Summary
- Gym Leaders specialize in specific Types, encouraging diverse team compositions to tackle challenges effectively.
- Butterfree’s Confusion is crucial against Brock, while Gyarados and Lapras counter Blaine’s Fire-Type team.
- Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Starmie are strong choices for Lt. Surge and Koga battles, providing a versatile lineup.
Pokémon Red and Blue were phenomenons when they launched in 1998 worldwide for the Game Boy, and they cemented the classic Gym Leader challenge gameplay loop. These spaced-out boss fights would define much of the gameplay loops for the mainline video game series.
The Gym Leaders specialize in a specific Type, incentivizing players to experiment with different team compositions. Even with just the Kanto region’s classic 151 roster, there are plenty of options to tackle these bosses. From an imposing early-game Nidoking to the incredibly consistent Gyarados, there is a strong selection of Pokémon to challenge the Indigo League’s Gyms.
8
Butterfree Deals Strong Neutral Damage Against Brock
Type: |
Bug/Flying-Type |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Caterpie (1st stage), Metapod (2nd stage), Butterfree (3rd stage) |
Location: |
Viridian Forest (as Caterpie or Metapod) |
Useful moves: |
Confusion |
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Aside from his Pokémon companions, the Pewter City Gym Leader Brock became one of Ash Ketchum’s most iconic friends in the anime. However, Brock strictly introduces players to the Gym Leader concept in the games. The Generation I boss battle focuses on Rock-Type creatures known for being physically sturdy combatants.
Players who choose Bulbasaur or Squirtle as their starter will breeze through Brock’s Geodude and Onix, but Butterfree is a great option for Charmander users. Caterpie can be caught early in Viridian Forest and evolves into its final stage at Lv. 10 — Butterfree. Players won’t have any direct Type counters with the Bug/Flying-Type Pokémon, but the Psychic attack Confusion will defeat Brock’s team since they’re low in the Special stat.
7
Gloom and Pikachu Are Solid Options Against Misty
Type: |
Grass/Poison-Type (Gloom); Electric-Type (Pikachu) |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Caterpie (1st stage), Metapod (2nd stage), Butterfree (3rd stage); Pikachu (1st stage), Raichu (2nd stage) |
Location: |
Route 5 (Oddish); Viridian Forest (Pikachu) |
Useful moves: |
Absorb, Stun Spore, Sleep Powder (Oddish/Gloom); Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave (Pikachu) |
Misty is another anime icon and the second Gym Leader in Pokémon Red and Blue, specializing in Water-Type creatures. Like Brock, she’ll challenge players with a team comprising two Pokémon. Even for those who didn’t choose Bulbasaur, players will have at least two options to take Misty on.
In Viridian Forest, should players be willing to grind to encounter one, an Electric-Type Pikachu can be found to offer a direct answer for Misty’s Water-Types. It knows Thunder Shock by default and Thunder Wave to slow its opponents down. Alternatively, Oddish can be found in the grasses near Misty’s native Cerulean City. The Grass-Type creature knows Absorb by default to inflict super-effective damage while slightly healing itself. Players can also evolve it into Gloom at Lv. 21 for more firepower.
6
Nidoking, Nidoqueen, and Diglett Make Short Work of Lt. Surge
Type: |
Poison/Ground-Type (Nidoking and Nidoqueen); Ground-Type (Diglett) |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Nidoran (1st stage), Nidorino (2nd stage), Nidoking (3rd stage); Nidoran (1st stage), Nidorina (2nd stage), Nidoqueen (3rd stage); Diglett (1st stage), Dugtrio (2nd stage) |
Location: |
Route 22 (Nidoran male and female); Diglett Cave (Diglett) |
Useful moves: |
Horn Attack, Thrash, Dig (Nidoking); Body Slam, Dig (Nidoqueen); Dig (Diglett) |
Nidoking and Nidoqueen are among the strongest species to use in the Gen I games. Along with the local Ground-Type Diglett, these creatures come at an excellent time for Lt. Surge’s Electric-Types in Vermilion City. The male Nidoran evolutionary line gets the offensive edge over his female counterpart, but players can’t go wrong with either.
Both are found next to the first city players will visit. Thanks to a Moon Stone found in Mt. Moon — the cave dungeon before taking on Cerulean’s Misty — players can have a fully evolved Nidoking or Nidoqueen well before battling Lt. Surge. Paired with the Ground-Type Dig after finding the move in Cerulean, they can tear through Surge’s Electric-Types. Alternatively, Diglett can be found in its eponymous cave next to Vermilion. It will likely know Dig already, and players shouldn’t need to evolve it to make short work of Surge’s team.
5
Arcanine and Ninetales Can Blitz Through Erika
Type: |
Fire-Type (Arcanine and Ninetales) |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Growlithe (1st stage), Arcanine (2nd stage); Vulpix (1st stage), Ninetales (2nd stage) |
Location: |
Route 7, 8 (Growlithe and Vulpix) |
Useful moves: |
Ember, Bite, Take Down (Nidoking); Ember, Quick Attack, Confuse Ray (Ninetales) |
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Grass-Type creatures generally aren’t the most powerful in Pokémon Red and Blue, which players can take advantage of when battling Celadon City’s Erika. This doesn’t mean her team is a pushover, with Victreebell and Vileplume capable of frustrating players by immobilizing them with Wrap or status afflictions.
Just before reaching Celadon, players can fortunately find wild Growlithe or Vulpix. Both are Fire-Types but the former is exclusive to Red and the latter to Blue. Growlithe and Vulpix evolve via Fire Stones, which can be bought in Celadon’s Department Store. Then, Arcanine and Ninetales can use Ember to defeat Erika’s Grass team. Arcanine is the strongest option for non-Charizard users. Even so, either will comfortably take them through Erika.
4
The Nido Duo and Starmie Can Comfortably Challenge Koga’s Team
Type: |
Poison/Ground-Type (Nidoking and Nidoqueen); Water/Psychic-Type (Starmie) |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Nidoran (1st stage), Nidorino (2nd stage), Nidoking (3rd stage); Nidoran (1st stage), Nidorina (2nd stage), Nidoqueen (3rd stage); Staryu (1st stage), Starmie (2nd stage) |
Location: |
Route 22 (Nidoran male and female); Route 19 (Staryu, fishing via Super Rod) |
Useful moves: |
Horn Attack, Thrash, Dig (Nidoking); Body Slam, Dig (Nidoqueen); Psychic, Surf (Starmie) |
The Fuchsia City Leader specializes in Poison-Type species, but players must prepare since the trainers in his domain also use Psychic-Types. Thankfully, players will have some of Pokémon Red and Blue‘s strongest overall options to cover all their bases for this challenge.
The dual Poison/Ground-Types Nidoking or Nidoqueen can decimate Koga’s Poison creatures with Dig for super-effective damage. Another option would be to use the Water/Psychic-Type Starmie, which can resist and still deal heavy damage to the Gym’s Psychic-wielding trainers before reaching the Leader. Then, after learning the Psychic attack via TM, Starmie can quickly defeat Koga’s Poison-Types. Wild Staryu can be found fishing nearby Fuchsia and evolved via Water Stone — also bought in Celadon — but it will take some grinding to be on par with Koga’s levels.
3
Parasect Can Handle Sabrina
Type: |
Grass/Bug-Type |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Paras (1st stage), Parasect (2nd stage) |
Location: |
Mt. Moon (as Paras) |
Useful moves: |
Spore, Leech Life, Slash, Body Slam |
Found early in Mt. Moon, Paras and Parasect are rarities by being Grass creatures that aren’t also Poison-Types. This works for the dual Grass/Bug-Type Parasect’s benefit, demonstrating its strengths during the boss battle against Saffron City’s Sabrina. The Saffron Gym Leader specializes in Psychic-Type Pokémon that are overwhelmingly powerful in Generation I.
While Bug-Types aren’t known for their raw power, Parasect has some useful tricks to slow down Sabrina’s most dangerous teammates. Its respectable Special stat (which doubles as Special Attack and Special Defense in Gen I) lets it last long enough to use Spore to inflict Sleep on Sabrina’s squad. Next, it can use the Bug attack Leech Life for super-effective damage, mild HP restoration, and the Normal attack Slash to exploit Kabadra and Alakazam’s low Defense.
2
Gyarados and Lapras Put Out Blaine’s Fires
Type: |
Water/Flying-Type (Gyarados); Water/Ice-Type (Lapras) |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Magikarp (1st stage), Gyarados (2nd stage); Lapras (1st/final stage) |
Location: |
Route 4 (bought from salesman as a Magikarp); Silph Co., Saffron City (Lapras) |
Useful moves: |
Surf, Hydro Pump (Gyarados); Surf (Lapras) |
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Gyarados might not rank among the strongest Pokémon in Gen I’s most-used tier of battlers, but it’s unquestionably powerful. That applies to casual story playthroughs in Red and Blue, giving the Fire-Type boss Blaine practically no chance to win.
Water-Type Pokémon already have a massive advantage in Gen I, making the dual Water/Flying-Type Gyarados a direct counter to Cinnabar Island’s Leader. It also helps that a Magikarp can be bought cheaply early in the story. Gyarados needs no more than Surf or Hydro Pump to sweep Blaine’s team, but the Water/Ice-Type Lapras is another option. While Surf will also be enough for Lapras, being gifted at a low level is a major drawback. Starting at Lv. 15, players must spend significant time grinding levels to get close to Blaine’s team.
1
Gyarados is Available Early and Returns to Sweep Giovanni
Type: |
Water/Flying-Type |
---|---|
Evolutionary line: |
Magikarp (1st stage), Gyarados (2nd stage) |
Location: |
Route 4 (bought from a salesman as a Magikarp) |
Useful moves: |
Surf, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam |
Players will return to Viridian City — Kanto’s first city and second major location overall — to discover that gangster and Team Rocket boss Giovanni is its Gym Leader. The mobster specializes in Ground-Type Pokémon, meaning Gyarados is another easy check against the Leader’s team.
Gyarados also benefits from Giovanni’s Red and Blue team not impressing due to their shallow movesets. This doesn’t improve until Yellow (e.g. Thunder on Nidoking and Nidoqueen, Normal-Type Persian to balance out the Ground-Types, etc.). Still, this doesn’t take away from the Water/Flying-Type monster’s strengths. The creature’s early availability and high stats make it a consistently strong performer throughout Kanto. On top of its monstrous Attack stat (125), Gyarados’ Special stat (100) means it exploits Gen I’s Special Attack/Defense gimmick to make non-physical attacks like Ice Beam hit exceptionally hard.