================= IN-GAME/NON-COMPETITIVE MOVESETS =================
--------------------Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver-----------------------
VERSION 1.0 -
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[AAA] About This Guide
[BBB] What's Not Included
[CCC] How a Pokemon is Ranked
[DDD] Johto Dex/Pre-Elite 4 Movesets
[EEE] National Dex/Post-Elite 4 Movesets
[FFF] Overall Pokemon Ranking
[GGG] Closing Remarks (Credits, Contact Info, Legal Info)
================ [AAA] ABOUT THIS GUIDE ================
The Johto Pokedex has more Pokemon in it than any other regional Pokedex. This
means that a playthrough of Heart Gold or Soul Silver gives you the chance to
catch and train hundreds of Pokemon before you even reach the Elite Four. But
you can only keep six Pokemon with you at any one time and each of those six
Pokemon can only have four moves at any one time.
This guide will give you suggestions on which Pokemon can get you through
the game easily and which moves to teach them.
Keep in mind that in-game battles are very different from competitive
battles. Computer players can't pull off any sort of advanced strategies, so
battles end up more about power and how high your Pokemon's levels are.
Certain Pokemon that would be very useful in competitive battles (like Blissey
and Skarmory) are less useful in-game, and vice-versa.
================ [BBB] WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED ================
ITEMS - Most trainers will never equip items on their Pokemon, so don't worry
about them too much. Of course, any useful items you come across will
certainly come in handy whether they are berries or type-boosting items. The
one major exception is Cubone/Marowak who absolutely requires the Thick Club
in order to excel in battles.
EVs - Getting the right EVs are only necessary for Wi-Fi and Battle Frontier
battles. It's a pain to EV train when you're actually on your Pokemon journey
since you'll have to worry about which opponents give which EVs and whether to
run or switch or fight.
NATURES - Don't be too concerned about Natures either. A good Nature can
certainly help, but like EVs, they aren't necessary. Sometimes you'll be lucky
and get a nature that's actually good. This will help you determine which
moves to put on your Pokemon.
EGG MOVES - Breeding can be a major hassle, especially when you're trying to
get egg moves. First you need to get two Pokemon of opposite genders with the
right moves. Some Pokemon don't learn the inheritable moves until a very high
level. Then you need to wait for them to lay an egg. This can take a while.
Finally, you need to actually hatch the egg which can take even longer. But
you're still not done, because then you'll have to train your newly hatched
Pokemon all the way from Level 1.
HIDDEN POWER - Without breeding, it is nearly impossible to get a Hidden Power
with maximum power of the right type. Because of this, Hidden Power will not
be included in the movesets.
If you want to find some good movesets for competitive battling that includes
all of these things, then check out my Competitive Movesets guide also on
GameFAQs.
================ [CCC] HOW A POKEMON IS RANKED ================
This guide ranks Pokemon under 4 different categories and then assigns an
overall rank based on all 4 categories.
RARITY - Is it easy to find or is it very rare? Common Pokemon rank higher than
rare Pokemon. Also event Pokemon (like starters and legendaries) also rank high
because you are guaranteed to encounter them.
MOVES - Can it learn a variety of powerful moves that are effective against
many types of opponents? Type coverage is important. If a Pokemon can't handle
certain opponents because it doesn't learn any effective moves against them,
then it will not rank high in this category.
STATS - Judged by a combination of Base Stat Total (BST) and individual stats.
The average stat of all final form Pokemon is around 82. So if a Pokemon has
a high BST as well as a few individual stats that are higher than 82, it will
rank very high in this category.
POWER - based on Attack, Special Attack, or both:
50 or below: Very Bad
51 - 70: Bad
71 - 85: Average
86 - 100: Good
101 - 115: Great
116 or above: Excellent
OVERALL - A Pokemon has an overall rank of EXCELLENT, GREAT, GOOD, AVERAGE,
BAD, or VERY BAD depending on how well it does in each of the 4 categories.
================ [DDD] JOHTO DEX/PRE-ELITE 4 MOVESETS ================
This section assumes that you are playing the game without planning on
trading or transferring Pokemon or TMs from any other game. In short, you are
limited only to the Pokemon's level-up moves and whatever TMs are available
before you challenge the Elite 4.
To find all entries of a Pokemon, use your browser's search function and type
the Pokemon's name in brackets like this: [POKEMON]
================ #003 [MEGANIUM] ================
-Magical Leaf
-Earthquake
-Synthesis
-Reflect/Light Screen/Aromatherapy
Rarity: Event [Starter]
Stats: Great
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
It's not a bad Pokemon, but it's not the best starter for getting through the
game easily. Grass-types face a lot of challenges in this game since 5 out of
the 8 gyms use types that Grass Pokemon have trouble with - Flying, Bug, Steel
Ice, and Dragon. Even the Ecruteak Gym is filled with Poison-types.
Furthermore, Meganium doesn't have high attacking stats and it only learns a
couple of good moves.
================ #006 [TYPHLOSION] ================
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Focus Blast
-Solarbeam
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Event [Starter]
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Typhlosion is a very good choice for a starter since it learns quite a few
powerful moves that work off of its high Special Attack. Sunny Day works
well to weaken Water attacks, lets Solarbeam fire in one turn, and makes your
Fire moves even stronger. The only problem trainer in the game would be Lance,
who has three Dragonites that resist every attack this set has so be sure to
have a team member that knows an Ice move.
================ #009 [FERALIGATR] ================
-Aqua Tail/Waterfall
-Ice Fang
-Earthquake
-Swords Dance/Crunch
Rarity: Event [Starter]
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Feraligatr just might be the best starter in the game since not only does it
learn a variety of different moves, but it can actually boost its Attack with
Swords Dance. Grass and Dragon are handled by Ice Fang and Electric types
are taken care of with Earthquake.
================ #012 [PIDGEOT] ================
-Wing Attack/Fly
-Return
-Steel Wing
-Roost
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Pidgey is one of the first wild Pokemon you'll encounter and its pretty good in
the early stages of the game since you'll be fighting a lot of Bug and Grass
types. But you'll find it less useful later in the game when you can catch much
better Normal or Flying Pokemon.
================ #014 [FEAROW] ================
-Drill Peck
-Return
-Steel Wing
-Roost
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Fearow is similar to Pidgeot, though it may be slightly better. It has higher
Attack and Speed and Drill Peck is stronger than Wing Attack. But like
Pidgeot, it loses its usefulness once you have access to better Pokemon.
================ #014 [NOCTOWL] ================
-Air Slash
-Shadow Ball
-Roost
-Hypnosis/Extrasensory/Toxic
Rarity: Common (Night)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
Noctowl is quite different from the other birds. It focuses more on its special
stats rather than its physical. But it doesn't perform very well as a special
attacker since it doesn't get many good special moves and its Special Attack
is not very impressive.
================ #018 [RATICATE] ================
-Super Fang
-Crunch
-Return/Double-Edge
-Dig/Swords Dance/Iron Tail
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Good
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
In the beginning of the game, Raticate will be one of your strongest Pokemon.
It has high Speed and Hyper Fang, which is very strong for such an early move.
Later in the game, it gets the really neat Super Fang attack, but by then it
will have lost most of its usefulness because you'll have access to better
Pokemon.
================ #020 [FURRET] ================
-Return
-Sucker Punch/Shadow Claw
-Iron Tail
-Dig
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
Furret is another Normal type that is okay in the beginning of the game, but
will become less and less useful as you progress. It's not even as good as
Raticate, because at least Raticate has cool moves like Super Fang and Swords
Dance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
================ #023 [RAICHU] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Focus Blast
-Grass Knot
-Thunder Wave
Rarity: PokeWalker
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Raichu isn't a bad Pokemon per say. It has great Speed, good attacking stats,
and learns some pretty powerful moves. However, Raichu faces competition from
other Electrics like Raikou and Electivire, who you can actually catch in-
game before the Elite 4.
================ #026 [BUTTERFREE] ================
-Sleep Powder
-Stun Spore
-Bug Buzz
-Shadow Ball
Rarity: Common
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
The only thing that makes Butterfree special is that it has an ability that
makes Sleep Powder and Stun Spore hit almost all the time. Spreading status can
make opponents easier to beat, but Butterfree's bad stats and many weaknesses
make its job a lot harder.
================ #029 [BEEDRILL] ================
-Poison Jab
-Bug Bite
-Swords Dance
-Roost
Rarity: Common
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Very Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
Beedrill can do a lot more damage than Butterfree, but its still a below
average Bug type with frail defenses, multiple weaknesses, and a poor selection
of moves. Furthermore it cannot disable opponents with any status moves.
================ #031 [LEDIAN] ================
-Bug Buzz
-Agility
-Baton Pass
-Light Screen/Reflect
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Very Bad
Power: Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
Ledian can hardly do any sort of damage. Its stats and moves make it more of a
supporter made to pass screens and stat-boosts to the rest of the team. But this
sort of strategy is completely unnecessary in game.
================ #033 [ARIADOS] ================
-Poison Jab
-Bug Bite
-Shadow Sneak/Sucker Punch
-Agility
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: BAD
Ariados can actually do some damage with its nice Attack, but its other stats
fall short of average and the moves it learns aren't all that powerful either.
================ #036 [GOLEM] ================
Best Ability: Rock Head
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Double-Edge
-Rock Polish
Rarity: Common, Trade Evolution
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Golem is the first Rock-type you'll encounter and it's a pretty good one.
Geodudes are easy to find and very handy against the first 3 gyms. Plus, it
learns all 4 of its best moves by level-up which makes it very easy to train.
Rock Polish is especially useful for its low Speed.
================ #039 [CROBAT] ================
Set #1
-Air Slash
-Sludge Bomb
-Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse
-Roost/Confuse Ray
Set #2
-Wing Attack/Aerial Ace
-Cross Poison
-Bite
-Roost/Confuse Ray
Rarity: Common
Stats: Great
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Zubat may be the most annoying Pokemon you'll ever face, but Crobat is actually
a pretty good Pokemon. It's extremely fast, has decent defenses, and pretty
good Attack. Its main downfall is its inability to handle Steel types without
Heat Wave (which is only available as a Move Tutor).
================ #042 [CLEFABLE] ================
Best Ability: Magic Guard
Set #1
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Moonlight
Set #2
-Return
-Meteor Mash
-Drain Punch
-Moonlight
Set #3
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Solarbeam
-Moonlight
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Average
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
Clefable may seem average stat-wise, but it has unique ability and an
incredibly diverse array of moves that makes it a fun Pokemon to use. You can
go all Special or all Physical depending on your nature, or even use a Sunny
Day set.
================ #045 [WIGGLYTUFF] ================
Set #1
-Body Slam/Double-Edge
-Gyro Ball
-Drain Punch/Wake-Up Slap
-Dig/Sing
Set #2
-Hyper Voice
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast/Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Ice Beam
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Bad
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Wigglytuff learns lots of good moves like Clefable does, but its ability isn't
as good and it doesn't get a good recovery move like Moonlight. Furthermore,
all of its stats besides HP are worse than Clefable's.
================ #049 [SANDSLASH] ================
-Earthquake
-Shadow Claw
-Rock Tomb/Crush Claw
-Swords Dance
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Average
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Sandslash isn't a bad Ground type, but Golem is better in most ways (except for
the trade evolution part). It will be harder to teach it good moves since it
gets most of its good ones through TMs and certain TMs like Stone Edge aren't
available before the Elite 4.
================ #051 [ARBOK] ================
-Gunk Shot
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Glare/Fire Fang**/Ice Fang**
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Average
Moves: Great
Power: Bad
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Arbok is one of those Pokemon that learns some powerful moves, but doesn't have
the stats to make up for it. Being a pure Poison type doesn't help either since
many opponents in the game resist Poison.
================ #052 [DUNSPARCE] ================
Best Ability: Serene Grace
Set #1
-Glare
-Headbutt
-Earthquake/Iron Tail
-Roost
Set #2
-Charge Beam
-Water Pulse
-Ice Beam
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast/AncientPower
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Bad
Moves: Great
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Dunsparce is an unusual Pokemon with an unusual ability. With some luck, this
ability can let Dunsparce shine despite its bad stats. With a physical set,
your goal is to paralyze opponents and use Headbutt to flinch them to death.
If you go for the Special side, use Charge Beam to boost your Special Attack
and use other special moves with a side effect.
================ #055 [AMPHAROS] ================
- Discharge/Thunderbolt
- Focus Blast
- Signal Beam
- Thunder Wave
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Good
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Ampharos is the first Electric you'll encounter and is certainly a good one for
getting through the game. Once fully evolved, it will have massive Special
Attack to strike opponents. Moves that inflict paralysis are pretty important
since Ampharos is rather slow for an Electric type.
================ #057 [QUAGSIRE] ================
Best Ability: Water Absorb
-Earthquake
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Yawn/Focus Blast
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Great
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
Quagsire's fairly unique type combo and ability gives it a bunch of immunities
and resistances that most other Water types don't have. Although its stats
don't compare to the more powerful Water Pokemon in the game, it can still be
a good team member during the early stages at least.
================ #060 [GENGAR] ================
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Hypnosis/Energy Ball
Rarity: Common, Trade Evolution
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Gengar is no doubt the most powerful Ghost in the game. Massive Special Attack,
excellent Speed, and a wide variety of moves makes it a great addition to any
team. Try to find a friend to trade with or else you'll miss out on a great
Pokemon.
================ #061 [UNOWN] ================
-Hidden Power [Psychic/Fighting/Ice]
Rarity: Common, Early Game
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Very Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: VERY BAD
Are you serious? No, just....no
================ #063 [STEELIX] ================
-Iron Tail
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Curse
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Good
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
No physical attacks will bring down Steelix easily, not even supereffective
ones. Steelix can wall a lot of things with its huge Defense, but its Attack
isn't quite as good and it certainly won't be attacking first most of the time.
Still, it learns an Attack boosting move along with a few powerful moves.
================ #066 [VICTREEBEL] ================
Set #1
-Sleep Powder
-Solarbeam
-Sludge Bomb
-Sunny Day
Set #2
-Leaf Blade
-Return
-Sleep Powder
-Swords Dance
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Since you can get it early in the game, Victreebel is a nice choice for a
Grass-type if you didn't choose Chikorita. It can do a lot of damage with both
physical and special attacks, but it will always have trouble with Steel-types.
If this bothers you, you can always hold out until you catch a Tangela, who is
a much better Grass-type.
================ #069 [JUMPLUFF] ================
-Sleep Powder
-Leech Seed
-Substitute/Protect/Synthesis
-Bounce/Giga Drain
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Bad
Power: Bad
OVERALL: BAD
There isn't much point to using a Jumpluff in-game. Sleep+Leech Seed is a combo
better suited for competitive battles. Using it in in-game battles will just
stretch them on for too long. Overall, Jumpluff is weak and can't do much
damage.
================ #071 [PARASECT] ================
Best Ability: Dry Skin
-Spore
-X-Scissor
-Dig
-Aromatherapy
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Parasect is slow and has lots of weaknesses, but its not as bad as many other
Bugs. Spore, a 4x resistance to Ground and Grass, and an ability that gives it
immunity to Water are some of its redeeming qualities.
================ #074 [POLIWRATH] ================
Best Ability: Water Absorb
-Hypnosis
-Focus Punch/Wake-Up Slap
-Body Slam
-Waterfall
Rarity: Common
Stats: Great
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Water/Fighting is a unique type, but Poliwrath doesn't get any good Fighting
moves like Close Combat. You can try to combo Hypnosis with Focus Punch or
Wake-Up Slap though Hypnosis has low accuracy. Overall, it just doesn't get
too many good moves.
================ #075 [POLITOED] ================
Best Ability: Water Absorb
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-Hypnosis
Rarity: Common
Stats: Great
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Unlike its cousin, Politoed is more of your standard special attacking Water
type. This makes Politoed kind of boring since there are many other Waters who
can do a better job. Plus you have to go through the trouble of trading just to
evolve it.
================ #077 [GYARADOS] ================
-Aqua Tail/Waterfall
-Ice Fang
-Dragon Dance
-Earthquake
Rarity: Common
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Gyarados is definitely the most powerful physical Water type in the game. If
you didn't choose Feraligatr, you should certainly consider this beast.
Magikarps are easy to find and though it may take time to level up, it evolves
rather early and the results are well worth it. Plus, the Red Gyarados is the
only shiny Pokemon you are guaranteed to encounter.
================ #079 [SEAKING] ================
Best Ability: Swift Swim
-Waterfall
-Megahorn
-Return
-Rain Dance
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
With all the hype for Gyarados, Seaking just doesn't compare. Megahorn is nice
to hurt Grass types and getting a Rain Dance boost is cool, but Feraligatr or
Gyarados will still give you better results.
================ #081 [SLOWBRO] ================
-Surf
-Psychic
-Slack Off
-Ice Beam/Flamethrower/Fire Blast
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Slowbro is a great Pokemon if you don't mind not attacking first. It has great
defenses and Slack Off means it can stick around for a while. It also learns
more variety of moves then most other special Water types.
================ #82 [SLOWKING] ================
-Surf
-Psychic
-Nasty Plot
-Ice Beam/Flamethrower/Fire Blast
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Slowking is almost like Slowbro, but Nasty Plot means it can hit harder. Too
bad you need to trade to evolve it, but Slowking isn't a bad thing to have on
your team.
================ #085 [VILEPLUME] ================
-Sunny Day
-Solarbeam
-Sludge Bomb
-Sleep Powder/Moonlight
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Vileplume has a lot of things in common with Victreebel so it performs in much
the same way. The main difference is that Vileplume learns a healing move by
level up that gets boosted in the sun, so use that to your advantage.
================ #086 [BELLOSSOM] ================
-Sunny Day
-Solarbeam
-Sludge Bomb
-Moonlight/Sleep Powder
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
While Bellossom is very similar to Vileplume, it's also worse in certain ways.
It doesn't have a Poison type, so it won't be able to do as much damage with
Sludge Bomb. It also can't hit as hard do to its lower Special Attack stat.
================ #088 [HYPNO] ================
-Psychic
-Nasty Plot
-Focus Blast
-Shadow Ball
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
If you want to use Hypno over Alakazam or any other Psychic, take advantage of
what makes it stand out - bulky defenses and the ability to learn Nasty Plot.
Sure it may not be that fast, but you can at least rely on it to take a few
hits.
================ #091 [ALAKAZAM] ================
-Psychic
-Focus Blast
-Shadow Ball
-Calm Mind/Recover
Rarity: Event (Game Corner Prize), Uncommon (Wild)
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
With the highest Special Attack and Speed of any non-legendary Psychic type,
it's no doubt that Alakazam would be an excellent member of any team. With just
three moves, it can take on any opponent in the game and usually come out on
top. You don't even need to catch it since it comes pretty cheap at the Game
Corner.
================ #092 [DITTO] ================
-Transform
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Very Bad
Power: Very Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
You should definitely get a Ditto in case you want to breed something. It also
has perfect Pokethlon stats. But as far as battling goes, forget it.
================ #094 [FORRETRESS] ================
-Gyro Ball
-Bug Bite
-Payback
-Earthquake
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Forretress is a very defensive Pokemon, but it also has some nice offensive
options to choose from. Though extremely slow, it has tons of resistances and
few weaknesses compared to other Bugs.
================ #097 [NIDOQUEEN] ================
-Earth Power/Earthquake
-Crunch/Shadow Ball
-Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
Nidoqueen is slightly worse than her male counterpart. While they both learn
pretty much the same moves, Nidoqueen's attack stats aren't as high and she is
also slightly slower. Since you can get both Nidorans in the same areas, you
should go for the male version.
================ #100 [NIDOKING] ================
-Earth Power/Earthquake
-Megahorn
-Fire Blast
-Poison Jab/Thunderbolt/Ice Beam
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Good
OVERALL: GREAT
Nidoking may not have the best offensive stats, but it learns so many good
moves that it barely matters. It's a very versatile Pokemon that has a
supereffective move against pretty much every opponent in the game.
================ #102 [YANMEGA] ================
-Bug Buzz
-Air Slash
-Ancientpower
-Detect/Shadow Ball/Hypnosis/Roost
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Yanma is the first Pokemon you'll get that has a new evolution in 4th gen. It's
a good thing it does, since Yanmega is the best special attacking Bug in the
game. It learns most of its best moves by level up and has two great abilities
to choose from. Speed Boost is nice, but Yanmega is already fast so you may
want Tinted Lens so that Steel types don't resist your moves.
================ #104 [SUNFLORA] ================
Best Ability: Chlorophyll
-Sunny Day
-Solarbeam
-Sludge Bomb
-Leech Seed/Synthesis
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Great
OVERALL: BAD
*yawn*...Boring. Standard Grass type with Sunny Day boost. Sunflora doesn't
have anything special to offer over the many other Grass types in the game.
================ #106 [EXEGGUTOR] ================
Best Ability: Chlorophyll
-Sunny Day
-Solarbeam
-Psychic
-Sleep Powder/Leech Seed
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Great
Moves: Good
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Exeggutor has the highest Special Attack of any Johto Grass-type and the only
bad stat it has is Speed, which is boosted in the sun. It's certainly a worthy
Grass-type Pokemon. The only problem is that it really needs the sun to be
effective. The other Grass moves it learns aren't as good. It also can't
handle Steel-types or Houndour/Houndoom.
================ #107 [SUDOWOODO] ================
Best Ability: Rock Head
-Rock Slide
-Sucker Punch
-Earthquake/Hammer Arm
-Double-Edge/Wood Hammer
Rarity: Event
Stats: Bad
Moves: Good
Power: Great
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Sudowoodo is pretty strong early in the game, but if you already have a
Geodude by then, you probably shouldn't bother. Golem is better than Sudowoodo
in just about every way.
================ #108 [WOBBUFFET] ================
-Counter
-Mirror Coat
-Destiny Bond
-Safeguard
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Very Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
Wobbuffet comes complete with a set of all the moves it will ever learn.
Unfortunately, it really needs Encore from Wynaut because without it, you
can't control what moves your opponent will use on you. Because of this,
Counter and Mirror Coat become unreliable and your opponent may not even
attack you at all.
================ #110 [VENOMOTH] ================
Best Ability: Tinted Lens
-Bug Buzz
-Psychic
-Sleep Powder
-Sludge Bomb
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Venomoth is an interesting bug since it's focused more on special attacks
rather than physical. Yanmega is still much better, but Venonats are more
easily found and it also learns a more accurate sleep move.
================ #111 [SCYTHER] ================
Best Ability: Technician
-Wing Attack
-X-Scissor
-Night Slash/Rock Smash
-Swords Dance
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
For an unevolved Pokemon, Scyther is extremely powerful with the right ability.
A Technician boosted Wing Attack does major damage and so will Scyther's other
attacks. Steel and Rock types may give you trouble, but Rock Smash also gets
boosted by Technician so its definitely a move worth having. Another
good thing about Scyther is that you can get it fairly early in the game.
================ #112 [SCIZOR] ================
Best Ability: Technician
-Bullet Punch**
-X-Scissor
-Swords Dance
-Quick Attack/Wing Attack/Rock Smash
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Scizor is the strongest Bug in the game, although you'll need Technician and
Bullet Punch in order to realize its full potential. Once you get those, Scizor
is pretty much unstoppable by anything that doesn't have a Fire attack.
Competitive battlers already know how powerful Scizor is. Using Scizor against
computer battlers is pretty much overkill.
================ #113 [PINSIR] ================
-X-Scissor
-Brick Break
-Swords Dance
-Earthquake
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Pinsir is more powerful than Scyther and has some strong moves to combat Steel
and Rock types. But if you want a Bug that can also learn Fighting attacks,
Heracross is the way better choice.
================ #114 [HERACROSS] ================
-Close Combat
-Megahorn
-Aerial Ace/Night Slash**
-Swords Dance/Earthquake
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Heracross is the other great physical Bug this game offers. It learns two
incredibly strong attacks that can deal major damage to everything, even
Pokemon that resist them. Some patience is required because you won't be able
to get it as early as Scyther or Pinsir, but it's well worth the wait.
================ #116 [WEEZING] ================
-Sludge Bomb
-Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Shadow Ball
Rarity: Common
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
Being a pure Poison-type is usually a bad thing since Poison is pretty much the
worst type in the game. But Weezing has overall good stats, learns some great
moves, and has an ability that eliminates one of its weaknesses. It can't
compare to Gengar or even Nidoking, but Weezing is still a solid Pokemon.
================ #118 [MUK] ================
-Gunk Shot
-Dig
-Payback
-Screech/Rock Tomb/Fire Blast
Rarity: Common
Stats: Great
Moves: Bad
Power: Great
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Muk has one of the highest Attack of any Poison type. Too bad this doesn't save
it from mediocrity since the physical moves that it learns are pretty bad. It
does learn some good special moves, but Muk's Special Attack is pretty low so
it won't be able to do much damage with most of them.
================ #120 [MAGNETON] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Flash Cannon
-Magnet Rise
-Thunder Wave
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Good
Moves: Bad
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Magneton doesn't learn too many good moves, but it works well with what it
gets. Electric and Steel attacks work against most things in the game, but is
pretty useless against Jasmine. Magneton can evolve, but Magnezone doesn't get
any better changes besides being stronger. The main reason to use Magneton over
Ampharos is the many resistances that Steel has.
================ #122 [ELECTRODE] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Swift
-Explosion
-Light Screen/Magnet Rise/Mirror Coat
Rarity: Event (Rocket Hideout), Event (Trade), Safari Zone
Stats: Average
Moves: Very Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
Electrode is fast...and that's about it. The only good move it learns is
Thunderbolt. It can't handle all the Ground/Rock types in the game and
exploding won't do much good since you won't get any experience points.
================ #124 [AMBIPOM] ================
Best Ability: Technician
-Double Hit
-Payback
-Rock Smash/Dig
-Screech/Iron Tail
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Average
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Ambipom is speedy and quite powerful. The main problem is that it gets most
of its good moves from breeding (Fake Out) or Post-National Dex TMs (Brick
Break, Elemental punches). It can still do well without them, but you need a
bit of patience before Ambipom can get a great moveset.
================ #126 [GRANBULL] ================
-Return
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Fire Fang**
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GOOD
Granbull has incredible Attack, but not much else to offer to make it stand out
from better Normal-types like Tauros. It's still a decent choice, but being
a swarm Pokemon makes it harder to find.
================ #128 [NINETALES] ================
-Flamethrower
-Will-o-wisp
-Dark Pulse
-Confuse Ray/Nasty Plot**
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Common (Soul Silver)
Stats: Good
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Ninetales has decent stats, but it only has a limited variety of usuable moves
without breeding. Flamethrower and Dark Pulse with a Nasty Plot boost can
defeat most opponents, but you'll still have trouble with things like
Poliwrath and Houndoom.
================ #130 ARCANINE ================
Set #1
-Flare Blitz/Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Crunch
-Thunder Fang**
-Extremespeed
**Heart Scale required
Set #2
-Flare Blitz/Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Solarbeam
-Dragon Pulse/Extremespeed
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Common (Heart Gold)
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Arcanine is the real deal here. It rivals Typhlosion for the best
non-legendary Fire-type found in Johto. It has a diverse range of moves, unlike
many other Fire Pokemon in the game. Great stats all around also help a lot.
================ #131 [STANTLER] ================
-Return
-Zen Headbutt
-Earthquake
-Hypnosis/Confuse Ray
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Good
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Stantler is a pretty average Normal-type. It can be quite strong in the early
part of the game, but you can get Tauros soon after Stantler and Tauros is a
much better Pokemon.
================ #133 [AZUMARILL] ================
Best Ability: Huge Power
-Aqua Tail/Waterfall
-Double-Edge
-Focus Punch
-Substitute
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Bad
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent (with Huge Power)
OVERALL: GOOD
With Huge Power, Azumarill wins the award for strongest physical Water type.
All of its attacks will do a lot of damage. It's a nice alternative to
Feraligatr or Gyarados, but it's slower than both and doesn't get any Attack
boosting moves without breeding. Plus, it's much harder to find than either of
them.
================ #135 [DUGTRIO] ================
-Earthquake
-Sucker Punch/Night Slash**
-Rock Tomb
-Return/Shadow Claw
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Safari Zone
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Dugtrio is the fastest Ground type, but it's also the most frail and it has
pretty low attack for a Ground Pokemon. You'll be able to outspeed a lot of
foes, but anything not weak to your attacks will give you trouble.
================ #137 [PRIMEAPE] ================
-Close Combat
-Earthquake
-Assurance/Payback
-Rock Tomb/Screech
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Primeape is the fastest Fighting-type in Johto. It's not the strongest, but
it still learns plenty of powerful moves. Out of its two abilities, Vital
Spirit might be more useful since you don't have to worry about annoying Sleep
moves. But getting Anger Point activated is always a nice treat.
================ #139 [PERSIAN] ================
Best Ability: Technician
-Fake Out
-Bite
-Return
-Dig/U-Turn/Hypnosis
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Persian is like a weaker version of Ambipom, but at least it learns Fake Out by
level-up instead of breeding. Hypnosis is another of its specialties, but its
low accuracy can frustrate you.
================ #141 [GOLDUCK] ================
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-Zen Headbutt
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Great
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
With all the powerful Water types out there, Golduck just feels lackluster.
It's not a bad Pokemon and it can get you through the game just fine since it
learns some nice moves. Don't expect it to be a powerhouse though.
================ #144 [MACHAMP] ================
Ability: No Guard
-Dynamicpunch
-Payback
-Earthquake
-Rock Tomb/Stone Edge*
Rarity: Event (Trade), Common (Wild)
Stats: Great
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Machamp is the strongest Fighting-type in Johto and an always accurate
Dyanmicpunch is bad news even for opponents resistant to Fighting moves. You
can get a Machop before the third gym, which is useful for beating Whitney and
will continue to be useful throughout the game. The Speed is its main downside,
but its hefty defenses allow it to take hits.
================ #146 [HITMONLEE] ================
Best Ability: Limber
-Close Combat
-Blaze Kick
-Earthquake
-Meditate/Rock Tomb
Rarity: Event
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GOOD
Hitmonlee is the most powerful Hitmon, but not quite as strong as other
Fighters like Machamp or Heracross. Still, it has decent Speed and learns some
nice moves. It doesn't really get a cool ability like the other Hitmons do.
================ #147 [HITMONCHAN] ================
Best Ability: Iron Fist
-Sky Uppercut/Close Combat
-Fire Punch
-Ice Punch
-Thunderpunch
Rarity: Event
Stats: Average
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Hitmonchan is the best Hitmon in terms of move variety. With its unique ability
boosting its moves, it can land a supereffective hit against most opponents in
the game.
================ #148 [HITMONTOP] ================
Best Ability: Technician
-Close Combat
-Earthquake
-Pursuit
-Quick Attack
Rarity: Event
Stats: Good
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Hitmontop has the weakest Attack of the Hitmons and doesn't get as many good
moves, but it can at least use Technician to boost the power of some weaker
moves. You are still better off with Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan though.
================ #149 [GIRAFARIG] ================
-Psychic
-Thunderbolt
-Shadow Ball
-Earthquake
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Average
Moves: Great
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Girafarig is one of the few Psychics that can use both physical and special
attacks. This doesn't mean too much though, because it still can't compare to
better Normal-types like Tauros or better Psychic-types like Alakazam.
================ #150 [TAUROS] ================
-Return
-Zen Headbutt
-Earthquake
-Iron Tail
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Good
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Out of all the Normal types you can catch early in the game, Tauros is the best
due to a great combination of high Speed and high Attack. It also has quite a
few powerful physical moves it can learn.
================ #151 [MILTANK] ================
-Body Slam/Return
-Zen Headbutt
-Heal Bell
-Milk Drink
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Good
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
Miltank is a pretty defensive Pokemon, but she's also surprisingly fast and can
also do some good damage. But her main role is to be a team healer. With Heal
Bell for status and Milk Drink for restoring health, she can keep your team
alive and save you trips to the PokeCenter.
================ #153 [MAGMAR] ================
-Flamethrower\Fire Blast
-Focus Blast
-Sunny Day
-Confuse Ray
Usefulness: Good
Rarity: Rare
Effort: Easy
Magmar appears pretty early in the game and can be a nice choice if you don't
pick Typhlosion as your Fire type. It's not as powerful or as fast as
Typhlosion, but it has the ability to evolve into a very powerful Special
Attacker.
================ #155 [JYNX] ================
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
-Focus Blast
-Lovely Kiss
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Jynx isn't your average Psychic type. It gets Ice Beam and a fairly accurate
Sleep move, so it's certainly worthy of consideration even if it appears
rather late in the game. It will certainly help you against the 8th Gym as well
as Lance.
================ #157 [ELECTABUZZ] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Low Kick/Focus Blast
-Swift
-Iron Tail
Rarity: PokeWalker, Safari Zone
Stats: Good
Moves: Very Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Electabuzz has good stats, but barely learns any good moves except for
Thunderbolt. It's also rather hard to catch since you can only encounter it in
non-traditional places (PokeWalker or Safari Zone). It's a good thing it can
evolve and get better stats and moves because otherwise, Electabuzz is an
unimpressive Pokemon.
================ #158 [MR. MIME] ================
Best Ability: Filter
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Thunderbolt
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Mr. Mime has a few interesting qualities that sets it apart from Alakazam. It
can learn Thunderbolt to better handle foes like Murkrow, Skarmory, and
Gyarados. It also has better defenses and an ability that lowers the damage of
supereffective attacks. Use these things to your advantage and Mr. Mime can be
a great team member.
================ #159 [SMEARGLE] ================
-Spore
-Belly Drum
-Substitute\Agility\Rock Polish
-Baton Pass
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Very Bad to Excellent (depending on what you Sketch)
Power: Very Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
It can learn every move in the game, but it can't use most of them because its
stats are so bad. The only thing it can really do is use set-up moves to help
the rest of your team members. Good luck trying to Sketch the right moves
though, because it's going to take a ton of time and effort to find opponents
who will actually use these moves against you.
================ #160 [FARFETCH'D] ================
-Return
-Aerial Ace
-Night Slash
-Swords Dance
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
Poor Farfetch'd. It has even worse stats than many unevolved Pokemon and it
doesn't have any good moves or abilities to make up for it.
================ #162 [XATU] ================
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Confuse Ray
-Silver Wind/Wish/Roost
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Xatu's level-up list contains a lot of support and status moves, but very few
good attacking moves. Its stats aren't that impressive either and certainly no
match for better Psychic types like Alakazam, Espeon, or Lugia.
================ #163 [QWILFISH] ================
-Aqua Tail
-Poison Jab
-Return
-Toxic Spikes
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Qwilfish is a swarm Pokemon, so don't expect to find it easily. Even if you do,
it's nothing too special. It learns a few nice moves, but its stats aren't that
good and it's not that powerful either.
================ #165 [TENTACRUEL] ================
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Sludge Bomb
-Ice Beam
-Toxic Spikes
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Good
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
Tentacruel is the better Water/Poison type. Tentacools are very common and it
actually has some nice stats when it evolves.
================ #167 [KINGLER] ================
-Crabhammer
-Return
-Dig
-Swords Dance
Rarity: Uncommon, Common (Rock Smash)
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Kingler is stronger than Feraligatr and Gyarados, but it lacks good moves
without access to Battle Frontier TMs.
================ #168 [SHUCKLE] ================
-Toxic
-Rest
-Protect
-Wrap/Dig
Rarity: Event (giveaway), Rare (Wild)
Stats: Good
Moves: Bad
Power: Very Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
Shuckle's massive defenses don't make up for its terrible offenses and speed.
The only real damage you'll be able to do comes from Toxic and there are many
Poison and Steel types in the game that are completely immune to Toxic.
================ #170 [STARMIE] ================
Best Ability: Natural Cure
-Surf
-Thunderbolt
-Ice Beam
-Recover/Psychic
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Starmie has always been a very useful Pokemon to have through the game. It has
access to a variety of special attacks as well as instant recovery. It also has
a useful ability to heal itself of status so you can save some money on healing
items.
================ #172 [CLOYSTER] ================
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Spikes
-Ice Shard/Return/Toxic
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Cloyster has incredible Defense and pretty good attacking stats. But it doesn't
learn many good moves besides Water and Ice. Spikes might help for longer
battles, but it isn't really needed.
================ #173 [CORSOLA] ================
Best Ability: Natural Cure
-Surf
-Power Gem
-Earth Power
-Recover
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
It certainly isn't going to win any awards for best of anything. Learning Earth
Power and Recover by level up is kind of interesting, but that's about it.
================ #175 [OCTILLERY] ================
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Charge Beam/Signal Beam
Rarity: Rare (Swarm)
Stats: Average
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Octillery is quite powerful and learns so many good moves. But its extremely
slow and doesn't have great defenses, unlike most other slow Pokemon. Plus its
going to be extremely tough to find if it's not swarming.
================ #176 [TOGETIC] ================
Best Ability: Serene Grace
-Ancientpower
-Shadow Ball
-Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Wish
Rarity: Event (Giveaway)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Great
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Don't shun Togetic just because of its stats because it has huge potential when
it evolves. Take advantage of its special ability and use moves that have side
effects to overcome its lack of good stats. It should be good enough to get you
through most of the game even if it's not fully evolved.
================ #177 [LANTURN] ================
Best Ability: Volt Absorb
-Surf
-Thunderbolt/Discharge
-Signal Beam/Ice Beam
-Thunder Wave
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GOOD
All of Lanturn's stats besides its HP seem average or below average, but
Lanturn is actually a pretty good Pokemon. Volt Absorb along with its type
combo gives it a lot of resistances to commonly used moves and even though
it's weak to Ground, most Ground types will be defeated by Surf.
================ #179 [DEWGONG] ================
Best Ability: Hydration
-Ice Beam
-Surf
-Rain Dance
-Signal Beam/Rest
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Dewgong has a pretty unique ability and nice defensive stats. Every thing else
about it is completely and totally average.
================ #181 [LICKILICKY] ================
-Return
-Earthquake/Power Whip
-Fire Blast
-Gyro Ball/Shadow Ball/Swords Dance
Rarity: Common
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GREAT
Lickilicky has such a diverse set of good moves it can learn and is certainly
a great Normal-type to have. The only downside is that it's pretty slow and
isn't the hardest hitter, but its overall great stats and moves make up for
that.
================ #183 [TANGROWTH] ================
Best Ability: Chlorophyll
Set #1
-Power Whip
-Earthquake
-Sleep Powder
-Ancientpower/Sludge Bomb/Swords Dance
Set #2
-Solarbeam
-Ancientpower/Earthquake
-Sunny Day
-Sleep Powder/Sludge Bomb
Rarity: Common
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Great
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Tangrowth has the highest base stat total of any non-legendary Grass-type. It
also has some great moves and is one of the few Grass-types to learn
Earthquake, letting it handle Poison, Steel, and Fire types that most other
Grass Pokemon have trouble with. All these factors combine to make Tangrowth
the best Grass-type in Johto.
================ #185 [VAPOREON] ================
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Shadow Ball
-Aqua Ring
Rarity: Event
Stats: Great
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Vaporeon has a slightly better selection of moves than the other Eeveelutions.
It's also bulky and has a useful ability that lets it handle the many Water
opponents in the game. These qualities let Vaporeon rank higher than most of
its cousins.
================ #186 [JOLTEON] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Shadow Ball
-Thunder Wave
-Double Kick
Rarity: Event
Stats: Great
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Jolteon is fast, powerful, but is lacking when it comes to attack options.
Still, Thunderbolt and Shadow Ball are still good enough to work with for the
most part, though Jasmine's Pokemon will give it a lot of trouble. Double
Kick is your best option, though Jolteon's low Attack means it won't do that
much damage.
================ #187 [FLAREON] ================
-Fire Fang/Fire Blast
-Bite
-Quick Attack
-Dig
Rarity: Event
Stats: Great
Moves: Bad
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Poor Flareon has always been the Eeveelution that Nintendo neglected the most.
It has gone for 4 generations without a powerful physical Fire attack. Use
Flareon if you like it or simply out of pity, but know that there are much
better Fire types in the game.
================ #188 [ESPEON] ================
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Morning Sun
-Swift
Rarity: Event
Stats: Great
Moves: Average
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Espeon is perhaps the best Eeveelution to get through the game due to its very
high Speed and Special Attack. It still has a poor selection of moves and it's
outclassed by Alakazam, but it can still be a valuable member of your team.
================ #189 [UMBREON] ================
-Faint Attack
-Toxic
-Moonlight
-Confuse Ray/Dig/Protect
Rarity: Event
Stats: Great
Moves: Bad
Power: Bad
OVERALL: BAD
As with most defensive Pokemon, Umbreon is just too much of a hassle to get
through the game since it will have a hard time dealing with anything not weak
to Dark.
================ #192 [KINGDRA] ================
Best Ability: Swift Swim
-Surf/Hydro Pump
-Dragon Pulse
-Ice Beam
-Rain Dance
Rarity: Common
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Great
Power: Good
OVERALL: GREAT
It's only weakness is Dragon, which you won't encounter until late in the game.
That quality alone is enough to make Kingdra stand out from other Waters, but
it's also one of the most powerful Pokemon in the rain. Too bad evolving it
can be a pain.
================ #193 [GLIGAR] ================
-Earthquake
-Swords Dance
-X-Scissor
-Roost/Rock Tomb
Rarity: Common (Heart Gold)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Gligar has better plans in the future when it evolves, but it's still not that
bad of a Pokemon in its unevolved stage. It has a unique type combo and gets
some okay moves, though it will obviously get much better when it evolves.
================ #194 [DELIBIRD] ================
Best Ability: Hustle
-Ice Beam/Blizzard
-Aerial Ace/Fly
-Toxic
-Protect
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Bad
Power: Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
If you're looking for a powerful Ice type, look somewhere else. Delibird has
lower stats than most unevolved Pokemon and can't even learn any good level-up
moves, so training it is going to be a pain.
================ #197 [MAMOSWINE] ================
-Ice Fang
-Earthquake
-Rock Tomb
-Reflect/Light Screen
Rarity: Common
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Average
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Mamoswine really only needs two attacks - Ice Fang and Earthquake. These two
moves coming from its incredible Attack can easily rip through most opponents.
It doesn't learn many other great moves without the use of tutors or breeding,
but it doesn't need them. Because of its power and the coverage that Ice and
Ground provides, Mamoswine is one of the few Pokemon that works with a limited</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
number of good moves.
================ #199 [URSARING] ================
-Return
-Hammer Arm/Earthquake
-Shadow Claw
-Swords Dance/Avalanche
Rarity: Rare (Soul Silver only)
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Soul Silver players might want to try out Ursaring, the Normal-type with the
highest Attack in Johto. Its attacks will do major damage to every opponent,
but its low speed prevents it from being a must-have team member.
================ #201 [DONPHAN] ================
-Earthquake
-Double-Edge/Return
-Rock Tomb/Thunder Fang**
-Fire Fang**
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Great
Moves: Average
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Being a pure Ground type has its advantages, like you aren't weak to as many
types as Ground/Rocks types are. Donphan is one of the best pure Ground types
and can deal a lot of damage. Before the Elite 4, its moves will be pretty
limited, but it can still work great with what it gets.
================ #202 [MANTINE] ================
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Signal Beam**
-Confuse Ray/Rain Dance
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Rare (Heart Gold only)
Stats: Average
Moves: Good
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Mantine is more or less your average Water-type with average moves. There's
nothing about it that makes it stand out from the dozens of other Water Pokemon
in the game. It has excellent Special Defense, but that's about it.
================ #203 [SKARMORY] ================
-Steel Wing
-Roost
-Night Slash
-Fly/Swords Dance
Rarity: Rare (Soul Silver only)
Stats: Good
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
Skarmory has excellent Defense and a ton of resistances, but it isn't so good
when it comes to attacking. It's pretty slow and will have trouble with all
Steel type opponents. When it comes to usefulness in-game, attacking is more
important than defending.
================ #205 [DODRIO] ================
-Drill Peck
-Return
-Steel Wing
-Roost
Rarity: Rare (Soul Silver only)
Stats: Average
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Look familiar? This is pretty much the same moveset most Normal/Flying birds
have. The difference is that Dodrio has some pretty good stats and can hit
harder. Unfortunately, it's still not that great compared to all the Normal
or Flying-types with higher stats and better moves.
================ #207 [RAPIDASH] ================
Best Ability: Flash Fire
-Flare Blitz
-Megahorn**
-Iron Tail/Return/Solarbeam
-Sunny Day
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: PokeWalker, Safari Zone
Stats: Good
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: GOOD
Rapidash is a pretty underwhelming Fire type compared to things like Arcanine.
However its still a decent Fire-type with enough speed and power to handle most
opponents, despite its underwhelming set of moves.
================ #209 [MAROWAK] ================
Item Needed: Thick Club
Best Ability: Rock Head
-Bonemerang/Earthquake
-Double-Edge
-Rock Tomb
-Swords Dance
Rarity: Common
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Excellent (with Thick Club)
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Marowak really needs Thick Club in order to stand out from all the other Ground
types in the game. Too bad finding one with Thick Club is pretty rare. Even
with the item, you will still have trouble finding enough good moves for it
without access to the Battle Frontier.
================ #210 [KANGASKHAN] ================
-Return
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Fake Out
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Kangaskhan is a good Pokemon with good stats and good moves. But she is often
overlooked because there is nothing too special about her that sets her apart
from other Normal types. She does get the Scrappy ability, which lets her hit
Ghosts with Normal and Fighting moves, but she already learns Crunch anyways.
================ #212 [RHYDON] ================
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Megahorn
-Hammer Arm
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Even though Rhydon is not fully evolved, it's still very powerful and it learns
all of its best moves by level-up so there is no need to use valuable TMs on
it. The only real problem is that you won't encounter it until very late in the
game. Despite this, it's still a nice alternative if you're not using Golem.
================ #213 [MURKROW] ================
-Wing Attack
-Sucker Punch/Dark Pulse
-Steel Wing
-Roost
Rarity: Common
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
For an unevolved Pokemon, Murkrow actually has pretty decent stats. But
doesn't have many good moves to use. Still, Murkrow has the potential
to evolve so train it well if you want a Honchkrow in the future.
================ #215 [HOUNDOOM] ================
-Flamethrower
-Dark Pulse
-Sunny Day
-Nasty Plot/Solarbeam
Rarity: Common
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Thanks to the Johto Safari Zone, you can now get Houndour much earlier in the
game. This dog has a unique type-combo and some powerful moves it can use.
Along with Typhlosion and Arcanine, Houndoom stands as one of the best Fire
Pokemon you can get before the Elite 4.
================ #217 [MAGCARGO] ================
-Flamethrower
-Earth Power
-Recover
-Yawn/Rock Slide/Body Slam
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
Magcargo is one of the few Fire types that can heal itself. But that doesn't
make up for the terrible Speed, mediocre Special Attack, and 4x weakness to
Water and Ground. There are much better Fire types out there.
================ #218 [SNEASEL] ================
-Faint Attack
-Ice Shard
-Iron Tail/Dig
-Swords Dance
Rarity: PokeWalker
Stats: Average
Moves: Bad
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Sneasel is speedy and quite strong, but all its level-up moves are weak.
You really need the help of Swords Dance to deal a lot of damage. Luckily,
it can evolve once you get the National Dex and will become one of the
best Ice Pokemon in the game.
================ #219 [MISDREAVUS] ================
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Pain Split
-Power Gem
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Misdreavus is one of the only two Ghost-types available in Johto (the other
being the Gastly line). Even when fully evolved, Mismagius is still slightly
worse than Gengar, but it does stand out in certain ways so Misdreavus is
still a nice Pokemon to have.
================ #221 [PORYGON2] ================
Not available before Elite 4. See Post-Elite 4 Movesets.
================ #223 [BLISSEY] ================
-Softboiled
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Calm Mind
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
In competitive battles, Blissey is the best Special Wall in the game. But in-
game, this Pokemon isn't as useful. It's way too slow, can't do much
damage, takes too much damage from physical attacks, and doesn't learn any
good level-up attacks. The only thing its really good at is healing your team
with Softboiled.
================ #224 [LAPRAS] ================
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Confuse Ray
Rarity: Event
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GREAT
Lapras is one of the more versatile Water-types in the game, with quite a few
good special attacks it can use. It's not as fast or powerful as certain other
Water Pokemon (like Starmie), but it's a great team member nonetheless.
================ #243 [RAIKOU] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Shadow Ball
-Calm Mind
-Reflect
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Good
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Raikou is the only Electric that gets Calm Mind and this can make it very
powerful. It's hard to catch, but it is one of the best Electric types in the
game. It would only rank higher if it wasn't so hard to find and catch.
================ #244 [ENTEI] ================
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Solarbeam
-Sunny Day
-Calm Mind/Shadow Ball
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Bad
Power: Great
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Poor Entei, like Flareon, doesn't have a good Fire attack to use off of its
massive Attack. It still has good stats and a few nice moves, but Arcanine
is superior to this guy and is much easier to catch.
================ #245 [SUICUNE] ================
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Calm Mind
-Rest/Shadow Ball/Toxic
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Good
Power: Good
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Suicune is easier to find than the other beasts and is one of the bulkiest
Water types in the game. It can easily defeat any opponent in the game with
Surf and Ice Beam and enough Calm Mind boosts, except for a few Water types.
Toxic or Shadow Ball can be good options to take them down, although Rest
means you won't have to spend much on Full Restores and sleep can be easily
cured with Chesto or Lum Berries.
================ #248 [DRAGONITE] ================
-Outrage/Dragon Claw
-Earthquake
-Dragon Dance
-Aqua Tail/Extremespeed/Fire Blast/Fire Punch**
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Event [Game Corner Prize], Event [Giveaway], Rare (Wild)
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
With massive Attack and good stats all around, Dragonite is a powerful force in
any team. You can get it in the Safari Zone, but if you want one with
Extremespeed you'll need to wait until you get one from the Dragon's Den. With
a Lum or Persim Berry, you can attack with Outrage without worrying about
confusion. Don't use Dragon Rush since it's too inaccurate.
================ #251 [TYRANITAR] ================
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Crunch
-Fire Fang**/Ice Fang**/Thunder Fang**
**Heart Scale required
Rarity: Safari Zone
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Tyranitar is simply amazing in so many ways. Amazing Attack power, great stats
and a ton of great moves. Its ability may be good or bad for your team
depending on how much your other Pokemon like the sandstorm. But the sand
is great for Tyranitar since it increases its Special Defense.
================ #252 [LUGIA] ================
-Aeroblast
-Surf
-Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Calm Mind
-Recover
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Good
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Being a title legendary, Lugia is obviously an extremely good Pokemon to use.
It's so tough that not even supereffective attacks can bring it down while it
can Recover any damage it takes.
================ #253 [HO-OH] ================
-Sacred Fire
-Recover
-Earthquake
-Thunderbolt/Brave Bird
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Ho-oh is a heavy hitter and easily the best Fire type in Johto. It learns
plenty of moves to take down opponents who resist Fire and the ability to
Recover is even better news.
================ #254 [MEWTWO] ================
Not available before Elite 4. See Post-Elite 4 Movesets.
================ [EEE] NATIONAL DEX/POST-ELITE 4 MOVESETS ================
Just beat the Elite 4? Congratulations! Now you get to go to Kanto for a whole
new set of gyms. This new continent opens up a bunch of new TMs you can use.
You are also in better shape to challenge the Battle Frontier for BP to buy
all those TMs and tutor moves.
Also, you will be able to evolve certain Pokemon that gained new evolutions by
getting the National Dex and the required item. These Pokemon will get a new
entry and description.
Furthermore, Hoenn Sound and Sinnoh Sound let you capture certain Pokemon from
3rd and 4th gen games, which gives you even more options to choose from in
case you want to replace your team members or train new Pokemon. The same goes
for all the 3rd and 4th gen Pokemon you can capture in the Safari Zone.
================ #139 [OMASTAR] ================
Best Ability: Swift Swim
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Ancient Power
-Rain Dance
Rarity: Revive from Helix Fossil
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
You've encountered Swift Swim Pokemon before in Jotho, but none are quite
as powerful as Omastar. The rainy weather turns Omastar from a slow Pokemon
into a fast and powerful one that can easily deal with the Gym Leaders of
Kanto.
================ #141 [KABUTOPS] ================
Best Ability: Swift Swim
-Stone Edge/Rock Slide
-Waterfall
-X-Scissor
-Brick Break/Aqua Jet/Rain Dance/Swords Dance
Rarity: Revive from Dome Fossil
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Like Omastar, Kabutops prefers the rain, but it doesn't really need it
since its Speed is decent enough. It has plenty more move options than
Omastar does and can deal a lot of damage with its massive Attack.
================ #142 [AERODACTYL] ================
-Stone Edge/Rock Slide
-Earthquake
-Thunder Fang
-Fire Fang/Ice Fang/Crunch/Aerial Ace
Rarity: Revive from Old Amber
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Aerodactyl isn't the strongest Pokemon in the game, but it's certainly one
of the fastest. Though it has frail defenses, the ability to finish off foes
before they have a chance to strike is what makes Aerodactyl one of the best
Fossil Pokemon in the game.
================ #143 [SNORLAX] ================
-Body Slam/Return
-Crunch
-Earthquake/Fire Punch/Sleep Talk
-Rest
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Great
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Snorlax is arguably the best Normal type in the game. Although it won't usually
attack first, it can take plenty of hits with its massive HP and sturdy
defenses and eventually heal it off with Rest. Don't miss your chance to catch
one when you get to it.
================ #144 [ARTICUNO] ================
-Ice Beam
-Roost
-Mind Reader
-Sheer Cold
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Average
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Articuno doesn't learn many good moves besides Ice Beam. However, you're free
to try out the Mind Reader+Sheer Cold combo to instantly defeat any opponent
that doesn't have the Sturdy ability. Unfortunately, many Steel types have
Sturdy and Steel also resists Ice Beam. Also the combo takes two turns to set
up so opponents will have time to mess you up before you can pull it off.
================ #145 [ZAPDOS] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Heat Wave
-Roost
-Light Screen/Drill Peck/Charge Beam
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Good
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Zapdos can only learn a couple of good moves, namely Thunderbolt and Heat Wave.
Despite this, Zapdos is one of the best Electrics in the game. It's fast,
powerful, and has good defenses as well as the ability to heal itself.
================ #146 [MOLTRES] ================
-Flamethrower/Heat Wave
-Air Slash
-Solarbeam/Roost
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Moltres is a pretty special Pokemon in that it can learn all of its best moves
without spending a single TM or tutor, although you may want to use a couple
TMs anyways since it doesn't learn Solarbeam until Lvl 71 and Sunny Day until
Lvl 85. It's more powerful than Charizard, but not nearly as strong overall
as Ho-oh.
================ #150 [MEWTWO] ================
-Psychic
-Aura Sphere/Thunderbolt
-Shadow Ball/Ice Beam
-Recover/Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Calm Mind
Rarity: Event
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Well, here we go. The infamous Mewtwo, one of the most powerful Pokemon in the
game. You can't get it until you have pretty much completed the entire game,
but its well worth the wait. Mewtwo has so many good moves that you can
mix and match any powerful and fairly accurate move to get good results.
================ #154 [MEGANIUM] ================
Set #1
-Energy Ball/Seed Bomb
-Earthquake
-Synthesis
-Reflect/Light Screen/Aromatherapy
Set #2
-Seed Bomb
-Earthquake
_Swords Dance
-Return/Synthesis
Meganium can now use Energy Ball/Seed Bomb instead of Magical Leaf
It can also use a physical set with the addition of Seed Bomb.
================ #157 [TYPHLOSION] ================
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Eruption
-Focus Blast
-Solarbeam
-Sunny Day
Typhlosions doesn't get any notable new move options.
================ #160 [FERALIGATR] ================
-Aqua Tail/Waterfall
-Ice Punch
-Earthquake
-Swords Dance
Feraligatr can now use Ice Punch instead of Ice Fang.
================ #169 [CROBAT] ================
Set #1
-Air Slash
-Heat Wave
-Sludge Bomb/Shadow Ball/Dark Pulse
-Roost/Super Fang
Set #2
-Wing Attack/Aerial Ace
-Cross Poison
-Super Fang
-Roost
Crobat can now add Heat Wave/Super Fang to its arsenal.
================ #248 [TYRANITAR] ================
-Stone Edge
-Earthquake
-Crunch
-Aqua Tail/Fire Punch
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Tyranitar is simply amazing in so many ways. Amazing Attack power, great stats
and a ton of great moves. Its ability may be good or bad for your team
depending on how much your other Pokemon like the sandstorm. But the sand
is great for Tyranitar since it increases its Special Defense.
================ #264 [LINOONE] ================
-Return
-Shadow Claw
-Dig
-Seed Bomb/Super Fang
Rarity: Common (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Linoone is just another one of those Pokemon that gets a few cool moves, but
has bad stats. Linoone's ability, PickUp, can certainly help out by getting
you free items, but most of the good items require you to be at a high level.
================ #295 [EXPLOUD] ================
Set #1
-Return
-Crunch
-Earthquake
-Fire Punch/Thunderpunch/Howl
Set #2
-Hyper Voice
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast/Surf
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
Rarity: Common (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Good
Moves: Excellent
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Exploud is another one of those Normal-types that can learn an insane amount of
moves. The good thing is that Exploud's Attack and Special Attack are equally
good so it can use both kinds of moves depending on what nature it has.
================ #297 [HARIYAMA] ================
-Close Combat
-Stone Edge
-Ice Punch/Thunderpunch
-Fire Punch/Earthquake/Bulk Up
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Average
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Hariyama is slow, but sturdy, and has all the moves needed to become a great
Fighting-type. Both of its abilities can come in handy. Thick Fat gives you two
extra resistances while Guts means you don't have to worry about status
effects.
================ #309 [MEDICHAM] ================
-Brick Break/Hi Jump Kick
-Zen Headbutt
-Ice Punch
-Thunderpunch
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent (with Pure Power)
OVERALL: GREAT
It's a good thing Medicham has Pure Power because that automatically makes it
the strongest Fighting type in the game. The downside is that it doesn't learn
Close Combat which means it has to rely on the less accurate Hi Jump Kick or
the less powerful Brick Break. Still, it can learn plenty of other good moves
and can use them to hit extremely hard.
================ #311 [PLUSLE] and #312 [MINUN] ================
-Thunderbolt
-Grass Knot
-Signal Beam
-Nasty Plot
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: BAD
The two Pokemon in this Electric duo are practically the same except for a
slight variation in their stats. There is nothing very special about them
compared to other Electrics. Just use Raichu if you want an Electric mouse
Pokemon. But if you really want one of these two, choose Plusle since it has
higher Sp. Attack.
================ #323 [CAMERUPT] ================
Best ability: Solid Rock
-Lava Plume/Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Earth Power/Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge
-Rock Polish
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Average
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent (with Pure Power)
OVERALL: GOOD
Camerupt is an interesting Fire-type. It has a unique type combo, good
offensive stats, and a fairly unique ability. Its poor Speed and 4x weakness to
Water will work against it, but it's a decent alternative if you want to try
something different from Arcanine or Typhlosion.
================ #325 [GRUMPIG] ================
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Focus Blast
-Energy Ball/Calm Mind
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Average
Moves: Excellent
Power: Good
OVERALL: GOOD
Grumpig can't compete with the likes of Alakazam, but it does have much higher
defensive stats and plenty of good moves. Besides that, it's pretty much your
average Psychic-type.
================ #327 [SPINDA] ================
-Return/Double-Edge
-Sucker Punch
-Brick Break/Drain Punch
-Fire Punch/Teeter Dance/Hypnosis
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Very Bad
Moves: Great
Power: Bad
OVERALL: VERY BAD
Spinda is a slightly better Normal-type than Farfetch'd due to access to some
better moves, but it's still a terrible Pokemon.
================ #358 [CHIMECHO] ================
-Psychic
-Shadow Ball
-Energy Ball
-Calm Mind/Charge Beam/Signal Beam
Rarity: Rare (Sinnoh Sound)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Great
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
A good Special Attack stat and some nice moves are the only noteworthy things
about Chimecho. For some reason, it doesn't learn Focus Blast like most other
Psychic types, which is too bad because Steel-types resist almost all of its
moves.
================ #359 [ABSOL] ================
Best ability: Super Luck
-Night Slash
-Psycho Cut
-Stone Edge/Superpower
-Swords Dance/Sucker Punch
Rarity: Rare (Hoenn Sound)
Stats: Average
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Absol can finish battles very quickly by abusing its special ability to give
you an increased chance of Critical Hits. Fighting-types can't stand in your
way since it learns Psycho Cut, but Steels will give you trouble if you don't
have Superpower.
================ #400 [BIBAREL] ================
Set #1
Best ability: Simple
-Curse
-Return
-Waterfall/Aqua Tail
-Amnesia
Set #2
-Super Fang
-Waterfall/Aqua Tail
-Return
-Superpower/Thunder Wave
Rarity: Rare (Sinnoh Sound)
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Average
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Though it's an average Normal-type, Bibarel is quite special since it has two
completely unique abilities. Simple is probably the more useful one, since
Bibarel learns two useful stat-boosting moves that can increases its stats
extremely quickly.
================ #405 [LUXRAY] ================
Best ability: Intimidate
-Thunder Fang/Spark
-Crunch
-Superpower
-Return
Rarity: Rare (Sinnoh Sound)
Stats: Good
Moves: Bad
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Luxray and Flareon have a lot in common. Both have incredible attack, but have
a terrible selection of moves. Luxray does learn Ice Fang and Fire Fang, but
only through the hassle of breeding. Even then, it doesn't make up for the fact
that Luxray can't learn any strong physical Electric moves.
================ #407 [ROSERADE] ================
Set #1
-Energy Ball
-Sludge Bomb
-Shadow Ball
-Sleep Powder
Set #2
-Solarbeam
-Weather Ball
-Synthesis
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Rare (Sinnoh Sound)
Stats: Great
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
If you were unsatisfied with Johto's selection of Grass Pokemon, give Roserade
a try. With good Speed and amazing Special Attack, Roserade is the most
powerful Special Attacking Grass-type in the game.
================ #418 [FLOATZEL] ================
-Waterfall
-Ice Fang/Ice Punch
-Brick Break
-Crunch/Return
Rarity: Rare (Sinnoh Sound)
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
Floatzel is a physical Water-type, but its power doesn't quite compare to
Feraligatr or Gyarados. Still, Floatzel has something those two don't have -
amazing Speed. Despite its bad defenses, Floatzel can usually attack first and
KO most opponents before it gets hit.
====== #200 [MISDREAVUS] --- Dusk Stone ---> #429 [MISMAGIUS] ======
-Shadow Ball
-Thunderbolt
-Calm Mind
-Energy Ball/Will-o-wisp
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Good
Moves: Great
Power: Great
OVERALL: GREAT
If you want to use Mismagius over Gengar, take advantage of its ability to
learn Calm Mind. This lets it boost its Special stats, something that Gengar
can't do. With or without Calm Mind, Mismagius is still a very good Pokemon to
have. If you can breed, get one with Nasty Plot.
====== #198 [MURKROW] --- Dusk Stone ---> #430 [HONCHKROW] ======
-Sucker Punch
-Heat Wave
-Superpower
-Wing Attack/Steel Wing/Fly
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Great
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: GREAT
Honchkrow lost a lot of Speed after evolving. Fortunately, it has a powerful
Sucker Punch which always goes first. Heat Wave and Superpower are important
tutor moves that lets it handle any Steel type.
================ #437 [BRONZONG] ================
Set #1
-Gyro Ball
-Earthquake
-Payback/Rock Slide
-Hypnosis/Toxic/Confuse Ray
Set #2
-Psychic
-Flash Cannon
-Shadow Ball/Signal Beam
-Calm Mind/Charge Beam
Rarity: Rare (Sinnoh Sound)
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Average
OVERALL: GREAT
Bronzong's claim to fame is the fact that (depending on which ability you pick)
it has no weaknesses to anything except Fire or Ground. Add this to its great
defenses and you have a Pokemon that can last a long time. It also learns a
lot of great moves from both physical and special categories.
================ #441 [CHATOT] ================
-Hyper Voice
-Chatter
-Heat Wave
-Roost/Ominous Wind
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Bad
Moves: Good
Power: Good
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Chatot may not look like much, but it's actually quite unique. While most
Normal/Flying bird Pokemon prefer physical attacks, Chatot is a special
attacker. With its signature move Chatter, it can be fun to play with. It's
not exactly a powerhouse and its defenses are terrible, but it can at least do
some damage.
================ #455 [CARNIVINE] ================
Set #1
-Power Whip
-Crunch
-Return
-Swords Dance
Set #2
-Solarbeam
-Sludge Bomb
-Synthesis
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Bad
Moves: Average
Power: Great
OVERALL: AVERAGE
Carnivine is like a wannabe Tangrowth with its high Attack, high Special
Attack, and low Speed. But it fails to compare due to its average defenses and
shallow selection of moves.
====== #125 [ELECTABUZZ] --- Magmarizer+Trade ---> #466 [ELECTIVIRE] ======
-Thunderpunch
-Brick Break/Low Kick
-Ice Punch
-Earthquake/Fire Punch
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Electivire is famous for a lot of things - high Attack power, a unique ability,
and a wide selection of moves that can KO just about any opponent. All of these
qualities make Electivire the best non-legendary Electric type in the game.
====== #126 [MAGMAR] --- Magmarizer+Trade ---> #467 [MAGMORTAR] ======
-Flamethrower/Fire Blast
-Thunderbolt
-Focus Blast/Solarbeam
-Sunny Day
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Magmortar has the highest Special Attack of any non-legendary Fire type. With
the ability to learn Thunderbolt, it can handle opponents that most Fire types
can't. If you didn't choose Typhlosion and you still haven't found a good Fire
Pokemon for your team, then Magmortar should definitely be considered.
====== #218 [SNEASEL] --- Razor Claw+Night ---> #461 [WEAVILE] ======
-Night Slash
-Ice Shard
-Brick Break
-Swords Dance/Aerial Ace
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Speed and power make Weavile an extremely effective Pokemon. Though its moves
may not be extremely powerful, they are diverse enough that Weavile will rarely
have trouble with any opponent that gets in its way. It's an especially good
Pokemon to use during the Elite 4 rematch.
====== #112 [RHYDON] --- Protector+Trade ---> #461 [RHYPERIOR] ======
Best Ability: Solid Rock
-Earthquake
-Stone Edge
-Megahorn
-Aqua Tail/Fire Punch
Rarity: Rare
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Rhyperior is monstrously powerful (though still terribly slow). It also gets
a great ability that lets it take more hits. Movewise it isn't too different
from Rhydon, but you can now use tutors to teach it some good moves like
Aqua Tail or the elemental punches.
====== #176 [TOGETIC] --- Shiny Stone ---> #468 [TOGEKISS] ======
Best ability: Serene Grace
-Air Slash
-Aura Sphere
-Thunder Wave/Fire Blast/Flamethrower
-Roost
Rarity: Event (Giveaway)
Stats: Excellent
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
If you've put hard work into raising a Togetic during your time in Johto, you
will soon be rewarded. Togekiss has very good stats where it counts and such a
wide selection of moves. Air Slash coupled with Serene Grace can beat most foes
by sheer luck.
====== #218 [GLIGAR] --- Razor Fang+Night ---> #472 [GLISCOR] ======
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide/Stone Edge
-Ice Fang/Thunder Fang
-Swords Dance/Roost
Rarity: Uncommon
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Good
OVERALL: GREAT
Gliscor is one of the better Ground types in the game. It has just the right
stats to be a fast and strong attacker, but also has enough Defense to take
plenty of physical hits. Being part Flying gives it some more resistances than
most other Ground types, which is also a good thing.
================ #473 [PORYGON-Z] ================
Best ability: Adaptability
-Tri-Attack
-Ice Beam
-Thunderbolt
-Nasty Plot
Rarity: Event (Prize)
Stats: Great
Moves: Excellent
Power: Excellent
OVERALL: EXCELLENT
Getting a Porygon and evolving it can be an annoying task, but Porygon-Z is
probably the most powerful Normal-type (at least in terms of Special Attack).
Most opponents are no match for an Adaptability boosted Tri-Attack or anything
boosted by Nasty Plot.
====3RD AND 4TH GEN SAFARI ZONE POKEMON COMING SOON!====
============== [FFF] OVERALL POKEMON RANKINGS ==============
This is a condensed list of how the various Pokemon fare, taking account of
their rarity, stats, moves, and power. If you want to breeze through the game
with ease, use Pokemon from the EXCELLENT or GREAT categories. But if you
want to give yourself more of a challenge, use the ones under BAD or
VERY BAD.
EXCELLENT:
Alakazam
Arcanine
Dragonite
Feraligatr
Gengar
Gyarados
Heracross
Ho-oh
Lugia
Machamp
Scizor
Starmie
Suicune
Tangrowth
Typhlosion
Tyranitar
Yanmega
GREAT:
Ampharos
Donphan
Espeon
Exeggutor
Golem
Houndoom
Jynx
Kingdra
Lapras
Lickilicky
Mamoswine
Mr. Mime
Nidoking
Pinsir
Raikou
Rhydon
Scyther
Slowbro
Slowking
Tauros
Ursaring
GOOD:
Ambipom
Azumarill
Clefable
Crobat
Forretress
Girafarig
Granbull
Hitmonchan
Hitmonlee
Hypno
Jolteon
Kangaskhan
Lanturn
Meganium
Miltank
Nidoqueen
Quagsire
Rapidash
Steelix
Tentacruel
Vaporeon
Venomoth
Victreebel
Vileplume
Weezing
AVERAGE:
Arbok
Bellossom
Blissey
Cloyster
Dewgong
Dodrio
Dugtrio
Dunsparce
Entei
Electabuzz
Fearow
Flareon
Gligar
Kingler
Magneton
Mantine
Marowak
Misdreavus
Muk
Murkrow
Octillery
Parasect
Pidgeot
Politoed
Poliwrath
Qwilfish
Raichu
Raticate
Sandslash
Seaking
Sneasel
Sudowoodo
Togetic
Wigglytuff
Xatu
BAD:
Ariados
Beedrill
Butterfree
Electrode
Furret
Jumpluff
Magcargo
Noctowl
Skarmory
Sunflora
Umbreon
VERY BAD:
Corsola
Delibird
Ditto
Farfetch'd
Ledian
Smeargle
Unown
Wobbuffet
=====After National Dex=====
EXCELLENT:
Aerodactyl
Electivire
Magmortar
Mewtwo
Moltres
Porygon-Z
Rhyperior
Roserade
Snorlax
Togekiss
Weavile
Zapdos
GREAT:
Absol
Bronzong
Floatzel
Gliscor
Hariyama
Honchkrow
Kabutops
Medicham
Mismagius
Omastar
GOOD:
Articuno
Camerupt
Exploud
Grumpig
AVERAGE:
Bibarel
Carnivine
Chatot
Chimecho
Linoone
Luxray
BAD:
Minun
Plusle
VERY BAD:
Spinda
============== [GGG] CLOSING REMARKS ==============
-------------------- FAQ --------------------
Q: I have a moveset that's not on the list. Can you add it in?
A: Certainly, although if it's too similar to the ones already listed I
won't bother. Also if it uses moves that aren't as good as the ones
already listed (like Hyper Beam or Giga Impact) then I won't add it
in either.
Q: Can you rate my team/make me a team?
A: While I'd love to help people, I don't always have the time. Making a
team for playing through the game isn't that hard anyways. Just pick some
Pokemon you really like and go with it.
Q: How do I get [move/Pokemon]?
A: I could probably tell you, but you're better off finding it out for
yourself. A lot of the info you may be looking for is already on the
rest of GameFAQs. If not, try asking it on the forums.
Q: Can we battle sometime?
A: Sure, I'm always up for a battle. To get my friend code, contact me in one
of the following ways listed in the Contact Info section below.
-------------------- THE THANK YOUS --------------------
-Nintendo/GameFreak for creating an endearing series that has remained super
popular even after an entire decade.
-GameFAQs.com for providing an expansive reference database for Pokemon and
every other game.
-Bulbapedia for providing comprehensive in-game information on every Pokemon.
-And of course, the readers (that's YOU) for checking out this guide. Whether
you learned something or not, I still appreciate you for taking the time
to look through this.
-------------------- CONTACT INFO --------------------
Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/arkeisvid - the best way to contact me,
though you need a Youtube account as well. If you're a big fan of
Pokemon, please subscribe to the channel!
Website:
http://www.arkeis.com - The other best way to contact me.
Forums: Smogon, Pkmncommunity, Serebii, - My username is aragornbird on all
of these forums. Currently I am only active on Smogon.
Email:
[email protected] - I only check my email twice a week so don't
email me unless you can wait a few days for a response. Put Pokemon
or In-Game in the title since I get a ton of spam that I delete without
looking at.
-------------------- LEGAL INFO --------------------
This document is copyright 2010 aragornbird
You may not copy, reproduce, modify, or distribute this document in any way
without written permission from the owner.
