Red & Blue's Strongest Pokmon, Ranked
The Pokémon power rankings have expanded since the Generation I games Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. But even though the overall hierarchy has changed and fluctuated now with over 1,000 unique species, it’s worth looking back on the original Game Boy roster.
Whether through bugs, exploits, or unique battle mechanics, what made a Pokémon strong in Gen I differs from today. The way the Special stat functioned and the punishing feature behind the Hyper Beam attack are some of the most noteworthy. Legendary creatures like Mewtwo and Mew are unsurprising powerhouses in practically any Kanto matchup. But between species like Starmie and Tauros, there was interesting diversity among Pokémon Red and Blue’s toughest monsters.
Zapdos Is The Strongest Of The Legendary Bird Trio
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Kanto’s Legendary Bird Trio is generally strong, but Zapdos is the strongest of the three and the most viable for competitive fights. This electric bird is a one-of-a-kind encounter in Pokémon Red and Blue, found once per playthrough in the abandoned Power Plant.
Zapdos is a dual Electric/Flying-Type Pokémon and is easily the strongest Electric species in Generation I, backed by powerful attacks, their corresponding stats (125 Special), and impressive Speed (100). Thunderbolt and Drill Peck cover both of Zapdos’ typings on the offensive, but just as valuable is using its high speed to Paralyze foes quickly with Thunder Wave. This Legendary Bird isn’t higher in the hierarchy mostly due to how much Psychic-, Water-, and Normal-Types thrive in Gen I.
Rhydon’s Power Makes Up For Its Speed
One of the earliest character designs for the Pokémon franchise in the lead-up to Red and Green’s release in Japan, Rhydon was a behemoth in combat. This creature is the second and final-stage species in the Rhyhorn line, evolving from it via level-up at Lv. 42.
Rhydon is a dual Ground/Rock-Type Pokémon, which was a common theme among other Rock creatures. While this gives it a glaring weakness to Water — one of Gen I’s dominant typings — its incredible raw strength (130) and physically defensive bulk (105 HP, 120 Defense) make it robust in several matchups. With Rock Slide, Rhydon can even stop a Zapdos in its tracks, while Earthquake strikes nearly everyone with at least neutral or super-effective damage.
Starmie Is Surprisingly Versatile
Psychic-Type Pokémon were some of the most elite creatures in Gen I’s Red and Blue, and while Alakazam was more iconic, Starmie could more than hold its own. This dual-type Pokémon evolves from Staryu by exposing it to a Water Stone. Starmie is a Water/Psychic-Type Pokémon, a strong combination that gives it access to many excellent moves.
Surf and Psychic are dangerous weapons, but it has fantastic coverage options outside of Water and Psychic with Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. Something else working in Starmie’s favor was how particularly strong Psychic-Type was in Gen I. In the original Game Boy games, only Bug-Types could inflict super-effective damage on them, while Psychics were immune to Ghost-Types.
Exeggutor Can Break Teams With Status Afflictions
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Grass-Types might not be the most powerful Pokémon in Red and Blue, but Exeggutor ranks among the highest tiers. This species is the evolution of Exeggcute after exposing the latter to a Leaf Stone. It’s a dual Grass/Psychic-Type Pokémon, which is refreshing since most Gen I Grass creatures are also Poison-Type.
On top of Exeggutor’s excellent Special stats (125 Special Attack and Special Defense by modern metrics), some of its strongest assets are its status-afflicting moves. Psychic and Mega Drain are great for raw damage — and bonus healing for the latter — but putting foes to sleep or paralyzing them with Sleep Powder or Stun Spore could grind opponents’ strategies to a halt.
Chansey Has Incredible Special Bulk
Despite Chansey’s endearing and otherwise unassuming character design, this Pokémon plays a vital role in Gen I’s competitive formats. During the main story, these creatures are only found as rare encounters in the Safari Zone but it’s also found in Cerulean Cave after beating the Elite Four.
Chansey is a pure Normal-Type Pokémon, with its peculiar stat spread being the key to being such a powerful staple in Pokémon Red and Blue teams. Despite having terrible-to-mediocre stats otherwise, its tremendous HP (250) and Special Attack/Defense (105) give it fantastic defensive bulk and make it an invaluable check against Psychics — one of the most powerful Types in Gen I. Complete with its signature Soft-Boiled for healing, it can potentially frustrate Pokémon like Alakazam.
Snorlax Is A Bulky Jack-of-All-Trades
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One of the most iconic Pokémon from the Kanto region, Snorlax was a competitive powerhouse during Pokémon Red and Blue’s heyday. This slumbering behemoth is famous for being almost perpetually sleepy, hungry, and lazy, but it can easily become a roadblock in battle thanks to its combination of offense and defense.
Snorlax is a pure Normal-Type Pokémon only found in two locations blocking the player’s path in the overworld. What makes this beast so strong in competitive settings is its fantastic defensive bulk (160 HP complemented by its average 65 Physical and Special Defense) when paired with almost unparalleled versatility in its movepool. On top of Rest for healing, it can use Body Slam, Earthquake, Hyper Beam, and Ice Beam to hit nearly everything with either neutral or super-effective damage.
Tauros Has The Edge Over Snorlax
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Tauros was nearly in its own class in Pokémon Red and Blue. It was rare in the Kanto region, as they are elusive encounters found only in the Safari Zone. It’s another pure Normal-Type Pokémon that takes full advantage of the strengths that come with it.
Tauros gets the edge over Snorlax and, by extension, Chansey, as it hits hard and fast with its Attack (100) and Speed stats (110). Snorlax would be vulnerable to Tauros for far too long if it tries to recover with Rest, while Chansey only has fantastic defenses against Special-focused opponents. Combined with its typing, high stats, and diverse movepool Tauros has the potential to sweep its competition. Especially with Gen I’s Hyper Beam quirk that doesn’t require a turn to recharge if it knocks out the opponent.
Alakazam Could Sweep Many Teams
Were it not for the Kanto region’s mysterious and powerful Legendary creatures, Alakazam would be the strongest Psychic-Type in Pokémon Red and Blue. Alakazam is the final species in the Abra evolutionary line, evolving from Kadabra through trading. This made getting one slightly more complicated, but its incredible Special-focused power made it worthwhile for battling.
Alakazam resists incoming Psychic attacks, making Exeggutor or Starmie struggle against it, nor does it share their same Type weaknesses. With its stunning Special Attack/Defense (136) and overwhelming Speed (120), Alakazam could sweep teams with Psychic or gravely hinder them with Thunder Wave. Adding the fact that its only Gen I weakness (Bug) is virtually useless in competitive settings, Alakazam is a non-Legendary that could trivialize Red and Blueâââ.
Mew Has Perfectly Balanced Stats
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Technically the rarest Pokémon in the Gen I games, Mew was the franchise’s first “Mythical” species. This was the creature that scientists used Mewtwo as a reference in their sinister experiments to mimic and expand on its power. Mew is a pure Psychic-Type Pokémon, but its greatest strengths lie in its stat distribution and movepool.
This creature is a rare example of a species with perfectly balanced stats, having 100 in every category for 600 total (when measured with current stat standards). Meanwhile, Mew can learn every TM move in the games, giving it unprecedented flexibility. There is no legitimate way to find Mew in the wild in Pokémon Red and Blue, meaning players must resort to an incredibly elaborate glitch exploit.
Mewtwo Would Break The Game If Caught Any Earlier
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While several Legendary Pokémon have been introduced after Mewtwo, the fact that the artificial creature is still such a force in Gen IX is a testament to its strength. It can only be caught deep in the Cerulean Cave after players beat the Kanto region’s Elite Four.
Mewtwo is a pure Psychic-Type Pokémon, which is already a fantastic asset on paper. But backed by a powerful movepool including Psychic and coverage attacks like Ice Beam and Thunderbolt, this beast would break the game if players could catch it earlier in the story. Taking Gen I’s unique Special stat mechanic, its base stat total stands at a daunting 744. It effortlessly outclasses everyone else in the Gen I roster.
Ash and Pikachu smiling excitedly in Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
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Expanding across a multitude of media, including TCGs, video games, manga, live-action movies and anime, the Pokmon franchise is set in a shared world of humans and creatures with a wide variety of special abilities.
Created bySatoshi TajiriFirst FilmPokemon: The First MovieLatest FilmPokmon the Movie: Secrets of the JungleFirst TV ShowPokmon (1997)Latest TV ShowPokmon Horizons (2023)First Episode Air DateApril 1, 1997Video Game(s)Detective Pikachu Returns, Pokmon: Let’s Go, Eevee! , Pokemon Red and Blue, Pokemon X and Y, Pokmon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Detective Pikachu, Pokmon Scarlet and Violet, Pokmon Diamond & Pearl, Pokmon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokmon Legends: Arceus, Pokmon Sword and Shield, Pokmon GO