. Then, cross out anything that's faster than Scyther, are physically bulky, or have a type advantage. The remaining Pokemon on the list should be Exeggutor and Venusaur, as while Blastoise and Vaporeon don't completely meet any of the above categories, keep in mind that they know Ice-type attacks.
-Additional Comments: Scyther is the closest thing to a one-trick pony in RBY; it has Slash, but nothing else. It's also one of the most expensive Pokemon in the game, second only to Porygon, and when all you get from 5500 coins is a Pokemon which has only one good move (which has absolutely no super-effective coverage), something's wrong.
-Tangela - Low Tier
-Availability: In RB it is caught after you get Surf south of Pallet Town. It isn’t too difficult to find usually but it needs some time to catch up to the rest of your team. Annoyingly, there aren’t any particularly good spots to grind it, although the Power Plant and Seaform Islands are ok choices. In Yellow, it is purely a Safari Zone Pokémon and is therefore harder to obtain (though it can be obtained sooner).
-Stats: Tangela has good stats overall. 115 Defence and 100 Special allows it to take all kinds of hits. It is a bit slow though, and its Attack is disappointing.
-Movepool: Tangela’s movepool is horrible. It is capable of learning Grass and Normal attacks. Because of its low Attack, its Normal attacks are mostly worthless. What’s worse is that it can’t learn Razor Leaf or Petal Dance, which leaves it with SolarBeam and Mega Drain as its best options. This limits its overall power. It does have access to the status powders though, which helps it defeat things.
-Power: Tangela is really held back by its movepool. To get around anything with resistance to Grass, it has to resort to Bind-trapping and its status moves to win, neither of which is particularly fast. Even against opponents that lack Grass resistance, it often can’t OHKO anything because Mega Drain is a weak attack and SolarBeam takes 2 turns. It can OHKO things with a Grass weakness, but that’s it.
-Type: Grass really is a mixed bag as an attacking type. It does hit some important Pokémon super-effectively, but it’s also resisted by a large number of Pokémon. The same applies from a defensive point of view. Grass has some good resistances but it also has some irritating weaknesses to Flying, Ice, Poison and Fire (and Bug but that isn’t that important). Tangela’s good bulk does help with the weaknesses a bit though, as long as you don’t get overly reckless.
-Match-ups: Sabrina – You aren’t that good here. You are outsped, Psychic does quite a bit of damage and you can’t do much back to her.
Blaine – You are pretty useless here. You can’t really do anything useful here unless you have an extreme aount of luck on your side.
Giovanni – This is one of your better match-ups. Grass hits Dugtrio, Rhyhorn and Rhydon. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can’t do much to you. Persian is a weakling that you can take out just fine. You can actually solo here, which is rare for Tangela.
Lorelei – Grass is super-effective on most of her team, but Ice is super-effective back. Slowbro can be beaten just fine but there are better choices for everything else.
Bruno – This is an ok match-up. You kill Onix and you can take on the fighting types thanks to your high Defence and their low Special.
Agatha – Don’t bother. You can’t touch anything here and they have their way with you with their annoying movesets.
Lance – Gyarados is the thing you stand the greatest chance against. Aerodactyl is doable in RB thanks to its lack of Flying moves (watch for Supersonic). In RB, you can take their hits but you can’t do much back (you may need to resort to status moves). In Yellow, 2 of the Dragons have Ice moves.
Blue – Your best match-ups are Rhydon, Blastoise, Sandslash, Magneton, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Cloyster. Watch for Ice attacks from the Water types.
-Additional Comments: Tangela has nice stats but its movepool is just too small to make this a good choice for an efficient run. It is the worst Grass type in the game and it is incapable of doing much of anything that would make it a worthwhile choice.
-Tauros - Low Tier
-Availability: Tauros can only be found in the Safari Zone. In RB, it is rare (4% encounter rate in area 3), has a low catch rate and tends to flee. It comes at level 26 at a minimum, which is somewhat underleveled (but not completely unsalvageable). This makes it a very inaccessible Pokémon indeed. In Yellow it is slightly more common (10% encounter rate in area 1 and 3), but comes at level 21 and retains its low catch rate.
-Stats: Tauros’s stats are impressive overall. 100 Attack and 110 Speed are perfect for sweeping through regular trainers quickly. 70 HP, 95 Defence and 70 Special give it decent bulk. 70 Special also allows it to use special attacks well.
-Movepool: Tauros’s level up movepool is very small. Stomp is a good move to start off with, but since Strength comes at around the same time that Tauros does you might as well use that. Although you can get away with just Strength if you want to, Tauros really appreciates TM support to be as effective as possible. It gets several Normal TMs, Thunderbolt/Thunder, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Fire Blast and Earthquake as strong options, but it is a big ask to actually reserve all of these for such an difficult-to-obtain Pokémon. Chances are that you might be able to take some of these, but simply have Nidoking/Nidoqueen and a Water type on your team (which is a fairly “standard” team in in-game first gen) can take most of these away and that leaves Tauros with nothing. As a result, you may have to build your team with these restrictions in mind if you plan to use it with its best possible moveset.
-Power: Tauros is an excellent sweeper, especially if you gave it TM support to improve its coverage. Strength should be sufficient to at least 2HKO most things though, and obviously standard trainers are going to fold to it. However, it isn’t the monster it could be if you rely on Strength alone, which you kind of want it to be if you are going that much out of your way to get it.
-Type: Normal has wide neutral coverage but no super effective coverage to speak of. This does allow Tauros to run mono-Normal coverage if it wants to, although some super effective coverage would have been nice to get more OHKOs. It’s a similar situation defensively, with only one weakness but only one immunity.
-Match-ups: Koga – In RB, if you have Earthquake, you do well. Without it, you are less effective, although to be honest Koga isn’t really that big of a deal in RB. In Yellow, you do ok too because his Pokémon are frail bugs (albeit high level ones).
Sabrina – Her Pokémon are frail. You can outspeed and KO her Pokémon with your STAB move.
Blaine – Earthquake is a huge help here. Even without it you can contribute, and Strength obviously gets the job done against Growlithe and Ponyta in RB, but it needs Earthquake to reliable pull off a quick sweep.
Giovanni – If you have an Ice (or at least Ground) move then you’ll do well. His Rock types wall you otherwise. Still, your Normal move can hit Dugtrio, Persian, Nidoqueen and Nidoking.
Lorelei – Tauros can learn Electric moves and if you have one then you cover everything except Jynx, who is KOed by your STAB anyway. But just like most of the other match-ups, it is less effective without the TM support, capable of contributing but not powering through.
Bruno – Unless you have an Ice move or Earthquake, Onix walls you. Machamp is a huge threat thanks to its bulk and Submission. If you have a Special move then Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are less threatening, but Hitmonlee’s fighting moves are very powerful against Tauros.
Agatha – Earthquake is needed for her Ghosts. Otherwise, you are hopeless against them. At least Golbat and Arbok can be beaten though.
Lance – Ice and Electric covers everything. Without them, Aerodactyl walls you, and Gyarados and Dragonite are harder to take down.
Blue – How useful you are comes down to what you taught it. It should be noted that Rhydon is the only thing that resists Normal though, so at least you can contribute using just your STAB.
-Additional Comments: Tauros can be amazing if you give it the support from TMs, but without them it isn’t as impressive. Mono-Normal can be described as “reliable”, but it needs the TMs to be able to power through most of the important match-ups as quickly as possible. Given how late Tauros comes, and how difficult it can be to obtain (especially in RB) and train (especially in Yellow), it is difficult to assume that Tauros will have access to its favourite TMs. The final nail in the coffin is its availability. In RB, just catching it can be an excruciating time drain. In Yellow it benefits from a higher encounter rate but is even more underleveled and still have the same problems with catching it, what with the Safari Zone mechanics. If you manage to get it quickly and you can provide it with at least some of its TMs, then it isn’t a bad choice, but it just isn’t a good idea to plan your playthrough with the intent of using it on your team.
Venonat - Low Tier (Bottom Tier in Red/Blue)
Availability: Route 25 in Yellow, as high as Lv. 16. In Red/Blue, you'll have to wait until Route 12. It evolves at Lv. 31.
Stats: None of them stick out as a Venonat. After it evolves, things don't change much aside from having okay Special and Speed.
Movepool: While Venonat can learn the powders, it has to wait a while before it can learn them. (Lv. 43 for Sleep Powder!) It also learns Psychic-type moves via level-up, but it doesn't get STAB on them, making them generally weak in comparison to others, and it doesn't learn Psychic until Lv. 50, meaning that you'll have to either waste your TM29, or just use Psybeam for the rest of the game.
Power: Lack of effective powder attacks means that it can't cripple its opponents like its competition can, and poor typing with no STAB and only "okay" Special means that you shouldn't expect much from its attacks.
Type: Bug/Poison is awful, considering that its most powerful STAB move is Leech Life. It doesn't even get STAB on the Psychic-type attacks it learns.
Match-ups: Don't expect Venonat to do well in combat, due to its unfortunate typing and average-at-best stats.
Misty: Leech Life is super-effective, but only on Starmie, and Bubblebeam will generally do more anyways.
Lt. Surge: Similar case as Misty, but Leech Life and Confusion are neutral.
Erika: Even though Venonat has the type advantage, don't expect a clean sweep here, because of its awful (for this point in the game) stats.
Koga: If you're playing Red/Blue, you might have a chance. General rule of thumb for Yellow is 3 Venonats + 1 Venomoth >>> just 1 Venomoth.
Sabrina: Type chart says no.
Blaine: See Sabrina.
Giovanni: Thanks to his team either being weak to Psychic or having low Special. Watch out for Dugtrio and Persian though, as they can rip you moth to shreds with Slash.
Lorelei: Don't expect victory from Venomoth, due to its average stats. Generally, it'll fire an attack, not KO, and get hit back, with equal or greater power.
Bruno: Venomoth is primarily a special attacker, and x4 resists Fighting, meaning the only thing you have to worry about from Bruno is Hitmonlee's Mega Kick.
Agatha: Her 2 Gengar are barely faster than you, and the first one can put you sleep while the other has Psychic at its disposal.
Lance: Don't push your luck. They all have Hyper Beam, know how to use it, and can take a hit.
Additional Comments: Venomoth is too average for its own good, with nothing to set it apart from the competition. It's usable, but outclassed in Yellow, and even worse in Red/Blue, due to its much later joining time.
Vulpix: Low Tier
-Availability: Midgame. In Blue, Vulpix can either be found before Celadon City (where you can buy a Fire Stone and evolve him straight away), or in the Pokemon Mansion. In Yellow, Vulpix is obtained through the Game Corner, which is also in Celadon.
-Stats: Ninetails has very good Speed and Special. Its Special allows it to take Special Hits (provided they are not Water moves), and it outspeeds a lot of Pokemon. However, the rest of his stats are average at best.
-Movepool: If you evolve it into Ninetails straight away, you'll be stuck with Ember unless you feed it TM's such as Fire Blast, Body Slam, and Dig. Keep in mind the latter 2 TM are in very high demand in this game. Fire Blast also comes only later on in the game and has low PP, which may cause issues when fighting the Elite 4.
If you keep him as Vulpix or catch him later at Pokemon Mansion, you can train him to learn Confuse Ray and Flamethrower. However, Confuse Ray is not the most efficient strategy as it is a luck based moved. While Flamethrower may seem tempting, by the time you get it, Fire loses much of its value due to not being especially good against the majority of latter gym leaders/E4.
-Power: Not very powerful at all. Evolving it straight into Ninetails means you are stuck with Ember as your STAB.
-Type: Fire
Offensively, it hits Bug, Grass, and Ice for Super Effective damage. By the time you get Vulpix, you'll barely have any Bug and Ice types to fight. The majority of Bug users are battled before Celadon, where as the only Ice type you battle (that is weak to Fire) is Lorelei's Jynx. Grass is still common at this point, but you also get HM 02 Fly and TM13 Ice Beam to hit Grass types with. Fire is resisted by Rock, Water, Fire, and Dragon. Most Rock types you face in-game have weak Special and wont even like taking resisted hits, and there is only one Dragon user in the game. However, Water is problematic for Ninetails, especially with how common it is late game (all the water trainers in the water surrounding Cinnabar Island).
Fire also offers resists to Bug, Grass, and Fire. However, he is also weak to Water, Ground, and Rock moves, which is more common than Bug/Grass/Fire moves.
-Mathups:
--Erika: Despite the type advantage, Ninetails only has Ember which will not sweep her team. Also, status moves put a serious damper on Ninetails performance.
--Koga: If Ninetails was given the Dig TM, it can hit his entire team for Super Effective damage, just watch out for getting poisoned. In Yellow, Koga uses Venonats/Venomoth who are weak to Fire. However, much like Erika, you'll be stuck with Ember and Ninetails will not like being poisoned.
--Sabrina: Ninetails has the Special Bulk to survive Sabrina's move and can use Body Slam/Dig to hit her physically frail Pokemon.
--Blaine: Dig hits his whole team for Super Effective damage. While Growlithe and Ponyta are not threats, his Rapidash and Arcanine can survive a Dig. Rapidash and Arcanine also both have goo Physical Attack and can hurt Ninetails with Stomp/Take Down.
--Giovanni: Dig is Super Effective on his whole team except for Dugtrio. Despite that, Giovanni's Pokemon can take a Dig from Ninetails and wear it down with their own moves. His Dugtrio also knows Dig.
In Yellow, almost all his Pokemon know Earthquake, easily taking Ninetails out.
--Lorelei: The only one who Ninetails can safely take on is Jynx, due to her weakness to Fire.
--Bruno: His Pokemon have low Special and don't like taking Flamethower/Fire Blast. Might want to be vary on Fire Blast PP, though.
--Agatha: If you have Dig, it deals a lot of damage to her team as they are all weak to Ground except Golbat. Golbat isn't too hard to take out either, but watch out for Confuse Ray or Toxic.
--Lance: His entire team resists Fire and their powerful Hyper Beams will hurt Ninetails. Even worse, Lance's Gyarados knows Hydro Pump, which will make short work of Ninetails.
--Gary: STAB Fire moves can take out his Grass Pokemon, while Dig can hurt his Electric types, Rhydon, and Fire types (excluding Charizard). However, his Water types are a huge threat to Ninetails, and in Yellow his Sandslash can Earthquake you.
Additional Comments: Ninetails does well against some Gym Leaders/E4 members, but at the same time, its at the cost of using up two of the most valuable TM in the games - Body Slam and Dig. There will be plenty of other people who will want those two TM's, and can use it better than Ninetails. Hence why I'm placing Ninetails as Low Tier.
-Weedle (Red and Blue only) - Low Tier
-Availability: Weedle are easy to obtain, just search for them in Viridian Forest. They can also be found at Route 2 in Red, but it's better just to go into the forest and look for them there, as you have a higher chance of finding them there. They also evolve quite early, at level 7 and then level 10.
-Stats: This here is the main reason why Weedle's bad. Its stats are unimpressive all across the board, even after it fully evolves, with its highest base stat being 80 Attack.
-Movepool: Its only attacking moves are the weak Poison Sting and the unreliable Fury Attack until it learns Twineedle at level 20. Twineedle, and later Pin Missile, are Bug-type moves, which, back in the day, hit Poison-types super-effectively, essentially meaning Beedrill hits a decent chunk of the later mid-game super-effectively. It also learns Agility and Swords Dance (although you'll need TM03 for the latter), which are absolutely essential for its performance against most of the later bosses. Also, it can learn Mega Drain, which allows it to deal with Rock/Ground-types, but has little use otherwise, as most of the Water-types in the game are hit just as hard, if not harder, by Twineedle or Pin Missile. Unfortunately, Pin Missile and Twineedle don't exactly have the best base powers in the game, with Twineedle being 75 after STAB is factored in.
-Power: With only Poison Sting and Fury Attack for the first two badges, Beedrill's not doing very well. Then, when it learns Twineedle, it actually does adequately, easily defeating the majority of things weak to it. It also does well in Pokemon Tower, outspeeding and OHKOing the Ghost-types that haunt the tower. Soon after that, however, Beedrill hits the wall known as Koffing, and realizes that the only way for it to KO them in one turn is to hope for the 25% chance of Pin Missile hitting at least 4 times. Soon afterwards, it runs into Weezing, whom it can't OHKO at all without the aid of a critical hit. Another thing: don't use the terms "Bird Keeper" and "Beedrill" in the same sentence, for Beedrill's sake.
-Type: Bug is, as mentioned above, one of the best STABs to have in RBY. Beedrill also has a secondary Poison typing, giving it a neutrality to Poison-type attacks, but also giving it a Psychic weakness, meaning Beedrill can't effectively take them on.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Considering the fact that his Pokemon resist every move Kakuna (or Beedrill, depending on whether you grinded it or not) has, and that they have high Defense, breaking through them just won't work. And before you say something like "But Poison Sting poisons them!" keep in mind that Brock has Full Heals at his disposal.
--Misty: While her Starmie is indeed weak to Twineedle, it is faster than Beedrill and its BubbleBeam is fully capable of OHKOing it.
--Lt. Surge: Beedrill can beat his Voltorb and Pikachu with little to no problem, but Raichu can fry it with a Thunderbolt.
--Erika: This is the part of the game where Beedrill is at its best. It literally OHKOes everything in this Gym (except for Erika's Tangela, but what would it honestly do in retaliation?) with Twineedle. Ahhh, 4x weaknesses...
--Koga: You'll need to set up 3 Swords Dances to stand a chance against him, and keep in mind that his Pokemon can use Smokescreen repeatedly while you're setting up.
--Sabrina: Her Kadabra outspeeds and OHKOes you. However, if Beedrill sets up an Agility on her Mr. Mime, it can take out her Alakazam as well as Mr. Mime if it didn't use Barrier. Also, since she has a Venomoth, which can survive a Pin Missile most of the time, you'll probably want to use Swords Dance, at least if it wasn't for the fact that Mr. Mime's Confusion 2HKOes.
--Blaine: While you might be able to set up on him, keep in mind that Rapidash can weather a +6 5-hit Pin Missile and proceed to trap Beedrill, beating it in only 3 turns. If you made it past Rapidash, his Arcanine is much bulkier than it looks, having the ability to survive at least 10 +6 Pin Missile impacts.
--Giovanni: First of all, you need Mega Drain to beat his Rhyhorn (and Rhydon), which is the only Pokemon he has that Beedrill can properly set up on. Once that is done, feel free to 2HKO Rhyhorn with Mega Drain, and after that, you can Pin Missile his Dugtrio and Nidos. Remember that Dugtrio is faster than an unboosted Beedrill, and Nidoqueen has the bulk to take a +6 5-hit Pin Missile, meaning they both have an opportunity to fire attacks back at Beedrill.
--Lorelei: Because Rest is a Psychic-type move, Dewgong will repeatedly use it against Beedrill, allowing it to set up as much as it wants. Unfortunately, Slowbro, Cloyster, and Lapras have enough bulk to easily take a +6 Pin Missile.
--Bruno: As with Giovanni, his first Pokemon is a non-threatening Rock/Ground-type that can be set up on and 2HKOed by Mega Drain. While his entire team resists Bug-type attacks, +6 Pin Missile is still strong enough to take out his Hitmonlee in approximately 4 hits. The only things you need to watch out for are Mega Punch, Mega Kick, and Karate Chop.
--Agatha: Unlike the previous two, Beedrill can't set up on any of her Pokemon, as they all know status moves of some sort that can (and will) disrupt any setup attempts.
--Lance: While it can't beat his Gyarados, it can set up on his Dragonair, both of which know Agility. Keep in mind that unless Beedrill knows Agility as well, it won't defeat Aerodactyl, who is faster and can survive a +6 Pin Missile. Also, Dragonite will do nothing against it, as it knows Barrier and Agility, and will use them against Poison-types (like Beedrill!)
--Blue: Just like with Agatha, Beedrill has no setup opportunities, and as such is of no use to you for this battle.
-Additional Comments: Weedle comes (and evolves) early and its primary STAB is very useful in-game, but when it comes down to it, it just doesn't hit hard enough against its intended targets to be a great help. The added Psychic weakness, lack of Bug-type attacks until level 20, and the low base power of the STAB moves themselves don't exactly help its cause either.
-Zubat - Low Tier
-Availability: You can get it before the second badge in Mt. Moon. Zubat’s relative weakness does mean that you’ll need to grind it though, regardless of the level you catch it (it can be as high as level 11), which is a pain since it can only beat opposing Zubat at this point. It is a tedious task, made worse by Leech Life’s low PP forcing you to run back and forth between Mt. Moon and the Pokémon centre outside.
-Stats: Golbat’s stats are not particularly great but they aren’t completely horrible either. It is quite quick, and 75 HP, 80 Attack, 70 Defence and 75 Special are ok given how early you evolve (they aren’t all that good late game though).
-Movepool: Its level-up movepool is unbelievably bad. Bite at level 15 is its strongest attack by level up. This is fine early on and the flinches it provides are helpful but the lack of power shows later on. Its TM movepool isn’t much better. Mega Drain, Double-Edge and Take Down are all you’re getting (it doesn’t even get Fly). Don’t be surprised if your moveset ends up being (Bite or Double-Edge)/Mega Drain/Leech Life/Wing Attack or something weird like that.
-Power: Bite can 2HKO some of the weaker Pokémon but during important battles, and later on in general, you will take more and more turns to kill things, so it can’t really power through routes.
-Type: Wing Attack is its only STAB and it is too weak to be of much use. From a defensive point of view, Poison/Flying (besides being unique) has some useful resistances (Ground/Fighting/Grass/Poison) and provides immunity to Poison but also provides weaknesses to Electric/Ice/Rock/Psychic, all of which are used in some important battles.
-Match-ups: Misty – Not that helpful. It can beat Staryu but it isn’t guaranteed to be faster and may take damage, and it will lose to Starmie
Lt. Surge – Thunderbolt will kill you.
Erika – Tangela is somewhat annoying due to physical bulk but can’t do much back, and Weepinbel and Gloom are at least 3HKOed by Leech Life (watch for Sleep Powder).
Koga – Depends on your level. Poison immunity is good and RB Koga shouldn't be that hard, though it doesn't exactly take everything down in one hit either. Psychic is super-effective but Golbat can take 1 or 2 from Venonat before going down.
Sabrina – Bite and Leech Life ok damage but Psychic OHKOs.
Blaine – Depends on level; Ninetales’s Flamethrower does a lot of damage, as does Arcanine’s Flamethrower and Fire Blast. Rapidash can Fire Spin trap you. Not really that good here, though RB Blaine is significantly easier.
Giovanni – Beats Dugtrio. Note that in Yellow, Persian’s Double Team is annoying thanks to its inability to kill it quickly, Nidoqueen and Nidoking have Thunder and Rhydon has Rock Slide (Mega Drain is good here though).
Lorelei – So many Ice attacks! Golbat isn’t good here.
Bruno – Mega Drain kills Onix. The 4x Fighting resistance is useful and Hitmonchan’s elemental punches are too weak to be that big of a concern (any damage can be recovered back from Mega Draining his second Onix). The Normal attacks are a bit more concerning, but overall Golbat is ok here.
Agatha – It won’t enjoy Dream Eater (easily dealt with using the Pokeflute) or Psychic, but Mega Drain and Poison resistance is handy. This battle is often down to luck with Confuse Ray and how much Agatha switches against you.
Lance – It does significantly worse in Yellow due to Ice Beam, Blizzard and Thunderbolt. Otherwise it will probably depend on level (you’ll need to be quite over-levelled to win alone though).
Blue – In RB you should do ok against Rhydon, Exeggutor, Venusaur, Pidgeot, and Arcanine with a bit of “Take Down missed” luck. In Yellow your best match-ups are Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales and Flareon.
-Additional Comments: Zubat isn’t as bad as it first seems. Bite is acceptable for a little while, and Mega Drain and Leech Life have niche uses and recover HP simultaneously, which is handy. However, the fact is that Golbat is simply not an efficient battler, taking multiple turns to KO most opponents, and unlike other weak Flying types like Farfetch’d it doesn’t even provide any utility by learning Fly! There is just little justification for using this in an efficient run, making it low tier.
Availability: Cinnabar Island, at Lv. 30. You need the Old Amber.
Stats: The second highest Speed in the game, with nice Attack to boot. It's very fragile, though.
Movepool: To sum its level-up movepool up: Wing Attack (35BP in Gen I), Supersonic, Normal-type Attacks. It can learn Fire Blast, but doesn't have the Special to use it effectively. It also doesn't have access to any Rock-type moves.
Power: It's one of the few Flying-types that are both walled by Rock-types and weak to the abundant Water-types. Lack of good STAB means that it'll generally be reliant on Fly and Take Down for damage. If the opponent can survive a crit Fly/Take Down, it can generally leave Aero in the yellow/red.
Type: Aerodactyl has a great offensive typing. Unfortunately, the best STAB it can use is Fly. Also, while it's the only Pokemon in RBY to resist Normal and Ground, it's also weak to Water, which is all over the place.
Match-ups:
Blaine: Because of Aero's mediocre defenses, STAB Fire Blast is seriously going to hurt, even though it's resisted. Basically, spam Fly and hope for Criticals.
Giovanni: You resist his entire team's moves, except for his Nidoking/queen in Yellow, because of Thunder. Also keep in mind that Aerodactyl can't exactly do anything to Rhyhorn/don.
Lorelei: Her team's STAB is SE on you. No further explanation is necessary.
Bruno: His 2 Onix (embarassingly) wall you, but the rest of his team is easily dealt with by Fly.
Agatha: Her entire team is physically frail, and Aero's naturally faster then all of them.
Lance: While Aerodactyl resists Hyper Beam, Lance's Gyarados knows Hydro Pump. Don't push your luck otherwise. In Yellow, his 2 Dragonair and Dragonite now know moves that are SE against your pterodactyl.
Additional Comments: Aerodactyl is a great example of how important STAB is, in the inverse manner. As you can see, Fly deals heavy damage to anything that doesn't resist it. Lack of Rock-type moves to use, late joining time, and a weakness to Water hamper its usefulness. At least Fly is good on it, thanks to STAB, base 105 Attack, and a 25% crit rate.
-Caterpie - Low Tier
-Availability: It couldn't possibly be any easier to obtain. Common and before the first gym.
-Stats: Butterfree's stats are mediocre. Decent Special and Speed but poor Defence and HP (and Attack). It does help that it evolves early though, since it gives it a moment to shine.
-Movepool: It has access to the powders, giving it some utility, and access to Psychic moves this early is great. However, its moves lack power overall (Psybeam is its strongest attack). It learns Psychic and Mega Drain as TMs but Psychic is quite a valuable TM and Butterfree is probably not the best thing to use it on.
-Power: It has decent power early on, but as the game goes on you'll find that it starts to fail to kill things quickly enough, taking big hits in return.
-Type: It doesn't have any STAB moves. Its typing blows defensively and later on in the game it may limit the number of things that Butterfree should be used against.
-Match-ups: Brock - One of the best choices here since they don't have rock attacks and they lose to Confusion.
Misty - Starmie beats you but it is fairly evenly matched against the others.
Lt. Surge - Electric attacks kill it.
Erika - Wins here.
Koga - Butterfree is actually weak to Poison in 1st gen so its a risky choice in RB (it should still contribute though thanks to its psychic attacks). In Yellow, none of Koga's pokemon have poison attacks so it isn't as bad.
Sabrina - Her pokemon kind of 'out-special' Butterfree. They resist its strongest attack too. Not a good choice here.
Blaine - No.
Giovanni -In RB, it actually isn't THAT bad. It can beat the Nidos, and none of his pokemon have rock attacks. In Yellow it is much worse off because of Rock Slide, Thunder and perhaps Persian's Slash.
Lorelei - You lose here.
Bruno - If you have Mega Drain then you can stop Onix before it can kill you. It resists fighting but Machamp and Hitmonlee's (and Hitmonchan's in RB) normal attacks will do a lot.
Agatha - Psychic is super-effective against all of them. It is weak to Wing Attack and Acid though. As per usual beating the ghosts can come down to luck (you have to hope that Hypnosis misses and that Confuse Ray doesn't completely screw you over).
Lance - Useless here, especially in Yellow.
Blue - In RB it COULD beat Rhydon, Exeggutor and Venusaur. In Yellow, Exeggutor is the only thing I would feel "comfortable" against.
-Additional Comments - I think that Butterfree is somewhat borderline in its tier placement. Its availability, early evolutions, psychic attacks and useful status moves are definite pluses, but its low stats and limited offensive movepool basically mean that it is just medocre on the battlefield. I think that low is appropriate. If low tier gets separated again though, don't put it in Bottom since it does have SOME attributes.
-Chansey - Low Tier
-Availability: Chansey is probably the most unavailable Pokémon in the whole game. It is a rare Pokémon with low catch rate. What’s worse is that it is a Safari Zone Pokémon which means you have little control over whether you will successfully catch it or not. The odds are stacked against you and you will probably be looking for this for a long time.
-Stats: Chansey’s stat distribution is quite unique. Chansey has a ridiculous 250 HP. Backed up by 105 Special, Chansey absolutely cannot be defeated by any special attack, ever. The high Special also makes it a powerful attacker. On the other hand, it only has 5 Attack and Defence. Although the massive HP stat helps with physical attacks somewhat, don’t be surprised when random things like Weezing’s Sludge 2HKO you. Chansey is a bit on the slow side with 50 Speed, but as long as you are at a decent level you should go first most of the time.
-Movepool: Sadly, Chansey’s level up movepool is quite useless. It only learns physical attacks, which do laughable damage, along with a bunch of insignificant support moves. On the plus side, Chansey’s TM compatibility is insane! Between Ice Beam/Blizzard, Thunderbolt, BubbleBeam, Fire Blast, Psychic and SolarBeam, Chansey can throw together a moveset catering to your teams needs. Another thing that can’t be over-looked is its access to Softboiled. With this move in hand, Chansey can become the ultimate support Pokémon by healing its wounded team mates, saving you a trip to the Pokémon centre. Given its incredible HP score, Chansey is more than capable of performing in this role, and it is the only Pokémon able to do so anyway. Finally, Chansey has Thunder Wave which isn’t a required move but it allows it to make up for its low Speed in important battles.
-Power: Chansey is mainly held back by its lack of Special STAB. It can have trouble getting around some Pokémon that aren’t weak to one of its moves. Kadabra, Alakazam and Hypno in particular can cause problems. Still, Chansey has amazing coverage backed by 105 Special, allowing it to kill teams just fine on its own. Chansey’s low Speed can cause problems occasionally, but against most under-levelled you’ll go first anyway.
-Type: It has no use for its Normal STAB thanks to its useless Attack score. Chansey sort of wishes it had more resistances, but it doesn’t really need them. Only powerful Fighting attacks (which are not that common) have a chance to OHKO it without a critical hit, and special attacks do laughable damage to it.
-Match-ups: Koga – Psychic can be used to sweep here if you have it. In RB, you’ll be attacked from the physical side so you may struggle to sweep unassisted. In Yellow, you are much better placed thanks to your special bulk cushioning Psychic.
Sabrina – You start out with an advantage because you shrug off all of their hits. They have high Special stats though so they can survive your hits. You can’t lose unless you suffer several Special drops. Thunder Wave is a useful option here.
Blaine – The fire attacks you will face are easily shrugged off. The physical attacks are more of an issue, although watching Arcanine maim itself with Take Down recoil is satisfying! BubbleBeam is your strongest option here.
Giovanni – BubbleBeam and Ice Beam/Blizzard will cover everything except Persian. You must be careful though, as this is a physically based team and a full sweep is difficult.
Lorelei – On the plus side, you take nothing from their Ice and Water attacks. On the down side, all of her Pokémon have physical attacks except Slowbro, who can set up Amnesia. Lapras is the biggest threat with Body Slam. Thunderbolt covers most of her Pokémon just fine.
Bruno – BubbleBeam/Ice Beam/Blizzard wrecks Onix and Psychic covers everything else. Hitmonchan is a joke, especially in Yellow. Hitmonlee and Machamp are more dangerous thanks to their Fighting attacks.
Agatha – All of her Pokémon can’t really do much to Chansey directly but your low Speed leave you vulnerable to status moves. If luck is on your side then this won’t be an issue though.
Lance – BoltBeam covers everything. This is a bit easier in Yellow because there are more special attacks but everything has at least 1 physical attack. This will make a full solo difficult, but as long as you have the right moves then you can at least contribute.
Blue – What to teach Chansey governs what you can kill. Everything except Alakazam has at least 1 physical attack but not all of his Pokémon can do much with them. Basically, just pick off what you can with the moves you have and leave the rest to something else.
-Additional Comments: Chansey is definitely a good Pokémon if you can get your hands on it. But that’s the problem. Catching it is difficult and can take ages. Much like all of the rare Safari Zone Pokémon, you can waste precious time catching this, and any time that you save by having this on your team will probably not be enough to make up for this.
Clefairy - Low Tier
-Availability: Clefairy can be caught in Mt. Moon, but are quite uncommon there (highest encounter rate in Red and Blue is 6%). Their levels range around 10, with 8 being the lowest and 12 being the highest. They evolve through the use of a Moon Stone, 2 of which happen to be in Mt. Moon, the place where you find Clefairy in the first place! The first one is in the northwest corner of the first floor, and the second is in the bottom floor, hidden 4 steps below and 6 steps to the right of the Super Nerd.
Of course, if you don't want to go on a Clefairy hunt but still want one on your team, you could buy one in the Rocket game corner for a low cost that you should be able to afford (500 coins in Red, 750 coins in Blue, not there in Yellow), but it'll be underleveled in comparison with the rest of your team when you get it meaning you're better off looking for them in Mt. Moon earlier on in the game.
You can evolve Clefairy whenever you want, but it's recommended that you do so once you get a Moon Stone, as Clefairy's level-up movepool leaves quite a bit to be desired.
-Stats: Clefable's stats are average in many areas, with the exception being HP, which is high enough for Clefable to take repeated hits. Unfortunately, its lowest stat (aside from its "good enough" Speed) is its Attack, meaning that despite getting STAB off of Normal-type attacks, Clefable won't have much business using them as opposed to a move from its vast special movepool, such as Thunderbolt or Fire Blast.
-Movepool: Clefairy's level-up movepool is, simply put, bad. Moonlight, the only reason why people would delay evolving Clefairy, doesn't exist yet, thus leaving absolutely no reason for not evolving it immediately outside of "I'm also using a Nidoran and don't know where the hidden Moon Stone is". The problem with this, though, is that because Clefable learns no moves by level-up, making it completely dependant on TMs to keep up. Among these TMs are Water Gun, Mega Punch, Thunderbolt, Psychic, and more, but the problem with all of this is that the TMs that benefit Clefable the most are one-time use TMs (Yes, Mega Punch can be purchased in Celadon City, but by then your Pokemon should have equally powerful/more powerful alternatives for it.), and as such Clefable will face competition for a large amount of them. However, Water Gun is almost necessary early on if you want Clefable to be useful for Mt. Moon and Rock Tunnel. Mega Punch is also quite helpful as a general attacking moves.
-Power: Clefable is quite good in the first half of the game if you give it the right support (read: Water Gun, Mega Punch, Moon Stone), but after Rock Tunnel, Clefable quickly fades into obscurity as it stays the same (unless you use more one-time TMs on it) while everybody around it gets better.
-Type: Normal could be considered the "blank slate" of all the typings, being weak to only Fighting-type attacks, which only comes into play for 2 battles in the entire game, and one of them is optional, while it has no resistances or immunities save for Lick (The other Ghost-type moves, Night Shade and Confuse Ray, aren't affected by type match-ups), which is only appears in Pokemon Tower.
-Match-ups: The following match-ups are assuming you taught Clefable at least Mega Punch, as it does dismally against all of them otherwise.
--Misty: Clefable has the bulk to take 3 Bubblebeams from Starmie (assuming none of them crit, of course) and its Mega Punch is powerful enough to beat Starmie in 3 hits, meaning that if Starmie messes around by using Tackle or the like, Clefable wins.
--Lt. Surge: As with Misty, Clefable can withstand 2 Thunderbolts from Raichu and 2HKO back with Mega Punch. The problem is, Raichu's obviously faster, so Clefable either has to get lucky with a crit or Raichu has to use Growl or Thunder Wave.
--Erika: Cefable's slower than her Victreebel, so it's inevitably going to get trapped by Wrap if it chooses to use it. Tangela and Vileplume are more manageable, especially if Clefable knows Ice Beam. Watch out for Sleep Powder from Vileplume, though.
--Koga: Simply put, if Clefable knows Psychic, it wins, but not smoothly. If it doesn't know Psychic, Koga wins.
--Sabrina: Clefable can beat all of her Pokemon by itself with the exception of Alakazam. It can do decently against it if it didn't fight anything else in her party, but doesn't have a guaranteed victory over it.
--Blaine: Fire Blast can hurt a bit, but Clefable should still be able to beat Growlithe and Ponyta by itself.
--Giovanni: Clefable needs Bubblebeam to stand a chance against him, as Water Gun just does not have enough power behind it to OHKO even his Rhyhorn. Of course, you shouldn't expect Bubblebeam to OHKO either of his Nidos, but at least it's better than only getting a 3HKO against them. In Yellow, his Nidoqueen and Rhydon can actually pose an offensive threat, making things overall more dangerous for Clefable, who will get worn down quite quickly when fighting Dugtrio and Persian alone.
--Lorelei: For Clefable to beat her, you need 3 things:
1. Thunderbolt
2. An X Special
3. At least 2 Hyper Potions.
--Bruno: Watch out for Hi Jump Kick from Hitmonlee and Submission from Machamp. Bruno's Onix are pathetic and Hitmonchan can be easily dealt with if you don't use Mega Punch, Strength, or any other Normal-type attack, as it can Counter it back at you.
--Agatha: Her Ghosts take pathetic damage from all of Clefable's possible attacks (except for Psychic, of course) while Arbok (in Yellow) knows Wrap, which can trap Clefable for an extended period of time, meaning the only Pokemon Clefable should even consider taking on is Golbat.
--Lance: While Clefable's bulk allows it to take a non-critical Hyper Beam from any of his Pokemon, it can't really do much back to them unless you taught it Thunderbolt (for Gyarados) or Ice Beam/Blizzard (for everything else).
--Rival: Whatever Clefable can beat can be easily accomplished by almost every fully evolved Pokemon in the game, so its performance against him isn't too impressive (for those of you wondering, it can beat Pidgeot, Rhydon, and Exeggutor).
-Additional Comments: Simply put, Clefable is one of those Pokemon that's good early on in the game, but falters mid-game and never gets out of its slump. It also needs a large amount of support to be good, and its rarity certainly doesn't help matters much.
Cubone - Bottom Tier
-Availability: Lavender Town is the earliest and they come at level 22 which isn't too far off your team at the time. In Yellow they also appear in the Safari Zone, but that's a bit out of your way.
-Stats: Cubone is slow. He has a decent Attack and a great Defense stat, but he's always taking hits because he is slow.
-Movepool: Comes with STAB moves unlike other Ground types, and can learn some great moves, but Cubone's Special is poor and can only really obtain Normal moves to take advantage of its stats.
-Power: Cubone/Marowak is very strong coming off it's STAB moves, but it's quite slow so it will always be taking a hit which will wear it down significantly.
-Type: Not a lot of trainers use Electric-type moves, meaning Cubone's immunity is useless. In addition, weakness to Grass and Water is not great. Marowak doesn't get a lot of important resistances though, which is unfortunate.
-Match-ups:
Erika: Erika is a problem for Marowak. It's slow, so it can be hit with a status, locked in a constricting move or taken out swiftly with a Super Effective move. However, if you are lucky and you are appropriately leveled, Marowak should KO one of Erika's Pokemon. Just don't expect a sweep.
Koga: Marowak is strong against poison and has a high defense. In addition, Bone Rush hits all of his Pokemon hard. Koga will often be too busy giving his Pokemon X-Attack as well, so you can be comfortable 2HKOing some of his Pokemon. Also worthy of note, Marowak's defense can help cushion Weezing's Self-destruct. In Yellow, Marowak will sweep nicely as well as Venonat is frail, but beware Venomoth's Psybeam as it will hurt you on the Special side.
Sabrina: Marowak is not great here. His low Speed combined with his low Special means he will be hit first and hard, even at level 50. He will KO Kadabra in 1 shot, but he will be hit first. Venomoth will use Stun Spore to slow you down and hit you with Psybeam. Mr Mime can take a hit, but can't do much to you back with Doubleslap. Alakazam can usually take a hit from you and hit you hard back, and since he outspeeds you even with a large level gap, this means he is very likely to KO you regardless.
Blaine: Marowak does well here, as STAB Dig/Earthquake/Bone Rush will OHKO all of Blaine's pokemon. All he will do in response is spam Super Potions and use Normal-type moves, which Marowak can take with ease due to his high defense.
Giovanni: Marowak is a solid performer here, especially if he has Earthquake. His high defense and STAB Earthquakes mean Marowak will be able to take a hit from every Pokemon on his team and strike back hard. He also gets type advantage against Nidoking and Nidoqueen as a bonus.
Lorelei: Unfortunately every Pokemon in Lorlei's team will have a type advantage over Marowak, and many of them will be faster. This is a bad match-up for Marowack.
Bruno: The opposite of Lorelei, Bruno will be hitting you exclusively with Physical attacks and his pokemon will more likely be slower. Marowak will be dealing some serious damage here, this is a great match-up.
Agatha: This match-up is very much mixed. On one hand, all of her Pokemon are poison types, but on the other, they are all faster than you and will status you to high hell and back. This match basically comes down to luck.
Lance: He has 3 Pokemon that are immune to Ground attacks, and many of those Pokemon will be hitting you hard with moves like Hydro Pump and Slam. You don't have it easy here. In Yellow this battle is much harder as his Dragons will now carry the likes of Ice Beam and Bubblebeam.
Rival: There are definitely better match-ups for Marowak, but there are some pros and cons. There will always be a Fire type and he will always have Rhydon, so you have an advantage there, but aside from that you do not want to try to sweep with this match-up. The addition of an Electric-type (and the subsequent removal of Pidgeot) gives Marowak better standing in Yellow, but not by much.
Additional Comments: Sandslash, Dugtrio, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, Golem. Those are all the Ground types that outclass Cubone. Many of them come earlier as well, which means that in many playthroughs Marowak will be overlooked. That being said, there are a number of benefits to Cubone, one such being that he learns high base power Ground moves and works with good TM support to round out his coverage. His middling Speed and weaknesses to Grass and Water let him down. Essentially, while he has his uses, Cubone is situational at best and he is best left to be the best of the Bottom Tier.
Ditto - Bottom Tier
Availability: The earliest you can get it is Route 13, but only in Red and Blue. You can find it in Pokemon Mansion in Yellow.
Stats: Untrasnformed, Ditto has a BST of 288, just enough to be absolutely useless. When transformed, Ditto copies the opponents stats aside from HP, which is still pitifully low. This works very much against Ditto. Unlike every other Pokemon in the game, Ditto's stats are forced to be terrible because he can never truly "outlevel" the opponent. He is stuck with the stats he Transforms, which takes away the advantage of being a higher level.
Movepool: Transform. Most ingame trainers use terrible movesets as well, so don't think that will save you, either.
Power: Depends entirely on what you turn in to. If you turn in to Fearow, who has high Attack but low Defense, you're golden. If you transform in to Onix, who has garbage Attack and insane Defense, well, you're not golden. Oh, and since the Special stat isn't split, you will always be doing disappointing damage there.
Type: Ditto is a Normal-type with no STAB. If a Pokemon is carrying a move super-effective against itself, pray you don't get hit by it after you Transform.
Match Ups:
Erika - You are REALLY going out of your way to get Ditto if you are using it against Erika. You can actually do pretty well here: she leads of with Pokemon that use trapping moves.
Koga - You are going to be walling each other, so expect a long fight. Except in Yellow version, since he runs Psychic on his Pokemon.
Sabrina - You wall each other. Not exactly the base way to go. You can probably oneshot Venomoth, though.
Blaine - Again, you pretty much wall each other. Don't bother.
Giovanni - In R/B, don't expect Ditto to do anything. In Yellow, Transform into Dugtrio and spam Earthquake, which hits everything but Persian and his own Dugtrio super-effective (but they are frail as hell anyways).
Lorelei - You wall each other. Don't use Ditto here.
Bruno -If you can Transform into Hitmonlee, you can spam Hi-Jump Kick. Good luck surviving long enough to do so.
Agatha - You can do extremely well against her with her high level Gengar. Just not anything else.
Lance - None of Lance's Pokemon are exceptionally vulnerable to each other, except for Yellow Dragonite who can easily clean his own team.
Additional Comments: Ditto may seems to do actually well against a few major fights, but keep in mind that they can use the same strategy to beat Ditto you are using to beat them. You can't breed in Gen I, so that utility is gone too. Don't use Ditto.
-Dratini - Low Tier
-Availability: In RB, you can theoretically get it as soon as you get to Celadon by buying it from the Game Corner. It is cheaper in Red but is at a lower level and therefore requires more grinding (level 18 for 2800 coins in Red and level 24 for 4600 coins in Blue). So either you’ll have to fork over a bit of money but spend time grinding, or you’ll get it at a more manageable level but have to spend up bigger. Neither is particularly desirable in an efficient playthrough. Another more minor issue is the fact that you can only buy 50 coins at a time, which slows things down compared to later generations. Alternatively, you can catch it in the Safari Zone with a Super Rod at level 15. This is probably a bit more practical and cheaper, but you are at the mercy of the Safari Zone mechanics and the level is a lot worse especially at that point in the game. In Yellow, it can only be obtained from the Safari Zone, and it is a bit rarer. It comes at the same level. Note that it is possible to catch Dragonair as well, but since you’ll likely have to go past level 30 for Dragonair to match your team, this isn’t really much of an advantage.
-Stats: Dragonite has excellent stats, but Dratini and Dragonair don’t. It will struggle compared to the rest of your team until it evolves, by which time most of the game will be done anyway.
-Movepool: Dratini’s level up movepool is not that good. Hyper Beam comes way too late. Slam has decent power but is inaccurate, though Thunder Wave has some utility until stronger moves come along. Dratini can also use the Agility/Thunder Wave + Wrap combo to get around troublesome opponents, but this is slow and not very reliable. On the plus side, Dratini has great TM/HM compatibility. Pick from Surf, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Fire Blast, Thunderbolt or Body Slam. Obviously this comes with opportunity costs (except Surf) but chances are that you will have at least a few of these free so it isn’t so bad.
-Power: Well, Dragonite has power, but Dratini and Dragonair don’t. Dragonair will not be sweeping through enemies on its own. Dragonite potentially can, but as I said most of the trainers will be defeated once you get it so it hardly matters.
-Type: It doesn’t learn any STAB moves sadly (not even Fly). From a defensive point of view, pure Dragon is nice. A strong set of resistances is backed up a general lack of Ice moves throughout the game. It is also unique to Dragonair. However, Dragon doesn't resist everything and Dragonair will end up relying on stats alone in these instances.
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge: In the unlikely scenario that you have Dratini at this point, it should go ok in RB, but in Yellow Raichu will win using Mega Punch and Mega Kick.
Erika: Grass resistance, but you need Ice Beam to really be helpful at all. If you do then it should go ok though it won’t absolutely dominate the gym.
Koga: Neutral, in terms of type advantages. Koga sucks in RB so pretty much anything can work here (Dragonair is no exception but a full solo might be a bit much). Venonat is weak so Yellow is probably the same deal (if you have Fire Blast at this point then you do even better).
Sabrina: Alakazam will be too strong to handle. It probably doesn’t do well in the gym overall, though Thunderbolt can help against the Slowbro and Slowpoke used by the gym trainers.
Blaine: This gym is one of your best match-ups. Surf is probably the best move to teach Dragonair simply due to it being a HM rather than a TM, and Surf + Fire resistance gives it a good showing here.
Giovanni: Chances are you’ll have at least one move that hits Ground super-effective (Surf most likely), so you do alright here too.
Lorelei: Ice attacks are being thrown out a lot here so don’t bother.
Bruno: Onix dies to Surf. Dragonite should be strong enough to kill everything else but Dragonair isn’t.
Agatha: Golbat is weak to Thunderbolt and Ice Beam/Blizzard, but if it outspeeds and confuses you then you may lose anyway. Arbok shouldn’t be too much of an issue but Gengar can still win if you are unlucky.
Lance: Depends on your moves it has. Thunderbolt hits Gyarados, Ice Beam/Blizzard hits the dragons and Aerodactyl is weak to both. In Yellow you need to watch out for an ice attack from Lance’s Dragonair and Dragonite.
Blue: In theory, you can hit pretty much everything super-effectively but again it depends on what you gave it.
Additional comments: Dragonite is awesome, but because it evolves so late it may as well not exist before the Elite 4 (and even then you may not have it yet). Instead, what you are essentially getting is Dragonair, who has below average stats. Combine this with how tedious it can be to obtain in the first place and you have a pokemon that is clearly at home in Low tier.
Ekans - Low Tier
Availability: Red version only, right after Mt. Moon.
Stats: All of Arbok's stats are average or below average. It can't do much damage directly without a super effective hit and it can't take too many hits either.
Movepool: Only Ekans and Arbok learn Glare, which while inaccurate is only move that can paralyze every single Pokemon in the game. They also learns other useful moves like Wrap, Dig, Earthquake, Fissure, Strength and Rock Slide. Their main fault is a lack of a good STAB move. Acid is complete garbage.
Power: Technically speaking, Arbok can probably beat 90% of the Pokemon you will encounter in the game with Glare + Wrap, but doing so is extremely time consuming and risky due to low accuracy. A super-effective Rock Slide or Dig might do some damage, but Arbok's Attack and Special are just too low to do any significant damage.
Type: Pure Poison is a pretty lousy typing. Arbok gains no good STAB and a weakness to Psychic. It also has a Ground-type weakness, but Ground-type moves are rarer than Psychic-type moves. It's resistances aren't anything to write home about either.
Match ups: With Dig/Earthquake, Arbok could potentially bring the pain train to Lt. Surge, Koga, Blaine and Agatha, but otherwise Arbok doesn't really excel in any way. Keep it away from Sabrina and Giovanni: they will eat Arbok for breakfast. Again, it can use Glare + Wrap if you have the patience, but otherwise keep Arbok on the sidelines for most of the major fights.
Additonal Comments: RBY is tough on pure Poison-types because they lack a good STAB move. Their best move is Sludge, which Arbok can't even learn. If you want a ParaWrap abuser, Arbok is probably your best bet in Red version due to its availability. But Arbok's low stats, mediocre typing and reliance of TMs for good moves make it difficult to place on a team.
Exeggcute - Low Tier
Availability: Pretty damn late... it appears in the Safari Zone, though it's fairly common and easy to catch, and comes at a max of level 26-27, which is...possibly useable... but decidedly under leveled. It can be immediately evolved with a Leaf Stone.
Stats: The evolved Exeggcutor has freaking amazing stats-- of course, it's one of the most used OU Pokemon after all. Massive fat 125 Special, and above average stats everywhere but Speed-- stats are a major reason why Exeggcutor is an amazing force in competition.
Movepool: Exeggcute comes to you with a pretty meh movepool of Hypnosis, Barrage, and Reflect, and immediately learns the similarly almost-good-but-still-meh Leech Seed. It's best Grass Stab is Mega Drain (ew...), so like competitive sets, you will likely be depending on the Psychic TM as your main means of doing damage; though you do have immediate access to the Psychic TM at the point in the game you get Exeggcute. Exeggcutor does have a decent 95 Attack stat and can use Strength, Stomp, or Hyper Beam. It gets the powders too, but really late (level 48 for Sleep Powder... ew...), so you'll likely be immediately evolving and just enduring with Hypnosis. Explosion, probably don't want to use it in-game.
Power: Psychic and 125 Special rips shit up. Mega Drain can do decent damage against opponents it hits super effectively, and Exeggcutor's decent Attack means it can actually best other Psychic-types like Alakazam by stomping them to death on their weaker physical side.
Type: Grass / Psychic is obviously good typing in general-- it's the main reason Exeggcutor is so popular in OU. However, in-game, Grass does more to hurt Exeggcutor than help, especially at the point in the game you get it. Ground-, Electric-, and Water-type attacks are rare enough that these much-sought resistances in the competitive scene are less useful in game. Low Speed and weaknesses to Fire-, Poison-, and Ice-type attacks are a bit of a burden.
Match-ups:
Koga: If you evolve it and teach it Psychic, it can destroy anything he has. Keep in mind you will be horribly outmatched level-wise (you catch Exeggcutor in Fushia at max level 27, Koga's Pokes are all level 37-50). In RB, if you don't do some major grinding, his pokes will outrun and smack you with powerful super effective Sludge attacks. In Yellow, the Venonats can only status you, but Venomoth carries the 4x super effective Leech Life (though... it is only Leech Life), and is at level 50.
Saffron Rockets: You have STAB Psychic, and resist Electric, so you will have a big advantage.
Sabrina: Exeggcutor can do well here if you have trained it sufficiently and taught it Stomp or Strength. Its Psychic resistance, high Special, and decent Attack give it a significant advantage--again, assuming you've leveled up sufficiently.
Blaine: Er... just don't get hit by a Fire-type attack. Yeah...
Giovanni: Exeggcutor obviously dominates this gym.
Lorelei: Exeggcutor's not dead weight here, with its massive Special allowing it to whether some Ice-type attacks, and retaliate with super effective Mega Drain (healing back in the process). However, your low Speed, high probability of being under leveled, and the sheer power of Lapras's Blizzard will not make this an easy match up for Eggy.
Bruno: Eggy basically laughs at anything Bruno can do (again, provided you get to a decent level).
Agatha: Everything she has will be destroyed by a STAB Psychic attack, but with your low speed, prepared to face several turns of sleeping and hurting yourself in confusion (and being extremely annoyed) before you can claim victory here... eventually.
Lance: You're slow and will not like taking repeated Hyper Beams. In Yellow, 2nd Dragonair and Dragonite can hit you with powerful super effective attacks. Not dead weight, but not great.
Rival: Exeggcutor has an advantage against most of his Pokemon. Just be wary of those with Flying and Fire attacks.
Additional Comments: All things considered, the above information definitely doesn't look bad. Good stats, a usable movepool (fuck, in RBY, STAB Psychic = usable movepool), and a few favorable match-ups. So, what's the problem? The problem is that in addition to Eggy coming so late and under-leveled in the game, it's further hindered by a really slow experience curve and low Speed. In terms of power, experience curve, and availability, you could compare it to Tauros and Staryu-- except that both of those Pokemon have a much better Speed stat. Better Speed allows them to rapidly sweep through opponents and "grind" their way to catch up to the rest of the team with comparable ease. With Exeggcutor, you will find yourself constantly stopping to bust out healing items as you try to catch up to the rest of the team-- making it decidedly more annoying to train. Given dedication, Eggy will blossom to its potential, as one of the most popular of competitive Pokemon-- in-game though, you're probably much better off with Venusaur or Victrebel... or Alakazam.
-Farfetch’d (Yellow) - Low Tier
-Availability: Farfetch’d isn’t available until after you get passed the sleeping Snorlax in Yellow, on routes 12 and 13. It can be obtained as high as level 31, although a level 31 Farfetch’d is quite rare and you may have to settle for level 26.
-Stats: Awful. 65 Attack and 60 Speed are poor, and it is frail with 52/55/58 Defences.
-Movepool: Access to Swords Dance and Agility by level up is pretty cool. Slash is a nice move too, although it comes late and Farfetch’d doesn’t even have a 100% crit rate when using it (although >93% is pretty close to perfect). Farfetch’d’s once famous access to both Cut and Fly is now useless because it comes so late that Cut doesn’t even give access to anything anymore, but at least dropping Cut allows it to run both of its boosting moves at the same time (with Fly for boosted hits and Slash when you don’t want to boost).
-Power: Farfetch’d needs to boost with Swords Dance to sweep, but a Swords Dance boosted Fly is surprisingly strong. Farfetch’d can sweep whole teams quickly using the tactic. However, having to boost every time it faces a team with more than 1 Pokémon is a pain as Farfetch’d doesn’t have the bulk to keep doing it over and over. This is especially true against faster teams, since it may need to use Agility too. Overall, Farfetch’d sweeps are satisfying but they aren’t the most efficient way to go about things.
-Type: Normal/Flying is not a unique combination, but it is a pretty good type to have. You get walled by Rock types, but these are pretty rare when you get Farfetch’d. Rock, Electric and Ice weaknesses aren’t particularly problematic because they are overall rare.
-Match-ups: Koga – You can sweep him in Yellow by setting up on the first Venonat and hitting his team with Fly. Setting up is risky though because Venonat can hit you surprisingly hard with Psychic and can inflict Toxic to wear you down as you set up.
Sabrina – You can set up on Abra but it will Flash you, and a single miss with Fly will likely lead to Farfetch’d fainting.
Blaine – Farfetch’d just doesn’t have the bulk to set up here, especially since its Low speed necessitates the use of Agility. Don’t bother.
Giovanni – You can set up on Dugtrio, but it might Sand Attack you. If it doesn’t, you can blast through a lot of his team. Rhydon can end your sweep though, and even Persian can screw you if it sets up Double Team on the first turn of Fly.
Lorelei – You are weak to Ice, so you aren’t going to do much.
Bruno – In theory, you can hit his Fighting types hard, but the problem is that Onix stops your sweep partway through so you switch out and lose your boosts. Your best bet is to just try hitting without boosting and hope you don’t die. Good luck with that.
Agatha – The interesting thing here is that you can actually set up on the first Gengar because it simply refuses to attack you with Mega Drain (due to resistance), which means all it will do is spam Substitute and Confuse Ray. If you can survive Confuse Ray, you can set up enough to ensure a sweep against her frail team! There are better ways of dealing with her, but Farfetch’d can work with a bit of luck.
Lance – Not worth it. Aerodactyl walls you, the Dragons hit you with Electric and Ice moves, and Gyarados is just too strong.
Blue – The problem here is that it is very difficult to find a safe Pokémon to set up on because all of his Pokémon have something to hit you with. You may be best trying on Exeggutor or Ninetales, but really you should just use something faster and more reliable.
-Additional Comments: Farfetch’d is a fun gimmick, and that’s it. In RB it was actually useful but Yellow nerfed it badly. Boosted experience? Gone. Early and convenient availability? Gone. Access to Cut and Fly? Still true, but now useless because of how late it arrives. Farfetch’d just isn’t worth it in Yellow.
Grimer-Low
Availability: It can be caught in the Pokemon Mansion in all three games, but is much easier to find in Blue and Yellow
Stats: Above average HP and Attack, middling Defense, and horrible Speed and Special.
Movepool: He should only be a few levels aways from Sludge when you catch he if he doesn't have it already. That's important, because it's his only STAB and most of his usable TMs run off his bad Special. When you need to seriously consider running Mimic, you know your movepool is horrible. If you haven't used the Body Slam TM yet, Muk can make decent use of it. Without it, you'll be forced to run crap like Toxic or Screech in the fourth moveslot.
Power: Grimer blows (especially that late in the game), but should be pretty close to evolving to Muk if you didn't just catch the evolved version to begin with. Sludge can actually do some decent damage thanks to Muk's 105 Base Attack. That said, 99% of teams will carry something that can do more damage to any given threat by the time Grimer is available. Grimer's biggest problem comes from the fact that Poison hits almost nothing relevant for SE damage by the time you get him.
Typing: As touched on in the last section, Poison is a horrible typing. This is made worse because by the time you catch him, there aren't really any more Bug type or Grass type pokemon to prey on, and most of the important fights put him at a big disadvantage.
Matchups:
Blaine- Muk can't really trade blows thanks to his low Special and low BP STAB.
Giovanni- This is a horrible, horrible idea. Don't even bother trying
Lorielli- Gets hit on his Low Special all match, and can't really threaten anything she has.
Bruno- Muk can beat all three Fighting types in both versions, as long as your level is higher than his Machamp's to negate the threat of Fissure.
Agatha- All five pokemon resist your STAB and three are immune to Normal moves. So no.
Lance- Muk can take a Hyper Beam and multiple Dragon Rages from the Dragonairs if you're desperate, but Gyarados and Aerdactyl beat him and D-Nite probably will as well. In Yellow, everything beats him.
Rival- Muk can trade blows with Venusaur if you picked Squirtle. That's about it.
Additional Comments: Muk could probably be bumped up a tier if it didn't come so late. Unfortunately, by the time you get him his typing is a big hinderance and there are many better options. You could technically beat Koga early and Surf down to Cinnabar to get it earlier, but it's really not worth the extra effort. Disappointing.
-Growlithe (Yellow) - Low Tier
-Availability: Growlithe can only be found on the first floor of the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. It can be found as high as level 38, but this is very rare even with the repel trick, so you may have to settle for something more underleveled.
-Stats: Excellent overall. There is little reason not to evolve it straight away, at which point it gets 110 Attack, 80 Special and 95 Speed. With 90/80/80 bulk, Arcanine can take hits well too.
-Movepool: Arcanine requires TM support to work. This was tolerable in Red given how early it arrives, but in Yellow it is much hard to justify saving TMs for it. Dig, for example, it a near requirement on Arcanine, and keeping it for Arcanine can hurt the many things that benefit from it earlier on. Without Dig or Body Slam, Arcanine is stuck with Take Down/Double-Edge and Fire Blast for coverage, and both of those have drawbacks that make relying on them difficult.
-Power: With the right moves, Arcanine is a powerful attacker. Even with just Take Down it can hit somewhat hard. However, if you aren’t using Dig or Body Slam, then you are using moves with recoil and accuracy issues, and all of this can take its toll on Arcanine as it builds up damage, causing you to heal it frequently.
-Type: Fire really isn’t that useful considering how late you get Arcanine. The weaknesses to Water, Ground and Rock are not appreciated, and Fire’s coverage is somewhat poor late-game.
-Match-ups: Sabrina – You can do ok here as you have decent bulk and speed, and you hit her Pokémon hard with physical moves. Take Down recoil (or a miss) may lesve you open to a kill from Alakazam though).
Blaine – If you have Dig then you pretty much win be default, but it’s a mirror match without it.
Giovanni – Ground and Rock weaknesses aren’t fun are they? Persian doesn’t have either though so you can beat that. Dig is useful for Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon if you have it.
Lorelei – You have a weakness to Water so you are a bit limited. Jynx is beatable.
Bruno – You can’t touch Onix without Dig. The Hitmons are fried by Fire Blast, and Machamp doesn’t have a specific answer to you either.
Agatha – Use Dig if you have it. If you don’t, her Ghosts are going to be tough with Normal immunities and high Specials. Just focus on Golbat and Arbok instead.
Lance – Gyarados has Hydro Pump, Aerodactyl walls you and you aren’t exactly OHKOing the Dragons (one even has BubbleBeam).
Blue – If you have Dig then you can do pretty well, but without it just focus on Alakazam, Ninetales, Flareon and Exeggutor.
-Additional Comments: The transition from Red to Yellow involved a simple availability change for Arcanine, but it proves to have a significant impact on its usefulness. Arcanine’s performance was at its best during the middle of the game, but being locked away on Cinnabar Island causing it to miss out on most of this. Being such a late Pokémon with reliance on such an exclusive TM seals its fate.
-Hitmonchan - Low Tier
-Availability: You can get this as soon as you get to Celadon by heading to Saffron straight away and fighting through the Dojo. This isn’t particularly hard, and Hitmonchan comes at level 30, which should be around what your team is at.
-Stats: 105 Attack is pretty good and it has a decent enough speed for in-game purposes. Its Special is horrible though, which is a shame given its movepool.
-Movepool: Hitmonchan is a case of a Pokémon who has a movepool that doesn’t match its stats. It is the only Pokémon with all 3 elemental punches, but 35 Special makes these completely useless. It has no STAB moves by level up. It absolutely needs TM support to work. Submission is obtained from Celadon, and it gets Body Slam, Mega Punch and Double-Edge to pick from, all of which are powerful enough for that point in the game. Body Slam is the best choice for reliability but it may not be available. It gets Strength later though which is a reasonable substitute.
-Power: Initially it can actually power through weaker opponents using stats alone. As the game goes on, Submission's recoil begins to become a issue and its lack of STAB outside of Submission begins to show. It becomes less useful as a result.
-Type: Submission is its only real STAB and be obtained by TM as soon as you get Hitmonchan, and although it has great power it is inaccurate and deals recoil (which is bad for Hitmonchan’s poor HP stat). Fighting is a bad defensive type overall. Flying and Psychic attacks are common in this game are fairly common, which hurts Hitmonchan as a viable choice.
-Match-ups: Erika – Neutral overall, but it isn’t particularly useful. Her Pokémon can take hits and can strike back with a status move, or just hit hard with a special attack.
Koga – In RB, his Pokémon are bulky and can poison you, but otherwise this isn’t a particularly bad match-up (a full solo might be a bit much though). In Yellow he gets screwed over by Psychic, though he might take down a Venonat!
Sabrina – I shouldn’t have to explain why this is a bad match-up. Hitmonchan just dies here and is completely useless.
Blaine – Hitmonchan is crippled by its poor Special. Flamethrower and Fire Blast do tons of damage to it, making it a mediocre choice at best for this battle.
Giovanni – Dugtrio and Persian can be beaten due to frailty. Nidoqueen and Nidoking are tougher, particularly in Yellow where they have Thunder. Rhyhorn and Rhydon are weak to Submission. It doesn’t flat out lose here like in other gyms but it isn’t particularly great either.
Lorelei – Well you should have Submission now, but it still doesn’t do that well. Submission is so risky and those Ice and Water attacks will hurt.
Bruno – Mirror Match, except for his Onix who you can beat with Submission. Beating everthing else depends on level really.
Agatha – Holy crap you are awful here. Gengar and Haunter are IMMUNE TO ALL OF YOUR PHYSICAL MOVES! None of the elemental punches are going to help you win. Arbok and Golbat resist fighting but can be beaten with whatever normal move you have. You will probably get statused though.
Lance – You might beat Aerodactyl, Dragonair or Dragonite because their movesets suck, but Gyarados has Hydro Pump. In Yellow things are tough because everything except Aerodactyl has special attacks, but Aerodactyl has Fly anyway.
Blue – You stand a chance against Rhydon, Exeggutor and Sandslash, but everything else is a risky match-up due to special/super-effective moves within their movesets.
-Additional Comments: Hitmonchan started off decently thanks to its high starting level and above average attack, but it became quite poor in the long run. Its horrible movepool, lack of RELIABLE STAB, terrible match-ups during key battles and that awful Special really work against Hitmonchan and I just can’t see why anyone would use this for an efficient run.
-Kangaskhan - Low Tier
-Availability: It can only be caught in the Safari Zone. This is a problem because it means you are left in the hands of the Safari Zone capture mechanics. It doesn’t help that Kangaskhan is a rare Pokémon with a low capture rate. Unless you can very lucky, you will be looking for it for a long time. It also comes at a level that will probably be lower than your team’s average, but it is powerful and can grind up quite easily.
-Stats: Kangaskhan is built as a physical sweeper with its 95 Attack and 90 Speed. Although they aren’t jaw-droppingly awesome, they are good enough for in-game purposes. With 105 HP and 80 Defence it can take physical hits comfortably. However, 40 Special is poor and powerful special attacks will do a lot of damage to Kangaskhan.
-Movepool: Kangaskhan only learns Normal moves by level-up, although they have plenty of neutral coverage so you could almost get away with just running a mono-Normal moveset. However, Kangaskhan has an extensive TM/HM movepool. It has Earthquake and Rock Slide which will complement the Normal coverage well. Kangaskhan also has a large special movepool, capable of getting Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Fire Blast and Thunderbolt. However, Kangaskhan’s low Special limits the use of these and there are better choices for these moves.
-Power: Kangaskhan is a strong attacker thanks to its decent attack and great physical movepool. It can comfortably run through the weaker trainers in the game easily. It often can’t OHKO stronger opponents with its STAB but it should have no problem 2HKOing things at the very least.
-Type: Normal has no super-effective coverage unfortunately, but it does hit neutral on everything except Rock types and the 3 Ghosts, both of which are covered by Earthquake. Normal has one weakness and one immunity, though both are mostly irrelevant for in-game playthroughs.
-Match-ups: Koga – In RB you may struggle a bit unless you have Earthquake already because they have good bulk. However, they can’t do much back to you either. In Yellow, you have Rock Slide for his bugs, but they are hitting you on your weak Special and Venomoth may be a difficult opponent.
Sabrina – This is an interesting match-up because you both do heavy damage to each other. They hit you on your Low Special and you hit back at their low Defence. This battle will probably come down to level.
Blaine – You have either Rock Slide or Earthquake and can attempt a sweep. However, Arcanine’s Fire Blast hits you very hard and can burn you.
Giovanni – Earthquake is a good choice here since it covers the stronger Pokémon on his team, and Dugtrio and Persian should be beaten with brute force. Even Surf could be a viable option! Thunder is really the only thing that you care about here.
Lorelei – You have Rock Slide but they are hitting you on your low Special so be careful.
Bruno – Hitmonlee and Machamp are brutal with their Fighting moves, but the others should be easily beaten.
Agatha – You do nicely here. Earthquake and Rock Slide cover everything and you have the power to beat her quickly. As usual you can lose if you are unlucky, but that’s assumed.
Lance – Rock Slide covers his stronger Pokémon and Dragonair are easy to beat. Gyarados will hit you for large damage with Hydro Pump. This is harder in Yellow since he has more special attacks.
Blue – It depends on what you taught him. Earthquake gets Jolteon, Magneton and the Fire types. Rock Slide hits Charizard, Pidgeot and Gyarados. You can contribute here, but as usual look out for Special moves.
-Additional Comments: Kangaskhan is Low simply because it is one of the most unavailable Pokémon in the game. It is a decent Pokémon in its own right, but unless you get very lucky in obtaining it you’ll be looking for it for a while. Any time you gain from using Kangaskhan will probably be insufficient for the purposes of making up for lost time looking for it. If you do get lucky and catch it quickly then it can be awesome, but actually PLANNING to have it as part of your team and specifically looking for it is not recommended.
Koffing - Low Tier
Availability: Koffing is not available in Pokemon Yellow. In Red/Blue, the moment you can use Surf outside of battle, you have access to Koffing. You can find it in the Pokemon Mansion at L30-L32 at fairly common rates, or if you're really patient you can find Weezing at L37 or L39 (1% or 4% encounter rates though). Probably best to stick with Koffing and level it up to L35.
Stats: This line's stats are about the opposite of what you would hope for in-game. Weezing is slow, and its Attack and Special are average at best. The one thing it has going for it is Defense.
Movepool: Koffing can consider himself lucky to actually get a half decent STAB move in Sludge (but that still clocks in at a modest 65 base power). However, the next best moves that it learns naturally happen to be suicide moves. Thunderbolt is the only TM it can take early on, and it's quite a coveted one. Thunder and Fire Blast are out there as well, but you get them much, much later.
Power: Koffing has no problems beating a Bird Keeper with Thunderbolt, or a random Paras with Sludge. The problem is when it doesn't have an overwhelming type advantage, or when you don't have the TMs to spare for it. In those cases, you'll find that it will take a quite a while before he wins, and he's at the mercy of annoying status moves or even super effective moves in the meantime.
Type: Poison is a horrible type offensively and defensively, offering no real meaningful advantages other than Erika's gym (but there's only a total of two Pokemon Sludge can hit for double damage there). Thunderbolt is actually effective against a lot of things, though.
Match-ups:
Erika - If you go through the effort of getting yourself a Weezing before you fight Erika, this is his one chance to shine (sort of). He can outlast all the Pokemon in the gym (Exeggcute doesn't even have any Psychic moves), but because most of them are part Poison you are not going to do a whole lot against them unless you somehow got Fire Blast.
Sabrina - If it can use a Psychic move, Koffing pretty much loses. If it can't, then you should be okay, though you will need Thunderbolt to really do anything to Gastly/Haunter. You can Thunderbolt a couple of Slowpokes/Slowbros, perhaps.
Blaine - An even match-up at best. Koffing can beat joke Pokemon that don't use any "real" moves against him, but he's not going to outlast anything that uses Flamethrower/Fire Blast.
Giovanni - This gym actually only has two Ground moves to worry about: Rhydon's Fissure (which won't affect you if you're faster), and Dugtrio's Dig (which is telegraphed). But on the other hand, Sludge and Thunderbolt will do absolutely nothing, and Weezing's only other remotely viable options have 5 PP each (Hyper Beam and Fire Blast).
So our beloved mascot has average availability, and poor everything else. Not recommended.
Jigglypuff - Low Tier
-Availability: You can catch it at Route 3 in Red and Blue, at levels 3, 5, and 7. In Yellow, you have to wait until you get to Route 5. It evolves by using a Moon Stone, which can be obtained shortly after catching Jigglypuff.
-Stats: The only stat that can be considered "good" is HP, which is actually a curse in disguise, as if it has low health, it'll take more items to heal it than others. It's also one of those Pokemon that are actually outsped by some of the non-boss trainers' Pokemon.
-Movepool: Considering its only move before reaching level 9 is Sing, it needs Water Gun and/or Mega Punch to actually fight. Also, aside from Rest and Body Slam at levels 29 and 34, respectively, its level-up movepool is absolutely barren, thus requiring the use of even more TMs for it to try to keep up.
-Power: If you evolved it ASAP (which you should have) and taught it Mega Punch, it's actually pretty decent. Then you reach Rock Tunnel, and it can't do much in there unless you taught it Water Gun/BubbleBeam/Seismic Toss, and it has trouble in Pokemon Tower no matter what you taught it. The Poison-types of Cycling Road and Silph are also a pain unless you taught it Psychic. To make a long story short, Wigglytuff needs TMs to be usable for at least half of the game.
-Type: Normal has no type advantages against anything else, not even Ghost because the only Ghost-type move that won't affect Normal-types is the pathetic Lick. The fact that Normal-types don't hit anything super-effectively balances out how uncommon Fighting-types are in-game.
-Match-ups:
--Misty: An interesting trick against Misty that actually works: Before fighting her, make sure Wigglytuff knows Mega Punch and Bide. Then, when fighting her, defeat Staryu normally, with Mega Punch. After that, use Bide. Wigglytuff's bulk should allow it to take 4 BubbleBeams (barring crits, of course), and if it loses at least 30 HP, its Bide will be strong enough to OHKO Starmie.
--Lt. Surge: Wigglytuff can take a Thunderbolt from Raichu, but not much else on top of it.
--Erika: You'll get Wrapped up when fighting Victreebel. It can beat her other Pokemon, but only if you taught it Ice Beam or Psychic.
--Koga: In Red and Blue, his Pokemon are physically defensive juggernauts, all of which take minor damage from Strength, and in Yellow, they all know some sort of status move. Keep in mind that his Pokemon are most likely faster than Wigglytuff.
--Sabrina: Wigglytuff can defeat her Kadabra if it knows Body Slam and manages to paralyze it. For the others, it has to hope they use Psywave instead of Psybeam/Psychic.
--Blaine: Fire Blast is going to do a lot, regardless of who's using it. Don't forget that Ninetales (Yellow only) and Rapidash know Fire Spin. Also, Arcanine can actually survive 2 uses of Strength.
--Giovanni: Wigglytuff needs Ice Beam or Blizzard for this fight, or else it's going to be walled. The sad thing is, his Nidos, Dugtrio, and Persian are all faster than Wiggs, and of those, Dugtrio's the only one that can't withstand a Blizzard.
--Lorelei: Thunderbolt is required here, as 3 of her Pokemon have great physical bulk, and Dewgong (obviously not one of the above 3) has Rest. Of course, Thunderbolt has trouble 2HKOing the majority of her team, all of which (minus Slowbro) are faster than it, meaning it'll most likely take at least 3 hits from each mon.
--Bruno: I don't think any explanation as to how Bruno defeats Wigglytuff is necessary.
--Agatha: If Wigglytuff has a hard time in Pokemon Tower, how well do you honestly think it'll do against Agatha?
--Lance: It's a sad day when a Thunderbolt fails to even 2HKO a Gyarados. Same goes for Blizzard and everything else on his team, except for Aerodactyl and Dragonite. Thankfully, Wigglytuff has just enough bulk to survive a Hyper Beam from anything not named Gyarados or Dragonite.
--Rival: It needs TMs to do well against any of his Pokemon, with the exceptions of Exeggutor, which is the worst Pokemon on his team, and his Alakazam and starter, which can't be beaten regardless of what you taught Wigglytuff. Ninetales also poses a serious threat, thanks to Fire Spin.
-Additional Comments: Third worst Pokemon in the game, right here. Jigglypuff is comparable to a parasite, as they both rob you of important things (exclusive TMs for the former, nutrients for the latter) and weaken your performance overall. Thankfully, Jigglypuff is easier to get rid of than a parasite, and the way do do so is as follows:
Step 1: Deposit Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff.
Step 2: Release Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff.
That's pretty much all you need to know about Jigglypuff.
Lapras - Low Tier (possibly Bottom)
Availability: Given to you by a Silph Employee, at level 15.
Stats: All of Lapras's stats are okay, with the exceptions of massive HP and unappealing Speed.
Movepool: Learns Body Slam and Ice Beam by level-up, and has TM access to Thunderbolt and Psychic. It's notably the one of the few non-starter gift Pokemon to learn both Surf and Strength.
Power: Because you get it at Lv. 15, when the levels of your opponents' Pokemon are in the high 20's to low 30's, don't expect it to be winning any fights on its own.
Type: Well, it's a Water-type with STAB on Ice Beam...
Match-ups: Because you get it at the pitiful level 15, you'll definitely need to grind to acheive good results against the remaining Gym Leaders.
Erika: Lapras won't have learned Ice Beam by then unless you used up TM13, and there's no reason to put off Erika until you get Lapras in the first place.
Koga: Surf hits his Pokemon's weak Defense, and Lapras has the bulk to take a Selfdestruct.
Sabrina: Her Pokemon are trampled on by Body Slam.
Blaine: Lapras resists Fire despite being part Ice, and gets STAB on Surf.
Giovanni: His Ground-types are washed away by Surf.
Lorelei: Lapras can go toe-to-toe against her, but don't expect it to take out more than 2 of her Pokemon.
Bruno: Lapras can take out his 2 Onix and Hitmonchan any day of the week, but it's weak to Hi Jump Kick and Submission.
Agatha: Gengar's high Speed and Lapras's low Speed mean that Lapras will usually put to sleep before it can take out her first Gengar.
Lance: Ice Beam hits his Pokemon for SE damage, and has just enough bulk to survive 2 Hyper Beams.
Additional Comments: Lapras is held back by 2 things: its late joining time, and its poor level when you get it. If it came earlier, or at a more convenient level, it would be great, but alas it isn't. At least it's a good HM Slave.
Lickitung - Low Tier
Availability: Only one (trade a Slowbro for one at Route 18 fairly late game) in Red/Blue or Cerulean Cave in Yellow.
Stats: MARC (that's his name, don't wear it out) has got pretty good HP, but is decidedly below average in every other field, especially speed. On the plus side, it does get an experience boost.
Movepool: Terrible level-up learnset full of nothing but Normal attacks (the best of which being Stomp), but has an incredibly wide TM movepool. This walking saliva factory can learn 27 out of 50 TMs and 3 HMs, including such gems as Earthquake, Blizzard, Fire Blast, BubbleBeam, Thunder, and Seismic Toss. It's also the only Normal type besides Farfetch'd to learn Swords Dance, also by TM.
Power: Despite potentially gargantuan type coverage depending on how many TMs you want to put into this thing, it's awful offensive stats mean that Swords Dance is pretty much necessary to sweep even semi-effectively.
Type: Offensively and defensively speaking, Normal is anything but mundane in Gen I. However, The Pink One faces stiff competition from the likes of Snorlax (who actually ties it in speed) and Tauros, both of which can be obtained at about the same time, and both require far less setup to be useful.
Match-ups: Lickitung's battle prowess is completely dependent on which TMs the player is willing to part with in order to make it do anything other than give the opponent a good tongue trashing. In particular:
-- Koga and Agatha: Licky shakes things up with Earthquake, but might end up taking a status first.
-- Sabrina: Swords Dance + any decent STAB attack will make short work of her whole psychic hotline, but your low Special means you can't take it as well as you can dish it out.
-- Blaine: Licktung extinguishes his hot-blooded hench-'mon, but only if it's packing BubbleBeam.
-- Bruno: Earthquake makes his rock types go all to pieces, but unless you're overleveled his Hitmon's could easily beat him to the punch.
-- Lance: Blizzard leaves his whole squad out in the cold, but more than likely you're going to take a few licks yourself from his speedier Dragons.
- Bottom Line: While Lickitung could fill just about any gap your team is missing, it is precisely this unspecialization that unfortunately dooms poor MARC to the low tiers. In nearly every case, there are faster, bulkier, more powerful, or simply better choices.
Machop - Low Tier(Red and Blue)
Availability: Towards the middle of the Game, Rock Tunnel specifically.
Stats: Machoke has a good Attack stat with average or less-than-average stats everywhere else.
Movepool:Starts with Karate Chop, which has a high critical hit ratio. Low Kick and Submission are its only STAB options, neither of which are exceptionally good. Moves like Strength, Rock Slide, Mega Kick, Earthquake and Fissure can be used to fill in the gaps in its level up movepool, which in all honesty isn't that good. Don't use Focus Energy.
Power: Unless you are playing Yellow version or somehow find someone who still has a link cable (props if you do!), you are likely going to be using Machoke. It can do decent damage with its 100 base Attack, but you are probably better off with Hitmonlee or Primeape, who deal more damage and are faster.
Type: In a game dominated by Normal-types, Machop and its evolutions STAB moves, as mediocre as they are, are incredibly helpful. Just stay away from the almost equally dominant Flying-types and rarer but much more dangerous Psychic-types. Machop can't take a Psychic-type attack to save its life.
Match Ups: By the time you get Machop, it is almost useless against the remaining major battles. It can be somewhat helpful against Giovanni and Lorelei, but it doesn't excel against any of the Gyms or Elite Four. This line is much more suited for regular trainer battles.
Machamp: Low Tier
-Availability: Machamp is obtained through a traded Cubone, who is available at Pokemon Tower. So Mid-Game.
-Stats: Machamp has a huge Attack stat, but has rather average defenses and low Speed.
-Movepool: Mostly TM dependent, Rock Slide and Earthquake provide good coverage.
-Power: Due to his huge Attack stat, Machamp hits hard.
-Type: Fighting. In a game where Dark and Steel don't exist, and Poison types are omnipresent. Fighting isn't the best STAB to have.
-Matchups:
--Koga: His whole team packs Super Effective Psychic which takes Machamp down easily.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon outspeed and pack Super Effective Psychic to take Machamp out.
--Blaine: Machamp can hit his Pokemon hard with Dig or Earthquake, but keep in mind all of his Pokemon outspeed Machamp and Machamp doesn't enjoy taking Fire moves. A Fire Blast burn will put a huge damper on Machamp's performance.
--Giovanni: Machamp can beat Persian due to fighting STAB, and Earthquake hits majority of his team for Super Effective damage. However, Giovanni's Nidos and Rhydon can take a hit and retaliate with their own offensive moves.
--Lorelei: Fighting is Super Effective on Ice, but Submission is a bad STAB move due to accuracy and recoil issues. Meanwhile, Machamp is worn down by Special Attacks.
--Bruno: Fighting verse Fighting, Machamp breaks even here if you are at similar levels.
--Agatha: Earthquake hits her team for Super Effective, while Rock Slide deals with Golbat. However, keep in mind her Pokemon are fast and her final Gengar knows Psychic.
--Lance: While Rock Slide is Super Effective against half his Pokemon, Machamp wont enjoy taking Special Attacks or Hyper Beam. Not to mention Aerodactyl has Super Effective STAB Fly.
--Gary: Machamp can take on Sandslash, and Exeggutor has he doesn't pack Psychic. But that is it.
Additional Comments: Despite his strong power, Machamp is held back by his Speed and frailness. There's never really a point of the game where he dominates, and even the ones that he does fair well on, another Pokemon can easily do the job much better.
-Magmar (Blue only) - Low Tier
-Availability: Magmar come late in the game, in the basement and top floor of Pokemon Mansion in Cinnabar Island to be specific. At the third floor, the have a one-in-ten chance of appearing, but are only at level 34. While Magmar are level 38 in the basement, they aren't exactly the most common Pokemon there at a 4% encounter rate. Capturing Magmar can be noticeably difficult thanks to their low catch rate.
-Stats: Overall, Magmar's stats are good, but none of them are impressive. Surprisingly, Magmar's Attack is higher than its Special, but it's nothing incredible at a base 95. Another noticeable aspect of Magmar's stats is that its Defense is poor, below that of Primeape and even Goldeen.
-Movepool: When caught, Magmar is likely to know merely Ember and Leer. This means it greatly appreciates TM support almost to the point of necessity, as it doesn't learn a good attack (which in this case is Fire Punch) until level 43. 2 TMs you should have access to by the time you get Magmar are Mega Punch, which can be bought in the Celadon Department Store, and Psychic, which is its best weapon against Rock/Ground-types but is a once-in-the-game TM. Magmar can also learn Submission, but it isn't recommended as it causes recoil.
-Power: Because Magmar's Special is merely average, it won't be doing too much against the several resists it'll encounter soon after being caught.
-Type: Fire is an unfortunate type to have late in the game, as everything at that point in the game either resists Fire-type attacks, hits their users super effectively, or both.
-Match-ups: -Stats: Overall, Magmar's stats are good, but none of them are impressive. Surprisingly, Magmar's Attack is higher than its Special, but it's nothing incredible at a base 95. Another noticeable aspect of Magmar's stats is that its Defense is poor, below that of Primeape and even Goldeen.
-Movepool: When caught, Magmar is likely to know merely Ember and Leer. This means it greatly appreciates TM support almost to the point of necessity, as it doesn't learn a good attack (which in this case is Fire Punch) until level 43. 2 TMs you should have access to by the time you get Magmar are Mega Punch, which can be bought in the Celadon Department Store, and Psychic, which is its best weapon against Rock/Ground-types but is a once-in-the-game TM. Magmar can also learn Submission, but it isn't recommended as it causes recoil.
-Power: Because Magmar's Special is merely average, it won't be doing too much against the several resists it'll encounter soon after being caught.
-Type: Fire is an unfortunate type to have late in the game, as everything at that point in the game either resists Fire-type attacks, hits their users super effectively, or both.
--Blaine: Because Magmar resists Fire-type attacks, Blaine will not use any against it, allowing Magmar to take out everything but his Arcanine, as Magmar's mediocre physical bulk will cause it to be worn down. However, Blaine has a strange tendency to use pointless moves like Roar when there isn't any need to, helping Magmar's chances against him.
--Giovanni: Whether Magmar does well against his Rhyhorn and Rhydon or not depends on whether or not it knows Psychic, as the best it can do against him without it is defeating the Nidos. An important thing to remember is that Dugtrio will always beat Magmar regardless of what moves it has.
--Lorelei: Despite Slowbro being the only Pokemon on her team that resists Fire-type attacks, Lapras and occasionally Cloyster can also cause trouble for Magmar. The reason why Dewgong doesn't is because even though it is a Water-type, it doesn't actually know any Water-type moves, though Rest can be a pain if you don't want to waste Fire Blast, but then again, there isn't much in the Pokemon League for Magmar to use Fire Blast against in the first place.
--Bruno: His 2 Onix are much like Giovanni's Rhyhorn and Rhydon: they can comfortably take whatever Magmar throws at it other than Psychic. Speaking of which, Magmar with Psychic almost entirely sweeps Bruno, but it can settle with Fire Blast if it wants, as the two have the same base power after factoring in STAB and type match-ups. Machamp might be able to take a Psychic or Fire Blast thanks to its impressive level as well as Magmar's average Special.
--Agatha: As with several Pokemon, Magmar has trouble against Agatha's Ghost-types without the aid of items due to the fact that its most powerful attack hits them on their very high Special, allowing them to confuse or sleep Magmar before going down. It doesn't help that all of them are faster. Her other 2 Pokemon, Golbat and Arbok, are much easier to deal with thanks to them having mediocre Special as well as (Arbok) being slower than Magmar.
--Lance: Everything on Lance's team resists Fire-type moves, they all know Hyper Beam which hits it hard because of its poor Defense, and he leads the fight with his Gyarados, which happens to know Hydro Pump.
--Rival: Everything Magmar beats one-on-one here can easily be taken out with several other Pokemon, meaning that while it could take out a few of his Pokemon, it isn't too impressive.
-Additional Comments: Magmar is unfortunately a Fire-type who came a bit too late to be useful, as it joins surrounded by Water-types and bosses, almost all of which have favorable outcomes against it. Another thing of note is that it knows only Ember and possibly Leer when its caught, and catching them can be a pain considering the chances of finding them (10% and 4% on the top and bottom floors of Pokemon Mansion, respectively) as well as how resistant they are to being caught.
--Giovanni: Whether Magmar does well against his Rhyhorn and Rhydon or not depends on whether or not it knows Psychic, as the best it can do against him without it is defeating the Nidos. An important thing to remember is that Dugtrio will always beat Magmar regardless of what moves it has.
--Lorelei: Despite Slowbro being the only Pokemon on her team that resists Fire-type attacks, Lapras and occasionally Cloyster can also cause trouble for Magmar. The reason why Dewgong doesn't is because even though it is a Water-type, it doesn't actually know any Water-type moves, though Rest can be a pain if you don't want to waste Fire Blast, but then again, there isn't much in the Pokemon League for Magmar to use Fire Blast against in the first place.
--Bruno: His 2 Onix are much like Giovanni's Rhyhorn and Rhydon: they can comfortably take whatever Magmar throws at it other than Psychic. Speaking of which, Magmar with Psychic almost entirely sweeps Bruno, but it can settle with Fire Blast if it wants, as the two have the same base power after factoring in STAB and type match-ups. Machamp might be able to take a Psychic or Fire Blast thanks to its impressive level as well as Magmar's average Special.
--Agatha: As with several Pokemon, Magmar has trouble against Agatha's Ghost-types without the aid of items due to the fact that its most powerful attack hits them on their very high Special, allowing them to confuse or sleep Magmar before going down. It doesn't help that all of them are faster. Her other 2 Pokemon, Golbat and Arbok, are much easier to deal with thanks to them having mediocre Special as well as (Arbok) being slower than Magmar.
--Lance: Everything on Lance's team resists Fire-type moves, they all know Hyper Beam which hits it hard because of its poor Defense, and he leads the fight with his Gyarados, which happens to know Hydro Pump.
--Rival: Everything Magmar beats one-on-one here can easily be taken out with several other Pokemon, meaning that while it could take out a few of his Pokemon, it isn't too impressive.
-Additional Comments: Magmar is unfortunately a Fire-type who came a bit too late to be useful, as it joins surrounded by Water-types and bosses, almost all of which have favorable outcomes against it. Another thing of note is that it knows only Ember and possibly Leer when its caught, and catching them can be a pain considering the chances of finding them (10% and 4% on the top and bottom floors of Pokemon Mansion, respectively) as well as how resistant they are to being caught.
Moltres - Low Tier
-Availability: Available through a detour at Victory Road at the end of the game. It comes at the level 50 and is hard to catch, so be sure to have a ton of Ultra Balls and save before you fight the legendary bird.
-Stats: Moltres has one of the best BST's in the game, most notable of its stat is it 100 Base Attack and 125 Special.
-Movepool: When you get it, the only moves it has are Peck and Fire Spin. Peck can be replaced by Fly, and if you kept TM38 you can give Moltres Fire Blast. However Moltres cannot learn Flamethrower, which is an issue as Fire Blast can quickly run out of PP. At Level 55 Moltres learns Agility, allowing you to use the Agility + Fire Spin combo. However, trapping moves are time consuming and have unreliable accuracy.
-Power: Fly off a 100 Base Attack will hurt anything that doesn't resist it, and his Fire Blast is tied with Articuno's Blizzard and Zapdos' Thunder as the most powerful Special move int he game.
-Type: Here is where Moltres falls apart. Its Fire/Flying type doesn't do it many favors. It's typing helps it overwhelm the E4's Fighting and Grass types, but those are minor threats. Not to mention it gives Moltres an unwanted weakness to Water, Ice, Rock, and Electric.
--Lorelei: Moltres is weak to Water and Ice moves, which are omnipresent in this battle. The only notable fight here is Jynx, who despite knowing an Ice move, is weak to Fire Blast.
--Bruno: Fly easily disposes of his Fighting types. While Fire Blast can overwhelm Onix, it is not recommended due to Fire Blast's limited PP, Fire Blast's 15% chance of missing, and the fact that Onix has Rock moves - which Moltres is quadruply weak to.
--Agatha: Much like Articuno, Moltres can easily overwhelm her team through sheer force. Just watch out for Confuse Ray hax.
--Lance: His entire team resists Fire, and in every version he leads off with a Gyarados with STAB Hydro Pump. In R&B, Moltres can spam Fly against the two Dragonair's and hope for a lucky break, but in Yellow all of his Dragons including Dragonite know Super Effective moves. It should be noted that although Aerodactyl resists Fire, its low defenses means that it will take a ton of damage from Fire Blast. Just make sure you don't run out of Fire Blast PP if you dare to challenge Aerodactyl.
--Gary: Moltres walls his Grass types, and it can take on Pidgeot. Moltres can also take a Psychic from Alakazam and hit back with Fly, but Alakazam can use the set up turn of Fly as a chance to set up Reflect or even just Recover. Don't bother fighting his Water Types or Rhydon. In the Yellow version of this fight - Exeggutor, Ninetails/Flareon, and Sandslash are your main targets.
-Additional Comments: Moltres has high stats and comes at Level 50 just like Articuno and Zapdos, so where did it go wrong? Simple, its typing. By the time you get to the E4, Fire/Flying is only good against E4 Pokemon who are not really a big threat, such as Exeggutor. Another problem is that it doesn't get Flamethrower, meaning you'll only have Fire Blast limited PP to take on the E4 with.
-Onix - Low Tier
-Availability: Rock Tunnel. Could technically be obtained before Lt. Surge, so it can be obtained fairly early. It is at a level that may require some grinding to match your team though.
-Stats: Its attack stat is awful. Its high defense and decent speed help it beat things but if you are playing for efficiency then Onix is not a good choice because it often can't OHKO things.
-Movepool: Its level up movepool is poor. Slam is its strongest attack from level up. It requires TM support (Earthquake/Dig and Rock Slide) to work properly, which comes with an opportunity cost. Why would you use these TMs on Onix when there are better choices?
-Power: Pretty much what I said in the stats section applies here. Its attack stat is too low for it to "sweep through enemies", despite the power of its best STAB attacks. It can take hits from the physical side, so it can beat things one-on-one, but it isn't what I would call efficient (and it flat out loses to some special attacks).
-Type: Its typing is a mixed bag. Offensively it is quite good. Ground/Rock is a great STAB combination (unresisted I believe). Defensively, it has some useful resistances and it can beat most normal types, but it has crippling grass and water weaknesses so it will struggle along routes with lots of lasses carrying Oddish/Bellsprout. Another thing to consider it that Onix's typing is not unique. Golem and Rhydon carry more power and have similar bulk. Onix is faster but you will be at a level where you will be outspeeding most stuff anyway, making it a rather insignificant advantage most of the time. Geodude is also obtained earlier than Onix (Rhyhorn has terrible availability so it is probably a even match).
-Match-ups: Lt. Surge - wins here, assuming you haven't done the battle already.
Erika - Nope.
Koga - In RB, it should do well, but it will not enjoy taking Psychic from Venomoth in Yellow (Venonat shouldn't be as bad but they also carry Psychic attacks).
Sabrina - Psychic does lots to Onix's bad special. Onix's low attack means that it won't be able to kill Alakazam anyway most likely. Easier in Yellow (it can kill Abra OMG).
Blaine - You win here, but so do a lot of things.
Giovanni - Does ok in RB (just watch for Fissure from Rhydon), but in Yellow all of his pokemon except Persian carry Earthquake.
Lorelei - No.
Bruno - Can beat his Onix in RB. In Yellow they have Earthquake so it isn't as easy.
Agatha - Should beat Arbok and Golbat. How it goes against the ghosts comes down to luck. One of the Gengar in Yellow has Mega Drain apparently so look out.
Lance - In RB, Gyarados is the main threat. His Dragonair will also chip away at Onix's low HP with Dragon Rage so that sticks. He walls Dragonite and Aerodactyl though. In Yellow, Dragonite has Blizzard and on of the Dragonair has Ice Beam but he walls Aerodactyl and the Thunderbolt Dragonair.
Champion - In RB, he beats Pidgeot, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Arcanine and Charizard. In Yellow, he beats Exeggutor, Magneton, Ninetales, Jolteon and Flareon. Overall not bad.
-Additional Comments - I think what I should stress is that Onix is not absolutely terrible. It can work if you are willing to put in the effort. It's just that it is outclassed. It would rather use Geodude, even if I couldn't trade for Golem, due to the superior power. Definitely Low.
-Paras - Low Tier
-Availability: Paras are found in Mt. Moon, and the deeper you go, the more common (and higher leveled) Paras will be. For comparison's sake, they have a 10% encounter rate at level 10 (9-11 in Yellow) in the middle floor and have a 15% chance of appearing in the deepest floor, at levels 10-12 (13 in Yellow). They can be found on the ground (top) floor in Red and Blue, but not in Yellow. They're only a 5% encounter there, so you're better off looking in the lower floors. Paras evolve at level 24.
-Stats: As with most early-game Bug-types, Paras have unimpressive stats all around. Their only stat that could be considered better than "average" is Attack, but it quickly falls behind due to a forgettable physical movepool. As for Speed, Parasect is up there with speed demons Snorlax and Slowbro.
-Movepool: Paras starts with Scratch as its only move, but gains Stun Spore at level 13, not too far from when you catch it. Stun Spore could potentially be very helpful, but the fact that you have to waste a turn to use it means it's only useful against Gym Leaders (that is, those that Paras and Parasect have a chance at beating). Paras's only STAB moves are Leech Life and Mega Drain; however, Leech Life is weaker that Scratch in any scenario other than ones where Leech Life deals super effective damage, and Mega Drain's power isn't too much better. Paras and Parasect also learn Slash, but not until level 39, and Parasect is one of the few users of Slash to not have a guaranteed critical hit when using it (for reference, Parasect's chance of landing a critical hit with Slash is 48.88%). Because of this, Body Slam is a great alternative, as it has a higher base power and Parasect also appreciates the paralysis chance. Other moves in Parasect's arsenal include Spore, which is very helpful against several bosses, and Swords Dance, whose sole purpose is to make Leech Life usable. Paras and Parasect also have access to Dig, which is possibly their best damaging move. Unfortunately for Paras, having it learn Dig means having none of your other Pokemon learn it, and Dig is a highly-contested TM, which might cause trouble for other Pokemon who might also greatly benefit from it.
-Power: With an initially average Attack stat and no STAB moves, it should come as no surprise that Paras starts off doing poorly. Even after it evolves and all of its stats get a much-needed (but not quite as much as it would have liked) increase, its performance never exceeds being average, thanks to its 4x weakness to Flying-type attacks as well as its pathetic speed and unimpressive defenses.
-Type: Paras's typing is infamous for having the most 4x weaknesses in the game, at 3. Said weaknesses are to Fire-, Poison-, and Flying-type moves, the latter two being quite common after Pokemon Tower. Also, while Bug and Grass are both helpful STABs at certain points in the game, Parasect just doesn't have the stats or moves to utilize them.
-Match-ups: The following match-ups will not take Spore into account, as a majority of them would be made easier, but longer.
--Misty: While Paras does have a resistance to Bubblebeam, it still has trouble with Misty if it doesn't know Leech Life due to its Scratch doing less to her Starmie than said Starmie's Tackle does in return.
--Lt. Surge: Parasect runs into a similar problem here, just replace Leech Life with Dig. Also, the problem is much more noticeable in Yellow due to his Raichu knowing Mega Kick.
--Erika: Her Victreebel (Weepinbell in Yellow) will not hesitate to Wrap Parasect into oblivion, but her other Pokemon fall quite easily to Leech Life.
--Koga: Koga's Pokemon all either have good defensive stats, allowing them to not faint in 2 Digs (Red/Blue), or are higher in level than Parasect, possess a neutrality to Dig, and can fire back with Psychic (Yellow)
--Sabrina: Leech Life does less to Alakazam than Recover heals, meaning you'll have to be reliant on Slash (which might as well be a coinflip) or Body Slam (which is learned via an exclusive TM) to beat it. This is not taking into account her previous Pokemon, which could capably weaken (if not KO) Parasect on their own.
--Blaine: Parasect is sluggish and has a 4x weakness to Fire Blast. Nothing more needs to be said.
--Giovanni: How well Parasect does against his Rhydon depends on whether or not it knows Mega Drain. While Dig gets the job done, it takes more hits to beat Rhydon with it than Mega Drain. Persian can be an annoyance, but the Nidos are far from intimidating, thanks to them having few attacks effective against Parasect.
--Lorelei: Considering all of her Pokemon (barring Slowbro for whatever reason) know Ice-type attacks of some sort, it should be safe to say Parasect should not be fighting her.
--Bruno: As with Giovanni's Rhydon, Bruno's Onix can either be taken down by 5, 2, or countless hits, depending on whether you taught Parasect Dig, Mega Drain, or neither. However, his Fighting-types can be beaten without Dig, with the exception of R/B Hitmonchan, as it knows Counter.
--Agatha: First of all, Parasect needs Dig to beat her Ghost-types. Secondly, she has a tendency to switch to Golbat when an opponent goes underground. Thirdly, all of her Pokemon are faster than Parasect and know status-inducing moves, which can be quite irritating.
--Lance: While Parasect might be able to withstand a Hyper Beam and then proceed to sleep something with Spore, that's all it can do against Lance.
--Rival: Most of the things Parasect can beat (and there are only 2-3 of those) are easily taken down by several different Pokemon, with the exception of Jolteon in Yellow if Parasect knows Dig.
-Additional Comments: Paras and Parasect were never good. This is mainly due to its lack of usable (outside of super effective hits) STAB, poor typing, and middling stats. While Spore is a great move, it was unfortunately given to a Pokemon that didn't have the Speed, defenses, or typing to utilize it to its greatest effect. As such, Paras (and Parasect) should not be considered for anything in Generation I. Even its utility of being a good HM Slave for Rock Tunnel because of its ablility to learn both Cut and Flash is only applicable to the remakes due to Paras not being able to learn Flash until Generation II.
-Pidgey - Low Tier
-Availability: Immediately available as soon as you can catch Pokemon on the very first route, and is very easy to catch. Likely will be among the very first Pokemon you obtain.
-Stats: The Pidgeot line is an example of extreme mediocrity when it comes to stats All of them are middle of the road with speed being slightly higher than average and Special being slight lower.
-Movepool: Pidgeot's level-up movepool is sorely lacking in powerful attacks, and requires TM and HM support to become useful, and even then remains quite limited, with only Normal and Flying type moves available. Worse, no Flying type STAB move is available until either HM 02 Fly is obtained (recommended) or Wing Attack is learned at level 31 (not recommended since it really blows in generation I). This is due to Gust being Normal Type in Generation I. However, most of the most beneficial TMs for Pidgeot such as Take Down, Reflect, and Fly are easily obtainable once the player reaches Celadon City.
-Power: Pidgeot is quite average in both attacking and defensive strengths. The length of time one must wait for a Flying Type STAB greatly reduces Pidgeot's effectiveness early game however. Once the moves are obtained though Pidgeot can hold its own against most foes.
-Type: Flying Type is quite useful early game... shame Pidgey doesn't get any flying moves until Celadon City, rendering this advantage moot. Once you do get Fly though, Pidgeot makes a rather effective substitute for a Fire type, since the selection available is quite slim unless you chose Charmander as a starter.
-Match-ups:
Brock - Very little chance, though if you're in a real bind Pidgey can use Sand Attack to increase your chances of success
Misty - Staryu won't provide Pidgeotto with any challenge, but Starmie will prove a very great challenge due to its much higher special and Bubblebeam
Lt. Surge - Since his Voltorb has no electric moves Pidgeotto can handle it, but Pikachu and Raichu will probably destroy you.
Erika - Status is annoying, but if you can keep Pidgeotto alive and have taught it Fly before the fight, Pidgeotto should absolutely demolish Erika.
Koga - Due to the high defensive stats of Koga's Pokemon Pidgeot isn't a very good choice for this battle, and is all to likely to get taken out by Self-Destruct
Sabrina - Hitting quickly and fairly hard on the physical side, Pidgeot can actually stand a fair chance here. Does not take their attacks particularly well though, but better than some at least.
Blaine - Average at best, and must look out for random burns. While not a terrible choice, you probably have better Pokemon for the job at this point.
Giovanni - Matches fairly well against his Pokemon without Rock Typing, but very poorly against those that do.
Lorelei - They all carry Ice type attacks except for Slowbro and are too bulky for Pidgeot to OHKO, with the possibel exception of Jynx. Best to stay out of this one.
Bruno - Matches up very well against his fighting types, but very poorly against his Onix. Don't worry too much about Ice and Thunder punch from Hitmonchan; coming off his special they're laughably weak.
Agatha - Fares as well as anything does that doesn't hit them super-effectively. Simply be on top of any status inflicted on Pidgeot and you should be fine, though the battle will be longer than if you used a psychic or ground type.
Lance - Matches up pretty poorly against most of his team, though might stand up to his Dragonair should it be required.
Rival - Works well against Exeggutor and Venusaur, but distinctly less well against the rest of his team, who all hit too hard and are not OHKO'd by Pidgeot.
Additional comments: Not sure on the tier to be mid or low. While Pidgeot is quite severely outclassed by Fearow, it's not a bad Pokemon and I have brought it to the end of the game several times without regrets. It just doesn't stand out.
Pinsir (Bottom Tier)
Availability: (Blue/Yellow Only) Players who want Pinsir can buy him from the Rocket Game Corner if they have the coins. He's only 2500 in Blue, but costs a ridiculous 6500 in Yellow. Alternatively, he's in the Safari Zone, but he's rare and pretty difficult to catch.
Stats: Pinsir has great Attack and good Defense, but is really let down by his average Speed and terrible HP and Special.
Movepool: Pinsir may have the worst move pool in the game. He learns no STAB moves and he can only learn non-Normal moves (besides Seismic Toss) through TM. It's not all horrible though; Pinsir gets Swords Dance and Guillotine through Level-Up and can make decent use of the buyable Submission TM. However, unless you want to waste your Body Slam TM on him, it'll be stuck with Slash in the fourth slot, which has pretty terrible synergy with Swords Dance. In Yellow it gets Bind, so it can trap whatever is slower with some luck.
Power: All in all, even though Pinsir has decent stats it's entirely outclassed by almost everything. It doesn't have the bulk to tank hits while setting up Swords Dance, and doesn't get any STAB to work with. Even off that great Attack stat, it'll hardly ever get OHKOs and gets wrecked by any Special, Flying, or Rock move sent his way. You can fish for OHKOs with Guillotine, but Pinsir's low Speed means it's not reliable. If you teach it Submission you can do some damage to things weak to Fighting, but it doesn't have any other redeeming qualities.
Type: Pinsir is really just a Fighting-type wannabe. It would be much better if it had STAB on Submission. Heck, even being Normal would be an improvement. As it is, Bug typing really hurts him since it means he has no STAB at all. Being weak to for somewhat common types (mainly Flying and Poison) doesn't help either.
Match Ups: Pinsir does horrible against almost everything. What did you expect with such horrible typing and coverage?
--Erika:It can chip away at Tangela, but shouldn't face anything with a poison-type move.
--Koga: Koga destroys you. End of story.
--Sabrina: Pinsir's low Special and HP means he can't take many Psychic hits. He should sit this one out too.
--Blaine: Lol
--Giovanni: Pinsir can actually do okay against Rhyhorn, Rhydon and Dugtrio in Blue and Persian in Yellow, but needs Submission.
--Lorelei: Pinsir can dish out some damage with Submission, but is let down by his low Special, so he can't take hits.
--Bruno: A Fighting resistance actually comes in handy here. You can set up Swords Dance against Hitmonlee and Machamp (both versions) or Hitmonchan in Blue and sweep with Strength or Submission.
--Agatha: Pinsir can't even touch 3/5 pokemon. Pass.
--Lance: Not great in Blue, but even worse in Yellow since Lance's Dragons get better moves.
--Blue: He can take on Rhydon in Blue and Sandslash in Yellow, but you should really have a better option for both of those.
Additional Comments: If the analysis hasn't convinced you, let me make this clear. There is no good reason to use Pinsir. He has horrible typing, an even worse move pool, and embarrassing Special and HP for a fully evolved pokemon. His middling Speed is the final nail in the coffin, meaning his great Attack is really wasted. He's not even a good HM slave since he comes too late for Cut and you probably have plenty of other things to learn Strength. In a nutshell, there's nothing Pinsir can do that something else can't do much better. If you must use Pinsir, be sure to teach him Submisison and then hope for the best.
-Porygon - Low Tier
-Availability: Porygon is obtained as a prize from the Game Corner. In Red and Yellow, it costs an obscene 9999 coins and comes at level 26. In Blue, it is a relatively more reasonable 6500 coins, but comes at level 18, somewhat cancelling out the advantage (although Blue players probably do have it better). Although this may seem like it would take ages to obtain, it is possible to obtain it at least mid-game, before the 5th gym (and even before the 4th in Blue). This involves finding and selling every single item that you don’t absolutely need, including useless TMs and vitamins. You should keep your spending to a minimum, and you should do every battle possible to get as much money as possible. Then you simply buy all the coins that are required. This is the quickest way to get it, although this requires you to sacrifice many items. If you aren’t willing to be that anal about it, then you don’t have to be, but don’t expect to get Porygon before late-game.
-Stats: Porygon has poor stats overall. Its highest stat, Special, is a mere 75, giving it barely average special hit taking abilities, and limiting its power. 60 Attack makes it hard to use STABs properly, 65 Defence is not impressive, and 40 Speed makes it slow as hell. These deficiencies will really begin to show as the game goes on.
-Movepool: Porygon actually has an interesting level-up movepool, although that doesn’t necessarily translate to a great one. Tackle, Psybeam and Tri Attack are all it gets for offensive options. What Porygon DOES get is Recover, which is useful on anything that gets it. It also gets the gimmicky Conversion, which works well in 1st gen thanks to most opponents only running STAB + Normal coverage. Changing into a type that resists itself can improve its survivability, especially with Recover. It is a bit too slow to abuse this properly though. Agility can be run to fix its speed issues. Porygon’s offense will come from TMs, where you have Ice Beam/Blizzard, Thunderbolt and Psychic to pick from. This provides excellent coverage and makes Porygon much more useful, albeit at the cost of the TMs.
-Power: If you can get it mid-game, Porygon can pull its weight for a little while. It can carry Psychic + Electric coverage, which is phenomenal along the routes heading towards Fuchsia. It also works well against Rocket Grunts. However, later in the game where everything is fully evolved and has better stats, Porygon’s poor stats really begin to show.
-Type: ‘Beige’ is probably the best way to describe Normal. Normal has no super-effective coverage, which contributes to why Porygon shouldn’t really be using STAB moves in the first place (the low Attack is also a key reason). Porygon also lacks resistances which is disappointing. It would really kill for some to potentially give it better bulk. Of course, this all gets thrown out the window when Conversion comes into play!
-Match-ups: Koga – Conversion is a huge help in RB, allowing you to take his hits much more easily. Psychic coverage helps immensely. Don’t use Conversion in Yellow, as you’ll make yourself weak to Psychic. Just spam Psychic attacks until you die.
Sabrina – Avoid this battle. Porygon is too slow and weak. Conversion may seem helpful but it’ll be hard to pull it off before you get hit. Clearly you’ll beat Abra in Yellow though.
Blaine – You get screwed by your low stats once again. In RB, Growlithe and Ponyta are beatable, but otherwise you don’t do much.
Giovanni – Again, stats prevent you from truely owning this battle, despite the type coverage.
Lorelei – Conversion + Thunderbolt can work here, but only if you manage to pull it off in time (you are so slow). Lapras is the toughest opponent thanks to Body Slam.
Bruno – You can beat Onix with Blizzard. Hitmonchan is beatable with Psychic since it lacks any Fighting attacks besides Counter. Avoid Hitmonlee and Machamp.
Agatha – Psychic covers everything, but have fun getting a hit in while she has her way with you with her annoying status moves. If she switches a lot against you, you might be able to do something.
Lance – Blizzard and Thunderbolt provide perfect coverage. You can actually do ok here since his Pokémon use mostly crappy or unSTABed moves, but a full sweep is difficult to pull off.
Blue – Interestingly, if you carry Thunderbolt, Blizzard/Ice Beam and Psychic, you have super-effective coverage on everything except Alakazam, Arcanine, Magneton, Ninetales and Jolteon. You can contribute here, but your low stats will make a complete sweep a real challenge.
-Additional Comments: This just isn’t a good Pokémon. It is way too much trouble to obtain, requiring a lot of sacrifices to get at a reasonable time. Once you get it, it just doesn’t perform well enough to justify obtaining it in the first place. It is an interesting choice, but this should be left for your fun teams.
Rhyhorn - Low Tier
Availability: Mid-game at the earliest. It is uncommonly found at levels 25-26 in the Safari Zone, and it is found in 2 of the 3 areas. There is a 15% chance of encountering one, so it is likely you will find a Rhyhorn somewhere. Their catch rate isn't too bad either, it can take a few attempts to get one. The only other place you can get one is in Cerulean Cave in Pokemon Yellow Version, but that's much later than practical.
Stats: Massive Attack and Defense make Rhyhorn/Rhydon an absolute powerhouse, and with a great HP stat it makes it a very strong pokemon. Unfortunately, it's low speed really hinders it and it's low special means that it should stay away from special moves.
Movepool: Rhyhorn has incredible TM capability, the kind most special sweepers would dream of, despite having a terrible special stat. As for level-up, Rhyhorn gets very little moves of any worth, and actually relies on TMs to give it STAB moves.
Power: Pure power best describes Rhydon, anything it hits, it KO's. It doesn't score many critical hits, but the raw damage output is always significant.
Type: Rock and Ground type are both great offensively, but defensively it's so-so. Immunity to Electric and resistance to Fire and Normal is great, but weakness to Grass (x4), Water (x4), Fighting (x2) and Ice (x2) is less than desirable.
Match-ups:
Erika: If you have Rhyhorn at this point (unlikely) then this is the last place to use it. Everything in this gym is faster and can cripple you with status or OHKO with STAB 4x Grass moves against your miserable Special stat. Leave Rhyhorn at home.
Koga: Rhyhorn wrecks if you gave it Dig or Earthquake, but if you didn't, it's very likely you will have normal-type moves. Rhyhorn still does ok in that case though, but watch out for poison.
Sabrina: Sabrina wrecks you here. Her pokemon are fast, high-powered and hit you in your pathetic Special stat. Even without weaknesses this is a bad match-up, although if you can survive a hit you can beat Kadabra as it's frail. But that's still a big IF.
Blaine: You come in with type advantage, but you won't like fighting here. Everything is faster than Rhyhorn, and even though he resists Fire, his special stat is atrocious. In addition, if Rhyhorn is burned, it will be pretty much useless. That being said, Rhydon should be able to take out Growlithe. The biggest threats come from Ponyta and Rapidash, who will both be faster than you and will trap you with Fire Spin. If you can move successfully however, you should take them out in 1 shot. Arcanine is a much bigger deal as you will be weakened by the time he arrives, and even though you resist Fire Blast, it can still KO you (or burn and cripple your attack stat).
Giovanni: This match-up very much depends on whether you taught Rhydon Earthquake/Dig, and only fight with Rhydon if he's level 51 to outspeed Giovanni's Rhydon, otherwise you risk Fissure. In this battle, Rhyhorn only knows crappy normal moves, Nidoking/Queen only have normal and poison moves and Rhydon can only hurt you with a lucky Fissure/Horn Drill. All of these Pokemon are hit supereffectively by Ground moves as well, but watch out for Dugtrio, because you won't like a STAB Dig (but is countered by your own Dig funnily enough).
Lorelei: Avoid avoid avoid. Lorlei can hit you with 4x Water moves and 2x Ice moves, and most of her Pokemon will be significantly faster than you. However, if you MUST fight her with Rhydon, make sure he knows Rock Slide to hit them back for 2x damage.
Bruno: Odd, but he actually does OK here. Both Onix are no trouble at all, and he can probably take down one Fighting-type Pokemon due to his high defense. However, Rhydon get's worn down very easily here, and won't solo unless he is extremely over-levelled.
Agatha: The sheer speed of her Pokemon plus Confusion/Sleep hax that her pokemon carry don't guarantee a quick or efficient sweep. If you can avoid these though (unlikely), then it's a clean sweep for Rhydon, as the best move each of them carry is essentially Night Shade.
Lance: If Rhydon ever picked a single moment to shine, it's here. Aside from Gyarados, Rhydon picks apart this team like it's no big deal. The only moves that any of them use are normal-type, and with Rhydon's massive defense and type resistance, it will be able to shake off the damage. It's worth noting though, Aerodactyl is still dangerous with Supersonic and immunity to Ground-type moves. In Yellow, Rhydon has a tougher time as his Dragonair has Ice Beam and Bubblebeam, while Dragonite now has Blizzard, but on the flip side, Aerodactyl no longer has supersonic, and the other Dragonair carries Thunderbolt (which you are immune to).
Rival: It doesn't matter what your Rival will be using here, he's going to have a different way of ending Rhydon in almost all circumstances. Charizard is the best starter to come up against due to it's weakness to Rock, but your terrible special means you will be eating Fire Blasts. Your Rhydon should be able to beat Pidgeot though, as it's frail. Exeggutor can be annoying with Hypnosis, but he only knows normal moves so he's no threat. Arcanine is easily beat, as Ember is piss-poor and his other moves just aren't up to scratch. The key Pokemon for Rhydon to completely avoid here is Blastoise, Venasaur, Alakazam and Gyarados who can all outspeed and OHKO.
Additional Notes: Rhydon would be awesome if it actually learned a single STAB move by level-up. And while it is able to beat regular trainers, it's useless in almost all of the important battles. It's unlikely that you saved Dig for Rhydon, and I would be hesitant to teach it Rock Slide and/or Earthquake. But, if you HAVE to use Rhydon, you need to give it these moves, it depends on them. Rhydon's TM movepool is amazing when it comes to special attacks, but unlike the Nidos, he doesn't have the stats to use them. In fact, Rhydon is a great special attacker in the same way Alakazam is a great physical wall. Rhydon does have a couple of interesting uses outside of battle, as it is able to use both Surf and Strength, so it's not a terrible HM slave. Overall, stick with Golem, Sandslash, Dugtrio, Nidoking or Nidoqueen, Rhyhorn is completely outclassed.
Scyther (unavailable in Blue) - Low Tier
-Availability: There are 2 ways to get a Scyther, and neither of them are pretty. The less expensive but also less recommended way is by looking for it in the Safari Zone. Keep in mind that it's a 4% encounter at best, and they tend to run away after one turn. The recommended but far more expensive method is to spend 110,000 poke (130,000 in Yellow) at the Game Corner. Regardless of the method, it'll be at level 25 (or close to it) when you get it.
-Stats: It has good Attack and great Speed. It also has enough bulk to take a few neutral physical hits.
-Movepool: Scyther's movepool is disappointingly shallow, outside of Slash (which it learns at level 29). It learns Swords Dance and Agility, but it never has a use for either of them, as Slash's omnipresent criticals negate the attack boosts from Swords Dance and Scyther's already faster than almost everything already, making Agility useless. Also, its attacking movepool is composed entirely of Normal-type attacks, with the exception of Wing Attack in Yellow, but Scyther doesn't learn it until level 50, and it's so weak that the only thing it hits harder than Slash is Ghost-types, which are in only one battle in the game by the time Scyther might have learned it.
-Power: By the time you get it (assuming you played the game normally), you'll be at Pokemon Tower, where the majority of enemies happen to be Ghost-types, which wall Scyther completely. Assuming you chose to go to Cycling Road first, Scyther's going to have a very rough time catching up thanks to seemingly everybody there having a Poison-type with good Defense. Also, even with Slash, it still has a bit of trouble OHKOing Pokemon that have decent Defense.
-Typing: With everything else it has in mind, Scyther really would've appreciated if it was at least part Normal-type, so it would get STAB from Slash. Instead, it gets no STAB whatsoever (if you say Wing Attack...) as well as a weakness to Poison-type attacks. At least it isn't part Grass-type...
-Match-ups: Note: All of the following are assuming Scyther knows Slash, as its capabilities are quite feeble without it.
--Lt. Surge: His team is swept in Red, but Raichu can occasionally survive a Slash in Yellow thanks to its higher level and then proceed to OHKO with Thunderbolt.
--Erika: Scyther's faster than her team, making Wrap not as threatening as it would've been (unless of course Scyther got paralyzed prior to the fight), and it has a 4x resistance to Grass-type moves.
--Koga: Considering Scyther's weak to Poison-type attacks and Slash failing to 2HKO Koffing, things won't go well for it in Red. In Yellow, it has a better chance, and might be able to take down more than one of his Pokemon, assuming none of them use Stun Spore or Sleep Powder.
--Sabrina: Her entire team is outsped, and Kadabra and Mr. Mime are flat out OHKOed by Slash. Venomoth and Alakazam can both survive one Slash, but they need to use Psybeam and Psychic to beat Scyther. In Yellow, Scyther loses the Speed advantage and the ability to OHKO Kadabra, because of it being higher levelled.
--Blaine: Every member of his team knows Fire Blast, and as such I feel no need to explain what the outcome of this battle might be.
--Giovanni: His Rhyhorn/don wall Scyther, and the Nidos have enough bulk to take a Slash. In the transition from Red to Yellow, there's good news and bad news: the good news it that he got rid of his Rhyhorn and Dugtrio can no longer touch Scyther. The bad news is that Persian can do more to you than Rhyhorn can, and the Nidos learned Thunder.
--Lorelei: All of her Pokemon (barring Jynx, who is outsped and OHKOed) fit at least 1 of 2 criteria:
1. Can take repeated Slashes.
2. Know an Ice-type move of some sort.
--Bruno: This battle features a double rarity: His Onix actually holding their own against something, and Hitmonchan being genuinely threatening (thanks, Counter!).
--Agatha: Nothing doing.
--Lance: Hyper Beam does a chunk regardless of who's using it, and Scyther has trouble 2HKOing anything on his team. In Yellow, things are even more hostile, as all of his Pokemon, with the exception of Gyarados, know super-effective moves.
--Rival: First of all, make a list of every Pokemon he'll use when you fight him. Then, cross out anything that's faster than Scyther, are physically bulky, or have a type advantage. The remaining Pokemon on the list should be Exeggutor and Venusaur, as while Blastoise and Vaporeon don't completely meet any of the above categories, keep in mind that they know Ice-type attacks.
-Additional Comments: Scyther is the closest thing to a one-trick pony in RBY; it has Slash, but nothing else. It's also one of the most expensive Pokemon in the game, second only to Porygon, and when all you get from 5500 coins is a Pokemon which has only one good move (which has absolutely no super-effective coverage), something's wrong.
-Tangela - Low Tier
-Availability: In RB it is caught after you get Surf south of Pallet Town. It isn’t too difficult to find usually but it needs some time to catch up to the rest of your team. Annoyingly, there aren’t any particularly good spots to grind it, although the Power Plant and Seaform Islands are ok choices. In Yellow, it is purely a Safari Zone Pokémon and is therefore harder to obtain (though it can be obtained sooner).
-Stats: Tangela has good stats overall. 115 Defence and 100 Special allows it to take all kinds of hits. It is a bit slow though, and its Attack is disappointing.
-Movepool: Tangela’s movepool is horrible. It is capable of learning Grass and Normal attacks. Because of its low Attack, its Normal attacks are mostly worthless. What’s worse is that it can’t learn Razor Leaf or Petal Dance, which leaves it with SolarBeam and Mega Drain as its best options. This limits its overall power. It does have access to the status powders though, which helps it defeat things.
-Power: Tangela is really held back by its movepool. To get around anything with resistance to Grass, it has to resort to Bind-trapping and its status moves to win, neither of which is particularly fast. Even against opponents that lack Grass resistance, it often can’t OHKO anything because Mega Drain is a weak attack and SolarBeam takes 2 turns. It can OHKO things with a Grass weakness, but that’s it.
-Type: Grass really is a mixed bag as an attacking type. It does hit some important Pokémon super-effectively, but it’s also resisted by a large number of Pokémon. The same applies from a defensive point of view. Grass has some good resistances but it also has some irritating weaknesses to Flying, Ice, Poison and Fire (and Bug but that isn’t that important). Tangela’s good bulk does help with the weaknesses a bit though, as long as you don’t get overly reckless.
-Match-ups: Sabrina – You aren’t that good here. You are outsped, Psychic does quite a bit of damage and you can’t do much back to her.
Blaine – You are pretty useless here. You can’t really do anything useful here unless you have an extreme aount of luck on your side.
Giovanni – This is one of your better match-ups. Grass hits Dugtrio, Rhyhorn and Rhydon. Nidoqueen and Nidoking can’t do much to you. Persian is a weakling that you can take out just fine. You can actually solo here, which is rare for Tangela.
Lorelei – Grass is super-effective on most of her team, but Ice is super-effective back. Slowbro can be beaten just fine but there are better choices for everything else.
Bruno – This is an ok match-up. You kill Onix and you can take on the fighting types thanks to your high Defence and their low Special.
Agatha – Don’t bother. You can’t touch anything here and they have their way with you with their annoying movesets.
Lance – Gyarados is the thing you stand the greatest chance against. Aerodactyl is doable in RB thanks to its lack of Flying moves (watch for Supersonic). In RB, you can take their hits but you can’t do much back (you may need to resort to status moves). In Yellow, 2 of the Dragons have Ice moves.
Blue – Your best match-ups are Rhydon, Blastoise, Sandslash, Magneton, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Cloyster. Watch for Ice attacks from the Water types.
-Additional Comments: Tangela has nice stats but its movepool is just too small to make this a good choice for an efficient run. It is the worst Grass type in the game and it is incapable of doing much of anything that would make it a worthwhile choice.
-Tauros - Low Tier
-Availability: Tauros can only be found in the Safari Zone. In RB, it is rare (4% encounter rate in area 3), has a low catch rate and tends to flee. It comes at level 26 at a minimum, which is somewhat underleveled (but not completely unsalvageable). This makes it a very inaccessible Pokémon indeed. In Yellow it is slightly more common (10% encounter rate in area 1 and 3), but comes at level 21 and retains its low catch rate.
-Stats: Tauros’s stats are impressive overall. 100 Attack and 110 Speed are perfect for sweeping through regular trainers quickly. 70 HP, 95 Defence and 70 Special give it decent bulk. 70 Special also allows it to use special attacks well.
-Movepool: Tauros’s level up movepool is very small. Stomp is a good move to start off with, but since Strength comes at around the same time that Tauros does you might as well use that. Although you can get away with just Strength if you want to, Tauros really appreciates TM support to be as effective as possible. It gets several Normal TMs, Thunderbolt/Thunder, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Fire Blast and Earthquake as strong options, but it is a big ask to actually reserve all of these for such an difficult-to-obtain Pokémon. Chances are that you might be able to take some of these, but simply have Nidoking/Nidoqueen and a Water type on your team (which is a fairly “standard” team in in-game first gen) can take most of these away and that leaves Tauros with nothing. As a result, you may have to build your team with these restrictions in mind if you plan to use it with its best possible moveset.
-Power: Tauros is an excellent sweeper, especially if you gave it TM support to improve its coverage. Strength should be sufficient to at least 2HKO most things though, and obviously standard trainers are going to fold to it. However, it isn’t the monster it could be if you rely on Strength alone, which you kind of want it to be if you are going that much out of your way to get it.
-Type: Normal has wide neutral coverage but no super effective coverage to speak of. This does allow Tauros to run mono-Normal coverage if it wants to, although some super effective coverage would have been nice to get more OHKOs. It’s a similar situation defensively, with only one weakness but only one immunity.
-Match-ups: Koga – In RB, if you have Earthquake, you do well. Without it, you are less effective, although to be honest Koga isn’t really that big of a deal in RB. In Yellow, you do ok too because his Pokémon are frail bugs (albeit high level ones).
Sabrina – Her Pokémon are frail. You can outspeed and KO her Pokémon with your STAB move.
Blaine – Earthquake is a huge help here. Even without it you can contribute, and Strength obviously gets the job done against Growlithe and Ponyta in RB, but it needs Earthquake to reliable pull off a quick sweep.
Giovanni – If you have an Ice (or at least Ground) move then you’ll do well. His Rock types wall you otherwise. Still, your Normal move can hit Dugtrio, Persian, Nidoqueen and Nidoking.
Lorelei – Tauros can learn Electric moves and if you have one then you cover everything except Jynx, who is KOed by your STAB anyway. But just like most of the other match-ups, it is less effective without the TM support, capable of contributing but not powering through.
Bruno – Unless you have an Ice move or Earthquake, Onix walls you. Machamp is a huge threat thanks to its bulk and Submission. If you have a Special move then Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are less threatening, but Hitmonlee’s fighting moves are very powerful against Tauros.
Agatha – Earthquake is needed for her Ghosts. Otherwise, you are hopeless against them. At least Golbat and Arbok can be beaten though.
Lance – Ice and Electric covers everything. Without them, Aerodactyl walls you, and Gyarados and Dragonite are harder to take down.
Blue – How useful you are comes down to what you taught it. It should be noted that Rhydon is the only thing that resists Normal though, so at least you can contribute using just your STAB.
-Additional Comments: Tauros can be amazing if you give it the support from TMs, but without them it isn’t as impressive. Mono-Normal can be described as “reliable”, but it needs the TMs to be able to power through most of the important match-ups as quickly as possible. Given how late Tauros comes, and how difficult it can be to obtain (especially in RB) and train (especially in Yellow), it is difficult to assume that Tauros will have access to its favourite TMs. The final nail in the coffin is its availability. In RB, just catching it can be an excruciating time drain. In Yellow it benefits from a higher encounter rate but is even more underleveled and still have the same problems with catching it, what with the Safari Zone mechanics. If you manage to get it quickly and you can provide it with at least some of its TMs, then it isn’t a bad choice, but it just isn’t a good idea to plan your playthrough with the intent of using it on your team.
Venonat - Low Tier (Bottom Tier in Red/Blue)
Availability: Route 25 in Yellow, as high as Lv. 16. In Red/Blue, you'll have to wait until Route 12. It evolves at Lv. 31.
Stats: None of them stick out as a Venonat. After it evolves, things don't change much aside from having okay Special and Speed.
Movepool: While Venonat can learn the powders, it has to wait a while before it can learn them. (Lv. 43 for Sleep Powder!) It also learns Psychic-type moves via level-up, but it doesn't get STAB on them, making them generally weak in comparison to others, and it doesn't learn Psychic until Lv. 50, meaning that you'll have to either waste your TM29, or just use Psybeam for the rest of the game.
Power: Lack of effective powder attacks means that it can't cripple its opponents like its competition can, and poor typing with no STAB and only "okay" Special means that you shouldn't expect much from its attacks.
Type: Bug/Poison is awful, considering that its most powerful STAB move is Leech Life. It doesn't even get STAB on the Psychic-type attacks it learns.
Match-ups: Don't expect Venonat to do well in combat, due to its unfortunate typing and average-at-best stats.
Misty: Leech Life is super-effective, but only on Starmie, and Bubblebeam will generally do more anyways.
Lt. Surge: Similar case as Misty, but Leech Life and Confusion are neutral.
Erika: Even though Venonat has the type advantage, don't expect a clean sweep here, because of its awful (for this point in the game) stats.
Koga: If you're playing Red/Blue, you might have a chance. General rule of thumb for Yellow is 3 Venonats + 1 Venomoth >>> just 1 Venomoth.
Sabrina: Type chart says no.
Blaine: See Sabrina.
Giovanni: Thanks to his team either being weak to Psychic or having low Special. Watch out for Dugtrio and Persian though, as they can rip you moth to shreds with Slash.
Lorelei: Don't expect victory from Venomoth, due to its average stats. Generally, it'll fire an attack, not KO, and get hit back, with equal or greater power.
Bruno: Venomoth is primarily a special attacker, and x4 resists Fighting, meaning the only thing you have to worry about from Bruno is Hitmonlee's Mega Kick.
Agatha: Her 2 Gengar are barely faster than you, and the first one can put you sleep while the other has Psychic at its disposal.
Lance: Don't push your luck. They all have Hyper Beam, know how to use it, and can take a hit.
Additional Comments: Venomoth is too average for its own good, with nothing to set it apart from the competition. It's usable, but outclassed in Yellow, and even worse in Red/Blue, due to its much later joining time.
Vulpix: Low Tier
-Availability: Midgame. In Blue, Vulpix can either be found before Celadon City (where you can buy a Fire Stone and evolve him straight away), or in the Pokemon Mansion. In Yellow, Vulpix is obtained through the Game Corner, which is also in Celadon.
-Stats: Ninetails has very good Speed and Special. Its Special allows it to take Special Hits (provided they are not Water moves), and it outspeeds a lot of Pokemon. However, the rest of his stats are average at best.
-Movepool: If you evolve it into Ninetails straight away, you'll be stuck with Ember unless you feed it TM's such as Fire Blast, Body Slam, and Dig. Keep in mind the latter 2 TM are in very high demand in this game. Fire Blast also comes only later on in the game and has low PP, which may cause issues when fighting the Elite 4.
If you keep him as Vulpix or catch him later at Pokemon Mansion, you can train him to learn Confuse Ray and Flamethrower. However, Confuse Ray is not the most efficient strategy as it is a luck based moved. While Flamethrower may seem tempting, by the time you get it, Fire loses much of its value due to not being especially good against the majority of latter gym leaders/E4.
-Power: Not very powerful at all. Evolving it straight into Ninetails means you are stuck with Ember as your STAB.
-Type: Fire
Offensively, it hits Bug, Grass, and Ice for Super Effective damage. By the time you get Vulpix, you'll barely have any Bug and Ice types to fight. The majority of Bug users are battled before Celadon, where as the only Ice type you battle (that is weak to Fire) is Lorelei's Jynx. Grass is still common at this point, but you also get HM 02 Fly and TM13 Ice Beam to hit Grass types with. Fire is resisted by Rock, Water, Fire, and Dragon. Most Rock types you face in-game have weak Special and wont even like taking resisted hits, and there is only one Dragon user in the game. However, Water is problematic for Ninetails, especially with how common it is late game (all the water trainers in the water surrounding Cinnabar Island).
Fire also offers resists to Bug, Grass, and Fire. However, he is also weak to Water, Ground, and Rock moves, which is more common than Bug/Grass/Fire moves.
-Mathups:
--Erika: Despite the type advantage, Ninetails only has Ember which will not sweep her team. Also, status moves put a serious damper on Ninetails performance.
--Koga: If Ninetails was given the Dig TM, it can hit his entire team for Super Effective damage, just watch out for getting poisoned. In Yellow, Koga uses Venonats/Venomoth who are weak to Fire. However, much like Erika, you'll be stuck with Ember and Ninetails will not like being poisoned.
--Sabrina: Ninetails has the Special Bulk to survive Sabrina's move and can use Body Slam/Dig to hit her physically frail Pokemon.
--Blaine: Dig hits his whole team for Super Effective damage. While Growlithe and Ponyta are not threats, his Rapidash and Arcanine can survive a Dig. Rapidash and Arcanine also both have goo Physical Attack and can hurt Ninetails with Stomp/Take Down.
--Giovanni: Dig is Super Effective on his whole team except for Dugtrio. Despite that, Giovanni's Pokemon can take a Dig from Ninetails and wear it down with their own moves. His Dugtrio also knows Dig.
In Yellow, almost all his Pokemon know Earthquake, easily taking Ninetails out.
--Lorelei: The only one who Ninetails can safely take on is Jynx, due to her weakness to Fire.
--Bruno: His Pokemon have low Special and don't like taking Flamethower/Fire Blast. Might want to be vary on Fire Blast PP, though.
--Agatha: If you have Dig, it deals a lot of damage to her team as they are all weak to Ground except Golbat. Golbat isn't too hard to take out either, but watch out for Confuse Ray or Toxic.
--Lance: His entire team resists Fire and their powerful Hyper Beams will hurt Ninetails. Even worse, Lance's Gyarados knows Hydro Pump, which will make short work of Ninetails.
--Gary: STAB Fire moves can take out his Grass Pokemon, while Dig can hurt his Electric types, Rhydon, and Fire types (excluding Charizard). However, his Water types are a huge threat to Ninetails, and in Yellow his Sandslash can Earthquake you.
Additional Comments: Ninetails does well against some Gym Leaders/E4 members, but at the same time, its at the cost of using up two of the most valuable TM in the games - Body Slam and Dig. There will be plenty of other people who will want those two TM's, and can use it better than Ninetails. Hence why I'm placing Ninetails as Low Tier.
-Weedle (Red and Blue only) - Low Tier
-Availability: Weedle are easy to obtain, just search for them in Viridian Forest. They can also be found at Route 2 in Red, but it's better just to go into the forest and look for them there, as you have a higher chance of finding them there. They also evolve quite early, at level 7 and then level 10.
-Stats: This here is the main reason why Weedle's bad. Its stats are unimpressive all across the board, even after it fully evolves, with its highest base stat being 80 Attack.
-Movepool: Its only attacking moves are the weak Poison Sting and the unreliable Fury Attack until it learns Twineedle at level 20. Twineedle, and later Pin Missile, are Bug-type moves, which, back in the day, hit Poison-types super-effectively, essentially meaning Beedrill hits a decent chunk of the later mid-game super-effectively. It also learns Agility and Swords Dance (although you'll need TM03 for the latter), which are absolutely essential for its performance against most of the later bosses. Also, it can learn Mega Drain, which allows it to deal with Rock/Ground-types, but has little use otherwise, as most of the Water-types in the game are hit just as hard, if not harder, by Twineedle or Pin Missile. Unfortunately, Pin Missile and Twineedle don't exactly have the best base powers in the game, with Twineedle being 75 after STAB is factored in.
-Power: With only Poison Sting and Fury Attack for the first two badges, Beedrill's not doing very well. Then, when it learns Twineedle, it actually does adequately, easily defeating the majority of things weak to it. It also does well in Pokemon Tower, outspeeding and OHKOing the Ghost-types that haunt the tower. Soon after that, however, Beedrill hits the wall known as Koffing, and realizes that the only way for it to KO them in one turn is to hope for the 25% chance of Pin Missile hitting at least 4 times. Soon afterwards, it runs into Weezing, whom it can't OHKO at all without the aid of a critical hit. Another thing: don't use the terms "Bird Keeper" and "Beedrill" in the same sentence, for Beedrill's sake.
-Type: Bug is, as mentioned above, one of the best STABs to have in RBY. Beedrill also has a secondary Poison typing, giving it a neutrality to Poison-type attacks, but also giving it a Psychic weakness, meaning Beedrill can't effectively take them on.
-Match-ups:
--Brock: Considering the fact that his Pokemon resist every move Kakuna (or Beedrill, depending on whether you grinded it or not) has, and that they have high Defense, breaking through them just won't work. And before you say something like "But Poison Sting poisons them!" keep in mind that Brock has Full Heals at his disposal.
--Misty: While her Starmie is indeed weak to Twineedle, it is faster than Beedrill and its BubbleBeam is fully capable of OHKOing it.
--Lt. Surge: Beedrill can beat his Voltorb and Pikachu with little to no problem, but Raichu can fry it with a Thunderbolt.
--Erika: This is the part of the game where Beedrill is at its best. It literally OHKOes everything in this Gym (except for Erika's Tangela, but what would it honestly do in retaliation?) with Twineedle. Ahhh, 4x weaknesses...
--Koga: You'll need to set up 3 Swords Dances to stand a chance against him, and keep in mind that his Pokemon can use Smokescreen repeatedly while you're setting up.
--Sabrina: Her Kadabra outspeeds and OHKOes you. However, if Beedrill sets up an Agility on her Mr. Mime, it can take out her Alakazam as well as Mr. Mime if it didn't use Barrier. Also, since she has a Venomoth, which can survive a Pin Missile most of the time, you'll probably want to use Swords Dance, at least if it wasn't for the fact that Mr. Mime's Confusion 2HKOes.
--Blaine: While you might be able to set up on him, keep in mind that Rapidash can weather a +6 5-hit Pin Missile and proceed to trap Beedrill, beating it in only 3 turns. If you made it past Rapidash, his Arcanine is much bulkier than it looks, having the ability to survive at least 10 +6 Pin Missile impacts.
--Giovanni: First of all, you need Mega Drain to beat his Rhyhorn (and Rhydon), which is the only Pokemon he has that Beedrill can properly set up on. Once that is done, feel free to 2HKO Rhyhorn with Mega Drain, and after that, you can Pin Missile his Dugtrio and Nidos. Remember that Dugtrio is faster than an unboosted Beedrill, and Nidoqueen has the bulk to take a +6 5-hit Pin Missile, meaning they both have an opportunity to fire attacks back at Beedrill.
--Lorelei: Because Rest is a Psychic-type move, Dewgong will repeatedly use it against Beedrill, allowing it to set up as much as it wants. Unfortunately, Slowbro, Cloyster, and Lapras have enough bulk to easily take a +6 Pin Missile.
--Bruno: As with Giovanni, his first Pokemon is a non-threatening Rock/Ground-type that can be set up on and 2HKOed by Mega Drain. While his entire team resists Bug-type attacks, +6 Pin Missile is still strong enough to take out his Hitmonlee in approximately 4 hits. The only things you need to watch out for are Mega Punch, Mega Kick, and Karate Chop.
--Agatha: Unlike the previous two, Beedrill can't set up on any of her Pokemon, as they all know status moves of some sort that can (and will) disrupt any setup attempts.
--Lance: While it can't beat his Gyarados, it can set up on his Dragonair, both of which know Agility. Keep in mind that unless Beedrill knows Agility as well, it won't defeat Aerodactyl, who is faster and can survive a +6 Pin Missile. Also, Dragonite will do nothing against it, as it knows Barrier and Agility, and will use them against Poison-types (like Beedrill!)
--Blue: Just like with Agatha, Beedrill has no setup opportunities, and as such is of no use to you for this battle.
-Additional Comments: Weedle comes (and evolves) early and its primary STAB is very useful in-game, but when it comes down to it, it just doesn't hit hard enough against its intended targets to be a great help. The added Psychic weakness, lack of Bug-type attacks until level 20, and the low base power of the STAB moves themselves don't exactly help its cause either.
-Zubat - Low Tier
-Availability: You can get it before the second badge in Mt. Moon. Zubat’s relative weakness does mean that you’ll need to grind it though, regardless of the level you catch it (it can be as high as level 11), which is a pain since it can only beat opposing Zubat at this point. It is a tedious task, made worse by Leech Life’s low PP forcing you to run back and forth between Mt. Moon and the Pokémon centre outside.
-Stats: Golbat’s stats are not particularly great but they aren’t completely horrible either. It is quite quick, and 75 HP, 80 Attack, 70 Defence and 75 Special are ok given how early you evolve (they aren’t all that good late game though).
-Movepool: Its level-up movepool is unbelievably bad. Bite at level 15 is its strongest attack by level up. This is fine early on and the flinches it provides are helpful but the lack of power shows later on. Its TM movepool isn’t much better. Mega Drain, Double-Edge and Take Down are all you’re getting (it doesn’t even get Fly). Don’t be surprised if your moveset ends up being (Bite or Double-Edge)/Mega Drain/Leech Life/Wing Attack or something weird like that.
-Power: Bite can 2HKO some of the weaker Pokémon but during important battles, and later on in general, you will take more and more turns to kill things, so it can’t really power through routes.
-Type: Wing Attack is its only STAB and it is too weak to be of much use. From a defensive point of view, Poison/Flying (besides being unique) has some useful resistances (Ground/Fighting/Grass/Poison) and provides immunity to Poison but also provides weaknesses to Electric/Ice/Rock/Psychic, all of which are used in some important battles.
-Match-ups: Misty – Not that helpful. It can beat Staryu but it isn’t guaranteed to be faster and may take damage, and it will lose to Starmie
Lt. Surge – Thunderbolt will kill you.
Erika – Tangela is somewhat annoying due to physical bulk but can’t do much back, and Weepinbel and Gloom are at least 3HKOed by Leech Life (watch for Sleep Powder).
Koga – Depends on your level. Poison immunity is good and RB Koga shouldn't be that hard, though it doesn't exactly take everything down in one hit either. Psychic is super-effective but Golbat can take 1 or 2 from Venonat before going down.
Sabrina – Bite and Leech Life ok damage but Psychic OHKOs.
Blaine – Depends on level; Ninetales’s Flamethrower does a lot of damage, as does Arcanine’s Flamethrower and Fire Blast. Rapidash can Fire Spin trap you. Not really that good here, though RB Blaine is significantly easier.
Giovanni – Beats Dugtrio. Note that in Yellow, Persian’s Double Team is annoying thanks to its inability to kill it quickly, Nidoqueen and Nidoking have Thunder and Rhydon has Rock Slide (Mega Drain is good here though).
Lorelei – So many Ice attacks! Golbat isn’t good here.
Bruno – Mega Drain kills Onix. The 4x Fighting resistance is useful and Hitmonchan’s elemental punches are too weak to be that big of a concern (any damage can be recovered back from Mega Draining his second Onix). The Normal attacks are a bit more concerning, but overall Golbat is ok here.
Agatha – It won’t enjoy Dream Eater (easily dealt with using the Pokeflute) or Psychic, but Mega Drain and Poison resistance is handy. This battle is often down to luck with Confuse Ray and how much Agatha switches against you.
Lance – It does significantly worse in Yellow due to Ice Beam, Blizzard and Thunderbolt. Otherwise it will probably depend on level (you’ll need to be quite over-levelled to win alone though).
Blue – In RB you should do ok against Rhydon, Exeggutor, Venusaur, Pidgeot, and Arcanine with a bit of “Take Down missed” luck. In Yellow your best match-ups are Sandslash, Exeggutor, Ninetales and Flareon.
-Additional Comments: Zubat isn’t as bad as it first seems. Bite is acceptable for a little while, and Mega Drain and Leech Life have niche uses and recover HP simultaneously, which is handy. However, the fact is that Golbat is simply not an efficient battler, taking multiple turns to KO most opponents, and unlike other weak Flying types like Farfetch’d it doesn’t even provide any utility by learning Fly! There is just little justification for using this in an efficient run, making it low tier.
Krabby: Low to High
Growlithe (Y): High to Low
Spearow: High to Mid
Slowpoke: Low to Mid
Clefairy: Mid to Low
Tentacool: Mid to High
Flareon: Low to Mid
Shellder: Low to High
Bellsprout: High to Mid
Tauros: Mid to Low
Vulpix: Low (new addition)
Psyduck: Mid (new addition)
Farfetch'd (RB): Low to Mid
Growlithe (Y): High to Low
Spearow: High to Mid
Slowpoke: Low to Mid
Clefairy: Mid to Low
Tentacool: Mid to High
Flareon: Low to Mid
Shellder: Low to High
Bellsprout: High to Mid
Tauros: Mid to Low
Vulpix: Low (new addition)
Psyduck: Mid (new addition)
Farfetch'd (RB): Low to Mid
Let me know if I made an error.
EDIT: Someone will need to write a separate entry for Red Krabby in Low, but I'm just putting Krabby in High for now.
What happened to my Magikarp re-write? The one there is good, but has some inaccurate information (for example, Gyarados does not resist Grass). I can do another quick re-write of it, since it only needs to change some minor things.
Magikarp - Mid Tier
-Availability: You can buy it almost for free (500 Poke, to be precise) after the first time, but at level 5. It evolves at level 20.
Stats: As a Magikarp, it's got nothing going for it, except for okay Speed. Once it evolves, all of its stats (minus Speed) grow from pathetic to great.
-Movepool: As a Magikarp, it starts out with the useless Splash, and can't properly defend itself until it grows to level 15 and learns Tackle. Once it's a Gyarados, however, it gets the more powerful Bite, and you can teach it BubbleBeam via TM11. It can also learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam by TM, and Dragon Rage at level 25.
-Power: For the first 15 levels, it won't be able to beat even a Caterpie 1-on-1. After it evolves, it can occasionally take on entire Routes by itself.
-Type: Water's great when you get it, but it can't use any Water-type moves when you get it. When it evolves, its weakness to Electric becomes more amplified, but it loses its weakness to Grass and gains an immunity to Ground. Its newfound weaknesses to Rock isn't too bad, because Rock-types are washed away by Water moves.
-Match-ups: Because of how pathetic it is as a Magikarp, all of the following are assuming it's a Gyarados.
--Misty: High Attack and resistance to Water mean that Misty's Pokemon are reliably beaten; however, it's quite unlikely that you'll have evolved Magikarp by the time you fight her.
--Lt. Surge: As Gyarados suffers a double weakness to Electric, Raichu's Thunderbolt will OHKO Gyarados.
--Erika: At this point of the game you can give Gyarados the Ice Beam TM, which allows it take out Grass Pokemon easily. Even without Ice Beam, Bite is powerful enough to take out her Pokemon besides Tangela. Tangela shouldn't be a problem in RB due to being underleveled and its poor moveset, but can be troublesome for non-Ice Beam Gyarados in Yellow version.
--Koga: Surf hits his Pokemon's weaker Special, often KOing in 2 hits.
--Sabrina: Bite/Body Slam/other Normal attack squishes her fragile Psychic-types.
--Blaine: Gyarados resists Fire, and his STAB Water moves make short work of Blaine.
--Giovanni: Gyarados is immune to Ground, and Surf hits his entire team for Super Effective damage except for Persian. Keep in mind in Pokemon Yellow, his Nidoqueen and Nidoking know Thunder.
--Lorelei: If Gyarados was give the Thunderbolt TM he can do serious damage to her Pokemon, but without it he will struggle due to Lorelei's Pokemon having good Physical Bulk and a resistance to Water.
--Bruno: His 2 Onix are turned to rubble by (insert Water-type attack here), and Hi Jump Kick/Submission is resisted by Gyarados's Flying secondary typing.
--Agatha: Golbat and Arbok are easily beaten, but her Ghosts are immune to Gyarados's Physical Moves and have the bulk to take Surf. Don't use it against her unless you like seeing your sea serpent get statused.
--Lance: Aerodactyl is weak to Water, but his other Pokemon all resist it. If Gyarados was taught Thunderbolt he can take out Lance's Gyarados and if Gyarados was taught Ice Beam/Blizzard, it can take out Lance's Dragons. In Yellow, keep in mind that one of his Dragonair and Dragonite know Thunderbolt and Thunder, respectively.
-Additional Comments: As shown above, Gyarados is awesome, but if you want to use it, you'll have to bear with the completely useless Magikarp for 15 long levels, due to its experience curve (Slow). Another problem is that Gyarados is TM dependent as it a lot of its sweeping potential relies on BoltBeam coverage. Once it evolves and has the right coverage, however, it becomes incredibly powerful and self-sufficient.
Magikarp - Mid Tier
-Availability: You can buy it almost for free (500 Poke, to be precise) after the first time, but at level 5. It evolves at level 20.
Stats: As a Magikarp, it's got nothing going for it, except for okay Speed. Once it evolves, all of its stats (minus Speed) grow from pathetic to great.
-Movepool: As a Magikarp, it starts out with the useless Splash, and can't properly defend itself until it grows to level 15 and learns Tackle. Once it's a Gyarados, however, it gets the more powerful Bite, and you can teach it BubbleBeam via TM11. It can also learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam by TM, and Dragon Rage at level 25.
-Power: For the first 15 levels, it won't be able to beat even a Caterpie 1-on-1. After it evolves, it can occasionally take on entire Routes by itself.
-Type: Water's great when you get it, but it can't use any Water-type moves when you get it. When it evolves, its weakness to Electric becomes more amplified, but it loses its weakness to Grass and gains an immunity to Ground. Its newfound weaknesses to Rock isn't too bad, because Rock-types are washed away by Water moves.
-Match-ups: Because of how pathetic it is as a Magikarp, all of the following are assuming it's a Gyarados.
--Misty: High Attack and resistance to Water mean that Misty's Pokemon are reliably beaten; however, it's quite unlikely that you'll have evolved Magikarp by the time you fight her.
--Lt. Surge: As Gyarados suffers a double weakness to Electric, Raichu's Thunderbolt will OHKO Gyarados.
--Erika: At this point of the game you can give Gyarados the Ice Beam TM, which allows it take out Grass Pokemon easily. Even without Ice Beam, Bite is powerful enough to take out her Pokemon besides Tangela. Tangela shouldn't be a problem in RB due to being underleveled and its poor moveset, but can be troublesome for non-Ice Beam Gyarados in Yellow version.
--Koga: Surf hits his Pokemon's weaker Special, often KOing in 2 hits.
--Sabrina: Bite/Body Slam/other Normal attack squishes her fragile Psychic-types.
--Blaine: Gyarados resists Fire, and his STAB Water moves make short work of Blaine.
--Giovanni: Gyarados is immune to Ground, and Surf hits his entire team for Super Effective damage except for Persian. Keep in mind in Pokemon Yellow, his Nidoqueen and Nidoking know Thunder.
--Lorelei: If Gyarados was give the Thunderbolt TM he can do serious damage to her Pokemon, but without it he will struggle due to Lorelei's Pokemon having good Physical Bulk and a resistance to Water.
--Bruno: His 2 Onix are turned to rubble by (insert Water-type attack here), and Hi Jump Kick/Submission is resisted by Gyarados's Flying secondary typing.
--Agatha: Golbat and Arbok are easily beaten, but her Ghosts are immune to Gyarados's Physical Moves and have the bulk to take Surf. Don't use it against her unless you like seeing your sea serpent get statused.
--Lance: Aerodactyl is weak to Water, but his other Pokemon all resist it. If Gyarados was taught Thunderbolt he can take out Lance's Gyarados and if Gyarados was taught Ice Beam/Blizzard, it can take out Lance's Dragons. In Yellow, keep in mind that one of his Dragonair and Dragonite know Thunderbolt and Thunder, respectively.
-Additional Comments: As shown above, Gyarados is awesome, but if you want to use it, you'll have to bear with the completely useless Magikarp for 15 long levels, due to its experience curve (Slow). Another problem is that Gyarados is TM dependent as it a lot of its sweeping potential relies on BoltBeam coverage. Once it evolves and has the right coverage, however, it becomes incredibly powerful and self-sufficient.
@ Hemp Man: Just checked and your write up was located a few posts before the post where Mekkah last updated, so I assumed it was already added and I missed it. I've added it now.
@ Zowayix: I changed "Sleep Powder" to "sleep moves", which is what I assume the original writer meant to say. Honestly if I had written Abra I probably wouldn't have even mentioned sleep moves because it's just easier to throw a pokeball and hope for the best rather than catch Caterpie/Jigglypuff/Clefairy and train them enough to make them fast enough to outspeed Abra, but I left that part in anyway.
EDIT: Also removed a comment in Abra's entry that says that Psychic resists Poison because it doesn't.
@ Zowayix: I changed "Sleep Powder" to "sleep moves", which is what I assume the original writer meant to say. Honestly if I had written Abra I probably wouldn't have even mentioned sleep moves because it's just easier to throw a pokeball and hope for the best rather than catch Caterpie/Jigglypuff/Clefairy and train them enough to make them fast enough to outspeed Abra, but I left that part in anyway.
EDIT: Also removed a comment in Abra's entry that says that Psychic resists Poison because it doesn't.
When looking through the updated list, I noticed 2 things: you accidentally left Goldeen in Low, and Jolteon's entry seems quite brief. As such, I decided to fix the latter by revamping it.
-Additional Comments: If you plan on using Jolteon, teaching it Thunderbolt is almost a necessity, as its movepool is quite barren otherwise. This is especially notable in Yellow, as it can't even learn Thundershock in that game. However, if given Thunderbolt, Jolteon will excel and cruise through more than half the time it's in your party, with the only times it does poorly being Celadon and Viridian Gyms.
-Eevee (Jolteon) - High Tier
-Availability: Jolteon is given to you as a level 25 Eevee in Celadon City. It evolves to Jolteon through use of a Thunderstone, which happen to be for sale in Celadon Department Store.
-Stats: With base 110 Special, Jolteon's attacks pack quite a punch against anything that don't resist them, while base 130 Speed ensures that it outpaces everything, with very few exceptions. Its physical isn't the best in the world, but it usually won't matter in most situations as most physical attackers (barring Ground-types, of course) don't have the bulk to take a Thunderbolt.
-Movepool: Jolteon's movepool basically consists of Thundershock, Thunderbolt, and filler such as Pin Missile. Thunderbolt is the attack Jolteon should be using in most situations, and it's very close to being necessary for Jolteon to do well. Thundershock allows it to take care of the Pokemon weak to Thunderbolt (which happen to be quite common after dealing with the Snorlax on Route 12) without wasting too much PP, but keep in mind it can't learn Thundershock in Yellow. Of all of Jolteon's remaining moves, the one with the most potential would be Pin Missile. It is learned at level 36 in Yellow and hits Psychic-types super effectively, but don't be surprised if they survive due to Jolteon's below average Attack. Still, it's likely to be better than Thunderbolt against Psychic-types, but Jolteon can't really use it in Red or Blue due to not learning it until level 48. It also hits every Grass-type not named Tangela for 4x effective damage, making it very useful against them, but Grass-types are uncommon after Celadon Gym. While Double Kick is a Fighting-type move, it fails to do significant damage to Rock-types, making it almost completely useless. Another possible move Jolteon might make use of is Thunder Wave, as it can paralyze speedy Pokemon for a slow teammate to crush or set up on, but it has very little use otherwise, as the best thing to do in most other situations is to just attack.
-Power: The only things that can reliably take Jolteon's Thunderbolt are either Ground- or Grass-types, and Jolteon doesn't even need Thunderbolt for Flying- or Water-types, as Thundershock will usually get the job done against them. Notable exceptions to the above are Lapras and Slowbro.
-Type: Electric-type moves have great neutral coverage, only being resisted by Ground-types and Grass-types, both of which are quite uncommon outside of the Viridian and Celadon Gyms, respectively. It also hits Flying-types and Water-types super effectively, both of which are quite common after Pokemon Tower.
-Match-ups:
--Erika: Jolteon can't do much here due to her Pokemon all having both good Special and a resistance to Electric-type moves.
--Koga: Sludge can hurt quite a bit, especially from Muk, the Pokemon on his team most likely to withstand a Thunderbolt. Things are better in Yellow as none of his Pokemon have (threatening) STAB and are generally frailer than in Red and Blue.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon all have high Special, canceling out Jolteon's impressive Special, but Thunderbolt deals more damage to Kadabra than Recover heals, meaning Jolteon is guaranteed to take down at least 3 of her Pokemon in Red and Blue. Despite being able to learn Pin Missile at that point in Yellow, it actually does worse against her than in Red and Blue, due to all of her Pokemon actually having a Speed advantage against it.
--Blaine: As with RB Sabrina, Jolteon can beat all of his Pokemon minus Arcanine.
--Giovanni: Jolteon can't do much of anything here.
--Lorelei: Jolteon can beat Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro with little trouble. It can also defeat Jynx one-on-one, but Lapras can take a hit and retaliate with either a 120 base power STAB move or with Body Slam/Confuse Ray to inflict status.
--Bruno: His duo of Onix wall Jolteon without hesitation or worry, but his Fighting-types will easily fall to Thunderbolt.
--Agatha: Each of her Ghost-types can take a Thunderbolt, albeit without losing a noticeable chunk of HP, and proceed to status Jolteon; however, should they not, Jolteon can beat them.
--Lance: His Gyarados is fried before you can bat an eye. Aerodactyl is also OHKOed, but it is faster due to its higher level, and Hyper Beam hits like a truck. His other Pokemon can easily take a Thunderbolt and Hyper Beam in return.
--Rival: Regardless of the game, his Water-type will always be beaten. His Grass-type can be taken down with Pin Missile, but don't expect Jolteon to get off scot free. His Charizard, should he have it, is another Pokemon who's defeated without much worry, and the same can be said about Pidgeot. There's no way Jolteon's getting past Rhydon (RB) or Sandslash (Y), and it also has trouble with Alakazam.
-Availability: Jolteon is given to you as a level 25 Eevee in Celadon City. It evolves to Jolteon through use of a Thunderstone, which happen to be for sale in Celadon Department Store.
-Stats: With base 110 Special, Jolteon's attacks pack quite a punch against anything that don't resist them, while base 130 Speed ensures that it outpaces everything, with very few exceptions. Its physical isn't the best in the world, but it usually won't matter in most situations as most physical attackers (barring Ground-types, of course) don't have the bulk to take a Thunderbolt.
-Movepool: Jolteon's movepool basically consists of Thundershock, Thunderbolt, and filler such as Pin Missile. Thunderbolt is the attack Jolteon should be using in most situations, and it's very close to being necessary for Jolteon to do well. Thundershock allows it to take care of the Pokemon weak to Thunderbolt (which happen to be quite common after dealing with the Snorlax on Route 12) without wasting too much PP, but keep in mind it can't learn Thundershock in Yellow. Of all of Jolteon's remaining moves, the one with the most potential would be Pin Missile. It is learned at level 36 in Yellow and hits Psychic-types super effectively, but don't be surprised if they survive due to Jolteon's below average Attack. Still, it's likely to be better than Thunderbolt against Psychic-types, but Jolteon can't really use it in Red or Blue due to not learning it until level 48. It also hits every Grass-type not named Tangela for 4x effective damage, making it very useful against them, but Grass-types are uncommon after Celadon Gym. While Double Kick is a Fighting-type move, it fails to do significant damage to Rock-types, making it almost completely useless. Another possible move Jolteon might make use of is Thunder Wave, as it can paralyze speedy Pokemon for a slow teammate to crush or set up on, but it has very little use otherwise, as the best thing to do in most other situations is to just attack.
-Power: The only things that can reliably take Jolteon's Thunderbolt are either Ground- or Grass-types, and Jolteon doesn't even need Thunderbolt for Flying- or Water-types, as Thundershock will usually get the job done against them. Notable exceptions to the above are Lapras and Slowbro.
-Type: Electric-type moves have great neutral coverage, only being resisted by Ground-types and Grass-types, both of which are quite uncommon outside of the Viridian and Celadon Gyms, respectively. It also hits Flying-types and Water-types super effectively, both of which are quite common after Pokemon Tower.
-Match-ups:
--Erika: Jolteon can't do much here due to her Pokemon all having both good Special and a resistance to Electric-type moves.
--Koga: Sludge can hurt quite a bit, especially from Muk, the Pokemon on his team most likely to withstand a Thunderbolt. Things are better in Yellow as none of his Pokemon have (threatening) STAB and are generally frailer than in Red and Blue.
--Sabrina: Her Pokemon all have high Special, canceling out Jolteon's impressive Special, but Thunderbolt deals more damage to Kadabra than Recover heals, meaning Jolteon is guaranteed to take down at least 3 of her Pokemon in Red and Blue. Despite being able to learn Pin Missile at that point in Yellow, it actually does worse against her than in Red and Blue, due to all of her Pokemon actually having a Speed advantage against it.
--Blaine: As with RB Sabrina, Jolteon can beat all of his Pokemon minus Arcanine.
--Giovanni: Jolteon can't do much of anything here.
--Lorelei: Jolteon can beat Dewgong, Cloyster, and Slowbro with little trouble. It can also defeat Jynx one-on-one, but Lapras can take a hit and retaliate with either a 120 base power STAB move or with Body Slam/Confuse Ray to inflict status.
--Bruno: His duo of Onix wall Jolteon without hesitation or worry, but his Fighting-types will easily fall to Thunderbolt.
--Agatha: Each of her Ghost-types can take a Thunderbolt, albeit without losing a noticeable chunk of HP, and proceed to status Jolteon; however, should they not, Jolteon can beat them.
--Lance: His Gyarados is fried before you can bat an eye. Aerodactyl is also OHKOed, but it is faster due to its higher level, and Hyper Beam hits like a truck. His other Pokemon can easily take a Thunderbolt and Hyper Beam in return.
--Rival: Regardless of the game, his Water-type will always be beaten. His Grass-type can be taken down with Pin Missile, but don't expect Jolteon to get off scot free. His Charizard, should he have it, is another Pokemon who's defeated without much worry, and the same can be said about Pidgeot. There's no way Jolteon's getting past Rhydon (RB) or Sandslash (Y), and it also has trouble with Alakazam.
-Additional Comments: If you plan on using Jolteon, teaching it Thunderbolt is almost a necessity, as its movepool is quite barren otherwise. This is especially notable in Yellow, as it can't even learn Thundershock in that game. However, if given Thunderbolt, Jolteon will excel and cruise through more than half the time it's in your party, with the only times it does poorly being Celadon and Viridian Gyms.
If there's anything that seems odd or is incorrect, please say so, as the last time I used Jolteon was last year.
EDIT:@Hemp Man
Those points you raised have been added. Thank you!
EDIT:@Hemp Man
Those points you raised have been added. Thank you!
"However, if given Thunderbolt, Jolteon will excel and cruise through more than half the time it's in your party, with the only time it does poorly being Celadon Gym."
Nitpicket, but isnt he also rather worthless at the Viridan Gym?
Also, you mention Pin Missile being SE on Psychic types on the movepool section, but also its SE on Poison/Grass types...which is good as they resist Thunderbolt. Thunder Wave can be filler too as well I guess?
Other than that, I like the review.
Nitpicket, but isnt he also rather worthless at the Viridan Gym?
Also, you mention Pin Missile being SE on Psychic types on the movepool section, but also its SE on Poison/Grass types...which is good as they resist Thunderbolt. Thunder Wave can be filler too as well I guess?
Other than that, I like the review.
@Magikarp-- Forgetting Surf, Hydro Pump, and Hyper Beam in the movepool section? Strength is also worth considering if you want a physical attack, and don't want to give it Body Slam, or wait for Hyper Beam.
edit:
Should Krabby get brownie points as an HM slave for getting Surf + Strength? It also appears at the same time you would need both moves, and can learn Cut too. I think this fact gets somewhat over-looked just because you're almost guaranteed to have something on your team that wants to learn Surf, and Strength is a pretty decent move too. By the time you get it, Cut is almost obsolete. However, it could make a decent HM slave for someone looking to use the Cinnabar Dewgong, or one of the Seafoam Island pokes as their battling Water-type for instance. It's also really useful in Seafoam island.
edit:
Should Krabby get brownie points as an HM slave for getting Surf + Strength? It also appears at the same time you would need both moves, and can learn Cut too. I think this fact gets somewhat over-looked just because you're almost guaranteed to have something on your team that wants to learn Surf, and Strength is a pretty decent move too. By the time you get it, Cut is almost obsolete. However, it could make a decent HM slave for someone looking to use the Cinnabar Dewgong, or one of the Seafoam Island pokes as their battling Water-type for instance. It's also really useful in Seafoam island.
That's weird, I thought mentioned Surf and Hydro Pump on the movepool part. Wanna slightly edit this in atsync?
-Movepool: As a Magikarp, it starts out with the useless Splash, and can't properly defend itself until it grows to level 15 and learns Tackle. Once it's a Gyarados, however, it gets the more powerful Bite, and you can teach it BubbleBeam via TM11. BubbleBeam can later by upgraded to Surf or Hydro Pump, where as Bite can be upgraded to Body Slam or Strength. It can also learn Thunderbolt and Ice Beam by TM, and Dragon Rage and Hyper Beam through level up.
Ok so I added that movepool section to Magikarp. Also added a short sentence about HM support at the end of Krabby's movepool section (didn't bother mentioning Cut) and added Parasect to Jolteon's Pin Missile mention (even though Parasect doesn't actually appear that often as an opponent).
The main thing that bugged me about Bellsprout in High was that we have Yellow Bulbasaur in Mid, and I was having trouble figuring out why Bellsprout deserved to be in a higher tier. I don't see one being better than the other, and each has their own advantages, and it made more sense to me to put them in the same tier. I think Mekkah agreed with me on that point at least.
I wasn't 100% sure whether to move Bellsprout down or Yellow Bulbasaur up because we have 2 options: put both in High or both in Mid. I decided to go with Mid because I figured that they don't have that "no grinding to beat Misty" thing to make up for the hit-and-miss Grass STAB. Bellsprout doesn't get Razor Leaf until level 38 unless you delay evolution so it doesn't get that powerful move to beat stuff quickly until later on. It doesn't get Body Slam until it evolves to Victreebel either, so it relies on weaker moves for a while.
That's just how I saw it. I think we can agree that Yellow Bulbasaur and Bellsprout should be on the same level, but I guess we could bump both up to High if that would be better. Don't mind either way.
I wasn't 100% sure whether to move Bellsprout down or Yellow Bulbasaur up because we have 2 options: put both in High or both in Mid. I decided to go with Mid because I figured that they don't have that "no grinding to beat Misty" thing to make up for the hit-and-miss Grass STAB. Bellsprout doesn't get Razor Leaf until level 38 unless you delay evolution so it doesn't get that powerful move to beat stuff quickly until later on. It doesn't get Body Slam until it evolves to Victreebel either, so it relies on weaker moves for a while.
That's just how I saw it. I think we can agree that Yellow Bulbasaur and Bellsprout should be on the same level, but I guess we could bump both up to High if that would be better. Don't mind either way.
I agree that Yellow Bulbasaur and Yellow Bellsprout are pretty much the same. Yellow is generally a lot harsher than RB is towards those two guys (i.e Koga's Pokemon knowing Psychic, Lance's Pokemon having Ice moves, etc.) So that makes sense.
But I don't think Bulbasaur entirely outclasses Bellsprout in the movepool department. Bellsprout gets Sleep Powder at a much earlier level, and it can also run Growth + Mega Drain instead of Razor Leaf (allowing you to evolve Weepinbell straight away and add Body Slam to him).
But I don't think Bulbasaur entirely outclasses Bellsprout in the movepool department. Bellsprout gets Sleep Powder at a much earlier level, and it can also run Growth + Mega Drain instead of Razor Leaf (allowing you to evolve Weepinbell straight away and add Body Slam to him).
Bellsprout's movepool completely outclasses bulbasaur's. Bell gets stun spore and wrap. Acid is a bad move but it's the best physical love between the two pokemon until body slam. Bell has more relevant stats too, the attack increase is more significant than the defence and speed losses. The only thing bublasaur has over bell is leech seed, which isn't good in-game except for in nuzlockes.
Bell is definitely better, the only thing RB saur has over it is availability. Even then you can say that is moot because squirtle is the better option and you can get a better version of bublasaur at Cerulean City.
Bell is definitely better, the only thing RB saur has over it is availability. Even then you can say that is moot because squirtle is the better option and you can get a better version of bublasaur at Cerulean City.
This is true, although I personally don't see why this is useful unless you are soloing the game with Bellsprout. I guess this is subjective, but I hate using Wrap to kill things because it is slow and there is always a quicker way to kill things than to rely on Wrap. If you prefer to play this way however, then fine.
What do you mean "until body slam"? Body Slam comes BEFORE Acid! Weepinbell learns Acid at level 29, quite a bit later than the S.S. Anne where you pick up Body Slam. Therefore, Ivysaur has access to a good physical move sooner than Weepinbell.
Yes, Weepinbell and Victreebel both have higher Attack than Venusaur (and even Bellsprout isn't that much weaker). This is the main advantage of using it over Bulbasaur, and this makes it more powerful in the long run. However, I don't like the way you use words like "relevent" and "significant". Why are you so willing to write off the extra physical bulk that Venusaur carries? I know from using Seaking recently (it has the same physical bulk as Victreebel, hence why I'm bringing it up) that 80/65 physical bulk isn't the best, and if you are waiting for Razor Leaf then you are using Weepinbel until level 38, and Weepinbell is much frailer than Venusaur.
Don't get me wrong. I agree that Victreebel's stat distribution is more ideal, but don't act as if its lower Defence is completely irrelevent.
Also, the fact that Victreebel has more Attack doesn't mean much until it gets Body Slam. Until then, it is using weaker attacks like Acid and Cut. Obviously you could evolve it sooner and skip Razor Leaf just to get Body Slam a bit earlier (which is perfectly acceptable and you can use Growth and Mega Drain), but if you do that then you are forfeiting a powerful move that Venusaur can learn more easily. Venusaur would have Razor Leaf and Victreebel wouldn't, so Venusaur would have that as an advanatage over Victreebel (and therefore Victreebel doesn't outclass it).
It also gets Razor Leaf and Body Slam earlier much earlier, and doesn't have to worry as much about when it fully evolves (it has no worries about missing good moves if it evolves as soon as possible) so Leech Seed is NOT the only advantage. You seem to be thinking only about what moves each gets but aren't considering WHEN they learns attacks, which is also important.
Overall, RBY Bellsprout and Yellow Bulbasaur each have their own advantages, but I would not call either objectively better.
Just found this thread. I've been playing a bit recently and here's what struck my eye.
1. Farfetch'd isn't nearly as bad at battling as the write-up suggests.Outsider boost , Normal STAB, and Slash make up for bad stats. Exp. point for exp. point Farfetch'd's Slash is actually one of the stronger moves in the game. Swords Dance is also neat for difficult trainers, especially if you're running your party at a lowish level. It has a few awkward moments in mid-game and needs support against the Elite Four, but it's the best Normal/Flying-type and probably belongs in high.
2. What's Growlithe doing in high? It grows slowly, can't do anything without TMs, and has no good matchups against the Elite Four. I guess it can Dig, but Dig is a high-demand TM that usually goes out before you can catch Growlithe.
3. I almost never use Magnemite and Voltorb but are they really better than a lot of the Pokémon in low? Especially the late-game waters like Lapras and Krabby.
4. If Seel is in top tier, Jynx probably is too. Earlier availability, better coverage if you give it Psychic, and access to Lovely Kiss all go in Jynx's favor, although it's a lot frailer too. Jynx's fast Lovely Kiss makes it probably the best Pokémon in the game at winning the hardest end-game matchups in a pinch (ex. Rival's Alakazam, Lance/Rival's Gyarados).
Also we should make it clearer how many Pokémon we're running on our teams and around what level we should be against various bosses. Also maybe reconsider the rankings of Pokémon we ditch mid-game.
Also there's the old question of how to compare Pokémon who are around in the early-game to ones like Zapdos that you don't get until the end.
1. Farfetch'd isn't nearly as bad at battling as the write-up suggests.Outsider boost , Normal STAB, and Slash make up for bad stats. Exp. point for exp. point Farfetch'd's Slash is actually one of the stronger moves in the game. Swords Dance is also neat for difficult trainers, especially if you're running your party at a lowish level. It has a few awkward moments in mid-game and needs support against the Elite Four, but it's the best Normal/Flying-type and probably belongs in high.
2. What's Growlithe doing in high? It grows slowly, can't do anything without TMs, and has no good matchups against the Elite Four. I guess it can Dig, but Dig is a high-demand TM that usually goes out before you can catch Growlithe.
3. I almost never use Magnemite and Voltorb but are they really better than a lot of the Pokémon in low? Especially the late-game waters like Lapras and Krabby.
4. If Seel is in top tier, Jynx probably is too. Earlier availability, better coverage if you give it Psychic, and access to Lovely Kiss all go in Jynx's favor, although it's a lot frailer too. Jynx's fast Lovely Kiss makes it probably the best Pokémon in the game at winning the hardest end-game matchups in a pinch (ex. Rival's Alakazam, Lance/Rival's Gyarados).
Also we should make it clearer how many Pokémon we're running on our teams and around what level we should be against various bosses. Also maybe reconsider the rankings of Pokémon we ditch mid-game.
Also there's the old question of how to compare Pokémon who are around in the early-game to ones like Zapdos that you don't get until the end.
Best Normal/Flying type? As much as Farfetch'd has SD and Agility, the bases are bad enough for me to consider dropping it after like Sabrina/Koga. If it needs to setup every battle, I don't think it's workable... excellent moves can only get you far.
Isn't Dodrio better ?
@Longfellow: Based on your responses, I think you are referring to the list in the OP, which is a bit out of date. The most up to date list is the one in my post third from the top on this page.
To answer some of your points:
Yellow Farfetch'd is in Low because it took away pretty much all the reasons why you would use it in RB.
As others have said, RB Farfetch'd is not the best Normal/Flying type. Doduo gets that honour I think. It is more useful than Pidgey though.
The requirement for Dig is definitely a real flaw, but I don't think it's that big of a deal to wait until after Rock Tunnel to use it. Growlithe/Arcanine is an excellent user of it (I'd say one of the best non-STAB users) and makes life quite a bit easier Mid game (Dig does well on the route where Growlithe is caught, the Rocket Hideout, Pokemon Tower, Cycling Road, and Koga and Blaine's gyms).
I don't think waiting for Growlithe is limiting team building much either. Although many things like having Dig, not all of them are crippled by not getting it and the efficiency of the run isn't going to be harmed much by waiting for Growlithe. Most of the pokemon that NEED Dig are either redundant with Growlithe (Charmander) or terrible (Onix, Ekans, etc). Things like Squirtle, Sandshrew and Mankey benefit from Dig but aren't completely useless without it and can be used on the same team as Growlithe just fine.
That is just a subjective way to interpret the situation but I think that the benefits of using Dig Growlithe outweigh the downsides and that's why I put it in High. I'm open to dropping it to Mid if enough people disagree though (I assumed that everyone was fine with it though considering no-one has said anything about it in the months since I did that write-up).
Of course Arcanine isn't amazing against the Elite 4, it's a Fire type. But Arcanine can still contribute against the elite 4. It can beat Lorelei's Jynx, it can roast Bruno's fighting types with Fire Blast, and Dig is great for Agatha's ghosts (and Onix I guess but I would use something else for those as it's quicker). It can deal with some of Blue's pokemon too.
But yeah Magnemite and Voltorb are good. You can teach either Thunderbolt and they put in a lot of work. They are also easy to obtain. In RB you get Vortorb before Rock Tunnel (you get Magnemite in Yellow) which is fairly early. Yellow Voltorb and RB Magnemite have to wait until the Power Plant, but this isn't too bad because Electric is a useful type late-game (it deals with Lorelei, which I think is very useful considering most late-game waters suck against her).
I certainly wouldn't put them in the same tier with Lapras!
To answer some of your points:
We have already dealt with this. We have put RB Farfetch'd in Mid for most of the reasons you give (plus its unique access to Cut+Fly). I think High is pushing it though.
Yellow Farfetch'd is in Low because it took away pretty much all the reasons why you would use it in RB.
As others have said, RB Farfetch'd is not the best Normal/Flying type. Doduo gets that honour I think. It is more useful than Pidgey though.
To be fair, only Red Growlithe is in High now. I already separated Growlithe and put the Yellow version in Low.
The requirement for Dig is definitely a real flaw, but I don't think it's that big of a deal to wait until after Rock Tunnel to use it. Growlithe/Arcanine is an excellent user of it (I'd say one of the best non-STAB users) and makes life quite a bit easier Mid game (Dig does well on the route where Growlithe is caught, the Rocket Hideout, Pokemon Tower, Cycling Road, and Koga and Blaine's gyms).
I don't think waiting for Growlithe is limiting team building much either. Although many things like having Dig, not all of them are crippled by not getting it and the efficiency of the run isn't going to be harmed much by waiting for Growlithe. Most of the pokemon that NEED Dig are either redundant with Growlithe (Charmander) or terrible (Onix, Ekans, etc). Things like Squirtle, Sandshrew and Mankey benefit from Dig but aren't completely useless without it and can be used on the same team as Growlithe just fine.
That is just a subjective way to interpret the situation but I think that the benefits of using Dig Growlithe outweigh the downsides and that's why I put it in High. I'm open to dropping it to Mid if enough people disagree though (I assumed that everyone was fine with it though considering no-one has said anything about it in the months since I did that write-up).
Of course Arcanine isn't amazing against the Elite 4, it's a Fire type. But Arcanine can still contribute against the elite 4. It can beat Lorelei's Jynx, it can roast Bruno's fighting types with Fire Blast, and Dig is great for Agatha's ghosts (and Onix I guess but I would use something else for those as it's quicker). It can deal with some of Blue's pokemon too.
Krabby isn't Low anymore.
But yeah Magnemite and Voltorb are good. You can teach either Thunderbolt and they put in a lot of work. They are also easy to obtain. In RB you get Vortorb before Rock Tunnel (you get Magnemite in Yellow) which is fairly early. Yellow Voltorb and RB Magnemite have to wait until the Power Plant, but this isn't too bad because Electric is a useful type late-game (it deals with Lorelei, which I think is very useful considering most late-game waters suck against her).
I certainly wouldn't put them in the same tier with Lapras!
I don't think sleep powder, stun spore, nor wrap should be reasons for putting Belsprout in high. Honestly, in-game, status and wrap type moves are only so good. Wrap takes way too long to kill stuff, and paralysis is almost worthless because of how slow the in-game enemies are relatively. Sleep Powder is only slightly more useful-- the best in-game pokes have ways to kill pokes quick, with power + coverage. Belsprout doesn't have either without Razor Leaf (setting up with growth every battle is really annoying).
Magnemite/Voltorb's big problem is being under leveled-- they're weaker than the diglets in diglet cave. Getting them right before rock tunnel is also bad (except for use as Flash slaves), because there are so few opponents in the forseeable future they can take on, and basically none that they have an advantage against. This makes them inferior to RB Pikachu (mid), who comes early enough to help out with Misty/her gym, SS Anne sailors, and all the junior packing pidgey/spearow early game; also inferior to Jolteon (high/top), who appears at a decent level of 25 without any grinding, after you've passed Rock Tunnel and have more opponents to take on with Electricity (including swimmers / bird trainers)
Magnemite/Voltorb's big problem is being under leveled-- they're weaker than the diglets in diglet cave. Getting them right before rock tunnel is also bad (except for use as Flash slaves), because there are so few opponents in the forseeable future they can take on, and basically none that they have an advantage against. This makes them inferior to RB Pikachu (mid), who comes early enough to help out with Misty/her gym, SS Anne sailors, and all the junior packing pidgey/spearow early game; also inferior to Jolteon (high/top), who appears at a decent level of 25 without any grinding, after you've passed Rock Tunnel and have more opponents to take on with Electricity (including swimmers / bird trainers)
(I'm only talking about RB--don't know Y at all)
Mind that due to the outsider bonus, Farfetch'd levels up faster than the other birds, making its stats effectively much better than they look.
Level 24 Fearow Fly against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 48-56 damage
Level 24 Doduo Fly against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 46-54 damage
Level 27 Farfetch'd Fly against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 46-54 damage
Level 24 Doduo Body Slam against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 55-64 damage
Level 27 Farfetch'd Body Slam against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 55-65 damage
Then once they get their good attacks:
Level 36 Fearow Drill Peck against a Pokémon with 50 defense: 59-69 damage
Level 36 Dodrio Drill Peck against a Pokémon with 50 defense: 76-82 damage
Level 40 Farfetch'd Slash against a Pokémon with 50 defense: 84-101 damage (CH)
Plus Farfetch'd gets Swords Dance for the harder matchups.
As for Growlithe, I'm just not sure what it has going for it compared to other Pokémon who get Dig. Mankey, Geodude, and Sandshrew can all hit harder with Dig. They also learn other moves. Parasect probably does comparable damage too considering it's in a faster exp. track than Arcanine. The starters and Rattata's Digs are probably weaker but they swing hard with their own attacks. I'm not saying Arcanine's worse than Parasect but it really doesn't have anything going for it but Dig, and without Dig it does not compare favorably to any Pokémon in mid.
I think the new list is much better, especially with regards to the late-game waters being mostly in the same tier. I'd still consider putting Jynx and Seel in the same tier.
Yeah, I can see how the Electrics are useful late-game.
Re: Bellsprout, what if you keep Bellsprout unevolved until it learns Razor Leaf at level 33? Bellsprout's attacking stats are quite good and the extra five levels of Victreebel Razor Leaf vs. Weepinbell sucking could make a huge difference.
Edit: wait, Clefairy in low? Unless we're weighing availability really heavily Clefairy should be at least the better end of mid. At least better than Magikarp--similarly dependent on TMs but doesn't need babying and levels faster/hits harder until Gyarados gets Surf (which doesn't have great end-game coverage anyways).
Mind that due to the outsider bonus, Farfetch'd levels up faster than the other birds, making its stats effectively much better than they look.
Level 24 Fearow Fly against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 48-56 damage
Level 24 Doduo Fly against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 46-54 damage
Level 27 Farfetch'd Fly against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 46-54 damage
Level 24 Doduo Body Slam against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 55-64 damage
Level 27 Farfetch'd Body Slam against a Pokémon with 25 defense: 55-65 damage
Then once they get their good attacks:
Level 36 Fearow Drill Peck against a Pokémon with 50 defense: 59-69 damage
Level 36 Dodrio Drill Peck against a Pokémon with 50 defense: 76-82 damage
Level 40 Farfetch'd Slash against a Pokémon with 50 defense: 84-101 damage (CH)
Plus Farfetch'd gets Swords Dance for the harder matchups.
As for Growlithe, I'm just not sure what it has going for it compared to other Pokémon who get Dig. Mankey, Geodude, and Sandshrew can all hit harder with Dig. They also learn other moves. Parasect probably does comparable damage too considering it's in a faster exp. track than Arcanine. The starters and Rattata's Digs are probably weaker but they swing hard with their own attacks. I'm not saying Arcanine's worse than Parasect but it really doesn't have anything going for it but Dig, and without Dig it does not compare favorably to any Pokémon in mid.
I think the new list is much better, especially with regards to the late-game waters being mostly in the same tier. I'd still consider putting Jynx and Seel in the same tier.
Yeah, I can see how the Electrics are useful late-game.
Re: Bellsprout, what if you keep Bellsprout unevolved until it learns Razor Leaf at level 33? Bellsprout's attacking stats are quite good and the extra five levels of Victreebel Razor Leaf vs. Weepinbell sucking could make a huge difference.
Edit: wait, Clefairy in low? Unless we're weighing availability really heavily Clefairy should be at least the better end of mid. At least better than Magikarp--similarly dependent on TMs but doesn't need babying and levels faster/hits harder until Gyarados gets Surf (which doesn't have great end-game coverage anyways).
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