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Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG)

Best Pokemon Tier List

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Pokemon FRLG - Tier List

This is our tier list for the best Pokemon for in-game use in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG). Read on to find out which Pokemon are the most powerful and versatile for in-game clears.

List of Contents

Best Pokemon Tier List

Best Pokemon for In-Game Use

Tier Pokemon
S Tier
Alakazam Blastoise Jynx Kadabra Snorlax
A Tier
Arcanine Clefable Gengar Lapras Mr. Mime Nidoking Starmie Vaporeon
B Tier
Articuno Charizard Dodrio Exeggutor Fearow Golduck Gyarados Haunter Nidoqueen Raichu Venusaur Zapdos
C Tier
Butterfree Electabuzz Flareon Golem Hypno Jolteon Machamp Slowbro Tentacruel Victreebel

Criteria for Tier Placings

The following are the criteria to be met when ranking Pokemon for in-game viability.

Tier Criteria
S Tier S Tier Pokemon are the best of the best, capable of defeating most, if not all major battles in the game by themselves. They have great offenses, great coverage, and are simple to use.
A Tier A Tier Pokemon are often the best of their type, but are usually outclassed by Pokemon in the S Tier. These Pokemon are often effective against most major battles, with the exception of one or two where they may struggle.
B Tier B Tier Pokemon have neutral to good matchups against some major battles, but also have a small number of matchups where they are ineffective.
C Tier C Tier Pokemon have a small number of battles where they shine, but they are still serviceable and can perform in most battles. They are typically restricted by either a shallow movepool or have late game availability making them difficult to raise.
UR Icon UR (Unranked) Pokemon are not present due to them simply being inferior options compared to the rest of the Pokemon on this list.

Top Pokemon Rankings Explained

S Tier Pokemon

Jump to a Tier!
S Tier A Tier B Tier C Tier
Pokemon Commentary
Pokemon FRLG - Alakazam Alakazam Stats: 55-50-45-135-85-120
・Fast and powerful Special attacker that can KO opponents before they can even attack.
・Available early game at Route 24.
・Overwhelms most major battles with STAB attacks, and can use Calm Mind for the harder battles to reliably sweep.
Pokemon FRLG - Blastoise Blastoise Stats: 79-83-100-85-105-78
・All-around solid stats that can carry it both early and late game.
・Is a great user of two mandatory HMs (Surf and Strength) for coverage.
・Can learn Ice Beam to win some of its bad matchups.
Pokemon FRLG - Jynx Jynx Stats: 65-50-35-115-95-95
・Has STAB on two of the best offensive types in the game in Psychic and Ice.
・High SpAtk and Spd allows it to sweep foes easily.
・Lovely Kiss can be used to put opponents to sleep and set up easily with Calm Mind.
Pokemon FRLG - Kadabra Kadabra Stats: 40-35-30-120-70-105
・Fast and powerful Special attacker that can KO opponents before they can even attack.
・Available early game at Route 24.
・Still powerful enough to sweep most enemies even without its trade evolution.
Pokemon FRLG - Snorlax Snorlax Stats: 160-110-65-65-110-30
・Learns Body Slam early at level 33 for a strong STAB attack.
・Can be taught Shadow Ball to combat Ghost types.
・Among all major battles, only has a bad matchup against Bruno.

S tier Pokemon are the best options in-game, able to solo multiple major battles with ease and have little to no bad matchups. They require minimal effort to bring to optimal performance and are simple to use.

A Tier Pokemon

Jump to a Tier!
S Tier A Tier B Tier C Tier
Pokemon Commentary
Pokemon FRLG - Arcanine Arcanine Stats: 90-110-80-100-80-95
・Well-rounded stats, including good mixed attacking stats and high Spd.
・Flamethrower is strong enough for most enemies, and Strength or Extreme Speed can deal with most foes that resist Flamethrower.
・Intimidate is very useful against the AI since they do not switch out.
Pokemon FRLG - Clefable Clefable Stats: 95-70-73-85-90-60
・Well-rounded stats and Normal typing give it at least a neutral matchup against most foes.
・The powerful Mega Kick and the consistent Secret Power are sufficient to carry the early game.
・Great coverage options via TM and Sing to put enemies to sleep.
Pokemon FRLG - Gengar Gengar Stats: 60-65-60-130-75-110
・High SpAtk and Spd stats along with fantastic coverage allow it to deal heavy damage against most foes.
・Good defensive typing somewhat mitigates its low physical bulk.
・Ghost STAB being reliant on its low Atk stat prevents it from being ranked higher than A.
Pokemon FRLG - Lapras Lapras Stats: 130-85-80-85-95-60
・Its versatile movepool allow it to handle almost every major battle.
・Great bulk to improve survivability despite its low Spd.
・Obtained rather late and requires some level grinding to catch up to the rest of the team.
Pokemon FRLG - Mr. Mime Mr. Mime Stats: 40-45-65-100-120-90
・Still decently powerful and fast despite having lower SpAtk and Spd than Kadabra.
・Above average Special bulk allows it to survive some attacks that Kadabra cannot.
・Easy to train due to the trade EXP boost.
Pokemon FRLG - Nidoking Nidoking Stats: 81-92-77-85-75-85
・Great coverage options via TM/HM and level up, including Megahorn to deal with Psychic types.
・Well-rounded stats make it an effective mixed attacker.
・Available early game in FireRed. Can be obtained via trade in LeafGreen, or through a rare encounter in the wild.
Pokemon FRLG - Starmie Starmie Stats: 60-75-85-100-85-115
・Outspeeds everything in-game and hits hard with high SpAtk.
・Fantastic coverage options give it a super-effective attack against almost any foe.
・Most of its best attacks are only learned by TM, making it an expensive investment overall.
Pokemon FRLG - Vaporeon Vaporeon Stats: 130-65-60-110-95-65
・Great overall bulk and high SpAtk.
・Acid Armor patching up its low Def fixes most of its bad matchups, leaving only Lorelei as the only difficult battle.
・Surf and Ice Beam are good enough to compete against almost any foe.

A tier Pokemon are quite strong and can win most battles in the game, but are either outclassed or less effective than S tier Pokemon. Some A tier Pokemon require setup moves to patch their bad matchups or require heavy investment to bring to optimal performance.

B Tier Pokemon

Jump to a Tier!
S Tier A Tier B Tier C Tier
Pokemon Commentary
Pokemon FRLG - Articuno Articuno Stats: 90-85-100-95-125-85
・Great overall stats and has good or neutral matchups in most major battles.
・Water Pulse can improve the Blaine matchup.
・Its late availability holds it back from being ranked higher.
Pokemon FRLG - Charizard Charizard Stats: 78-84-78-109-85-100
・Best SpAtk and Spd among all starters.
・Learns Flamethrower quite early to carry the mid game.
・Weak early game, strong mid game, and decent against the Elite Four.
Pokemon FRLG - Dodrio Dodrio Stats: 60-110-70-60-60-100
・Great Atk and Spd stats allowing it to hit fast and hard.
・Only has difficulty against Lorelei due to her high level bulky Pokemon and type disadvantage.
・Can fulfill its role even without TMs through Tri Attack and Drill Peck, while using Fly for fast travel.
Pokemon FRLG - Exeggutor Exeggutor Stats: 95-95-85-125-65-55
・Has one of the highest SpAtk stats in Kanto along with Psychic typing to hit most enemies for neutral damage.
・Learns Sleep Powder for utility.
・Most of its viable moves require using TMs, preventing it from being ranked higher.
Pokemon FRLG - Fearow Fearow Stats: 65-90-65-61-61-100
・Good offensive stats and STAB attacks make it perform decently well in most battles.
・Available early game.
・Struggles against bulky opponents or opposing Pokemon that resist its STAB attacks.
Pokemon FRLG - Golduck Golduck Stats: 80-82-78-95-80-85
・Balanced stats and decent coverage make it useful against most opponents.
・Access to Calm Mind helps against hard matchups.
・Late game availability and its low level at capture makes it not as viable as other options.
Pokemon FRLG - Gyarados Gyarados Stats: 95-125-79-60-100-81
・Great stat spread except for SpAtk, which is unfortunate due to Water being Special-based.
・Makes great use of Physical type attacks learned via TM when paired with Dragon Dance.
・Difficult to raise due to its pre-evolved form plus slow growth rate.
Pokemon FRLG - Haunter Haunter Stats: 45-50-45-115-55-95
・High SpAtk and Spd stats along with fantastic coverage allow it to deal heavy damage against most foes.
・Lower physical bulk than Gengar makes it frail despite its good defensive typing.
・Ghost STAB being reliant on its low Atk stat prevents it from being ranked higher than B.
Pokemon FRLG - Nidoqueen Nidoqueen Stats: 90-82-87-75-85-76
・Good defenses and decent mixed attacking stats, but will struggle against bulky foes.
・Relies on TMs for coverage, but has super-effective attacks against most foes.
・Lower offensive stats than Nidoking make it an inferior choice.
Pokemon FRLG - Raichu Raichu Stats: 60-90-55-90-80-100
・Good SpAtk and Spd make it a decent offensive option.
・Learns Thunderbolt naturally, removing the need to purchase it via TM.
・Available early game, but is mediocre until it learns Thunderbolt.
Pokemon FRLG - Venusaur Venusaur Stats: 80-82-83-100-100-80
・Great early game with Vine Whip and Razor Leaf.
・Sleep Powder and Leech Seed are great utility moves.
・Falls off late game due to Grass being commonly resisted in Kanto.
Pokemon FRLG - Zapdos Zapdos Stats: 90-90-85-125-90-100
・Great stat spread with fantastic offenses and decent bulk.
・Electric/Flying is a great type combination, but has difficulty with the common Ground/Rock type Pokemon in Kanto.
・Ranked lower due to its late game availability.

B tier Pokemon have neutral to good matchups against some major battles while also having clear bad matchups where the Pokemon is ineffective. These Pokemon either lack coverage moves or are acquired too late in the game to be worth using over similar options that can be found earlier.

C Tier Pokemon

Jump to a Tier!
S Tier A Tier B Tier C Tier
Pokemon Commentary
Pokemon FRLG - Butterfree Butterfree Stats: 60-45-50-80-80-70
・Learns Sleep Powder naturally and makes great use of it with its Compound Eyes ability.
・Has good coverage with Psychic (via TM) or Psybeam (by level up).
・Terrible stat spread and typing holds it back from being ranked higher.
Pokemon FRLG - Electabuzz Electabuzz Stats: 65-83-57-95-85-105
・Pure Electric type makes it neutral against almost everyone except for Giovanni.
・Learns good coverage moves like Psychic and Strength.
・Late game availability and low encounter rate makes it rank lower than other alternatives.
Pokemon FRLG - Flareon Flareon Stats: 65-130-60-95-110-65
・Good mixed offenses, but terrible physical bulk and below average Spd.
・Flamethrower and Shadow Ball via TM make it deal neutral or effective damage against most Pokemon.
・Overly reliant on TMs due to its poor movepool through level up.
Pokemon FRLG - Golem Golem Stats: 80-110-130-55-65-45
・Great Atk and Def, but its other stats are quite bad.
・Loses easily to super effective moves.
・Self-sufficient and doesn't require TMs to be useful, making it great at some matchups.
Pokemon FRLG - Hypno Hypno Stats: 85-73-70-73-115-67
・Pure Psychic typing makes it neutral at worst against almost every foe.
・Average stats all around, except for its good SpDef.
・Will struggle against faster Pokemon, and is inferior compared to other Psychic type options in Kanto.
Pokemon FRLG - Jolteon Jolteon Stats: 65-65-60-110-95-130
・Outspeeds everything and has great SpAtk, but has poor physical bulk.
・Thunderbolt via TM is its only strong and reliable option.
・Will struggle against opponents with bulky Pokemon, especially Bruno.
Pokemon FRLG - Machamp Machamp Stats: 90-130-80-65-85-55
・Very high Atk, but mediocre or bad stats everywhere else.
・Has good Physical coverage with Rock Slide and Strength, and can get Bulk Up to boost key stats.
・Requires setup to reliably defeat most foes.
Pokemon FRLG - Slowbro Slowbro Stats: 95-75-110-100-80-30
・Solid bulk and SpAtk, but terrible base 30 Spd.
・Late game availability makes it difficult to raise.
・Ranked low due to its terrible Spd forcing it to act second in almost every turn, taking chip damage that needs to be addressed eventually.
Pokemon FRLG - Tentacruel Tentacruel Stats: 80-70-65-80-120-100
・Good SpAtk, SpDef, and Spd, but terrible physical bulk.
・Great defensive typing and can learn Barrier to patch up its weak Def.
・Outclassed by other Water type options.
Pokemon FRLG - Victreebel Victreebel Stats: 80-105-65-100-60-70
・Learns Vine Whip and Sleep Powder rather early, making it a great option for early game.
・Sleep Powder and Growth carry it through the mid game battles.
・Falls off late game due to Grass being commonly resisted in Kanto.

C tier Pokemon have niche cases where they can be useful in a number of major battles. They either require setup to be useful or have shallow movepools which restrict the number of good matchups they have in Kanto.

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