Pokemon Gen 1 Tier List: C-Tier
Viable yet mediocre Pokemon
Now that the game fundamentals are out of the way, let’s get into the sub-par Pokemon for late-game content. Most of these are useful at some point in the game. But they don’t scale well for the final gyms, Elite Four, and Stadium Battles.
I’ve organized the Poke’s since my last post. This iteration aims to group Pokemon more closely based on type and rank them within the type.
WTF Lickitung
Putting Lickitung at the bottom of C-Tier is generous. But it is at least usable. In Red and Blue you have to level up Slowpoke to 37 to evolve it to Slowbro. Then trade it for Lickitung on Route 18. In Yellow you catch Lickitung in the end-game Cerulean Cave.
Slowbro is a tough Pokemon to have to give up. In exchange you get a normal type with mediocre 385 stats who attacks with Wrap and Stomp. You could teach it some interesting TM’s like Body Slam, Seismic Toss, and Hyper Beam… But dude why?
Lickitung is the first Pokemon we’ve seen from trade. These are called “outsiders” in the game. They gain experience 50% faster than natively caught Pokemon but have the risk to disobey orders when you lack the level-appropriate badges.
Broke Rock Onix
Onix is caught in Rock Tunnel like Machop. Its 385 stat total is comparable to Butterfree, Beedrill, and Lickitung. Onix is heavy on defense, and a bit faster than Graveller.
It starts with Screech to sharply reduce enemy defense. Then picks up Rock Throw at level 19. But it doesn’t learn any ground type moves. You could teach it Dig, Earthquake, or Rock Slide TM. It can be your boulder-pusher with Strength.
But Onix is worst-in-class for ground types. Just move on.
Basic Birds Pidgeot and Farfetch’d
Farfetch’d has an even lower 352 stat total than Onix. As an outsider it levels fast and learns interesting moves. Catch a Spearow and trade it in Vermillion City.
Peck and Fury Attack are fine in the early to mid-game, just like Spearow. Swords Dance, Agility, and Slash are all good pick-ups.
But on the GameBoy critical strikes ignore stat buffs/debuffs. So Swords Dance won’t affect Slash crit damage outside of Stadium. You could run Take Down, Body Slam or Swift TMs.
I recommend to replace Peck with Fly HM. Cut HM is helpful for the mid-game. Farfetch’d is just held back by its low stats in the late-game.
Pidgey is available in grass patches right as you leave Pallet Town. It learns Quick Attack at level 12 and Wing Attack at 28. Evolve to Pidgeotto past level 18 and Pidegeot at 36 for improved stats.
You can replace Quick Attack with Swift, Take Down/Double-Edge, or Hyper Beam TMs. And replace Wing Attack with Sky Attack TM or Fly HM. And that’s where Pidgeot caps out. No Drill Peck.
The Pidgey → Pidgeotto → Pidgeot line gets some nice buffs in Gen 2. Gust becomes a flying move. Wing Attack increases to 60 power.
In Gen 1 the best you can do is Fly or Sky Attack and Hyper Beam. It’s got comparable stats to Dodrio and Fearow but with weaker moves.
Flyers do well against the grass and fighting gyms, and Bruno’s fighters.
Early-Game Poisons
Beedrill and Golbat are useful early to mid-game poison types. They just don’t scale well into late-game because of bad stats.
Poison is good against the grass and fighting gyms. But few late-game fights favor poison types. It’s neutral to Blaine, Lorelei, and Lance. Weak against Sabrina’s psychics, Giovanni and Bruno’s ground, but strong against Bruno’s fighters. Agatha is a mirror. The rival’s Rhydon and Alakazam are tough fights.
Weedle can be caught in Viridian Forest. It’s more common in Red version than in Blue. Level up to 7 to evolve to Kakuna, 10 for Beedrill, 12 for Fury Attack and 20 for the top bug move Twineedle.
Beedrill has the same weak stat total as Onix and Butterfree leaning towards attack. Twineedle is the best bug move available. But 50 power isn’t a lot.
Beedrill does well against grass gym Erika and poison gym Koga. I had fun putting Sabrina’s psychics to sleep with Parasect then wacking them with Beedrill. A hard hitting normal attack like Slash can do the same thing.
Zubat is common around caves like Mount Moon and Rock Tunnel. You can evolve to Golbat at level 22. It has a respectable 455 stat total with great speed.
Zubat starts with the odd bug move Leech Life, then picks up Bite at 15, Confuse Ray at 21, and Wing Attack at 28. Toxic, Swift, and Mega Drain are interesting TM choices.
It just lacks any hard-hitting attacks. It gets a lot better in Gen 2 by evolving to Crobat.
Mostly Normal Raticate and Porygon
I’m likely under-rating Raticate and Porygon here. STAB attacks on normal types are pretty solid aside from rock and ghost opponents. Picking up a couple special or ground attacks should be fine for most fights.
The trusty Rattata is available in grass starting from Route 1. Its stand-out moves are Quick Attack at 7, Hyper Fang at 14, and Super Fang at 34. Evolve to Raticate starting at level 20. Its stat total is 413, heavy on attack and speed.
It can learn a variety of TM’s like Hyper Beam, Dig, and BubbleBeam.
Raticate’s Hyper Fang hits hard. Super Fang is useful for safely softening up wild Pokemon to catch them. In the late-game it’s outclassed by other speedy attackers like Tauros and Persian.
The digital Pokemon Porygon is hard to get. You buy it from Rocket Game Corner with coins which can either be bought with yen or won in slot machines. The 395 stat total leans more towards special.
Porygon starts with odd moves. Sharpen increases attack. Conversion changes its type to match the enemy. That’s useful to resist Blaine’s fire attacks for example.
Pick up Psybeam at 23, Recover 28, Agility 35, and Tri Attack 42. It gets a lot of physical and special TM options, like Hyper Beam, Ice Beam, Psychic…
Decking out Porygon with TMs is a serious investment on a not great chassis. But you can do it.
Wannabe Rapidash
Ponyta is caught in the Cinnebar Mansion in Red and Blue. Or along Cycling Road in Yellow. Evolve to Rapidash at level 40. It has a respectable 500 stat total leaning towards attack and speed.
It starts with Ember, then picks up Stomp at 32, Fire Spin at 39, Takedown 42, and Agility 48.
Take Down is a cheap 1000 yen TM at Celadon Mall so just teach it whenever. You could spring for Body Slam, Hyper Beam, and Fire Blast TMs.
Rapidash’s flaw is it never learns Flamethrower. You get a stat chassis similar to Tauros on a fire type. The only same-type attack bonus is on basic fire moves or Fire Blast.
Fire types are not strong in the late-game. Fire’s most favored matchups are Lorelei’s Jynx, Bruno’s fighters (who just suck), and the rival’s grass. Giovanni, Lorelei, and Lance are unfavorable.
Other fire-types like Charmander and Growlithe are basically Ponyta tier until they learn Flame Thrower.
Basic Waters
Water is a strong type with great performance against Blaine, Giovanni, and Bruno. The attacks scale well throughout the game. Surf HM hits hard and is free. And most water types can learn Ice Beam or Blizzard to wreck Lance.
These pure water types are useful, but weaker than monsters like Gyarados and Blastoise. Basic forms like Shellder and Squirtle are here until they evolve.
Horsea can be caught on a Super Rod or while Surfing between Cinnebar Island, Seafoam Islands, and Fuscia City. It evolves to Seadra starting at level 32. Seadra has 440 base stats, leaning towards speed and special.
Seadra gets better in Gen 2 with the trade-evolved Water/Dragon form Kingdra and the addition of dragon type moves.
It starts with Bubble which can be advanced to Water Gun at 30, and Hydro Pump 45. But I’d run with Surf. You can teach TMs like Ice Beam, Blizzard, and Hyper Beam.
Catch Krabby at level 15 with the Super Rod or find him in the Seafoam Islands. You can evolve to Kingler at 28. The stat total is a respectable 475 with heavy attack and defense and low special.
That low special means Kingler does relatively poorly with moves like Surf and Ice Beam. But they are options.
Krabby starts with Bubble. Then it learns high-crit normal ViceGrip at 20, 30% accurate one-hit KO Guillotine at 25, Stomp 30, and its unique physical water move Crabhammer at 44.
Crabhammer is Kingler’s best move with 90 power, 85% accuracy and increased critical strike chance. Swords Dance and Body Slam are nice TM choices. It can also be your Cut Surf Strength HM workhorse.
Goldeen can be caught on a Good Rod or Super Rod, or around the Seafoam Islands. Evolve to Seaking starting at level 33. Seaking has a well-rounded 450 base stat total.
It starts with the flying move Peck, then learns Horn Attack at 24, signature move Waterfall 37, one-hit KO Horn Drill 45, and Agility 54. Peck is a nasty surprise for enemy grass types in the early game but it doesn’t scale.
In Gen 1 use Surf over Waterfall. Great TM’s include Ice Beam, Blizzard, and Hyper Beam.
Simple Sleepers
These Pokemon have mediocre stats, but are very useful for putting the enemy to sleep. Basic forms like Drowzee and Bellsprout are also in this category.
Jigglypuff is an adorable normal-type specific to Blue and Yellow version. In Blue it’s available before Mt. Moon. In Yellow find it past Cerulean City. It evolves into Wigglytuff via Moon Stone, but will no longer learn moves via level-up.
Wigglytuff has a solid 425 base stat total, heavy on hit points. It does well with recoil moves like Double-Edge.
Jigglypuff starts with the 55% accurate sleep attack Sing. Pick up Pound at level 9, Double Slap 24, Rest 29, Body Slam 34, and Double Edge 39. Hit it with the Moon Stone when you’re done learning moves.
Seismic Toss, Submission, and Toxic are good TM options. It can do Flash and Strength HMs.
The line becomes more interesting in later generations with the inclusion of baby form Igglybuff and Fairy type. Wigglytuff is good, but not quite at the level of Clefable.
Caterpie is common in Blue and Yellow starting in Viridian Forest. I only ever found Metapod on Red. Evolve Caterpie to Metapod at 7 and Butterfree at 10.
Butterfree has the same weak 385 stats as Beedrill and Onix, but leans towards special. The basic Tackle attack is pretty weak but useful for catching early game wild Pokemon. Its best moves are 75% accurate Sleep Powder and psychic attacks.
Butterfree learns its moves at a different rate in Yellow version vs Red or Blue. Blue levels are plaintext, Yellow in (parentheses). Pick up Confusion at level 12 (10), Stun Spore 16 (14), Sleep Powder 17 (15), Psybeam 32 (34).
Interesting TM options are Psychic, Mega Drain, Solar Beam, and Psywave. No STAB moves though and its stats are rough.
Butterfree is a great early-game pickup. It can sweep Brock for Pikachu and Charmander starters. Psychic attack are awesome through the mid-game.
Paras is a unique bug/grass type first caught available in Mt Moon. It’s a good choice for Red version where Caterpie is rare and Jigglypuff is unavailable. Evolve to Parasect at level 24, or catch Parasect wild in the Safari Zone.
Parasect has 405 base stats with high attack, defense, and special but low speed. That low speed means low-critical strike chance.
Paras starts with Scratch. Pick up Stun Spore at 13, Leech Life 20, Spore 27, Slash 34, and Growth 41. I recommend to evolve after learning Spore.
Stand-out TMs are Dig, Solar Beam, Mega Drain, Body Slam and Toxic. Paras can be your Cut bitch too.
Paras unique value is the 100% accurate sleep attack Spore. Slash is a great attack. But the low speed hurts. Solar Beam and Mega Drain both require a TM. They help against Giovanni and Bruno.
Picture this. You have just reached the Fuscia City Safari Zone. You want a grass-type for the Seafoam islands, Giovanni, Lorelei and Bruno fights.
And it needs to be a pure grass type. Those mixed type bastards won’t do. You can get Tangela in three ways:
In Red or Blue you will need Surf HM. Catch it wild in the grass along Route 21 between Pallet Town and Cinnebar Island
Or catch a Venomoth and trade for Crinkles in the Poke Lab on Cinnebar Island. Crinkles gains 50% faster XP as an outsider.
Yellow players catch Tangela in the Safari Zone
Tangela can’t evolve to the superior Tangrowth until Gen 4. It foreshadows the ill-fated Gen 2 grass starter Chikorita.
Tangela’s base stat total is a respectable 435, heavy on defense and special. That’s a nice step up from Parasect and Butterfree. But it learns Sleep Powder relatively late at level 39. Then faces the same challenge of needing TMs for Mega Drain or Solar Beam.
Tangela starts with Bind. Then picks up Absorb at 29 (27 Yellow), Vine Whip is Yellow only 29, Stun Spore 36, Sleep Powder 39, Slam 45, Growth 49 (48).
Toxic and Bide TMs are fine early on. Really you want Mega Drain or Solar Beam.
An upside to pure grass is better resistance against psychics. That’s helpful for Sabrina and the rival’s Alakazam. But Parasect and Tangela are weaker against Koga and Agatha’s poisons.
Move-Poor Electrics: Electrode and Magneton
Electrode and Magneton are two electric types with solid stats. The trouble is neither learns advanced electric moves without a TM.
Thunderbolt comes from beating Lt. Surge, and Thunder is found at the Power Plant. You can use the Cinnebar Island duplicate bug to get multiple of these, otherwise they are one and done. If you teach these Thunder or Thunderbolt they perform similarly to Raichu and Electabuzz.
These Pokemon come too late in the game to help with Misty. But they are nice for clearing water and flying types through the mid-game to the Elite Four. Electric is great for Lorelei, Lance and the rival’s flyers.
Voltorb is found in Route 10 in Red and Blue before the Power Plant. In Yellow it is Power Plant exclusive. It evolves to Electrode starting at level 30, or you can catch Electrode in the Power Plant.
Electrode has a solid 480 base stats with a decent 80 special and the highest possible base speed of 140.
Voltorb starts with Tackle and Screech. Pick up SonicBoom at 17 to deal a flat 20 damage to opponents. Self-destruct at 22, Light Screen 29, Swift 36, and Explosion 43.
So Electrode has a combination of status changers, normal attacks, and terrorism. Interesting TMs are Thunderbolt, Thunder, Reflect, and Thunder Wave. And it can Flash to light up Rock Tunnel.
Magnemite is only found at the Power Plant in Red and Blue, but available on Route 10 in Yellow. It evolves to Magneton starting at level 30. Magneton has a solid 465 stat total, heavy on defense and special.
Magnemite starts with vanilla Tackle. Pick up SonicBoom at 21, Thundershock 25, Thunder Wave 35, Swift 41, and Screech 47. TM options are similar to Voltorb.
In Gen 2 the Magnemite line gets upgraded to Electric/Steel and can evolve to Magnezone in Gen 4. I prefer Pikachu in Gen 1.
Better Poisons
What do you do with a pure poison type in the late-game? Most of the Elite Four is neutral matchups for poison. Favorable against Bruno’s fighters. Unfavorable against Sabrina’s psychics, Giovanni’s ground, and Agatha’s ghosts. Mixed-types like Victreebel or Nidoran line are more useful.
Muk and Weezing are pure poison types with great stats. Grimer → Muk and Koffing → Weezing are both caught in Cinnebar Mansion.
Evolve Grimer to Muk at level 38. It has 500 stats leaning towards attack. It’s best moves are are Minimize (33), Sludge (37), and Acid Armor (60). It’s got good TM options like Toxic, Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Explosion, Fire Blast, Rest, Thunderbolt, and Substitute.
Evolve Koffing to Muk starting at 35. Weezing has 490 stats leaning towards defense. It learns Sludge at 32, Selfdestruct 43, and Explosion 53. Similar TM options to Muk.
Ekans → Arbok is exclusive to Red version. Ekans can first be caught in grass patches on Route 4 between Mt Moon and Cerulean. Evolve to Arbok at level 22. It has well-rounded stats with a base-line of 438.
Wrap and Poison Sting are fine (but slow) for leveling. Pick up Bite at 17, the 75% accurate paralysis attack Glare at 24, Screech at 31, and Acid at 38.
Arbok gets a variety of interesting TM options including Toxic, Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Earth Quake, and Rock Slide. It’s the most useful pure poison type for a Red playthrough.
Poison Sleepers: Venomoth and Vileplume
The game designers really liked names starting with V for dual-type poisons.
Venomoth and Vileplume get Sleep Powder, interesting offensive options, and mid-range stats. They do fine against Bruno but aren’t competitive with top tier grass and psychics.
Venonat is first available on Route 12 in Red/Blue or 14 in Yellow. Evolve Venonat to Venomoth starting at level 31 or catch it wild in the Safari Zone or Victory Road.
Venomoth has 450 total stats leaning towards special and speed. It learns useful moves like Confusion (19 - Yellow only), Leech Life (27), Stun Spore (30), Psybeam (38), Sleep Powder (43), and Psychic (50). It gets good TM options like Toxic, Substitute, and Mega Drain.
Sleep Powder is a relatively late-game pick up for Venomoth. But it gets some great attacks.
Catch the adorable Oddish in Red version starting at Route 5, and Yellow on Route 12. Evolve to Gloom starting at level 21. Then hit Gloom with a Leaf Stone when you’re done learning moves to evolve to Vileplume.
Oddish starts with the basic Absorb, then learns PoisonPowder (15), Stun Spore (17), Sleep Powder (19), Acid (24), Petal Dance (33) and SolarBeam (46).
Some good TMs are Swords Dance, Toxic, Body Slam, and Mega Drain. And it can cut for the early to mid-game.
Victreebel and Venusaur are stronger picks for a grass/poison type because of the high critical strike-chance Razor Leaf attack.
Fearow: The Better Bird
Fearow is a solid step up from Pidgeot and Farfetch’d. Why? It gets the 80 power attack Drill Peck. I almost put Scyther and Dodrio here too. But they deserve a spot in B-Tier because of better moves and stats.
Fearow is a heavy hitting normal/flying Pokemon. It does well against the grass and fighting gyms, and Bruno’s fighters. The 442 stat total is heavy on speed and attack and low on defenses.
Agatha, Lance, and the rival are tougher fights. That’s where stronger flyers like Articuno, Zapdos, and Charizard shine.
Catch Spearow near Viridian City on Route 3. Evolve to Fearow starting at level 20 or catch it wild later in the game.
Spearow starts with Peck and picks up Fury Attack at 15. Fearow gets Mirror Move at 25, Drill Peck 34, and Agility 43. Great TM picks are Take Down/Double Edge, Hyper Beam, and Swift.
Sky Attack and Fly HM aren’t as powerful as Drill Peck, but good if you prefer utility or burst damage.
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