Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen In-Game Tier List

Introduction

Welcome to the Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen in-game tier list! The goal of this list is to rank every Pokémon in Kanto into six tiers, ranging from S to E, according to viability. The major factor under which each is ranked is efficiency. A Pokémon that is efficient provides faster and easier solutions to major battles, which include Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and rival fights. Pokémon in higher ranks, such as S and A, are considered very efficient, while those in lower tiers, like D and E, are considered not very efficient.

For ranks pertaining to the original games, please check the Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow in-game tier list.

What are the tiers?

There are 6 tiers in this list:

• S-tier
• A-tier
• B-tier
• C-tier
• D-tier
• E-tier

Why is a Pokémon in a certain tier?

Pokémon are ranked under the following five factors:

• Availability: This is how early a Pokémon becomes available in the game and how hard it is to find (read: encounter rate). Pokémon will be scored lower if they require significant backtracking, HM moves, or have a low encounter rate.
• Typing: A Pokémon's typing can be of great importance for an efficient playthrough. How does the Pokémon's typing fare throughout the entire game? If a Pokémon has a more optimal typing, it is often ranked higher.
• Stats: A Pokémon's stat distribution is crucial for its success. Does the Pokémon have a stat distribution that complements its movepool and typing? If a Pokémon has a stat distribution that favors both its typing and movepool, it will often be higher on the tier list. In general, a Pokémon with lower Speed will be ranked lower.
• Movepool: A Pokémon's movepool (level-up, TM/HM, and tutor) is crucial. What moves does the Pokémon learn naturally, and which ones can it be taught? If a Pokémon requires a relatively contested TM (like Psychic) or immediate access to a Game Corner TM, it may be knocked down in ranking.
• Major Battles: Major battles consist of Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and rival fights. How does the Pokémon contribute to these battles? A Pokémon that contributes to several major battles will often be ranked higher than those that do not.

What tools is the player allowed to use?

The player is allowed to use any legitimate means within the cartridge for completing the game efficiently. The player is not allowed to trade for outside help, and is only allowed to trade for evolution purposes. The player is allowed to use items such as Potions, TMs, and Berries. Keep in mind that items have opportunity costs associated with them; a Pokémon's rank can suffer if it requires a multitude of items. The Vs. Seeker can be used to earn money to buy particularly expensive Pokémon from the Game Corner as soon as possible, but this will be counted as a negative for the Pokémon in question.

The player is allowed to buy TMs from the Game Corner. However, an average run will most likely facilitate the funds for only one TM upon the player's first arrival, so a Pokémon may be penalized if it immediately needs a TM to function. At later points of the game, however, the player is able to afford more TMs, so requiring TMs at those points is not generally considered a negative.

The player is allowed to visit the Sevii Islands to catch Pokémon there and to use the move relearner. Because the quest is not mandatory and forces you to complete it in its entirety upon starting, going there is considered a time sink and Pokémon caught in this area may be penalized in ranking.

The player is assumed to not be using evolutions that did not exist in Generation 1 (such as Crobat and Blissey), as the game prevents such evolutions before earning the National Pokédex.

Under what conditions were Pokémon tested?

Every Pokémon was tested and ranked under these additional conditions:

• Every Pokémon's level was generally the same as most major opponents' ace Pokémon, at most outleveling them by two levels. Typical levels for the Elite Four ranged from 50 to 54, depending on how many Rare Candies were used.
• The list assumes a run with four or five Pokémon. However, a Pokémon performs the best when used as the only member of the team, as it can outlevel foes significantly by earning all of the available experience. It will also have easy access to contested TMs.
• Viability was determined up until the Champion fight; anything that is exclusive to post-game (such as the Sludge Bomb TM) was not taken into account for the Pokémon's viability.

All Pokémon are ordered alphabetically within a tier. The availability listed in each Pokémon's entry is considered its most optimal one.

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The List

S-Тier

The following Pokémon are considered the most efficient options for completing the games. They can OHKO or 2HKO an overwhelming amount of foes with minimal effort, and any flaw they may possibly have is overshadowed by their ability to breeze through the games effortlessly.

Abra

• Availability: Early-game (Route 24, level 8, 10, or 12).
• Typing: Psychic means that Abra has no outright bad matchups, as it hits Pokémon from numerous major opponents super effectively, including Erika, Koga, Bruno, and Agatha, while also hitting many other foes neutrally and resisting Psychic for Sabrina.
• Stats: Abra is a quick and powerful special attacker that is rather physically frail. However, it can typically KO foes before they can threaten it.
• Movepool: Abra needs the Thief TM immediately for a damaging move out of the box and a super effective move against Psychic-types. Abra learns Confusion, Psybeam, and Psychic, all by level. Alakazam also learns Calm Mind naturally, while Kadabra will require the TM. Outside of this, Abra can be taught the Shock Wave TM to deal with the endgame Gyarados and Reflect at level 23 to patch up its low Defense.
• Major Battles: The line overwhelms most of the major opponents just by using STAB moves. Some opponents, like Blaine and Lorelei, will require Calm Mind to be swept reliably. Alakazam (but not Kadabra) can also defeat Misty's Starmie with Thief and sweep Sabrina with Calm Mind + Thief. Lance is the line's only difficult matchup, but this can be circumvented with Reflect and healing.
• Additional Comments: In spite of the slight difficulty of catching Abra, the line is by far one of the best options for completing the games efficiently, as it performs well against all major opponents while requiring few (if any) contested TMs. Even if you cannot trade to evolve it, Kadabra is still one of the strongest Pokémon you can use.

Jynx

• Availability: Mid-game (trade a Poliwhirl in Cerulean City).
• Typing: Jynx's typing consists of the two best offensive types in the game: Psychic and Ice. Psychic blasts through most opponents, while Ice handles other Psychic-types and bigger threats like Lance's Dragon-types. Jynx is frail, so Ice's defensive weaknesses aren't as relevant.
• Stats: High Special Attack and Speed, which is what matters. Base 95 Special Defense is great, although the low 65 HP makes it less effective. Attack and Defense are low.
• Movepool: Once it learns Ice Punch, Jynx can use it for the rest of the game; however, Psychic through TM is required. There is the option to upgrade with TMs Ice Beam and Blizzard, although this isn't necessary. Calm Mind through TM is great to ensure OHKOs. Lovely Kiss can be used to ease setup against some more difficult foes like the rival's Pidgeot.
• Major Battles: Jynx can sweep all remaining Gym Leaders and rival battles after its trade, including Blaine with Calm Mind + Psychic. It also performs spectacularly in the Elite Four and Champion battles, though it will require Calm Mind against Lorelei and Lovely Kiss to set up on the rival's Pidgeot.
• Additional Comments: Despite being a later addition to a team, Jynx trivializes the rest of the game. In addition, the boosted experience gain from the in-game trade allows it to quickly match and exceed team levels. The traded Jynx, ZYNX, comes with a Mild nature and an IV spread of 18/17/18/22/25/21.

Mr. Mime

• Availability: Early-game (trade an Abra in a house on Route 2).
• Typing: Psychic is a great type, super effective against Pokémon from several major opponents like Erika, Koga, Bruno, and Agatha, neutral most of the time, and only resisted by Sabrina's Psychic-types.
• Stats: Mr. Mime is pretty powerful, decently fast, and above average in special bulk. It's weak physically, but it is strong and fast enough to KO most Pokémon before getting hit.
• Movepool: Mr. Mime learns useful moves like Confusion, Reflect, and Magical Leaf by level. Psychic at level 43 and Calm Mind through TM are mandatory. Thunderbolt via TM can also be helpful against Lorelei and the endgame Gyarados. Mr. Mime can also utilize Substitute and Encore at levels 8 and 26 to ease setup and sweeping, the former being particularly useful at the Pokémon League.
• Major Battles: Mr. Mime will defeat most Gym Leaders with STAB moves and Magical Leaf. Against some opponents, like Blaine and Lorelei, Calm Mind will be required to sweep. Mr. Mime can attempt to sweep the Pokémon League with Substitute and setup. Overall, Mr. Mime easily wins in most major battles. It just has a bit more trouble sweeping Agatha (as her second Gengar may outspeed it), Lance, and the Champion fight, though those are still good matchups.
• Additional Comments: Even though it requires a backtrack to get to the house on Route 2, Mr. Mime is one of the best options available, as it performs well in every single major battle and is easy to train due to the trade experience boost. The traded Mr. Mime, MIMIEN, comes with a Timid nature and an IV spread of 20/15/17/24/23/22.

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A-Тier

The following Pokémon are highly efficient for completing the games, but they have a few flaws that prevent them from being outright dominant. These Pokémon are still great for the most part but either will need some assistance against select opponents or require some effort to become great.

Clefairy

• Availability: Early-game (Mt. Moon (B2F), level 10 or 12).
• Typing: Pure Normal gives Clefairy a neutral matchup against every important Trainer save for Agatha and Bruno with their Ghost- and Fighting-types.
• Stats: Clefable has balanced stats all around, with particularly good HP, Special Attack, and Special Defense.
• Movepool: Clefable gets by with Pound until the Mega Kick tutor from Route 4 and the more reliable Secret Power TM from Route 25. Later on, Secret Power can be upgraded to Strength via HM. Clefable has a lot of coverage options through TMs, namely Water Pulse, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Psychic, among others, alongside Calm Mind. Clefairy also comes with Sing, which can be a useful support move.
• Major Battles: Secret Power + Mega Kick 2HKOes Misty's Starmie, but potential confusion from Water Pulse can be annoying. Secret Power handles Lt. Surge fine, and, if you give Clefable Psychic, it handles both Erika and Koga well. Clefable can sweep Sabrina and Blaine with Calm Mind and potentially healing, and Giovanni with only one healing item, assuming you have Water Pulse and Psychic. Clefable takes a noticeable hit in effectiveness at the Pokémon League thanks to its comparatively lower stats and the level spike, though this can be remedied somewhat with healing.
• Additional Comments: Clefable is a great, versatile Pokémon that is only held back by Clefairy's rarity and requiring healing in the endgame to perform well. Clefairy can evolve almost immediately with the Moon Stone available at Mt. Moon. Clefairy is also in the Fast experience group, making it very easy to train.

Eevee (Vaporeon)

• Availability: Mid-game (Celadon Mansion, level 25 Eevee).
• Typing: Pure Water gives Vaporeon an advantage against Blaine and Giovanni and is only resisted against Erika, Lorelei, and Lance.
• Stats: Vaporeon is a powerful special attacker with great special bulk. However, it has a middling Speed and average physical bulk.
• Movepool: Vaporeon learns Bite, Aurora Beam, Acid Armor, and Hydro Pump by level. Water Pulse through TM can be useful for a short time before Surf. Ice Beam is a strong option against Grass- and Dragon-types. Rain Dance is a TM that boosts Surf's power.
• Major Battles: Vaporeon sweeps Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni. It performs well against Erika and Lance if it knows Ice Beam. Vaporeon doesn't sweep the other fights, but it typically performs decently, especially with Acid Armor, with Lorelei being its only truly bad matchup.
• Additional Comments: Vaporeon is a great Pokémon to use, as it has a good level-up movepool (thus it doesn't require many TMs) and performs well in major battles. Eevee can evolve immediately with the Water Stone available from the Celadon Department Store.

Gastly (Trade)

• Availability: Mid-game (Pokémon Tower (3F), levels 13-19).
• Typing: Gengar's defensive typing is very useful, granting it resistances against Erika, Koga, and Bruno. It is a double-edged sword against Agatha's Ghost-types and Sabrina, though.
• Stats: Gengar is a typical glass cannon, being a fast special attacker that is rather frail. Its Attack stat is quite low, meaning it hardly utilizes its Ghost-type moves when not facing physically frail Psychic-types.
• Movepool: Gengar should immediately be taught Psychic by TM, which will be its main damaging move. Thunderbolt and Giga Drain through TMs provide coverage, with the former being mostly necessary for great matchups against Lorelei and Lance. Shadow Punch and Shadow Ball at levels 25 and 45 provide Gengar with STAB moves.
• Major Battles: Gengar sweeps Erika, Koga, and Giovanni and takes out 3/4 of Blaine's team simply by spamming Psychic. It also sweeps Sabrina with Shadow Punch or Shadow Ball. Gengar performs well against the entire Elite Four with Psychic and Thunderbolt, though it will likely require healing to sweep most members.
• Additional Comments: Although Gengar needs some TMs to reach its best performance, its ease of training due to the Medium Slow experience group plus its incredibly good performance make this investment worth it. Furthermore, Gengar does not require the Thunderbolt TM until the Elite Four, so it can always be bought at a later point when you can afford more Game Corner TMs.

Mankey

• Availability: Early-game (Route 22, levels 2-5).
• Typing: The Fighting type is not great in Kanto, causing issues against Poison-, Bug-, Psychic-, and Ghost-type Pokémon. Still, it is adequate, especially when paired with coverage moves. In addition, Fighting makes Mankey the only non-starter Pokémon that can sweep Brock.
• Stats: Mankey starts strong early-game with 80 base Attack. While its frailty becomes apparent around Lt. Surge, it soon evolves into Primeape. Attack and Speed of 105 and 95 allow it to sweep most foes, although its other stats become mediocre by late-game.
• Movepool: Karate Chop and Low Kick are Mankey's best Fighting-type moves until the Brick Break TM takes over. Rock-type coverage in Rock Tomb through TM or Rock Slide through tutoring is essential when dealing with Bug- and Flying-types. Mega Kick through tutoring is recommended until the Strength HM. Bulk Up via TM is required to mitigate a waning damage output by late-game, and the Aerial Ace TM can be taught to improve the Agatha matchup.
• Major Battles: Mankey cleanly sweeps Brock, Lt. Surge, Sabrina (with Bulk Up), Blaine, and Giovanni while contributing to the Erika and rival fights. Misty's Starmie and Koga will present a problem. It also performs decently well in the Elite Four if given the opportunity to set up, with Agatha being swept with the help of Aerial Ace.
• Additional Comments: Despite Fighting being a mediocre type in Kanto, Mankey's early availability and consistency make it a strong choice, as well as the best Fighting-type for an efficient run.

Nidoran-M

• Availability: Early-game (Route 3, levels 6-7 (FR); trade a Nidoran-F at the Underground Path between Route 5 and 6 or a Nidorina on Route 11 (LG)).
• Typing: Besides against Misty, Sabrina, and Lorelei, Poison / Ground is great because it gives Nidoking a useful poison immunity and a type advantage against Lt. Surge, Koga, and Blaine.
• Stats: Nidoking has good stats all around, making it an effective mixed attacker.
• Movepool: Nidoran-M picks up Double Kick at level 12, which will be its main move until the Secret Power TM or the risky but powerful Thrash at level 23. Nidoking can augment its moveset mid-game with several TMs, most notably Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, with Surf via HM also being helpful. Megahorn at level 43 can be helpful for Psychic-types if needed. The Dig TM is generally unnecessary beyond Lt. Surge, but the Earthquake TM is a staple move for endgame Nidoking.
• Major Battles: Nidoking knocks Misty's Starmie to half HP before fainting, but it sweeps Lt. Surge effortlessly. Erika and Koga are handled by Ice Beam, Sabrina is handled by Surf or Megahorn, and Blaine and Giovanni are beaten by Surf. Nidoking is good for Bruno, but struggles against Lorelei and Agatha. Lance is dealt with through Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, though it generally doesn't sweep him.
• Additional Comments: Nidoran-M is one of the most efficient choices for a playthrough due to its wide TM learnset, though the Elite Four significantly hampers it because the foes can tank its STAB-less attacks. Both in-game trades come with the trade experience boost. The traded Nidoran-M, MR. NIDO, comes with a Lonely nature and an IV spread of 19/25/18/22/22/15, while the traded Nidorino, NINO, comes with a Bold nature and an IV spread of 19/18/25/22/15/22. Nidoran-M can still be obtained on Route 3 in LG, but it has a 1% encounter rate.

Snorlax

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 12/16, after obtaining Poké Flute, level 30).
• Typing: Normal is neutral in most matchups, save for Bruno.
• Stats: Snorlax possesses great Attack and bulk, with its high HP compensating for the below-average Defense. However, it has poor Speed and below-average Special Attack.
• Movepool: Snorlax learns Body Slam at level 33 and can be taught Hyper Beam for an incredibly powerful STAB move. Surf via HM provides coverage against Rock-types. Yawn is useful for consistently putting foes to sleep. Shadow Ball through TM can be taught to improve the Agatha matchup.
• Major Battles: Snorlax easily sweeps Erika, Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and, with healing, Giovanni. It is decent against rival fights, Lorelei, and Bruno, though it is unlikely to sweep any of them.
• Additional Comments: Snorlax is an excellent Pokémon due to taking on many major opponents without requiring contested TMs. In addition, it comes at a high level, which compensates slightly for its Slow growth rate. Thick Fat is vastly preferred as an ability, as it improves the Blaine and Lorelei matchups.

Squirtle

• Availability: Early-game (Pallet Town, level 5).
• Typing: Water is great for Brock, Misty, Blaine, and Giovanni, bad against Lt. Surge, Erika, Lorelei, and Lance, and neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Blastoise has all-around solid stats.
• Movepool: Squirtle starts out with Bubble, which upgrades to Water Gun, Water Pulse, and then Surf. Bite at level 18 is needed to perform well against Misty. Blastoise can be taught Strength and Ice Beam for coverage and Rain Dance for boosting Surf's power.
• Major Battles: Squirtle sweeps Brock and Misty easily, though Lt. Surge and Erika (even with Ice Beam) will prove problematic. Once it evolves into Blastoise, it can sweep the remaining Gym Leaders easily. Blastoise performs well against all Elite Four members bar Lorelei, though it will need Ice Beam to hit Lance's Dragon-types.
• Additional Comments: Squirtle is by far the best starter due to its consistently good performance that is only held back by a couple of bad matchups. In addition, Squirtle learns two of the mandatory HMs and makes active use of them, so it also offers great utility.

Staryu

• Availability: Mid-game (Pallet Town or Vermilion City (Super Rod), levels 15-25) (LG).
• Typing: Water / Psychic is a great combination, as Water covers Blaine and Giovanni and Psychic covers Erika, Koga, Bruno, and Agatha, and it is neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Starmie outspeeds almost everything and is rather specially powerful. It also boasts decent bulk.
• Movepool: Staryu will only use moves learned through TMs. Its moveset includes Surf, Psychic, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam. Thunder + Rain Dance is an alternative to Thunderbolt, though this comes at the cost of an extra moveslot.
• Major Battles: Thanks to its Speed, power, and amazing coverage, Starmie with the right moveset will defeat every major opponent. Starmie will only need healing support to win against the Champion and sometimes Lorelei and Lance.
• Additional Comments: Starmie is a big investment because it requires two Game Corner TMs and the Psychic TM, and it also levels up slowly. However, it makes up for that by having a strong performance in every single major battle. The Thunderbolt and Ice Beam TMs are not needed before the Elite Four, at which point it's easier to afford them. Evolve with a Water Stone immediately, as Staryu doesn't learn anything useful by level.

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B-Тier

The following Pokémon have good efficiency, but they come somewhat late or have some striking flaws that can affect their performance, such as an over-reliance on healing items or a notable number of bad matchups.

Articuno

• Availability: Late-game (Seafoam Islands, level 50).
• Typing: Ice / Flying is good against Giovanni and Lance and is mostly neutral elsewhere, except against Blaine and Lorelei.
• Stats: Articuno has great all-around stats.
• Movepool: Articuno knows Ice Beam upon capture. The Fly HM offers travel utility but Articuno will rarely use it in battle. The Water Pulse TM can improve the Blaine matchup.
• Major Battles: Articuno sweeps Sabrina and Giovanni and does extremely well against Lance. It's mostly good in other major battles, being able to take down a few foes, with Lorelei's team of walls being the only exception.
• Additional Comments: Articuno is a great Pokémon, as it comes at a very high level and performs really well without needing contested TMs. It is held back mainly by its late arrival. Catch it with a Master Ball, as catching it with other types of Poké Balls is too time consuming.

Bulbasaur

• Availability: Early-game (Pallet Town, level 5).
• Typing: Grass / Poison is great for the first three Gym Leaders, Giovanni, Lorelei, and Bruno, and bad nearly everywhere else.
• Stats: Venusaur has decent special stats and is well rounded.
• Movepool: Bulbasaur relies on Vine Whip until Razor Leaf at level 22, which upgrades to Solar Beam + Sunny Day. Secret Power through TM is a great coverage move early on. Sleep Powder and Growth at levels 15 and 41 are also useful moves.
• Major Battles: Bulbasaur handles the first three Gym Leaders well, but it falls off afterwards for a good amount of time, relying on Sleep Powder and Leech Seed to perform acceptably against some of the opponents. Venusaur picks up again against Giovanni, Lorelei, and Bruno, though the latter two will require Sleep Powder + setup. Venusaur is useless for the remainder of the Pokémon League, though.
• Additional Comments: Bulbasaur is decent thanks to covering the early-game and some other fights effortlessly. However, it relies almost entirely on type matchups to win efficiently due to its poor movepool, which is worsened by Grass being resisted commonly in Kanto.

Charmander

• Availability: Early-game (Pallet Town, level 5).
• Typing: Fire is challenging early-game through Misty, after which it allows quick sweeping. Charizard's Flying type offers no useful coverage but provides a helpful immunity to Ground.
• Stats: Charizard is the strongest and fastest of the three starters with base 109 Special Attack and 100 Speed. Its 84 Attack is workable, but the difference in power is felt when employing physical moves.
• Movepool: Charmelon's Ember carries the early-game when not resisted until it loses steam past Lt. Surge. Flamethrower at level 34 or through TM is a massive bump in power and remains so for the rest of the game. The Mega Kick tutor is essential early-game when Ember and Metal Claw are resisted and can be replaced with Slash for more accuracy. Dig, Brick Break, Earthquake, Rock Slide, and Dragon Claw round out the moveset. Fly is useful outside of battle but offers no useful coverage.
• Major Battles: Charmeleon and Charizard can individually take on Lt. Surge, Erika, Koga, Sabrina, and even Giovanni (by spamming Flamethrower or Fire Blast to exploit low Special Defense stats). Brock and Misty are too difficult for Charmander, even with Mega Kick for the latter. Charizard has a mixed performance against the Elite Four, with particular vulnerabilities against Lorelei and Lance.
• Additional Comments: With Charmander, one trades a rough early-game for strong mid-game and acceptable endgame. By the Elite Four and Champion, Charizard becomes more situational, struggling against Lorelei, Lance, and the Champion's Blastoise.

Doduo

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 16, level 18, 20, or 22).
• Typing: Flying / Normal is pretty good, as it is super effective against Erika, only weak to Lorelei's Ice-types, and neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Dodrio is a glass cannon, boasting great power and Speed, but when it can't OHKO, it won't last long.
• Movepool: Dodrio should be taught Fly immediately when caught. Doduo gets Tri Attack by level, which is a good STAB option until Return through TM becomes more powerful. It also learns Drill Peck at level 47, which helps against Bruno and Agatha.
• Major Battles: Dodrio wins easily against Erika and Sabrina and performs great versus Agatha. While it won't sweep, it still performs quite well in other major fights, being able to take down a few Pokémon, like Bruno's Fighting-types, before fainting. Lorelei and Lance are the only matchups where Dodrio doesn't perform well (outside of KOing Jynx and Dragonair), as their Pokémon are bulky and will take down Dodrio easily with super effective or powerful moves.
• Additional Comments: Doduo performs well most of the time. It's very independent of TMs, as only the Return TM can prove to be useful and, even then, Doduo can afford not learning it.

Exeggcute

• Availability: Mid-game (Safari Zone (Center Area), levels 24-25).
• Typing: Grass / Psychic gives Exeggutor strong matchups against Erika, Koga, Giovanni, and Bruno, but Lorelei and Agatha are a bit more risky. Blaine is the only matchup Exeggutor truly struggles with.
• Stats: Exeggutor has good stats save for lacking Special Defense and Speed. Exeggutor's base 125 Special Attack is notable, as it is one of the highest in Kanto.
• Movepool: The only notable move by level is Sleep Powder at level 37. Exeggutor's entire viable moveset is TM-based, but it makes great use of Psychic, Solar Beam, Sunny Day, and Giga Drain. Strength via HM for accurate coverage is vastly preferred over Exeggutor's natural Egg Bomb.
• Major Battles: Exeggutor has a standout performance in most of the major battles left save for Blaine and Lance. Exeggutor beats Koga and Giovanni with STAB moves, and Sabrina is taken care of by Strength (plus Psychic for Venomoth). If you can set up Sunny Day on Lorelei and Agatha, you can take out a few Pokémon with Solar Beam or Psychic. Exeggutor sweeps Bruno, though it cannot take on Lance's Dragon-types; however, Solar Beam + Sunny Day can let Exeggutor 2HKO Gyarados and at least dent Aerodactyl.
• Additional Comments: Exeggutor is useful from the moment it is obtained due to its high firepower and good matchups. Its biggest flaws are needing a few TMs to perform well and a Slow growth rate. Evolve Exeggute with a Leaf Stone from the Safari Zone or Celadon Department Store.

Gastly (No Trade)

• Availability: Mid-game (Pokémon Tower (3F), levels 13-19).
• Typing: Haunter's defensive typing is very useful, granting it resistances and immunities against Erika, Koga, and Bruno. It is a double-edged sword against Agatha's Ghost-types and Sabrina, though.
• Stats: Haunter has great Special Attack and Speed, though it is incredibly frail, and its very low Attack means that Ghost-type moves are at risk of not OHKOing physically frail Psychic-types.
• Movepool: Haunter should immediately be taught Psychic by TM, which will be its main damaging move. Thunderbolt and Giga Drain through TMs provide coverage, with the former being mostly necessary for great matchups against Lorelei and Lance. Shadow Punch and Shadow Ball at levels 25 and 45 provide Haunter with STAB moves.
• Major Battles: Haunter sweeps Erika, Koga, and Giovanni simply by spamming Psychic. Haunter also contributes against Sabrina with Shadow Punch or Shadow Ball, though it may struggle sweeping there. It is mostly decent against the Elite Four with Psychic and Thunderbolt, though it will struggle to OHKO most of the foes and finds itself 2HKOed most of the time, so it is generally limited to KOing 2-3 Pokémon per member.
• Additional Comments: Haunter is a mostly decent Pokémon in spite of needing some TMs to reach its best performance, as it is easy to train thanks to the Medium Slow growth rate and defeats a plethora of foes. However, its extreme frailty and frequent 2HKOs cause Haunter to have little use when not hitting super effectively.

Growlithe

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 8, levels 15-18) (FR).
• Typing: Arcanine's Fire typing gives it an advantage against Erika, but a disadvantage against Lorelei and Lance.
• Stats: Arcanine has great stats all around, with notable mixed attacking stats and great 95 Speed.
• Movepool: The Flamethrower TM is all Arcanine needs to be effective, as most super effective coverage options are inferior to neutral Flamethrower. Extreme Speed at level 49 as Arcanine is unnecessary, but Strength via HM can help for foes that resist Flamethrower.
• Major Battles: Arcanine roasts Erika, Koga, and Sabrina with Flamethrower, with none of them doing much back, though Erika can also be swept wth just Ember. Arcanine can utilize the normally niche Dig against Blaine if needed, and Giovanni's Pokémon and Lorelei's Jynx and Cloyster are 2HKOed by Flamethrower. Bruno's Fighting-types are 3HKOed by Flamethrower, while Agatha's Pokémon are 2HKOed. Lance is the only major battle Arcanine is useless for.
• Additional Comments: Arcanine is a great choice due to its simple yet effective nature, though its mid-game availability, reliance on a Game Corner TM immediately, and few type advantages prevent it from being ranked higher. Intimidate is generally the more useful ability, though Flash Fire can nullify Blaine's STAB moves if desired. Evolve with a Fire Stone from the Celadon Department Store immediately.

Lapras

• Availability: Mid-game (Silph. Co, from a man after defeating your rival, level 25).
• Typing: Water and Ice is an effective offensive type combination, the latter helping against the former's weakness to Grass. It's great against Blaine, Giovanni, and Lance.
• Stats: Base Attack and Special Attack of 85 is good enough but will make super effective STAB moves 2HKO some tougher foes. 60 Speed is slow but is compensated for by hefty 130 HP and good Defense and Special Defense of 80 and 95.
• Movepool: HM Surf and Ice Beam by level will be Lapras's STAB moves. Against Water-types, either Rain Dance + Thunder or Thunderbolt through TMs is helpful. Other options include Body Slam, Confuse Ray, and the situational Perish Song to set a timer on final foes.
• Major Battles: Lapras can sweep every fight up until the Elite Four, though it will need an Electric-type move to handle the rival's Gyarados or Blastoise. At the Pokémon League, Lapras shines against Lance and can contribute against Lorelei and Agatha, though it should avoid Bruno.
• Additional Comments: A key flaw with Lapras is that it comes later than other Water-types one might want for their team. In addition, it has to catch up in levels, which is worsened by its Slow growth rate. Still, if one is willing to put in some work to train it, Lapras is a solid contributor throughout the game.

Magikarp

• Availability: Early-game (Route 4 Pokémon Center for 500 Poké Dollars, level 5).
• Typing: Water / Flying is great for Gyarados, providing it with a resistance for Misty, effectiveness against Blaine and Giovanni, and one weakness in Lt. Surge.
• Stats: Gyarados has mostly great stats, boasting really high Attack, great bulk, and above-average Speed. However, its Special Attack is a bit lackluster.
• Movepool: Gyarados learns Bite and Dragon Dance at levels 20 and 50. Surf acts as the primary STAB move. Gyarados appreciates the Secret Power TM for a strong physical attack early on, which upgrades to Return. Hyper Beam through TM is recommended to improve the Erika matchup.
• Major Battles: Gyarados can sweep every Gym Leader, though Lt. Surge is slightly situational. It performs pretty well against the Elite Four, defeating all of them but Agatha with Dragon Dance setup and healing when needed.
• Additional Comments: In spite of how annoying it is to get and raise Magikarp, which is further worsened by its Slow growth rate, Gyarados is a great Pokémon to consider, as it performs extremely well in most major battles. Rare Candies or fighting the trainers on Route 6 (and beyond if needed) will be required to evolve Magikarp before Misty. Gyarados can also be caught at various locations with the Super Rod to avoid the grind, but this skips some of the earlier matchups and it will have less happiness, which will impact Return's usefulness.

Nidoran-F

• Availability: Early-game (Route 3, levels 6-7 (LG); trade a Nidoran-M at the Underground Path between Route 5 and 6 or a Nidorino on Route 11 (FR)).
• Typing: Besides against Misty, Sabrina, and Lorelei, Poison / Ground is great because it gives Nidoqueen a useful poison immunity and a type advantage against Lt. Surge and Blaine.
• Stats: Nidoqueen has good defenses and Speed, with base 82 Attack and 75 Special Attack making it a decent mixed attacker, though it will sometimes struggle against bulkier foes.
• Movepool: Nidoran-F picks up Double Kick at level 12, which will be its main move until the Secret Power TM or Body Slam at level 23. Nidoqueen can supplement its moveset mid-game with several TMs, most notably Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, with Surf via HM also being helpful. The Dig TM is generally unnecessary except against Lt. Surge, but the Earthquake TM is a staple move for Nidoqueen during the endgame.
• Major Battles: Nidoqueen isn't good for Misty, but sweeps Lt. Surge effortlessly. Erika and Koga are handled by Ice Beam. Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni are handled by Surf. Nidoqueen is good for Bruno, but struggles against Lorelei and Agatha. Lance is dealt with through Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, though Nidoqueen generally doesn't sweep him.
• Additional Comments: While Nidoqueen possesses an excellent movepool, its offensive stats mean that it heavily depends on super effective TMs to achieve 2HKOs. Evolve Nidorina with a Moon Stone from Mt. Moon immediately. Both in-game trades come with the traded experience boost. The traded Nidoran-F, MS. NIDO, comes with a Bold nature and an IV spread of 22/18/25/19/15/22, while the traded Nidorina, NINA, comes with a Lonely nature and an IV spread of 22/25/18/19/22/15. Nidoran-F can still be obtained on Route 3 in FR, but it has a 1% encounter rate.

Psyduck

• Availability: Late-game (Fucshia City (surfing), levels 20-40) (FR).
• Typing: Water helps against Blaine and Giovanni, is neutral most of the time, and is only resisted by Lorelei's Water-types and Lance's Dragon-types.
• Stats: Golduck has balanced and mostly decent stats all around.
• Movepool: Golduck should immediately be taught the Surf HM. The Calm Mind and Ice Beam TMs improve a lot of its matchups. The Brick Break TM can be used against Lorelei's Lapras but will get few uses.
• Major Battles: Golduck wins against Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni. It performs really well against the Elite Four thanks to Calm Mind, defeating Agatha and taking down several foes in other battles, though it will require healing to achieve a full sweep.
• Additional Comments: Golduck is one of the best Water-types thanks to Calm Mind and decent stats. Cloud Nine is the preferred ability because it addresses Lorelei's Hail. Psyduck can be obtained before Koga with a Super Rod and has a highly favorable matchup against him, but its encounter rate ranges from 1% to 5% (depending on location) and it can come underleveled, so this is generally not worth it.

Spearow

• Availability: Early-game (Route 22, level 3 or 5).
• Typing: Normal / Flying is great for Erika, bad for Brock, Lt. Surge, and Lorelei, and mostly neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Fearow is a glass cannon, having great Attack and Speed but little bulk; thus, if it can't OHKO the foe, it will typically be KOed itself.
• Movepool: Spearow comes with Peck and learns Fury Attack at level 13, with Drill Peck coming at level 40. It will mostly use moves learned through TMs and HMs, namely Secret Power, Fly, and Return.
• Major Battles: Fearow performs well against Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Sabrina, and Agatha. Fearow typically struggles to take on foes that resist its STAB moves (such as Brock's Pokémon) or have the stats to take hits and retaliate (like Lorelei's and Lance's Pokémon).
• Additional Comments: Spearow is a decent Pokémon due to taking on many major opponents, but its inability to get past Pokémon with relevant resistances or bulk holds it back greatly.

Tentacool

• Availability: Late-game (Route 19 (surfing), levels 5-40).
• Typing: Water is good for Blaine and Giovanni and Poison offers a useful resistance against Bruno. However, Tentacool won't be able to do much against Lorelei.
• Stats: Tentacruel has great special bulk, good Speed, and decent Special Attack. Its physical bulk is lackluster, though.
• Movepool: Tentacool should be taught Surf when caught. It learns Barrier by level, which helps it against Bruno, Agatha, and Lance. The Ice Beam TM from the Game Corner can be purchased to improve the Lance matchup. Tentacruel can also make use of the Rain Dance TM to boost Surf or Giga Drain to improve the Lorelei matchup slightly.
• Major Battles: Tentacruel sweeps Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni with Surf spam alone. Tentacruel performs well against Bruno, Agatha, and Lance with Barrier and healing when needed. Lorelei is Tentacruel's only truly bad matchup.
• Additional Comments: With the use of Repels, Tentacool can be obtained at a very high level. This, combined with great defensive typing, Barrier, and Clear Body to stop the various stat-reducing strategies, makes Tentacool a decent Pokémon in spite of the late arrival.

Zapdos

• Availability: Late-game (Power Plant, level 50).
• Typing: Electric / Flying is good for Lorelei and neutral most of the time. However, it is resisted by the various Rock / Ground type Pokémon in the endgame.
• Stats: Zapdos has great stats all around; it's a fast Pokémon with great offensive stats and decent bulk.
• Movepool: Zapdos has a good Flying-type STAB move in Drill Peck when caught. It's strongly recommended to teach it the Thunderbolt TM. Rain Dance and Thunder through TMs can be taught as a stronger alternative to Thunderbolt.
• Major Battles: Zapdos wins against Sabrina and Blaine. Zapdos performs really well in other major battles, only struggling against Rock / Ground Pokémon, such as Rhyhorn and Onix.
• Additional Comments: Zapdos is a very strong Pokémon that is held back by its late arrival. Catch it with a Master Ball, as catching it with other types of Poké Balls is too time-consuming.

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C-Tier

The following Pokémon have many flaws and bad matchups, but they also have some positive traits and good matchups that prevent them from being outright bad.

Bellsprout

• Availability: Early-game (Route 24, level 12-14) (LG).
• Typing: Grass / Poison is great for Misty, Lt. Surge, Giovanni, Lorelei, and Bruno, but it is typically bad elsewhere.
• Stats: Victreebel is powerful both physically and specially, but it's rather frail and has middling Speed.
• Movepool: The Bellsprout line learns Growth, Vine Whip, and Sleep Powder fairly early, while Razor Leaf comes at level 42 if Weepinbell is left unevolved. Once available, the Solar Beam and Sunny Day TMs offer a really powerful STAB move. It's also possible to teach the Giga Drain TM. The Secret Power TM provides a strong coverage move early on.
• Major Battles: The Bellsprout line wins against Misty, Lt. Surge, and Giovanni while performing well against Lorelei with Sleep Powder and Growth. However, in other major battles, it will mostly be useless, not taking down more than one foe, except against Bruno.
• Additional Comments: Victreebel is a really situational Pokémon overall. Chlorophyll is a great ability that lets Victreebel outspeed most threats under sun. Evolve Weepinbell with a Leaf Stone from Celadon Department Store immediately, unless you cannot teach Weepinbell Giga Drain or Solar Beam and thus you plan on it learning Razor Leaf.

Caterpie

• Availability: Early-game (Viridian Forest, level 3-5).
• Typing: Bug / Flying is good for Erika, but it's weak for Lt. Surge, Blaine, and Lorelei.
• Stats: Butterfree has mostly bad stats, outside of its decent Special Attack and Special Defense, though they're decent early-game.
• Movepool: Butterfree learns Sleep Powder and Silver Wind by level. By TMs, it learns Psychic, Giga Drain, and Aerial Ace, which provide good coverage. Psybeam at level 34 provides an alternative to Psychic if the TM is taken.
• Major Battles: Butterfree beats Brock's Geodude, but it is shaky against Misty, Lt. Surge, and Blaine. It wins against Erika, Koga, and Giovanni while performing well against Sabrina. In general, Butterfree simply puts slower foes to sleep with Compound Eyes Sleep Powder and takes them down. This strategy is useful throughout the entire game, including at the Elite Four.
• Additional Comments: Butterfree is a decent Pokémon in spite of its below-average stats thanks to its early availability, Sleep Powder + Compound Eyes, and its great coverage, though it takes a lot of time to KO its foes later on due to a lack of good STAB moves.

Drowzee

• Availability: Early-game (Route 11, level 11, 13, or 15).
• Typing: Pure Psychic gives the line advantages against Erika, Koga, and Bruno while being neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Hypno's stats are all average aside from its good base 115 Special Defense.
• Movepool: Drowzee starts with Confusion and gets Headbutt for coverage at level 17, with Meditate at level 29 boosting Headbutt's power. Aside from Psychic at level 35 and Calm Mind via TM, little else is relevant, though the Brick Break TM can be taught if desired.
• Major Battles: Hypno is pretty good for Lt. Surge, Erika, and Koga. Sabrina is Hypno's high point, as it easily sweeps her with Headbutt, particularly with Meditate boosts. Blaine, Giovanni, and Bruno can be overpowered with Calm Mind. Every other fight is average for Hypno, despite Agatha stacking Poison-types, as most of her Pokémon are faster and therefore can use their status-inducing moves.
• Additional Comments: Hypno isn't a bad Pokémon, but it is sorely outclassed by other Psychic-types due to it lacking power. Hypno's base 67 Speed, while serviceable, can occasionally be a hindrance as well.

Eevee (Flareon)

• Availability: Mid-game (Celadon Mansion, level 25).
• Typing: Fire helps against Erika and is mostly neutral elsewhere, except against Blaine, Giovanni, and Lance.
• Stats: Flareon has outstanding Attack, solid special bulk, and good Special Attack. However, it's physically frail and rather slow.
• Movepool: Flareon doesn't learn many moves by level, so it should be taught a few TMs, the most important one being Flamethrower. Sunny Day, Fire Blast, Return, Secret Power, Dig, and Shadow Ball are other TMs that Flareon can make good use of.
• Major Battles: Flareon wins against Erika, Koga, and Sabrina while doing alright against other Gym Leaders. Against the Elite Four, Flareon does really well against Agatha with Shadow Ball, has an above-average performance against Lorelei, and is fairly good against the Champion but is bad for Bruno and Lance.
• Additional Comments: Flareon performs decently well thanks to its mostly solid stats and movepool options. However, it's heavily reliant on immediate TMs (Flamethrower in particular) because it doesn't learn any useful move by level. It is also let down by its poor Speed, which can make sweeps difficult to achieve. Evolve Eevee with a Fire Stone from the Celadon Department Store immediately.

Eevee (Jolteon)

• Availability: Mid-game (Celadon Mansion, level 25).
• Typing: Pure Electric is good offensively, being super effective for Lorelei, only resisted by Erika and Giovanni's types, and neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Jolteon outspeeds everything and has great special stats. However, its other stats are below average.
• Movepool: The Thunderbolt TM is Jolteon's only strong and reliable move option. Rain Dance and Thunder via TMs can provide a stronger STAB option. Shock Wave via TM is a temporary remedy if Thunderbolt isn't available to Jolteon immediately. It also learns moves of various types, but all of them are physical and have low Base Power, so Jolteon won't hit hard with them.
• Major Battles: Jolteon performs well against Koga, Sabrina, and Blaine, although it doesn't outright win against the latter and can't do anything against Giovanni. Against the Elite Four, Jolteon has a good performance against Lorelei and Agatha, and it can take down a few Electric-weak Pokémon from Lance and the Champion.
• Additional Comments: Jolteon is a decent Electric-type that does alright in major battles and easily defeats Water- and Flying-types. However, it struggles heavily against opponents with bulkier teams, like Bruno, and won't do anything against Electric-resistant Pokémon. It's also really reliant on learning the costly Thunderbolt TM immediately.

Electabuzz

• Availability: Late-game (Power Plant, level 32 or 35).
• Typing: Electric is mostly neutral, useful for Lorelei, and terrible against Giovanni.
• Stats: Electabuzz has great Speed and decent offensive stats, though it's rather frail physically.
• Movepool: Although Electabuzz comes with Thunder Punch, it is recommended to teach it Thunderbolt to pick up some OHKOs. Electabuzz also learns various coverage moves, such as Psychic, Brick Break, and Strength. Thunder with Rain Dance is a stronger alternative to Thunderbolt. Major Battles: Electabuzz is decent against Sabrina and Blaine and can take on most of Lorelei's Pokémon. It can also take out some of Giovanni's Pokémon using coverage moves, as well as the Electric-weak Pokémon in the endgame.
• Additional Comments: Electabuzz's late arrival and rarity offset its good qualities, which include a good offensive typing and good coverage moves to get around Electric-types' usual checks.

Farfetch'd

• Availability: Early-game (trade a Spearow in a house in Vermilion City).
• Typing: Normal / Flying is strong against Erika, only weak against Lorelei's Ice-types and Lt. Surge, and neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Farfetch'd has mediocre stats all around; it's frail and doesn't have great Speed and Attack to make up for that.
• Movepool: Farfetch'd learns Fury Attack at level 16, Swords Dance at level 31, and Agility at level 36. The Fly and Cut HMs can be taught, with the former providing a good STAB move. Aerial Ace can also be learned by TM, and it's a good STAB option that lets Farfetch'd win handily against Agatha. Steel Wing via TM can be used, but Farfetch'd will barely use it.
• Major Battles: Farfetch'd does alright against Lt. Surge and wins against Erika, Koga, and Sabrina thanks to Swords Dance and its STAB moves. Afterwards, Farfetch'd won't be helpful, outside of sweeping Agatha with Swords Dance, Agility, and Aerial Ace.
• Additional Comments: In spite of its low stats, Farfetch'd is a good Pokémon that performs really well mid-game thanks to Swords Dance. It offers great utility by performing decently while having two HMs in its moveset. In addition, Farfetch'd will level up quickly thanks to its boosted experience gain from the in-game trade. The traded Farfetch'd, CH'DING, comes with an Adamant nature, an IV spread of 20/25/21/24/15/20, and Stick as a held item.

Geodude (Trade)

• Availability: Early-game (Mt. Moon (1F), levels 7-9).
• Typing: Rock / Ground gives Golem an edge against Lt. Surge, Koga, and Blaine, but it's weak for Misty, Erika, Giovanni, Lorelei, and Bruno.
• Stats: Golem has good Attack and great Defense. However, its other stats are bad.
• Movepool: By level, the Geodude line learns Defense Curl, Rock Throw, Magnitude, Self-Destruct, Rollout, and Earthquake, most of which provide strong STAB moves. It doesn't need any TMs to function well.
• Major Battles: Golem easily defeats Lt. Surge and does well against Koga, Blaine, and Sabrina. However, in other battles, Golem tends to lose easily to super effective moves and will only take down a few foes at most. Self-Destruct can net a KO if needed, though.
• Additional Comments: Golem is a Pokémon with some extremely good matchups and some extremely bad matchups elsewhere. However, it's really self-sufficient and won't require any TMs to be used to its best.

Goldeen

• Availability: Mid-game (Fuschia City (Super Rod), level 20-30 as Seaking).
• Typing: Pure Water gives Seaking an edge against Blaine and Giovanni and is only resisted by Erika, Lorelei, and Lance's types.
• Stats: Seaking has mostly average stats, outside of its good Attack.
• Movepool: Seaking must be taught the Surf HM when caught. The Ice Beam TM is a good move to have against Lance. Rain Dance by TM can power up STAB moves but will get few uses. Return, Secret Power, and Hyper Beam through TMs are usable options against Sabrina.
• Major Battles: Seaking sweeps Blaine and Giovanni and performs decently against Koga and Sabrina. It doesn't perform well elsewhere, though Ice Beam will help against Erika and Lance.
• Additional Comments: Seaking is a potent Water-type, as it's easily available and is decent against most Gym Leaders without requiring contested TMs, with the exception of Ice Beam for select matchups. Unfortunately, it has very limited use against the Elite Four due to its average stats.

Hitmonchan

• Availability: Mid-game (Fighting Dojo, level 25).
• Typing: Hitmonchan's Fighting typing doesn't provide it with many advantageous matchups other than Lorelei: many foes are resistant or immune to Fighting. Koga, Agatha, and Lance are bad for Hitmonchan in particular.
• Stats: Hitmonchan has good base 105 Attack and 110 Special Defense with a decent base 76 Speed, though its other stats are poor.
• Movepool: Hitmonchan starts out with Brick Break by TM. The Bulk Up TM is essential for setup, while the Strength HM and the Rock Slide tutor round out Hitmonlee's coverage. The elemental punches are irrelevant due to Hitmonchan's awful Special Attack.
• Major Battles: Hitmonchan usually boosts with Bulk Up once or twice in major battles, though it is unlikely you will ever sweep with it due to its fragility. At best, you will get a couple KOs with it before fainting. More setup and healing can help achieve sweeps in the later portions of the game, though this is rather inefficient.
• Additional Comments: While attractive on paper, Hitmonchan plays like a STAB-less Normal-type 70% of the time due to Fighting being resisted so often, so it is mostly outclassed by other Pokémon with STAB type advantages over opponents.

Hitmonlee

• Availability: Mid-game (Fighting Dojo, level 25).
• Typing: Hitmonlee's Fighting typing doesn't provide it with many advantageous matchups other than Lorelei: many foes are resistant or immune to Fighting. Koga, Agatha, and Lance are particularly bad for Hitmonlee.
• Stats: Hitmonlee has excellent base 120 Attack and 110 Special Defense with great base 87 Speed, though its other stats are abysmal.
• Movepool: Hitmonlee's most reliable starting move is Brick Break. The Bulk Up TM is essential for setup, while the Strength HM and the Rock Slide tutor round out Hitmonlee's coverage.
• Major Battles: Hitmonlee generally boosts with Bulk Up once or twice in major battles, though it is unlikely you will ever sweep with it due to its fragility. At best, you will get one or two KOs before fainting. More setup and healing can help achieve sweeps in the later portions of the game, though this is rather inefficient.
• Additional Comments: While attractive on paper, Hitmonlee plays like a STAB-less Normal-type 70% of the time due to Fighting being resisted so often, so it is heavily outclassed by other Pokémon with STAB type advantages over opponents.

Horsea

• Availability: Mid-game (Vermillion City (Super/Good Rod), level 15-35 (FR, Super Rod) or level 5-20 (LG, Good Rod)).
• Typing: Pure Water helps Seadra against Blaine and Giovanni, and it's only resisted by Erika, Lorelei, and Lance's types.
• Stats: Seadra has great Special Attack and Defense and good Speed. However, it's really vulnerable to special moves.
• Movepool: When caught, Horsea should be taught Surf by HM immediately. The Ice Beam TM is a good option to use against Lance. Rain Dance can be taught to boost its Water-type moves.
• Major Battles: Seadra wins against Blaine and Giovanni and does quite well against Erika and Lance, assuming it has Ice Beam. In other important battles, Seadra won't do much outside of netting a few KOs.
• Additional Comments: Seadra is a decent Water-type because it's easily available, does really well in several important battles, and only requires the Ice Beam TM. However, outside of a few matchups, Seadra won't be able to do much due to its poor special bulk and lack of coverage. Although Horsea is available with Super Rod in both games, LG players should catch it with the Good Rod, as the Super Rod ones have a 4% encounter rate in this version. FR players can also catch it directly as a Seadra in Pallet Town with a Super Rod, though it also has a 4% encounter rate.

Krabby

• Availability: Mid-game (Vermillion City (Super Rod), levels 15-25).
• Typing: Pure Water helps Kingler against Blaine and Giovanni and is only resisted by Erika and Lorelei's types.
• Stats: Kingler has really high Attack and Defense, as well as above-average Speed. However, it lacks in special bulk and Special Attack.
• Movepool: Kingler mostly uses Surf and Strength via HMs, which also have uses outside of battles. Kingler can also learn Rock Tomb and Ice Beam by TMs.
• Major Battles: Kingler wins against Blaine and Giovanni and is mostly below-average elsewhere. It can get a few KOs in other major battles but will never be able to contribute much.
• Additional Comments: Krabby does well against Blaine and Giovanni but tends to not do much elsewhere due to its poor Special Attack and bulk. However, it has some utility by fitting Strength and Surf in its moveset while still performing alright in battles.

Machop (Trade)

• Availability: Mid-game (Rock Tunnel (1F), level 16 or 17).
• Typing: Fighting is resisted throughout the entire region, most notably against Erika, Koga, Agatha, and Sabrina. On the other hand, it provides Machamp with a great matchup against Lorelei.
• Stats: Machamp has very high Attack and decent bulk, though it is rather slow. However, Machop's stats are fairly bad, making it slightly hard to train at the beginning.
• Movepool: Machop should be given the Brick Break TM and Rock Slide tutor immediately. It can also be taught Bulk Up for setup and Strength by HM as coverage. Hyper Beam can be taught to Machamp before Strength to improve the Erika matchup.
• Major Battles: Machamp sweeps Erika with Bulk Up or Hyper Beam and Koga thanks to Guts. It can take on most of Sabrina's and Blaine's Pokémon. Machamp sweeps Giovanni and can take on Lorelei, Bruno, and Lance with Bulk Up, though it will often require healing to perform well.
• Additional Comments: Outside of Machop being slightly difficult to train at the beginning due to its low stats, Machamp requires significant setup in virtually every matchup after Sabrina in order to consistently OHKO foes, which proves inefficient at times. This is further worsened by its need for healing in the endgame fights, as otherwise foes will overwhelm it during setup.

Magnemite

• Availability: Late-game (Power Plant, level 31 or 34 as Magneton).
• Typing: Electric / Steel provides Magneton with great matchups against Sabrina, Lorelei, Bruno, and Lance. However, it leaves Magneton very vulnerable against Blaine, Giovanni, and Bruno.
• Stats: Magneton has one of the highest Special Attack stats in the entire game. Outside of good Defense, its other stats are average at best, however.
• Movepool: Magneton almost exclusively uses Thunderbolt by TM, with Thunder + Rain Dance also being an option. Its other attacking options are mostly physical moves, which Magneton doesn't use well.
• Major Battles: Magneton performs well against Sabrina, Lorelei, and Agatha and can also shrug off most attacks against Lance. However, Magneton cannot take on anything that resists Electric.
• Additional Comments: Magneton's fantastic typing and Special Attack are greatly counterbalanced by a lacking movepool and a late arrival. It is recommended that you catch it directly as a Magneton, as Magnemite comes rather underleveled. Note that Magneton is slightly less common in FireRed.

Meowth

• Availability: Early-game (Route 5, level 10, 12, 14, or 16).
• Typing: Pure Normal is neutral in most matchups, except for Bruno, where it's bad, and Agatha, where it's helpful.
• Stats: Persian has great Speed but otherwise below-average stats.
• Movepool: By level up, Meowth gets Pay Day and Screech. The Return and Secret Power TMs provide great STAB moves, and Shadow Ball may be useful against Agatha. Hyper Beam is also a valuable move to get some KOs.
• Major Battles: Persian wins against Sabrina and does well against Agatha, assuming it has Shadow Ball. It's mostly average in other major battles and will only get a few KOs with Screech + a STAB move.
• Additional Comments: Despite its early arrival, Persian is a mediocre Pokémon because of its low stats. Its main usefulness comes from Pay Day, which generates money to afford Game Corner TMs with less effort and in higher amounts. It is also strong enough against Route trainers that it can reliably spam Pay Day.

Oddish

• Availability: Early-game (Route 24, level 12-14) (FR).
• Typing: Grass / Poison is great for Misty, Lt. Surge, Giovanni, Lorelei, and Bruno, but it is mostly bad elsewhere.
• Stats: Vileplume is a powerful special attacker that is fairly bulky. However, it's slow.
• Movepool: The Oddish line learns Absorb, Acid, and Sleep Powder by level. The Giga Drain TM, once available, is a stronger STAB move. The Solar Beam and Sunny Day TMs offer a really powerful STAB move. Secret Power through TMs is greatly appreciated for a strong coverage move early on.
• Major Battles: The Oddish line wins against Misty, Lt. Surge, and Giovanni, and it performs well against Lorelei. However, in other major battles, it will mostly be useless, taking down at best one foe, except against Bruno, where it performs slightly better.
• Additional Comments: Vileplume is a really situational Pokémon overall. Chlorophyll is a great ability that lets Vileplume outspeed most threats under sun. Evolve Gloom with a Leaf Stone from Celadon Department Store immediately.

Pikachu

• Availability: Early-game (Viridian Forest, level 3 or 5).
• Typing: Electric makes Pikachu somewhat useful against Misty and great against Lorelei. However, it has little use against Brock, Erika, and Giovanni.
• Stats: Raichu is a fast Pokémon with decent Special Attack, but rather low bulk.
• Movepool: Pikachu starts out with a mostly unspectacular moveset, consisting of Thunder Shock and Thunder Wave at level 8. Notably, Pikachu learns Thunderbolt at level 26, thus not requiring the TM. It can also be taught Dig and Brick Break for coverage and Thunder + Rain Dance for a stronger STAB move.
• Major Battles: Pikachu is incapable of defeating Misty's Starmie, though it can paralyze and weaken it. It can contribute against Lt. Surge with Dig and performs decently against Sabrina, Koga, and Blaine, though it will struggle to sweep the latter two. It can take out some of Lorelei's Pokémon and Electric-weak Pokémon from Lance and the Champion.
• Additional Comments: Despite learning Thunderbolt naturally, Pikachu has numerous flaws, including an unspectacular movepool until it learns Thunderbolt, difficulties achieving OHKOs with neutral hits, and a 5% encounter rate, which makes it fairly annoying to find. Evolve it with Thunder Stone after it learns Thunderbolt.

Pinsir

• Availability: Mid-game (buy at Game Corner for 2500 coins, level 18) (LG).
• Typing: Bug is only good for providing Pinsir with resistances against Erika and Giovanni. It is mostly irrelevant elsewhere, as Pinsir doesn't learn STAB moves and is only weak to Blaine's type.
• Stats: Pinsir has great Attack and Defense and is fairly fast, though its other stats are poor.
• Movepool: Pinsir can learn most of its moves almost immediately; it will mainly use the Brick Break TM, Strength HM, and Rock Slide tutor to deal damage. Bulk Up by TM gives it an opportunity to set up. Swords Dance at level 49 allows Pinsir to set up more quickly against the endgame opponents, though Bulk Up makes it easier to set up against physical foes, so either option is fine.
• Major Battles: Pinsir can sweep every Gym Leader and rival fight before the Pokémon League with setup. Notably, it is a rather consistent sweeper, as Hyper Cutter counteracts the various Intimidate users. It is fairly good against the Elite Four, though it either will have to heal, if using Bulk Up, or fail to sweep some fights with Swords Dance due to lacking Defense boosts.
• Additional Comments: Pinsir is all-around a great sweeper thanks to a high Attack stat, a great movepool, and Hyper Cutter. However, it is fairly expensive to buy and is a chore to maintain due to a Slow growth rate. Pinsir can also be caught in the Safari Zone (Center Area), but it is rare and hard to capture, so it's generally not worth it.

Poliwag

• Availability: Mid-game (Viridian City (Super Rod), levels 20-30 as Poliwhirl).
• Typing: Water / Fighting gives Poliwrath an edge against Blaine, Giovanni, and Lorelei but weaknesses against Erika, Sabrina, and Lance. Stats: Poliwrath has well-rounded stats.
• Movepool: The Surf HM and Brick Break TM provide strong STAB moves. Bulk Up and Ice Beam are other possible TMs.
• Major Battles: Poliwrath wins against Blaine and Giovanni while doing well against Lorelei and Bruno. In other battles, it has a below-average performance but still can get a few KOs.
• Additional Comments: Poliwrath is a decent Water-type, but it requires several TMs and only dominates a few matchups.

Rattata

• Availability: Early-game (Route 1, levels 2-4).
• Typing: Pure Normal is neutral most of the time, except against Brock and Bruno, where it's generally bad.
• Stats: Raticate has great Speed and good Attack for the earlier portions of the game. However, its other stats are mostly average and even its good stats fall off later on.
• Movepool: By level, Rattata learns Hyper Fang at level 13. The Secret Power and Return TMs provide great STAB options, with the Hyper Beam TM providing a nuke. The Shadow Ball TM can also be used to improve the Agatha matchup.
• Major Battles: Raticate wins against Misty, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina and does well against Erika with Hyper Beam. In other matchups, it's mostly average and will only net a few KOs.
• Additional Comments: Raticate is an alright Pokémon thanks to its very early availability and great performance early- and mid-game. However, it starts becoming worse due to its average stats and won't contribute too much in late-game battles.

Scyther

• Availability: Mid-game (Buy at Game Corner for 5500 coins, level 25) (FR).
• Typing: Bug / Flying is good against Erika, weak against Blaine and Lorelei, and neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Scyther boasts good Attack and Speed and has average bulk.
• Movepool: Scyther learns Swords Dance and Agility by level . It should be taught the Aerial Ace TM immediately when caught. It can be taught Hyper Beam by TM as a strong finishing move, and Steel Wing by TM can find uses against Rock-types.
• Major Battles: Scyther wins against Erika and Sabrina with Aerial Ace and Koga and Agatha thanks to Swords Dance + Aerial Ace. What sets Scyther apart is Aerial Ace letting it sweep even with accuracy drops or evasion boosts. In other major battles outside of Lorelei and Lance's, it performs decently, being able to take down a few foes.
• Additional Comments: Scyther is a strong Pokémon that can set up and win mid-battle but is very expensive to buy. It can also be caught at the Safari Zone (Central Area) at level 23, though it is rare and hard to catch, so this route is also ineffcient.

Seel

• Availability: Late-game (Seafoam Island (B4F), level 30, 32, or 34).
• Typing: Water / Ice is a good offensive typing, being super effective against Blaine, Giovanni, and Lance's types.
• Stats: Dewgong has middling stats except for above-average HP and Special Defense.
• Movepool: Once Dewgong is caught, the Surf HM is mandatory and a powerful STAB option. Ice Beam is another important move that Dewgong learns either by TM or at level 51, and it is an improvement from Aurora Beam, a move it has when caught. Strength can also be taught for additional coverage.
• Major Battles: Dewgong wins against Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni and does well versus Lance's Dragon-types. However, it won't do much outside of these battles, save for KOing some of the rival's Pokémon.
• Additional Comments: Even though it comes late, Dewgong guarantees a win against Blaine and Giovanni, and it's also a great Pokémon to use against Lance without requiring the Ice Beam TM. Thick Fat is really helpful for Blaine. You can also obtain Seel from an in-game trade in Cinnabar Lab for a Ponyta, but this Seel skips Blaine and requires you to go out of your way to the Sevii Islands. The traded Seel, SEELOR, comes with a Bold nature, Thick Fat as an ability, and an IV spread of 24/15/22/16/23/22.

Shellder

• Availability: Mid-game (Vermillion City (Super Rod), levels 15-25) (FR).
• Typing: Water / Ice helps Shellder against Erika, Blaine, Giovanni, and Lance, is resisted by Lorelei's team, and is weak to Bruno's type.
• Stats: Cloyster has enormous physical bulk, good offensive stats, and above-average Speed, but detrimental special frailty.
• Movepool: Shellder learns Aurora Beam at level 22. The Surf HM and Ice Beam TM provide strong STAB options. Rain Dance via TM can be learned to boost Surf's power.
• Major Battles: Cloyster wins against Erika (assuming it has Ice Beam), Koga, and Giovanni while performing well versus Blaine and Lance, though Cloyster risks getting KOed by strong special moves like Fire Blast and Dragonite's Outrage. It otherwise won't perform well outside of KOing a few foes.
• Additional Comments: Cloyster is an alright Water-type that mostly performs well and only requires the Ice Beam TM. However, it's part of the Slow level up group and thus will take time to train. In addition, its low special bulk means it performs slightly worse than other Water-types against opponents like Lance.

Slowpoke

• Availability: Late-game (Fuchsia City (surfing), levels 20-40).
• Typing: Water / Psychic gives Slowpoke advantages against Blaine, Giovanni, and Bruno, as well as a mostly favorable Agatha matchup. It is typically neutral elsewhere.
• Stats: Slowbro has solid bulk all around with great Defense and Special Attack, though its Speed is a dismal base 30.
• Movepool: Level 40 Slowpoke comes with Psychic already learned. The Surf, Ice Beam, and Calm Mind TMs round out its moveset.
• Major Battles: Slowbro does great against Sabrina with Surf, 2HKOing or OHKOing her Pokémon (Venomoth is OHKOed by Psychic). Blaine's entire team is OHKOed by Surf, but chip damage and Bite flinches make the matchup unreliable. Giovanni is cleanly swept by Surf, but Lorelei is a struggle due to chip damage and status effects. Bruno and Lance require setup and healing in order to sweep and about half of Agatha's team falls to +1 Psychic.
• Additional Comments: Slowbro isn't ranked higher entirely due to its low Speed forcing it to take heavy chip damage in major battles, leaving it more vulnerable to secondary effects than most other Pokémon. Repels allow you to catch Slowpoke at very high levels. Slowpoke can be obtained before Koga with a Super Rod if desired, though Slowpoke's encounter rates range from 1% to 5% (depending on location). Also, here it can come underleveled (because fishing levels cannot be controlled with Repels), which is exacerbated by Slowpoke's Slow growth rate and terrible stats until evolution. In addition, Koga's accuracy- and evasion-changing moves can make the matchup awkward.

Venonat

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 15, level 24 or 26).
• Typing: Bug / Poison provides resistances for Erika and Koga but is weak against Blaine. It has no use offensively, as Venomoth doesn't use STAB moves.
• Stats: Venomoth has below-average stats outside of its good Speed and Special Attack.
• Movepool: Venomoth learns Sleep Powder by level. Through TMs, it learns Psychic, Giga Drain, and Aerial Ace. Secret Power and Return are fringe options to hit Sabrina's Pokémon harder.
• Major Battles: Venomoth wins against Erika (if evolved), Koga, and Giovanni and is average against Sabrina and Blaine. It performs decently against the Elite Four thanks to Sleep Powder and its coverage.
• Additional Comments: Venomoth is a decent Pokémon thanks to the combination of Sleep Powder and great coverage, though it greatly depends on the Psychic TM to function and its damage output suffers from a lack of STAB. Shield Dust can prove helpful to dodge secondary effects.

Voltorb

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 10, level 14, 16, or 17).
• Typing: Electric is mostly neutral, useful against Lorelei, and terrible against Erika and Giovanni.
• Stats: Electrode is the fastest Pokémon in the game. Its other stats are average at best.
• Movepool: Voltorb should be taught Shock Wave by TM immediately, which upgrades to Thunderbolt or Thunder + Rain Dance through TMs. It can learn and reliably use Reflect and Light Screen through TMs. Self-Destruct at level 27 and Explosion at level 54 are similarly reliable with its high Speed. Flash can also be taught to make navigating Rock Tunnel easier, since Voltorb does not require its fourth moveslot.
• Major Battles: Electrode performs decently against Sabrina, Koga, and Blaine with Thunderbolt, though it will struggle to sweep the latter two. It can take on Electric-weak Pokémon in the endgame, some of which can be found on Lorelei's team. It can also KO a dangerous foe with a well-timed Self-Destruct or Explosion.
• Additional Comments: Voltorb is a mostly decent Pokémon, as it can swiftly take out foes with STAB moves. However, it struggles against bulky Pokémon and is generally walled by anything that resists Electric.

Vulpix

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 8, levels 15-18) (LG).
• Typing: Fire is only useful against Erika. In fact, it is quite bad against Blaine and Lorelei.
• Stats: Ninetales has mostly decent stats with particularly great Special Defense and Speed.
• Movepool: Vulpix learns Flamethrower via TM or at level 35 if left unevolved. Outside of this, it can also be taught Sunny Day and Fire Blast to hit as hard as possible. Dig is a possible coverage move to hit Fire-resistant Pokémon.
• Major Battles: Ninetales sweeps Erika with Ember or Flamethrower. It is decent against Koga, Sabrina, and Giovanni, though the latter two will require sun and (in the case of Giovanni) Fire Blast. It can take on some of the rival's Pokémon and performs decently against Agatha.
• Additional Comments: It is recommended that you evolve Vulpix with a Fire Stone immediately and teach it Flamethrower via TM instead of waiting to learn it by level, as Vulpix is very weak. Ninetales can afford to wait some time for Flamethrower, if needed, as Ember serves it well before Koga. As a whole, Ninetales is mostly a decent Pokémon that can spam Flamethrower, but the lack of Fire-weak major opponents after Erika and Ninetales's poor movepool impact its usefulness.

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D-tier

The following Pokémon generally have more negative traits than positive, but they are still able to perform well in a handful of matchups. These Pokémon, while bad, have enough power to be somewhat usable in matchups outside their positive ones.

Aerodactyl

• Availability: Late-game (revive from Old Amber at Cinnabar Lab, level 5)
• Typing: Rock / Flying is only particularly helpful against Blaine and Bruno.
• Stats: Aerodactyl boasts top-class Speed and sizeable Attack, but the rest of its stats are mediocre at best.
• Movepool: Aerodactyl has a severe lack of strong moves to utilize its base 105 Attack and will primarily use Ancient Power, Rock Slide, Wing Attack, Fly, Steel Wing, Iron Tail, and Earthquake. This, however, is just enough for it to squeak by.
• Major Battles: Aerodactyl reliably sweeps only Sabrina. It will likely be too underleveled to sweep other opponents, though it can take out a few of their Pokémon.
• Additional Comments: Despite the great offensive stats, Aerodactyl is a rather inefficient choice due to coming late and requiring a lot of investment to catch up in levels, which is only worsened by the Slow experience group. The Old Amber can be obtained in the back room of the Pewter Museum of Science, though Cut will be required to reach it.

Cubone

• Availability: Mid-game (Pokémon Tower (3F), level 17 or 19).
• Typing: Pure Ground gives Marowak an advantage against Blaine and Giovanni but makes it weak to Erika and Lorelei's types.
• Stats: Marowak has above-average Attack, great physical bulk, and alright special bulk. However, it's really slow.
• Movepool: Marowak learns Bone Club, Headbutt, and Bonemerang by level up. Once available, the Earthquake TM should be taught because it's more accurate than Bonemerang. Rock Slide and Strength can also be taught for coverage.
• Major Battles: Marowak will never sweep due to its low Speed. It can take down a few foes against Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni.
• Additional Comments: Marowak is a mediocre Pokémon due to its really low Speed and Ground typing not being very useful, given when it's found. It's possible to find a Thick Club to double its Attack, but this is very time-consuming, as the item is found on wild Cubone only 5% of the time (which is worsened by its 9% encounter rate). Even with Thick Club, Marowak will still struggle with Speed in many matchups.

Diglett

• Availability: Early-game (Diglett's Cave, levels 15-22).
• Typing: Ground typing gives Dugtrio advantages against Lt. Surge, Giovanni, Blaine, and Agatha, though it is weak to Misty, Erika, and Lorelei's types.
• Stats: Dugtrio has blistering base 120 Speed and decent base 80 Attack, though it is also one of the frailest Pokémon in the game with base 35/50/70 defenses.
• Movepool: Level 17 or higher Diglett start with Dig and Magnitude for STAB, with either upgrading to Earthquake, either at level 51 or via TM around the same time. Dugtrio can learn Aerial Ace and Secret Power or Return via TMs to round out its moveset.
• Major Battles: After a spectacular Lt. Surge matchup, Dugtrio fails to do anything significant against Erika and Koga—even the latter's Muk is shaky due to Minimize. Sabrina is okay if you can roll Magnitude 8 or higher on most of her Pokémon. Dugtrio is decent for Blaine, but it must deal with double Intimidate and the powerful Fire Blast. From this point onward, Dugtrio falls off; any strong attack 2HKOes or even OHKOes it late-game, and it isn't useful against the Elite Four at all.
• Additional Comments: A level 29 or 31 Dugtrio can be found at a 5% rate (easier with Repel and a level 23+ Pokémon), and it then can take on Misty's Starmie due to the level difference, although it is hard to catch. Despite having serviceable stats as Dugtrio, Diglett is a terrible pick because of its fragility and middling power unless hitting a weakness, which the prevalence of Levitate and Intimidate on major opponents' teams further complicates.

Dratini

• Availability: Mid-game (buy at Game Corner for 2800 (FR) or 4600 coins (LG), level 18 (FR) or 24 (LG)).
• Typing: Offensively poor, Dragon offers no STAB for Dratini's main Water- and Electric-type coverage moves. It is defensively good, with resistances that are particularly useful against Erika and Blaine, but it brings a weakness for Lorelei.
• Stats: Dratini has a pitiful 300 base stat total. Throughout Dragonair's useful timespan, its low bulk often sees neutral attacks 2HKO it in major battles. Its base 84 Attack is its best offense, though it relies on the lower base 70 Special Attack. Dragonite's stats are all-around great, assuming you manage to evolve Dragonair in time for the Elite Four.
• Movepool: Dratini has a terrible level-up moveset, with only Dragon Rage having relevance. TMs like Water Pulse, Shock Wave, and Secret Power (which can upgrade to Return) are the best moves for immediate use and training. Surf and the Thunderbolt and/or Ice Beam TMs are necessary for Dragonair to continue to be viable, though assuming Dratini was bought from the Game Corner, it won't have immediate access to the Game Corner TMs. Dragon Claw through TMs can help Dragonite OHKO Lance's Dragonair.
• Major Battles: Dratini struggles against most rival fights and Koga. It is capable of performing well against Sabrina (with Secret Power), Blaine (with Surf), and Bruno (if it knows Wing Attack as a Dragonite). The Elite Four overpowers Dragonair if it hasn't evolved. Other Gym Leader matchups can be improved with the Game Corner TMs.
• Additional Comments: Dratini requires significant investment in order to be usable, such as numerous Rare Candies to evolve into Dragonite in time for the Elite Four, given its Slow growth rate. In addition, the line is completely reliant on TMs like Shock Wave, Secret Power, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt to be viable, some of which won't be available immediately due to their cost at the Game Corner. Dratini can be caught at the Safari Zone with a Super Rod, but it is difficult to catch and thus still not efficient.

Ekans

• Availability: Early-game (Route 4 (post-Mt. Moon area), level 6, 8, 10, or 12) (FR).
• Typing: Poison is all-around unhelpful for Ekans, save for giving it resistances for a few opponents, such as Erika and Bruno.
• Stats: Arbok has mostly average stats, which quickly fall off mid-game.
• Movepool: Ekans's movepool before Bite at level 13 or the Dig and Secret Power TMs is more-or-less unusable. Glare at level 20 can help against Misty alongside Bite, and Screech at level 28 allows Arbok to OHKO some bulkier foes. Hyper Beam for power and Giga Drain for Rock / Ground types are other TM options.
• Major Battles: Arbok can beat Misty's Starmie with Bite and Glare and contribute to beating Lt. Surge with Dig. After this, Arbok pretty much relies on using Screech and then a physical move to KO anything, though Giga Drain lets it net a few OHKOs against Rock / Ground type Pokémon.
• Additional Comments: Ekans is terrible until evolution, which is further worsened by it potentially coming underleveled. In addition, Arbok is good only for a short amount of time, as its average stats make it slow at KOing foes later on.

Geodude (No Trade)

• Availability: Early-game (Mt. Moon (1F), levels 7-9).
• Typing: Rock / Ground gives Graveler an edge against Lt. Surge, Koga, and Blaine while being weak against Misty, Erika, Giovanni, Lorelei, and Bruno.
• Stats: Graveler has above-average Attack and good Defense. However, its other stats are bad.
• Movepool: By level, the Geodude line learns Defense Curl, Rock Throw, Magnitude, Self-Destruct, Rollout, and Earthquake, most of which provide strong STAB moves. It doesn't need any TMs to function.
• Major Battles: Graveler easily defeats Lt. Surge and does well against Koga. However, in other battles, Graveler tends to lose easily to super effective moves and will only take down a few foes at most, though Self-Destruct can net a KO if needed.
• Additional Comments: Graveler is a mostly mediocre Pokémon that packs a few matchups under its belt without relying on TMs. However, its terrible stats tend to prevent it from dominating other matchups.

Grimer

• Availability: Late-game (Pokémon Mansion (1F-3F), level 28 (both games) or 30 (LG)).
• Typing: Poison is all-around unhelpful for the remainder of the game, save for giving it resistances for Bruno and Agatha. Stats: Muk is bulky with great Attack, though it is rather slow.
• Movepool: Muk starts out with Sludge, which upgrades to Sludge Bomb at level 47. Acid Armor at level 34 allows Muk to perform well against physical attackers. Giga Drain lets it OHKO the various Rock / Ground type Pokémon in the endgame and Brick Break can be helpful against Lorelei. Other TMs like Thunderbolt and Flamethrower can also be used, but Muk has poor Special Attack.
• Major Battles: Muk can KO some of Sabrina's and Giovanni's Pokémon, though it won't be sweeping either team. It can set up Acid Armor on Bruno and easily sweep. It can also contribute against Lorelei, though it will take out only a few Pokémon at best.
• Additional Comments: Grimer comes late and its typing isn't particularly useful to compensate for the late arrival. LG players can also catch it directly as a Muk.

Jigglypuff

• Availability: Early-game (Route 3, level 3, 5, or 7).
• Typing: Normal gives Wigglytuff mostly neutral matchups, except against Bruno, whose type hits it super effectively.
• Stats: Wigglytuff has great HP, but its other stats aren't particularly great, which means it cannot take full advantage of its wide movepool.
• Movepool: Jigglypuff has no attacking moves until Pound at level 9. It can learn Rollout at level 19 if unevolved, which can combine with Defense Curl. The Mega Kick tutor and Secret Power TM provide it with strong STAB moves early on, which can upgrade to Return. Wigglytuff learns various special TMs, such as Psychic, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt, though they are typically only useful mid-game.
• Major Battles: Wigglytuff can beat Misty with Defense Curl + Rollout or Mega Kick, both of which suffer from accuracy issues. Wigglytuff easily sweeps Lt. Surge and can take on most of Sabrina's Pokémon. Its performance elsewhere is subpar, though the special TMs can improve some Gym Leader matchups.
• Additional Comments: Beyond requiring a slight amount of switch training until it learns an attacking move, Jigglypuff is highly dependent on TMs to remain relevant throughout the game, only to fall off at the Pokémon League anyways. You can evolve Jigglypuff with a Moon Stone after learning Pound or after learning Rollout. It is worth mentioning that Jigglypuff can level up fairly quickly later on thanks to the Fast experience group.

Kabuto

• Availability: Late-game (revive from Dome Fossil at Cinnabar Lab, level 5).
• Typing: Water / Rock helps Kabuto against Blaine, Giovanni, and Lorelei, but it's weak to Bruno's type.
• Stats: Kabutops has great Attack, good Defense, and above-average Speed. Its Special Attack and Defense are average, though.
• Movepool: Kabuto should be taught its strongest moves in Rock Slide and Surf when obtained. Rain Dance is another good move that boosts Surf's power and activates Swift Swim.
• Major Battles: Kabutops wins against Blaine and Giovanni and does really well against Sabrina. Against the Elite Four, it performs well against Lorelei and Agatha but won't do much outside of these battles.
• Additional Comments: Despite its mostly good performance, Kabuto is barely worth using because it comes late and at a really low level, so catching up in levels will be difficult. This is further worsened by the Slow experience group.

Kangaskhan

• Availability: Mid-game (Safari Zone (Area 1), level 25).
• Typing: Normal is neutral almost everywhere, save for Bruno's battle, where it's bad.
• Stats: Kangaskhan has all-around decent stats, save for poor Special Attack.
• Movepool: Kangaskhan can be taught Strength, Hyper Beam, and Surf immediately, with Return also being an option later on. Shadow Ball can also be used if desiring a good Agatha matchup.
• Major Battles: Kangaskhan performs well against all Gym Leaders, sweeping Erika with Hyper Beam and Sabrina. It is decent against most of the Elite Four, though it won't sweep any of them.
• Additional Comments: Kangaskhan is a great Pokémon, but the sheer annoyance of finding it (4% encounter rate) and catching it in the Safari Zone hold it back significantly.

Koffing

• Availability: Late-game (Pokémon Mansion (1F-3F), level 28 (both games) or 30 (FR)).
• Typing: Poison is all-around unhelpful for the remainder of the game, save for giving Weezing resistances for Bruno and Agatha.
• Stats: Weezing is physically bulky and has decent offenses.
• Movepool: Koffing starts out with Sludge and can be taught various TMs for coverage, such as Thunderbolt, Thunder + Rain Dance, Flamethrower, and Fire Blast. Explosion and Destiny Bond at levels 44 and 51 are very fringe options for Weezing to take something down before it faints itself.
• Major Battles: Koffing is generally limited to taking out some of each major opponent's team, never sweeping consistently. Furthermore, Agatha and Lance can withstand its attacks with little difficulty.
• Additional Comments: Koffing comes late and its typing isn't particularly useful to compensate for the late arrival. FR players can also catch it directly as a Weezing.

Machop (No Trade)

• Availability: Mid-game (Rock Tunnel (1F), level 16 or 17).
• Typing: Fighting is resisted throughout the entire region, most notably against Erika, Koga, Agatha, and Sabrina. On the other hand, it provides Machoke with a great matchup against Lorelei.
• Stats: Outside of good Attack, Machoke has all-around poor stats, which impacts its usefulness in all of its matchups.
• Movepool: Machop should be taught the Brick Break TM and Rock Slide tutor immediately. It can also be taught Bulk Up for setup and Strength as coverage.
• Major Battles: Machoke will struggle to sweep any fight consistently, as it requires setup to achieve OHKOs. However, its poor bulk and Speed mean that setting up will be very hard. Guts can be helpful to hit harder against Erika and Koga, though.
• Additional Comments: Due to all-around poor stats and the need to set up, Machoke is mostly inefficient.

Magmar

• Availability: Late-game (Mt. Ember, level 38 or 40) (LG).
• Typing: Fire is all-around unhelpful due to hitting almost nothing super effectively and leaving Magmar weak to Giovanni and Lorelei's types.
• Stats: Magmar has decent Speed and offensive stats but is rather frail.
• Movepool: Magmar comes with Sunny Day and Fire Punch, which upgrades to Flamethrower shortly after. It can also learn various coverage moves through TMs, such as Brick Break, Strength, and Psychic.
• Major Battles: Magmar is good for Sabrina, Giovanni, and the Route 22 rival fight. It is typically unhelpful at the Elite Four, though its coverage moves can help it against Lorelei and Agatha.
• Additional Comments: Magmar comes late and requires going out of your way to the Sevii Islands. On top of this, its performance is shaky, with only a few good matchups.

Moltres

• Availability: Late-game (Mt. Ember, level 50).
• Typing: Fire / Flying is all-around unhelpful, as it hits very few Pokémon super effectively and gives a 4x weakness to the various Rock-type moves in the endgame, as well as a weakness against Lorelei.
• Stats: Moltres has all-around high stats that are further improved by a high initial level.
• Movepool: Moltres comes with Flamethrower and can be taught Fly for secondary STAB, Sunny Day to increase its damage output, and Fire Blast for a stronger STAB move.
• Major Battles: Moltres sweeps Sabrina and can take on the Route 22 rival fight, Giovanni, and Agatha. It is rather unhelpful against the rest of the Elite Four, only taking out a member or two before fainting.
• Additional Comments: Despite the great stats and high level, Moltres has an unhelpful typing and requires going out of your way to the Sevii Islands. With it also coming very late into the game, Moltres's great qualities are overshadowed.

Omanyte

• Availability: Late-game (revive from Dome Fossil at Cinnabar Lab, level 5).
• Typing: A Water / Rock typing helps Omanyte against Blaine and Giovanni but makes it weak to Bruno's type.
• Stats: Omastar has really high Special Attack and great Defense. However, it's slow and has average special bulk.
• Movepool: Omastar should be taught the Surf HM and Rain Dance TM when caught. The Ice Beam TM is also useful and improves its matchup against Lance. Rock Slide by tutor is also an option.
• Major Battles: Omastar wins against Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni. Against the Elite Four, it performs well against Agatha and the Champion and alright against Lance, but it won't do much in other battles.
• Additional Comments: In spite of its above-average performance, Omanyte is barely worth using because it comes late and at a really low level, so catching up in levels will be difficult. This is further worsened by its Slow growth rate.

Paras

• Availability: Early-game (Mt. Moon (B2F), level 10 or 12).
• Typing: Paras's Grass / Bug typing helps against Misty, Lt. Surge, and Giovanni but is terrible almost everywhere else.
• Stats: Parasect has some average stats but low Speed and Special Attack.
• Movepool: By level, Parasect learns Spore at level 27. Bullet Seed, Return, Aerial Ace, Giga Drain, and Dig are TMs that can be taught to Paras.
• Major Battles: Parasect wins against Misty and Lt. Surge and performs well against Giovanni. However, in most other important battles, Parasect won't do much more than two KOs.
• Additional Comments: In spite of its early arrival, access to Spore, and great performance against Misty and Lt. Surge, Parasect is a mostly terrible Pokémon due to its typing and bad stats. It's also a hassle to train due to its low Speed and many weaknesses.

Pidgey

• Availability: Early-game (Route 1, levels 2-5).
• Typing: Normal / Flying is only useful for Erika and some of Bruno's Pokémon, being particularly bad for Brock, Lt. Surge, and Lorelei.
• Stats: The line's stats before fully evolving are mediocre, which makes even type-advantageous matchups difficult. Furthermore, by the time it evolves fully, Pidgeot's stats will have fallen off and thus won't be that useful either.
• Movepool: Pidgey starts out with Tackle and, not long after that, Gust, which upgrades to Wing Attack and Fly. Tackle upgrades to Secret Power, then to Return. Other useful moves include Hyper Beam, Steel Wing, and Feather Dance.
• Major Battles: Pidgey won't be very useful in any fight until it fully evolves, only being somewhat helpful against Erika. Pidgeot sweeps Sabrina and can KO some of the weaker Pokémon from the other opponents' teams, but it will rarely achieve significant victories.
• Additional Comments: Despite the very early arrival, Pidgey's average stats throughout the game and poor movepool make it a rather mediocre Pokémon as a whole.

Ponyta

• Availability: Late-game (Kindle Road, level 31 or 34).
• Typing: A Fire typing is all-around unhelpful, as it hits almost nothing super effectively and leaves Ponyta weak to Giovanni and Lorelei's types. Stats: Rapidash is fast and has decent offensive stats, though it is rather frail.
• Movepool: Rapidash can be taught Flamethrower or Fire Blast through TMs, alongside the Sunny Day TM to boost their power. Strength and Solar Beam are coverage options.
• Major Battles: Rapidash is good for Sabrina and Giovanni and can take out a few Pokémon in the Route 22 rival fight. Rapidash is typically unhelpful against the Elite Four, as it will be quickly overwhelmed with its poor type matchups and bulk.
• Additional Comments: Ponyta comes late and requires going out of your way to the Sevii Islands. In addition, its Fire typing is unhelpful. Ponyta can also be caught directly as a Rapidash.

Rhyhorn

• Availability: Mid-game (Safari Zone (Area 2), level 26).
• Typing: Rock / Ground makes Rhyhorn useful for Koga, Blaine, and Agatha, though it tends to be subpar elsewhere.
• Stats: Rhydon has excellent HP, Attack, and Defense, though its other stats are very bad.
• Movepool: Rhyhorn can be taught Dig, Rock Slide, and Strength immediately, the former upgrading to Earthquake via TM. Rhydon rarely uses its fourth moveslot, so it can be taught Surf for HM utility.
• Major Battles: Rhydon can sweep Koga and performs decently against Sabrina and Blaine. It struggles against Giovanni, as Earthquake discourages the use of Dig. Rhydon can take on some of Bruno's and Agatha's Pokémon, but it will likely take out only a few.
• Additional Comments: Rhyhorn is fairly weak until it evolves into Rhydon, which is worsened by its late evolution and Slow growth rate. Even as a Rhydon, it only has a few good matchups and is subpar in others.

Sandshrew

• Availability: Early-game (Route 4 (post-Mt. Moon area), level 6, 8, 10, or 12) (LG).
• Typing: Ground is helpful against Lt. Surge and Blaine, though it makes Sandslash weak to Erika and Lorelei's types.
• Stats: Sandslash has good Attack and Defense, though its other stats are rather poor.
• Movepool: Sandshrew's movepool before the Dig and Secret Power TMs is more-or-less unusable. Sandslash doesn't learn a lot of other useful moves, outside of Brick Break, Strength, and Earthquake via TMs.
• Major Battles: Sandslash sweeps Lt. Surge easily and contributes against Sabrina, Lorelei, and Bruno. It is typically unhelpful elsewhere, as it is hit hard by special attacks or simply doesn't KO the foes quickly enough.
• Additional Comments: Sandshrew is terrible until evolution, which is further worsened by it potentially coming underleveled. In addition, Sandslash is good only for a short amount of time, as its movepool is poor and it isn't powerful enough to take full advantage of coverage moves.

Tangela

• Availability: Late-game (Route 21, levels 18-27).
• Typing: Grass is only helpful against Giovanni and Lorelei.
• Stats: Tangela has great Defense and Special Attack, but its other stats are poor.
• Movepool: Tangela can be immediately taught Solar Beam and Sunny Day, which are aided by Growth, which it starts with. Catching Tangela at level 22 or lower is recommended, as those will know Sleep Powder.
• Major Battles: Tangela generally puts a foe to sleep and sets up Growth until it is ready to sweep with Sunny Day and Solar Beam. This strategy is effective only against Sabrina, Lorelei, and Bruno. Tangela can also sweep Giovanni without Sleep Powder.
• Additional Comments: Tangela is mostly a hassle to use due to requiring extensive setup to sweep its few good matchups. You can also obtain a Tangela by trading a Venonat at the Cinnabar Lab, but it won't have Sleep Powder, forcing you to go to the Sevii Islands to relearn it. The traded Tangela, TANGENY, comes with an IV spread of 22/17/25/16/23/20 and a Sassy nature.

Tauros

• Availability: Mid-game (Safari Zone (Area 3), level 25).
• Typing: Normal is neutral almost everywhere, save for Bruno's battle, where it's bad.
• Stats: Tauros has all-around decent stats save for Special Attack.
• Movepool: Tauros can be taught Strength, Hyper Beam, and Surf immediately, with Return also being an option later on. It also learns various coverage moves, such as Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Ice Beam, but it will rarely use them.
• Major Battles: Tauros performs well against all Gym Leaders, sweeping Erika with Hyper Beam and Sabrina. It is decent against Lorelei and Bruno, though it won't sweep either of them.
• Additional Comments: Tauros is a great Pokémon, but the sheer annoyance of finding it (4% encounter rate) and catching it in the Safari Zone hold it back significantly. It also levels up slowly, so it will be annoying to keep up in levels.

Weedle

• Availability: Early-game (Viridian Forest, level 3-5).
• Typing: Bug / Poison typing helps Beedrill against Misty and Erika, but it is otherwise terrible.
• Stats: Beedril has above-average Attack, Special Defense, and Speed for the early portions of the game. However, its other stats are really low and its stats fall off quickly into the mid-game.
• Movepool: Beedrill learns Twineedle at level 20. The Giga Drain, Secret Power, and Brick Break TMs can be taught for additional coverage. Major Battles: Beedrill wins against Misty, Lt. Surge, and Erika. However, its performance is mostly bad afterwards.
• Additional Comments: In spite of its early arrival and alright early- and mid-game performance, Beedrill is a mostly mediocre Pokémon due to its bad stats and typing, which stop being useful after Erika.

Zubat

• Availability: Early-game (Mt. Moon (1F), levels 6-10).
• Typing: Flying / Poison gives Golbat an edge against Erika, Giovanni, and Bruno but makes it weak to Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Lorelei's types.
• Stats: Golbat has mostly average stats, outside of its good Speed and alright Attack.
• Movepool: Zubat learns Bite at level 16 and Wing Attack at level 21. Giga Drain can be taught to help against the Rock / Ground type Pokémon. Shadow Ball can improve the Agatha matchup a bit. Before learning Bite, Zubat has only Leech Life, making it particularly difficult to use effectively.
• Major Battles: Golbat wins against Misty, Erika, and Giovanni while doing alright against Sabrina. In other matchups, it tends to struggle and won't be able to achieve much.
• Additional Comments: Despite Golbat being good for a few key fights, it's generally an inefficient Pokémon due to its average stats, which fall off fairly quickly, and because it's difficult to train with only Leech Life until it learns Bite.

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E-tier

The following Pokémon are considered the least efficient options for completing the games. They have few-to-no good matchups or fail to justify their inconvenient availability.

Chansey

• Availability: Mid-game (Safari Zone (Area 2), level 26).
• Typing: Normal is neutral for all major opponents, save for Bruno, whose Pokémon hit Chansey super effectively.
• Stats: Chansey can wall pretty much every special attacker through its titanic HP and Special Defense. Unfortunately, its other stats are very poor, especially its Attack and Defense, which happen to be the lowest in the game.
• Movepool: Chansey's viable attacks come exclusively from TMs. It learns a variety of special moves such as Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Fire Blast, Flamethrower, and Psychic. Calm Mind's damage boost is also greatly appreciated. Soft-Boiled and Sing are the only notable level-up moves, with the former allowing Chansey to heal its teammates in the overworld.
• Major Battles: Chansey will generally require many Calm Mind boosts to OHKO and 2HKO its foes. It will also need healing when facing major opponents with mostly physical attackers, as those will wear Chansey down quickly, if not overwhelm it. Chansey can potentially fish for freezes with Ice Beam and Blizzard if its ability is Serene Grace.
• Additional Comments: Outside of being very difficult to encounter (4% encounter rate) and catch, Chansey requires numerous resources, such as TMs and healing items, to function properly. Also, it either takes a lot of time to sweep, even with Calm Mind, or outright loses regardless of the investment provided to it. This makes Chansey a wildly inefficient Pokémon to use.

Ditto

• Availability: Mid-game (Route 13, level 25).
• Typing: Normal typing makes Ditto take neutral damage from most attacks before transforming.
• Stats: Ditto's stats before transformation are poor; it will likely be outsped and hit hard before it transforms, which severely limits its usefulness afterwards. After transforming, Ditto also retains its poor HP, making it rather easy to wear down.
• Movepool: Transform, then the moveset of whatever it transformed into.
• Major Battles: Ditto is generally best off transforming into the opponent's ace Pokémon to hopefully clear out the remaining Pokémon. Even if it does transform successfully, Ditto is still unlikely to accomplish any significant achievements.
• Additional Comments: Ditto is by far the worst Pokémon you can possibly use in FRLG, as it is simply too inconsistent. Wild Ditto hold Metal Powder 5% of the time, which can help Ditto take less damage before transforming.

Lickitung

• Availability: Mid-game (trade Golduck (FR) or Slowbro (LG) at the Route 18 gate).
• Typing: Normal is neutral in all major matchups, except against Bruno, where the typing is bad.
• Stats: Lickitung is decently bulky, but its offensive stats and Speed are mediocre.
• Movepool: Lickitung can be taught Strength immediately for a good STAB move. It learns a variety of special moves, such as Surf, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam, but it makes poor use of them due to its low Special Attack. Return optionally can be taught, but if a high-level Pokémon is traded for Lickitung, and thus it is obtained at a high level, Return is unlikely to become more powerful than Strength.
• Major Battles: Lickitung is generally limited to KOing the weaker members of the major opponent it's facing. Against the Elite Four, Lickitung will end up being mostly a deadweight, as it will struggle to KO even their weakest Pokémon.
• Additional Comments: Despite the trade experience boost, Lickitung is a terrible choice for an efficient run, as it not only performs terribly, but also requires a lot of investment—catching a low-level Slowpoke or Psyduck and training it until evolution—to use as soon as possible. This hassle can be circumvented by first beating Koga and then catching a high-leveled Slowpoke or Psyduck with Surf, though it means Lickitung comes later. The traded Lickitung, MARC, has Own Tempo as an ability and an IV spread of 24/19/21/15/23/21.

Onix

• Availability: Mid-game (Rock Tunnel (B1F), levels 13, 15, or 17).
• Typing: Rock / Ground makes Onix incredibly useful against Lt. Surge and can help it against Koga and Blaine. However, it is typically mediocre at best in other matchups.
• Stats: Onix has great Speed, but it has incredibly low offensive stats, which quickly fall off mid-game. In addition, its high Defense is counterbalanced by poor HP and Special Defense.
• Movepool: Onix can be taught Dig through TMs, which upgrades to Earthquake, and Rock Slide through tutors. Onix also comes with Screech, which can help it KO some bulkier Pokémon. Strength via HM is an option for additional coverage.
• Major Battles: Onix's only good matchup whatsoever is Lt. Surge, assuming you go out of your way to obtain it before facing him. Onix is typically mediocre in other fights, including ones where it has a type advantage, as its poor Attack means it will take forever to KO the foe and its poor special bulk lets it get overwhelmed fairly quickly.
• Additional Comments: Due to its poor offensive stats and special bulk, Onix is an inefficient Pokémon, and it also requires a sidetrack to participate in its only good matchup.

Porygon

• Availability: Mid-game (buy at Game Corner for 9999 (FR) or 6666 (LG) coins, level 26 (FR) or 18 (LG)).
• Typing: Normal gives Porygon neutral matchups, except versus Bruno, against whom it is bad.
• Stats: Porygon's only somewhat decent stat is its base 85 Special Attack.
• Movepool: Porygon requires TMs such as Psychic, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. However, the latter two are unlikely to be available to it immediately, given how many coins were just spent on it. Porygon's strongest STAB moves are Tri Attack at level 36 and Return through TMs.
• Major Battles: Porygon can perform well against Erika, Koga, and Giovanni if it can hit them super effectively. It can also take on most of Sabrina's Pokémon with STAB moves. Porygon tends to be bad against the Elite Four, as the Pokémon there are simply too bulky for it.
• Additional Comments: Although Porygon is not entirely useless, it simply requires too much investment between buying it and using TMs (some of which also must be bought from the Game Corner) in order to perform acceptably.

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Untiered

The following Pokémon are in the Kanto Pokédex but cannot be tiered, as they can be obtained only after becoming a Champion or through events.

Mew

Mewtwo