Summary
The strength of a Pokemon is not determined exclusively by its stats or type. Any species can shine brilliantly one moment and fail the next, for the battlefield of this world is ever-changing and unforgiving. Each has strengths and weaknesses, many of which can be exploited.
Some have a higher success rate due to superior offense, defense, or speed.A few species stand outas 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 July 26, 2025 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 inPokemon 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.
InPokemon Scarlet & Violet,a few of these Kanto Pokemon leap over to Paldea, including the starters, which can be found in theIndigo DiskDLC 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 thestrongest Gen 1 Pokemon.
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There aren’t too many Fire-type Pokemon to work within the Original 151, especially if gamers did not pick Charmander in a Kanto playthrough. Ninetales is a fine choice for this option with terrific Special Attack and Speed. A superpowered Sunny Day-boosted Flamethrower will tear through Grass, Bug, or Ice types.
Only for players of theBlueversion, Ninetales is fairly easy to pick up, being found as early as Route 7, just beyond Fushica City. Players will need topick up a Fire Stoneto evolve it, which is easily purchased from the Celadon City department store.
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There are a lot of Water-type Pokemon in the original roster, but there are a few Fighting types. This is where Poliwrath steps in as it checks off both entries.
The only way to obtain the Tadpole Pokemon is to evolve from Poliwhirl with a Water Stone, which can be bought at the Celadon City department store. Gamers will have an awesome Pokemon with great all-around stats that shine in Attack and Defense. This Pokemon is famous for being the starter Pokemon of Red in thePokemon Adventuresmanga, where it evolved on the SS Anne to rescue its trainer.
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#0127
For players of theBlueversion, the Bug titan of choice is Pinsir. It is a tricky Pokemon to acquire, being rare to find in the Safari Zone and costing 2500 coins to purchase in the Rocket Game Corner.
However, if players do pick up the Stag Beetle Pokemon then they will have an epic batter. Its best stat is a staggering 125 Attack, which makes it one of the highest out of the Original 151. It can learn a variety of Bug, Fighting, and Ground-type moves and, in a pinch, a one-hit-KO move in Guillotine. Pinsir is all-out attack. If players are playing a Generation 6 game, then theyhave access to Mega Pinsir, who gains a boost in stats and also gains the Flying secondary typing.
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The first of the fossil Pokemon available in the Kanto games, Omastar is a decent option for a playthrough, although it takes a large chunk of the story to use it.
Its best stat is a top 125 Defense, but it also can hit back with a 115 Special Attack stat. Hydro Pump will no doubt do serious damage to opposing Pokemon. Omastar has the unique status of being an internet star, thanks to the popular Twitch Plays Pokemon series in which it played a significant role and became known as “Lord Helix.”
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#0141
Where Omastar shines in Special Attack, Kabutops is the more Physical out of the two with a very respectable 115 Attack. Moves like Slash, Stone Edge and Liquidation are best to make use of their strengths.
Gamers have a big choiceto make in a Kanto playthrough, as only one of Kabutops and Omastar can be used in a single playthrough. It is up to the player which they prefer. One isn’t really better than the other as they focus on different stats. For an all-out attack and the quicker Pokemon then Kabutops will be the preference.
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#0076
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.
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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 thestrongest 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.
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Speed is the name of the gamewhen it comes to Electrode, as it isthe 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.
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25Kangaskhan
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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.
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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 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.
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