Strongest Gen 1 Pokemon

Key Takeaways

• Pokemon strength is not just about stats; efficiency and timing play a key role in battles.
• Some legendary species excel in offense, defense, or speed, while others are common yet powerful.
• The original 151 Pokemon from Pokemon Red & Blue still hold up in battles, evolving with the game.

The strength of a Pokemon is not determined exclusively by their stats or type. Any species can shine brilliantly one moment and fail the next, for the battlefield of this world is everchanging and unforgiving. Each has strengths and weaknesses, many of which can be exploited.

Some have a much higher success rate due to superior offense, defense, or speed. A few species stand out as legendary, others as more common but powerful. The secret of true strength in battle is efficiency and timing, in addition to other variables such as type advantage, better stats, and a versatile movepool.

Updated October 12, 2024 by Ben Painter: There are now over 1000 different species of Pokemon, but to some fans, nothing holds a candle to the original 151 Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Red & Blue. Although their designs may be simple, a lot of the Pokemon are timeless, and they still hold up in battle to this day.

Pokemon used to be a lot simpler. In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, a few of these Kanto Pokemon leap over to Paldea, including the starters, which can be found in the Indigo Disk DLC in the Blueberry Academy. This comes after boosting the biodiversity in each biome by collecting 3000 BP from completing requests. This update adds five more new entries that feature some of the strongest Gen 1 Pokemon.

28 Golem

#0076

• Type: Rock/Ground
• Best Moves: Stone Edge, Earthquake, Exposion, Stealth Rock
• Level It Evolves: Level 25, then traded
• Location In Red & Blue: Mt. Moon, Rock Tunnel, Victory Road (Geodude), Victory Road (Graveler)

When it comes to Rock-type Pokemon, there are a few to consider in Kanto, but not many are better than Golem. The final form of Geodude evolves from Graveler when traded. Gamers are greeted with a strong Pokemon that has an amazing Attack and Defense stat, although it is lacking in most other areas.

Watch out for Grass and Water Pokemon, as Golem, being a Rock/Ground-type, has a 4x weakness to both of their moves. If gamers are in a pickle, Explosion can be used, which is a 250-base-powered move, and it will do serious damage with the Megaton Pokemon’s high Attack.

Golem’s Base Stats:

27 Kingler

#0099

• Type: Water
• Best Moves: Crabhammer, Swords Dance, Hammer Arm, Guillotine
• Level It Evolves: Level 28
• Location In Red & Blue: Route 23, Cerulean Cave (Super Rod), Seafoam Islands (Blue only)

Kingler was made iconic for his anime appearances as part of Ash Ketchum’s team for the Indigo League finals as he came out of nowhere to be a star. However, the Pincer Pokemon is also useful in the games and is one of the strongest out of the original 151.

With a nice attack stat, Kingler can hit hard with Physical moves such as Crabhammer or Hammer Arm, but can also take hits nicely with a decent Defense stat. It is also quick too. What gives Kingler an extra edge is the ability to learn the one-hit-KO move Guillotine, which ensures the enemy Pokemon is defeated no matter what. However, it is only 30% accurate.

Kingler’s Base Stats:

26 Electrode

#0101

• Type: Electrode
• Best Moves: Thunderbolt, Explosion, Rollout, Light Screen
• Level It Evolves: Level 30
• Location In Red & Blue: Power Plant (Two), Cerulean Cave, Trade Raichu at the Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island (Red Only)

Speed is the name of the game when it comes to Electrode, as it is the fastest Pokemon out of the Original 151, and one of the fastest Pokemon in the entire franchise. This is deadly when combined with its iconic move, Explosion, to end the battle before it has even started.

As a pure Electric-type, only Ground moves are its true weakness. Adding this to its decent defense stats, then there is not a lot that can really rock the Ball Pokemon. Its design is also iconic, being based on a Poke Ball, the main item of the franchise. Electrode certainly earns its merits.

Electrode’s Base Stats:

25 Kangaskhan

#0115

• Type: Normal
• Best Moves: Fake Out, Return, Sucker Punch, Outrage
• Level It Evolves: N/A
• Location In Red & Blue: Safari Zone

The Parent Pokemon is one of the best Pokemon out of the Original 151, and this is due to its impressive Attack and HP and overall other solid stats, apart from Special Attack. There is a reason that Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, uses one on his team.

Normal Pokemon are epic as they are only touched by Fighting types and are completely immune to Ghost types, so they definitely have their uses in battle. It can learn a wide variety of different moves by level-up and TM, so there are a few ways that gamers can use Kangaskhan. It is a pain to catch, though. It can only be found in the Fuchsia City Safari Zone at just a 4% encounter rate.

Base Stats:

24 Scyther

#0123

• Type: Bug/Flying
• Best Moves: X-Scissor, False Swipe, Swords Dance, Double Team
• Level It Evolves:
  • Scizor: When traded while holding a Metal Coat (from Gen 2 only)
  • Kleavor: When exposed to a Black Augurite (from Gen 8 only)
• Location In Red & Blue: Safari Zone, Celadon City (Rocket Game Corner) (Red only)

Bug Pokemon are usually regarded as weak, but not in the case of Scyther, as the Mantis Pokemon is epic to use in Kanto playthroughs. With high Attack, Speed, and decent defenses, too, it can strike hard with STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) Bug or Flying moves like X-Scissor, Fury Cutter, Wing Attack, and Air Slash.

Its evolutions, Scizor and Kleavor, did not come until the later generations, so it does not benefit from this boost in stats. Not that it really needs them, as it is good enough on its own. Scyther actually shares the same base stat total of 500 as both of its evolutions; there is an argument that it doesn’t even need to be evolved.

Sycther’s Base Stats:

23 Dugtrio

#0051

• Type: Ground
• Best Moves: Earthquake, Sucker Punch, Sandstorm, Protect
• Level It Evolves: Level 26
• Location In Red & Blue: Diglett’s Cave

Dugtrio is the evolved for Diglett, and it is actually a decent Pokemon to use in the games with high Speed and Attack. Electric types cower in fear at a fast Ground-type such as the Mole Pokemon.

Dugtrio is a fairly important Pokemon in Red & Blue as it can be found at a high level before the Electric gym leader, Lt. Surge. This gives gamers an awesome Pokemon to take on this challenge if they are struggling to do so, especially if they choose Squirtle as their first Partner Pokemon. Diglett is a pure Ground-type, unlike its Alolan counterpart with long flowing locks, and it gains the Steel typing.

Dugtrio’s Base Stats:

22 Nidoqueen & Nidoking

#0021/#0034

• Type: Poison/Ground
• Best Moves:
  • Nidoking: Earthquake, Megahorn, Poison Jab, Flamethrower
  • Nidoqueen: Earthquake, Superpower, Poison Jab, Flamethrower
• Level It Evolves: Level 16 and then Moon Stone
• Location In Red & Blue: Route 22 (Nidoran), Safari Zone (Nidoran, Nidorina and Nidorino)

A solid option for a Pokemon to use in a playthrough of a Kanto game is either Nidoqueen or Nidoking. Both are available in either version of the game, but the Nidoran male line is more common in Red and the female line is located more easily in Blue.

They can be found easily on Route 22, one of the earlier routes, and evolved into the final form at a low level of 16, with a Moon Stone found in Mt. Moon. Having a fully evolved Pokemon in the early game is an absolute cheat code and Nidoqueen or Nidoking certainly carry their own into the later stages of the game. Ground types are useful against Lt. Surge (Electric), Blaine (Fire) and Koga (Poison). Their stats are fairly similar, with Nidoking being slightly more attacking and Nidoqueen being more defensive. It is up to the gamer for which one they prefer and what their team needs to focus on.

Base Stats:

21 Tauros

#0128

• Type: Normal
• Best Moves: Work Up, Earthquake, Thrash, Rest
• Level It Evolves: N/A
• Location In Red & Blue: Safari Zone

The Wild Bull Pokemon is most famous for its anime appearances when Ash Ketchum caught 30 of them in the Safari Zone. This is impressive considering it has a 1% encounter to capture in the area in the games.

This Pokemon cannot evolve, which is sometimes a blessing, as gamers have an awesome Pokemon to use from the off, as it shines in speed and attack, but it also is no slouch defensively. It has a varied movepool, capable of learning Close Combat, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower. Having a Tauros on a Pokemon team can lead to a lot of versatility when it comes to Gym challenges and the Elite Four.

Tauros’ Base Stats:

20 Arcanine

#0059

• Type: Fire
• Best Moves: Flamethrower, Take Down, Extremespeed, Thunder Fang
• Level It Evolves: Fire Stone
• Location In Red & Blue: Route 7, 8 and Pokemon Mansion (Growlithe) (Red Only)

A truly iconic Pokemon, Arcanine is a Fire-type Pokemon and is the signature ‘mon of Cinnabar Island Gym Leader Blaine, and a famous Pokemon of Champion/Rival Blue and his anime counterpart Gary Oak.

In the games, the Legendary Pokemon (by category) is a beast to use as a fast, mixed attacker. It can decimate opponents with powerful Fire-type moves and strike first when the time is right, with a priority Extremespeed. Only players of Red or FireRed can use Arcanine without training, with those playing Blue or LeafGreen instead having Rapidash, which isn’t as strong.

Arcanine’s Base Stats:

19 Vaporeon, Jolteon & Flareon

#0134/#0135/#136

• Type:
  • Vaporeon: Water
  • Jolteon: Electric
  • Flareon: Fire
• Best Moves:
  • Vaporeon: Surf, Dig, Acid Armor, Last Resort
  • Jolteon: Thunderbolt, Dig, Thunder Wave, Last Resort
  • Flareon: Flamethrower, Dig, Smog, Last Resort
• Level It Evolves:
  • Vaporeon: Water Stone
  • Jolteon: Thunder Stone
  • Flareon: Fire Stone
• Location In Red & Blue: Received from a person in Celadon Mansion (Eevee)

Eevee has the unique ability to evolve into Pokemon of various types, with more introduced in future generations, but back in Pokemon Red & Blue, there were only three. Vaporeon the Water-type, Jolteon the Electric-type, and Flareon the Fire-type.

The player only receives one Eevee in the game, so the player must decide which Pokemon to evolve it into. Each different Eeveelution has different stats, moves, and abilities, so gamers will need to work out what their team needs and what difficulties lie ahead. Whatever the trainer decides, they will have an amazing Pokemon with 525 base stats to work with.

Base Stats:

18 Venusaur

#0003

• Type: Grass/Poison
• Best Moves: Leech Seed, Petal Blizzard, Toxic, Sludge Bomb
• Level It Evolves: Level 16 then 32
• Location In Red & Blue: Evolve from Ivysaur, given by Professor Oak

The original fully evolved Pokemon, Venusaur is a powerful Pokemon in the games with high special attack and defense, capable of hitting hard with Solar Beam, Frenzy Plant, and Petal Blizzard. What Venusaur is good at is his wide variety of status moves that it can learn; Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Sunny Day, and Synthesis.

Venusaur is a Grass/Poison type and it has four weaknesses, Fire (2x), Psychic (2x), Flying, and Ice (2x), but upon Mega Evolving, it gains the ability of Thick Fat which removes the Fire and Ice weaknesses. Mega Venusaur is a beast with a massive improvement in its stats, the biggest being a big increase in physical defense.

Venusaur’s Base Stats:

17 Charizard

#0006

• Type: Fire/Flying
  • Mega Charizard X: Fire/Dragon
  • Mega Charizard Y: Fire/Flying
• Best Moves: Flamethrower, Air Slash, Dragon Breath, Will-O-Wisp
• Level It Evolves: Level 16 then 36
• Location In Red & Blue: Evolve from Charmander, given by Professor Oak

A fan-favorite Pokemon, Charizard has received some criticism in recent times for being too favored by Game Freak. However, this takes nothing away from the fact Charizard is a fantastic Pokemon and a go-to Fire-type for many in the games.

Back in Generation 1, there was only one line of Dragon Pokemon, the Dragonite line and some fans thought that Charizard should have been a Dragon all along. It clearly looks like one. Fans got this with its Mega Evolution introduced in Pokemon X & Y, with Mega Charizard X.

Charizard’s Base Stats:

16 Blastoise

#0009

• Type: Water
• Best Moves: Protect, Rain Dance, Hydro Pump, Flash Cannon
• Level It Evolves: Level 16 then 36
• Location In Red & Blue: Evolve from Squirtle, given by Professor Oak

The signature Pokemon of the first champion in Pokemon, Blue, Blastoise, is an icon with its two massive water cannons and blow-away special attack stat. Hydro Pump can wash away opponents with ease, it thrives in its defense, making use of that massive shell on its back.

With only two weaknesses to Grass (2x) and Electric (2x), it also resists four types, the Shellfish Pokemon can be handy in battle and there isn’t a lot that can knock it down. There is a reason why it is one of the most popular Starter Pokemon of all time.

Blastoise’s Base Stats:

15 Pidgeot

#0018

• Type: Normal/Flying
• Best Moves: Hurricane, Quick Attack, Roost, U-Turn
• Level It Evolves: Level 18 then 36
• Location In Red & Blue: Routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 24, and 25 (Pidgey)

Flying types are useful in Pokemon as they can avoid Ground-type attacks completely and Pidgeot is one of the best, starting as a humble Pidgey, it blossoms into the majestic Pidgeot at level 36.

Back in Generation 1, Pidgeot was the stellar Flying-type attack user, although there are a lot of those to pick from in Kanto. Pigeot is known in the anime as one of Ash’s Pokemon, at the end of the original series he released it into the wild with a promise to return for it. But if fans haven’t kept up with the latest series, then they will not know that two decades later Ash kept his promise and returned Pidgeot to his team.

Pidgeot’s Base Stats (Normal/Mega):

14 Machamp

#0068

• Type: Fighting
• Best Moves: Cross Chop, Strength, Bulk Up, Substitute
• Level It Evolves: Level 28 then traded
• Location In Red & Blue: Rock Tunnel, Victory Road (Machop)

Machamp is the original powerful Fighting-type Pokemon and in Generation 1 it was so useful, the signature Pokemon of Elite Four member Bruno. Fighting types had only two weaknesses in Red & Blue and were particularly useful as being the only type capable of dealing super effective damage to Normal types.

This four-armed behemoth was a rare Pokemon back in the day as gamers needed to trade a Machoke to obtain it, without the use of cheats back in the ‘90s this was sometimes hard to accomplish on a Game Boy.

Machamp’s Base Stats:

13 Articuno, Zapdos & Moltres

#0144,#0144​​​​​​5,#0146

• Type:
  • Articuno: Ice/Flying
  • Zapdos: Electric/Flying
  • Moltres: Fire/Flying
• Best Moves:
  • Articuno: Ice Beam, Hurricane, Roost, Reflect
  • Zapdos: Thunder Wave, Roost, Rain Dance, Thunder
  • Moltres: Sunny Day, Hurricane, Roost, Flamethrower
• Level It Evolves: N/A
• Location In Red & Blue:
  • Articuno: Seafoam Islands (Only One)
  • Zapdos: Power Plant (Only One)
  • Moltres: Victory Road (Only One)

Although they aren’t nearly as high on the totem pole in the present generation, there was a time when Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were considered among the best possible Pokemon for players to catch. During their stint in the original 151, they had a base stat total of 485 (Articuno), 490 (Zapdos), and 495 (Moltres) respectively. They were hard-hitting and some of the best Pokemon available for their elements.

Fast-forward to the modern age and the trio has been given a buff to their stats, with each bird now sporting a 580 base stat total. They even received their own Galarian regional forms.

The Legendary Bird Trio’s Base Stats:

12 Exeggutor

#0103

• Type: Grass/Psychic
• Best Moves: Leech Seed, Psychic, Leaf Storm, Reflect
• Level It Evolves: Leaf Stone
• Location In Red & Blue: Safari Zone (Exeggcute)

Some players that first loaded up Red, Blue, or Yellow back in the late 90s likely passed on Exeggutor thanks to its strange appearance. Exeggcute wasn’t the strongest Pokemon in the bunch and there were many other pocket monsters found throughout the adventure that some players likely gravitated towards due to their cool appearance or powerful moves. But Exeggutor was actually a lot better than some players would give it credit for, boasting a large base stat total (455) and some powerful moves thanks to its unique typing.

Although Exeggutor would suffer heavily against Ice-based attacks, it was still more than capable of taking down a wide array of strong Pokemon.

Exeggutor’s Base Stats:

11 Lapras

#0131

• Type: Water/Ice
• Best Moves: Surf, Ice Beam, Ice Shard, Rain Dance
• Level It Evolves: N/A
• Location In Red & Blue: Received from a person in Silph Co. (Saffron City)

Speaking of Ice-type Pokemon, this list would be remiss if it didn’t include the iconic Lapras. Not only was this Pokemon featured heavily throughout the games, but it also found its place in the original anime. There are many players out there who know Lapras due to its front-and-center status, but many may not realize just how strong the Pokemon really is.

Its base stat total of 450 makes it a powerful special attacker as it features impressive bulk with an HP of 130 and an SP Attack value of 95. It’s not the fastest Pokemon around concerning Generation 1 but it does feature some impressive attacks.

Lapras’ Base Stats:

10 Gyarados

#0130

• Type: Water/Flying
  • Mega Gyarados: Water/Dark
• Best Moves: Crunch, Dragon Dance, Aqua Tail, Hurricane
• Level It Evolves: Level 20
• Location In Red & Blue: Routes 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, Pallet Town, Viridian City, Cerulean City, Vermilion City, Celadon City, Fuchsia City, Safari Zone, Seafoam Islands, Cinnabar Island, Indigo Plateau, Cerulean Cave (Old Rod), Routes 12, 13, 17, and 18, Fuchsia City (Super Rod), Buy from Magikarp salesman for $500 on Route 4 (Magikarp)

This atrocious Pokemon can become a rampaging destroyer when provoked. In the games, manga, and anime, this sea serpent often wreaks havoc when it appears from the depths. Usually depicted using impressive moves like Hyper Beam and Twister, they are not a foe most would wish to face.

With access to Dragon Dance, which allows them to buff their Attack and Speed simultaneously, they can sweep whole teams. However, they have a crippling x4 weakness to Electric attacks, many of which can one-shot or two-shot them.

Gyarados’ Base Stats:

9 Aerodactyl

#0142

• Type: Rock/Flying
• Best Moves: Stone Edge, Fly, Giga Impact, Crunch
• Level It Evolves: N/A
• Location In Red & Blue: Revive from Old Amber at the Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island

A prehistoric predator brought back from the dead by modern science, this former resident of an Old Amber fossil takes to the skies with wrathful ferocity. Out of all the original 151, Aerodactyl is tied for the second-highest Speed with the legendary Pokemon Mewtwo. The only species that can outspeed them is Electrode.

However, the fossil Pokemon has a substantial Attack stat that makes great use of powerhouse Physical moves like Earthquake and Stone Edge. They can also set up Stealth Rocks, which combined with their high Speed makes them a great lead.

Aerodactyl’s Base Stats: