Pokemon Gen 1 Tier List: Big Old B-Tier

Solidly Useful Pokemon

Hey folks, I’ve got Pokemon back on the mind. I want to flesh out the monsters you can solidly depend on going into the late-game gyms, Elite Four, and Stadium battles.

The idea here is to rate monsters both based on type categories and how strong they are within each category. Let’s start from worst to best.

Bestest Bugs in the West

You may not like it, but Scyther and Pinsir are what peak Bug type performance looks like. Both are rare catches in the Fuscia City Safari Zone. Scyther is particular to Red version, while Pinsir is specific to Blue.

These both have solid stat totals of 500. Pinsir is a pure bug type leaning towards attack and defense. It doesn’t learn any bug moves. It starts with the 55 power ViseGrip, learns Bind (only in Yellow) at 21, Seismic Toss 25, Guillotine 30, Focus Energy 36, Harden 43, Slash 49, and Swords Dance 54.

Bind provides slow chip damage. Seismic Toss is consistent damage equal to level, but doesn’t make use of it’s excellent attack. Slash is great, but critical strike damage is not affected by Swords Dance attack increases.

To take advantage of Swords Dance you really want to teach some TM’s like Hyper Beam, Body Slam, and Submission. These are all great moves, but Machamp and Tauros do it better.

Scyther is a bug/flying type with excellent attack and speed. Again, no bug moves. Instead it starts with Quick Attack, then picks up Leer at 17, Focus Energy 20, Double Team 24, Slash 29, Swords Dance 35, Agility 42, Wing Attack (Yellow only) 49.

Wing Attack is same-type attack bonus but has a measly 35 power. So the base move-set is really just Slash, Double Team, and Agility. You could teach TMs like Hyper Beam, Swift, or Take Down/Double Edge to take advantage of Swords Dance.

Fight Club

These three fighting types are good to get started. They get outclassed by Primeape and Machamp in the late-game. Fighters play similarly to normal, rock and ground types. They are less useful for the mid-game gyms but work well against Giovanni, Lorelei’s ice types, chump-ass Bruno, and the rival’s Rhydon.

Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee are a choice of reward from clearing the Saffron City fighting gym.

Let’s start with move-poor Hitmonchan. Chan is picked up at level 30 with a respectable 455 stat total with balanced attack and defense, but low HP and special. Defensive stats are fine, for example Blastoise. But they don’t work well with Chan’s move pool.

Chan starts with normal multi-attack Comet Punch and Agility. He picks up Fire Punch at 33, Ice Punch 38, Thunder Punch 43, Mega Punch 48, and Counter 53.

Agility is solid. The elemental punches are great special attacks, but Chan tickles enemies with a special stat of 35. Counter blows. Mega Punch has the same 80 power as Strength but with lower 85% accuracy.

Chan can learn some nice TM’s: Body Slam, Take Down, Seismic Toss, Submission, Mega Kick etc. But not Dig, Earthquake, or Rock Slide. And its low HP doesn’t work well for recoil moves.

In my Blue playthrough I already had a level 35 Machoke when I cleared the fighting gym. I gave Hitmonchan some thought and stuck with Machoke.

Hitmonlee has the same 455 stat total leaning heavily towards attack and speed. Lee is a heavy hitting glass cannon with powerful normal and fighting type kicks.

Lee feels like a one-trick two-kick pony. He can’t take a hit when you swap him in. I experienced Lee as the weakest member of my Red team for Elite Four runs.

Lee starts with Double Kick (60 power) and Meditate which increases attack by one stage. It learns more kicks in increasing levels of power: Rolling Kick 33, Jump Kick 38, Focus Energy 43, Hi Jump Kick 48, and Mega Kick 53.

Hi Jump Kick is the best fighting move in the game. Mega Kick is high power but inaccurate normal attack. It’s less consistent than Hyper Beam or Body Slam. Lee has short list of good TM options like Seismic Toss and Double Team.

Machop is first caught in Rock Tunnel between Vermillion City and Lavender Town. It’s immediately useful for wild encounters and trainer battles, but not so much in the mid-game gyms. Evolve to Machoke at 28. Evolving to Machamp requires a trade, and therefore two Gameboys and a link cable.

Machoke has a lower 405 stat total, heavy on HP and attack. But its move pool is by far the best of these three.

Machop starts with the high critical-strike chance normal attack Karate Chop. It picks up fighting move Low Kick at 20 and Leer at 25. Machoke learns Focus Energy at 36, Seismic Toss 44, and Submission at 52.

Submission is marginally better than Low Kick. The Submission TM 17 is a cheap 3000 yen at Celadon City Mall. Machoke’s high HP works well with recoil attacks like Submission and Take Down.

The TM options are where Machoke shines: Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double Edge, Earthquake/Dig, and Rock Slide.

Throw it on the Ground

There are a whole host of ground types available. And many of these are available in the early to mid-game. Ground is useful against many enemies including poison, ghosts, rock, and fire types. Ground type attacks crush Koga, Blaine, Giovanni, and Agatha.

But the Dig and Earthquake TM’s are one-time use. So be judicious about it which Pokemon to teach them to. Diglett and Geodude lines both are available in the early game. They learn Earthquake for free, but have weaker stats than the other lines. Both are great. I preferred Graveller over Dugtrio in my Red play-through.

Diglett and Dugtrio are both caught in Diglett’s Cave (duh) stretching from the east of Vermillion City back towards Viridian and Pewter Town. This is also a great area to train up grass and water types.

Diglett evolves to Dugtrio starting at level 26. Dugtrio has a low 405 stat total with excellent speed, solid attack, but poor HP. It’s a glass cannon like Hitmonlee and Kadabra.

Diglett starts with Scratch, picking up Growl at 15, Dig at 19, and Sand Attack at 24. Dugtrio learns Slash at 35 and Earthquake 47.

Some great TM options include Hyper Beam, Rock Slide and Double Team. With Dugtrio you want to strike first and hit hard.

Geodude is a great pick up in Mount Moon. It evolves to Graveler starting at level 25, then can evolve to Golem after trading. The rock/ground typing makes it tanky against normal and flying opponents, like Lance and the rival’s Pidgeot. But rock is weak against fighting, ice, grass, and water.

Graveler has 390 base stats with impressive attack and defense stats, better HP than Dugtrio, but poor special and speed. It’s a tanky fella and hits harder than Onix.

Geodude starts with Tackle, then picks up Defense Curl at level 11, low accuracy Rock Throw 16, Selfdestruct 21. Then Graveller learns Harden at 29, Earthquake 36, and Explosion 43.

Earthquake and Explosion are the gems. Blow Graveler up at low health to deal damage and swap to a better monster to finish the opponent off.

Great TM options are Body Slam, Submission, Seismic Toss, and Rock Slide. Strength HM is a decent normal attack for free.

After clearing the first Giovanni fight in Celadon City, you pick up the Silph Scope and head to the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town. Here’s your chance to catch Cubone, which evolves to Marowak starting at level 28.

Marowak is a pure ground type with 425 base stats, heavy on the attack and defense like Graveler. Cubone starts with a basic ground attack Bone Club and Growl. In Yellow only it picks up Tail Whip at 13 and Headbutt at 18. In Red/Blue it gets Leer at 25.

Marowak continues to learn Focus Energy at 33, Thrash at 41, Bonemerang 48, and Rage at 55. Bonemerang hits twice for 50 power each with 90% accuracy. It’s slightly less consistent than Dig or Earthquake.

Marowak can pick up a lot of interesting TMs: Mega Kick, Hyper Beam, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Submission, Seismic Toss, Dig/Earthquake, as well as elemental attacks like Ice Beam, BubbleBeam, and Fire Blast.

Marowak has respectable stats and does well with normal and ground attacks. Bonemerang is learned late and it benefits from a Dig/Earthquake TM. You can add a surprise elemental attack as well. For example, Fire Blast against grass types.

Sandslash is a surprisingly bulky and heavy-hitting ground type. Yellow players can first encounter Sandshrew on Route 3, where Blue players find it on Route 4. Evolve to Sandslash at level 22.

Sandslash improves on Marowak with a 450 stat total, leaning again towards attack and defense. HP, special and speed are lacking. It’s an improvement over Graveler and Marowak.

Sandshrew starts with Scratch, then picks up Sand-Attack at 10 and the high critical-strike chance Slash at level 17. Sandslash learns Poison Sting at 27, Swift 36, and Fury Swipes 47.

Slash and Swift are solid pickups. Its TM options are awesome: Swords Dance, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, Dig/Earthquake, and Rock Slide. But it does need those TMs.

I’ll round out the ground section with Nidoqueen and Nidoking. Smith Plays Pokemon on Youtube found that the tankier queen slightly outperforms the harder hitting king in battle simulations.¹

You can catch the poison type Nidoran starting in Route 2 in Yellow. Red and Blue players can find it on Route 22 stretching west of Viridian City. You can trade for the other sex in the Underground Path connecting Routes 5-6 for increased XP gain.

Evolve to Nidorino/Nidorina at level 16, then hit it with a Moon Stone when you are done learning moves to get the royal poison/ground form. The final forms have a well-rounded 495 stat total, with Nidoqueen having higher defense and HP vs the King’s higher attack. The base special is 75 which is pretty solid.

The male Nidoran starts with Leer and Tackle. Then picks up the solid Horn Attack at 8, Double Kick at 12 in Yellow (43 Red/Blue), and Poison Sting at 14 (17 Yellow). You could teach it Focus Energy at 21 (23 Y), Fury Attack 29 (30), and Horn Drill 36 (38).

After evolving to Nidoking, it can learn Thrash at level 23. Thrash is mediocre so just run a TM instead.

Then Nidoran female starts with Growl and Tackle. It picks up Scratch at 8, Double Kick in Yellow 12 (43 Red/Blue), Poison Sting 14 Red/Blue (17 Yellow), Tail Whip 21 (23), Bite 29 (30), and Fury Swipes 36 (38).

After evolving, Nidoqueen can learn Body Slam at level 23. So evolve Nidorina with Moon Stone by level 22.

Their TM options are pretty much identical: Mega Kick, Body Slam, Double-Edge, BubbleBeam/Surf, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, Thunderbolt/Thunder, Earthquake, Fire Blast, Rock Slide and Rest are all great choices.

Nidoking and queen give you a great physical attacker with normal attacks and Earthquake. TMs give solid special options also. The Nido’s main weakness as poison types is to psychic attacks, especially for Sabrina and the rival’s Alakazam. And the lack of strong poison moves. Here’s my recommended learn set:

1. Earthquake (STAB)

2. Normal attack: Double Edge, Mega Kick, Body Slam or Hyper Beam

3. Double Kick, Submission, or Rock Slide vs normal/flying opponents

4. Special attack like Ice Beam or Thunderbolt

Mid-Tier Burninators

Magmar, Flareon, and Ninetails are all viable fire types who eventually learn the premier fire attack Flamethrower. I give the Ninetales line the top spot for both learning Flamethrower first and having the higher special stat.

Late-game is challenging for fire types. You get a mirror matchup against Blaine, then unfavorable matchups against Giovanni’s ground and Lorelei’s water. The two favorable Elite Four fights are Lorelei Jynx and the rival’s grass type.

Magmar is caught only in Blue version in the Cinnebar Pokemon Mansion. It has a 495 stat total, leaning towards attack, special and speed.

It starts with Ember. Then picks up Leer at level 36, Confuse Ray 39, Fire Punch 43, SmokeScreen 48, Smog 52, and Flamethrower 55.

Confuse Ray is interesting but not particularly powerful. Fire Punch is a solid 75 power intermediate move until you get the 95 power Flamethrower .

Magmar shines with TMs. Options include Mega Kick, Body Slam, Double-Edge/Submission, Seismic Toss/Psywave, Psychic, and Fire Blast. Psychic is an interesting pick to take on ground and poison types.

Flareon is both the cutest and weakest Eevee-lution in Gen 1. Get your Eevee at the top floor of the rear entrance to the Celadon City Mansion. Then pick up a fire stone and some nice TM’s. Be ready for buyer’s remorse.

Flareon has the same solid 525 base stats as its cousins. It leans heavily towards attack and special, with poor HP defense and speed.

The challenge to raising Flareon is its move set, which varies slightly between Red/Blue and Yellow. Eevee starts with Tackle and Tail Whip. Flareon picks up Quick Attack at level 27 (23 Y), Ember 31 (16), Bite 40 (30), Fire Spin 44 (36), Smog at 42 (Yellow only), Leer at 42 (47), Rage in Red/Blue only at 48, and Flamethrower at 54 (52).

Flareon has to rely on basic attacks or TMs until level 52-54 for Flamethrower. TM options include Body Slam, Take Down/Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Double Team, Reflect, Fire Blast and Swift.

It hits hard fire and normal attacks. Plus a couple defensive options. I experienced Flareon as the weakest member of my Blue team for Elite Four runs.

Catch Vulpix in Blue on Route 7 between Saffron and Celadon City. Or in Yellow buy it from the Celadon City Rocket Game Corner. Evolve with a Fire Stone to Ninetales after learning Flamethrower.

Vulpix starts with Ember and Tail whip. Then picks up Quick Attack at 16, Roar 21, Confuse Ray 28, Flamethrower 35, and Fire Spin 42.

Ninetales has a 505 stat total, heavy on speed and special. It’s specialized towards a fast and hard-hitting Flamethrower. TM options include Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Dig, Fire Blast, Reflect and Swift.

Power Birds

There’s another round of birds to rate. These are all noticeable steps up from Fearow. But they don’t make it to Zapdos and Articuno tier.

First up is the runt of the legendary birds, Moltres. You catch it along Victory Road on your way to the Elite Four. So it’s not going to help you for Blaine or Giovanni.

Moltres is a fire/flying like Charizard. It has a whopping 580 total stats, leaning towards attack and special. Those are strong stats. Its moves are lacking.

Moltres starts with Peck and Fire Spin. Then learns Leer at 51, Agility at 55, and Sky Attack at 60. No Drill Peck or Flamethrower.

For TMs, choose from Take Down/Double Edge, Hyper Beam, Reflect, Fire Blast, Swift, Sky Attack and Fly.

Let’s say you pick up Fire Blast, Sky Attack or Fly, Hyper Beam, and Agility or Reflect. Those attacks all hit hard with Moltres stats. But it’s not spectacular.

Next is the rock/flying fossil Aerodactyl. Go to Pewter Town and cut to the back of the Pokemon Museum. A researcher gives you an Old Amber that you take to the Pokemon Lab on Cinnebar Island. Run some errands and come back for your dinosaur.

Aerodactyl has a solid 515 stats that are heavy on the attack and speed. The rock typing helps it resist normal attacks. It hits hard with flying attacks. But can’t learn the main rock move Rock Slide.

Aerodactyl starts with Wing Attack and Agility. It picks up Supersonic at level 33, Bite at 38, Take Down 45, and Hyper Beam 54.

TM options include Double Edge, FIre Blast, Swift, Sky Attack, Double Team and Fly. I would swap Wing Attack for either Fly or Sky Attack. Then keep Agility and Hyper Beam. And there is room for another TM.

I may be under-rating Dodrio, which sees a fair amount of competitive play in Stadium. Why is Dodrio stronger than Fearow or Pidgeot? Read on!

Catch Doduo on Route 16, then evolve it to Dodrio at level 31. It’s a normal/flying type with 460 stats tending towards speed and attack.

Doduo starts with Peck. Then learns Growl at 20, Fury Attack at 24, and Drill Peck at 30. Dodrio learns Rage at 39, Tri Attack at 45, and Agility at 51.

TM options include Body Slam, Take Down/Double-Edge, Hyper Beam, Sky Attack and Fly. For a normal/flying type, those attacks get STAB.

The stat difference among Dodrio, Pidgeot, and Fearow isn’t huge. But Dodrio learns the 80 power normal Tri Attack without a TM. And gets the option of both Body Slam or Hyper Beam.

Mid-range Beefcakes

These are some solid normal and fighting types. They all can do impressive tricks, but get outclassed by the A tier.

Let’s review why normal types are so powerful in Gen 1. Normal attacks are offensively weak only against rocks, and ghosts are immune. But normal attacks hit for full damage against everything else. Normies are defensive weak only against fighting. Stand-out normal attacks are Body Slam, Hyper Beam and Slash.

The cat Persian stands out as a fast and hard-hitting user of Slash. It compares favorably to Raticate, but falls short of Tauros. A very solid choice for Blue players.

Catch Meowth in Blue only starting on Route 5. Evolve to Persian starting at level 28. Persian has 440 base stats, heavy on speed followed by attack.

Meowth starts with Scratch and Growl. It picks up Bite at level 12, Pay Day at 17, and Screech at 24. Persian learns Fury Swipes at 37 and Slash at 51.

Screech and Slash are the big pickups. Critical strikes are unaffected by stats changes on the GameBoy though. TM options include Body Slam, Take Down/Double-Edge, BubbleBeam/Water Gun, Hyper Beam, Thunder/Thunderbolt, Double Team and Swift.

I recommend to up a special based attack along with Body Slam or Hyper Beam.

Kangaskhan is a tanky normal type. The stats chassis and move set is just a tad weaker than the A-tier Snorlax and Tauros. The kangaroo is a rare pickup in the Fuscia City Safari Zone.

Kangaskhan has 490 base stats, tilted towards attack and HP with low special. It starts with the multi-attack Comet Punch and Rage.

It learns Bite at 26, Tail Whip 31, Mega Punch 36, Leer 41 and Dizzy Punch 46. That signature move Dizzy Punch has all of 70 base power with 100% accuracy, making it weaker than Strength HM.

The roo’s level learned moves are a crock of shit. TM options are better: Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double-Edge, Water Gun/BubbleBeam, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, Thunder/Thunderbolt, Earthquake, Double Team, Rock Slide, Fire Blast, Surf and Strength.

That’s an impressive TM list. But the elemental attacks won’t do much with 40 base special. By comparison, Tauros has 70 and Snorlax has 65 plus Amensia. I’d stick to physical attacks for a Kangaskhan build.

Clefable is the best special attacker of this group, and useful for how early you can pick it up. Clefairy is a rare catch in Mount Moon, or can be purchased in Red/Blue from Celadon City Rocket Game Corner.

Give it a Moon Stone to evolve after teaching it your desired moves. It won’t learn any more moves after evolving to Clefable. Clefable has a well-balanced 473 base stat total, leaning towards HP and special.

Clefairy starts with Pound and Growl. It learns the 55% accuracy sleep attack Sing at 13, multi-attack DoubleSlap at 18, evasion boost Minimize at 24, random meme Metronome 31, Defense Curl 39, and Light Screen 48.

Minimize and Sing are potentially worth keeping. The TM set is impressive: Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double Edge, Bubble Beam/Water Gun, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, Solar Beam, Thunderbolt/Thunder, Psychic, Double Team/Reflect, Fire Blast, Thunderwave, and Strength HM.

That’s a long-ass list of moves. I roll with a mix including at least one physical attack, elemental attack, and status buff. For example:

1. Pound → Replace with Take Down → Hyper Beam

2. Growl → Minimize or Reflect

3. Sing or Thunderwave

4. Bubble Beam etc.

Primeape is an odd fighter to place. It’s stronger than Machoke and the Hitmons yet worse than Machamp. Primeape’s learn set is especially strong in Yellow and compares well to Machamp.

You catch Mankey starting on Route 3 in Yellow, or Route 5 in Red. It evolves to Primeape starting at level 28. Primeape has the same 455 base stats as the Hitmons leaning towards attack and speed.

Mankey starts with Scratch and Leer. It learns Karate Chop at 15, Fury Swipes 21, Focus Energy 27. After evolving, Primeape gets Seismic Toss at 37 and Thrash 46.

In Yellow only, Mankey picks up Low Kick at level 9. Yellow Primeape then gets Rage at 28 and Screech at 45. Low Kick and Screech are both solid. You can upgrade Low Kick to Submission from Celadon City Mall.

TM options include Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double Edge, Hyper Beam, Submission, Thunderbolt/Thunder, Dig, Swift, Rock Slide and Strength.

Electric attacks are interesting against water opponents. But not very competitive given its mediocre base special of 60. Rock Slide is a great choice against flyers. Here’s an example move set:

1. Scratch → Karate Chop → Hyper Beam

2. Rock Slide or Thunderbolt/Thunder

3. Dig or Screech (Yellow)

4. Low Kick → Submission

Let’s Get Electric

These mid-range electric Pokemon actually learn some decent moves without needing TMs. But their stats leave much to be desired compared to Jolteon and Zapdos.

Let’s start with companion Pikachu from Pokemon Yellow. It’s your starter here and gets an improved stat total of 430, heavy on speed. You can’t evolve it to Raichu.

Pikachu starts with Thundershock and Growl. It’s learn set is significantly different in Yellow vs Red/Blue so bear with me here. In Yellow it learns Tail Whip at level 6, Thunder Wave 8, Quick Attack 11, Double Team 15, Slam 20, Thunderbolt 26, Agility 33, Thunder 41, and Light Screen at 50.

Thunderbolt, Thunderwave, and Agility or Light Screen are all great. Pikachu’s TM list includes Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double Edge, Submission, Seismic Toss, and Double Team.

In Red or Blue you can catch Pikachu in Viridian Forest or the Power Plant. Pikachu learns Thunderwave at level 9, Quick Attack 16, Swift 26, Agility 33, and Thunder 43. You need to either use Thunderbolt TM or stick with Thunder. Hit it with a Thunder Stone to evolve to Raichu once it learns its moves.

Raichu has a base stat total of 475, leaning towards attack special and speed. Your additional TM option is Hyper Beam. Here’s an example move set:

1. Thundershock → Thunderbolt or Thunder

2. Thunderwave

3. Agility or Light Screen

4. Physical attack like Swift, Submission or Hyper Beam

Electabuzz can only be caught in the Power Plant in Red version. It gets 490 base stats leaning towards speed.

The buzz starts with Quick Attack and Leer. It learns Thundershock at level 34, Screech 37, Thunder Punch 42, Light Screen 49 and Thunder 54. Thunder Punch has 75 power so it’s about 3/4 of a Thunderbolt. Pretty good but not optimal.

Its TM options are pretty similar to Raichu, also including Psywave. It’s slightly stronger than Raichu for Red players.

A Fuckton of Fish

The game designers really liked water Pokemon. There’s a lot of them. They all get access to the 95 power Surf HM for free. And most have access to an ice attack. So water types are pretty damn strong.

Let’s start with Dewgong. Catch the pure water Seel in the Seafoam Islands. You can also trade a Ponyta for Seel at the Cinnebar Pokemon Lab in Red/Blue. Evolve to water/ice type Dewgong starting at level 34.

Seel starts with Headbutt. It learns Growl at level 30, Aurora Beam 35, Rest 40, Take Down 45, and Ice Beam 50. Dewgong learns Rest at 44, Take Down 50, and Ice Beam at 56.

Dewgong doesn’t learn water moves by leveling. But Surf is great. It learns Ice Beam so late you likely want to use a TM. Dewgong’s base stats are 475, leaning towards special and HP.

It’s TM choices include Body Slam, Double Edge, BubbleBeam/Water Gun, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Surf, Double Team, and Strength.

Those are solid normal attack options. It hits both water and ice attacks with STAB. And it’s kinda bulky. But water/ice type is defensively weaker than pure water. And Dewgong is the weakest ice type by the stats.

Next we have the two rock/water type fossils, Omastar and Kabutops. Like Aerodactyl these can’t use the Rock Slide TM. But they benefit from the rock-type defenses, like resisting Lance’s Hyper Beams.

You get your choice of the Helix or Dome fossils near the exit of Mount Moon. Put it in the PC until you get to the Cinnebar Island Lab. Give it to a researcher and come back later to pick up a Pokemon.

Both Omanyte and Kabuto evolve to their second forms at level 40. Kabutops and Omastar have stat totals of 495.

Kabutops stats lean towards attack and defense. Omastar is heavier on defense and special.

Omanyte starts with Water Gun and Withdraw. It picks up Horn Attack at 34 and Leer at 39. After evolving Omastar learns Spike Cannon at 44 and Hydro Pump at 49.

Kabuto starts with Scratch and Harden, then learns the basic grass attack Absorb at 34 and Slash at 39. After evolving it learns Leer at 46 and Hydro Pump 53.

Solid TMs for Kabutops include Swords Dance, Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double-Edge, BubbleBeam/Water Gun, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, Double Team and Surf. Omastar is basically the same minus Swords Dance.

You can boost Kabutops attack with Swords Dance and hit hard with normal attacks. And then switch hit with water or ice attacks. Omastar is the special water/ice attacker.

The water/fighting frog Poliwrath is a tough monster to place. It gets a killer learn set on an odd type and stat chassis.

Poliwrath has a balanced 500 base stats tilted slightly towards HP and defense. It’s more of a tanky Hypnosis sleeper than a water or fighting attacker. Gen 2 introduces the pure water trade-evolution Politoed. Politoed is likely the better choice.

Catch the speedy Poliwag with the Good Rod from Fuscia City. Evolve to Poliwhirl starting at level 25. Once it learns your desired moves, hit it with a Water Stone to get Poliwrath.

Poliwag starts with basic water attack Bubble. It picks up Hypnosis at level 16, Water Gun 19, and Double Slap 25. Poliwhirl learns Body Slam at 33, Amnesia at 41, and Hydro Pump at 49.

For a refresher, Hypnosis sleeps the enemy with 60% accuracy. Body Slam has 30% chance to stun. And Amnesia raises special by two stages. All of these are keepers, with your choice of Surf HM or Hydro Pump.

TM options include Mega Kick, Double Edge, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Submission, Seismic Toss, and Earthquake.

You could run a special build with Hypnosis, Surf/Hydro Pump, Ice Beam/Blizzard and Amnesia. Or stick with Body Slam and drop Amnesia to pick up a second physical attack.

Catch the pure water Psyduck with the Super Rod from Route 12 in Red/Blue, or surfing on Route 6 in Yellow. Evolve to Golduck starting at level 33. Golduck has the same 500 base stats as Poliwrath, leaning a bit towards HP and speed.

If you beat the entire game of Pokemon Stadium collect a Psyduck that starts with Amnesia. Amnesia lets you boost up Golduck’s special rapidly. I consider Amnesia Golduck at the same tier as Blastoise, Gyarados and Vaporeon.

Psyduck starts with Scratch. Then picks up Tail Whip at 28 and Disable at 31. Golduck learns Confusion at 39, Fury Swipes at 48, and Hydro Pump at 59.

Golduck’s level learn-set is shit besides Confusion and Hydro Pump. But the TM options are great, including Mega Kick, Body Slam, Take Down/Double-Edge, BubbleBeam, Water Gun, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Submission, Seismic Toss, Dig, Swift. And Surf/Strength HMs. But no Psychic.

A solid Golduck learn set is:

1. Scratch → Physical TM like Body Slam or Dig

2. Confusion → Ice Beam or Blizzard

3. Surf or Hydro Pump

4. Amnesia or TM

Tentacruel is a unique water/poison type. Catch Tentacool by surfing or on the Super Rod. Evolve it starting at level 30.

Tentacruel has 515 base stats, leaning towards special and speed. Its base special of 120 is the highest of any water type. This makes Tentacruel the heaviest Hydro Pump/Surf attacker without stat boosting.

Tentacool starts with the poison attack Acid. It learns Supersonic at level 7, Wrap 13, Poison Sting 18, Water Gun 22, and Constrict 27. Tentacruel learns Barrier at 35, Screech at 43, and Hydro Pump at 50.

TM options include Swords Dance, Take Down/Double-Edge, Bubble Beam, Ice Beam/Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Mega Drain, and Surf HM.

Mega Drain is a surprise grass move to pick up. Swords Dance is an odd choice that synergizes with Acid, Wrap, or Hyper Beam. Tentacruel’s mix of status changers and special attacks work well with its powerful chassis.

This post is at its limit and will have to be continued.

But its funny how some people spend more at Starbucks or Dunkin than they do to invest in improving their use of their brain and thinking their way forward.

The world needs less people struggling to make ends meet, and more strong individuals and families thriving and experiencing life on a lower-level of stress and anxiety.

And that’s why you should check out the Autonomy course of action. Richard is making the AUTONOMY Godfather offer right now. $1300 off of the lifetime enrollment before they convert to a subscription model. This might be the best move you’ve made in a while and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to find out.

1. SmithPlays Pokemon: Simulated Battles to Find The Best Gen 1 Pokemon