Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen were definitely not my first games in the series when they came out, as I had played every mainline game starting with Pokemon Red very early in my childhood. To be honest, I remember very little of these GBA games because Gen 3 was so innovative for me to fully enjoy Kanto remakes at the time, especially after only a few years since I played the originals. On the Switch and Switch 2, though, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen now feel extremely refreshing and entertaining in ways I couldn’t appreciate back then. Unfortunately, as much as I love all Pokemon, the Gen 3 Kanto remakes make it hard to recommend them equally.
The main culprit is the type split in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, which makes the types of the Eeveelutions plus Dragon (and minus Fairy, since it wasn’t part of the series yet) always deal special damage with every move, while every other type always deals physical damage. This makes some Pokemon that are good in most games pretty terrible in Kanto, but rarely is the opposite true. For these reasons, there are a handful of fantastic Pokemon, and then there’s everything below them.
Strongest Pokemon in FireRed & LeafGreen (& Where to Find Them)
Want to find the Strongest Pokemon in FireRed & LeafGreen? Here’s a list of the most powerful Species in the game.
After 130+ hours in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen combined, of which I spent 43 hours looking for my shiny starter, I feel I have a very good grasp of what’s good and what isn’t. Granted, you could beat FireRed and LeafGreen with a Caterpie or any other Pokemon, never EV-train them, and still have fun. But, for research, I’ve tried multiple teams and every fully-evolved Pokemon against the Elite Four in numerous rematches, and here is what I found.
This tier list only includes fully-evolved Pokemon from the original 151, skipping Mew and Mewtwo due to their unobtainable status (the former) or their post-game status (the latter).
S Tier — The Best Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen For All Playthroughs
- Alakazam
- Blastoise
- Exeggutor
- Jynx
- Mr. Mime
- Nidoking
- Snorlax
- Starmie
- Venusaur
- Zapdos
These Pokemon are, in most cases, the best overall and most often also the best within their types. They have optimal stats, moves, are easy to get, and/or you get them very early. For example, Alakazam is hard to get because it requires trading, but it’s so strong that it’s worth it. On the other hand, Blastoise is not necessarily the best Water-type in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, but the fact that you can get it early and still power through all Gyms but Erika’s just with it is amazing.
Pokemon like Jynx and Mr. Mime are super easy to get, and they are extremely powerful thanks to their high Speed and Special Attack, as well as its Ice-type attacks for the former and its guaranteed Timid nature for the latter. Snorlax can be the best wall in the game with access to Shadow Ball for Sabrina and Agatha, Venusaur can stall every team with Toxic and Leech Seed, and Starmie can solo the Elite Four. All these Pokemon are always incredibly strong, no matter what.
A Tier — Amazing Pokemon That Make Your FireRed and LeafGreen Playthrough Extra Smooth
- Arcanine
- Articuno
- Charizard
- Dodrio
- Dragonite
- Gengar
- Hitmonlee
- Lapras
- Jolteon
- Machamp
- Moltres
- Nidoqueen
- Primeape
- Raichu
- Raticate
- Slowbro
- Vaporeon
These Pokemon are almost always the best picks you can make in a playthrough, or the next best thing if the few must-haves are not your favorites, or maybe you want to change things up. Whatever the reason, these critters are all great for different reasons. For example, Arcanine is great in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, even though Fire-types are not the best overall, as it has amazing stats and the ever-OP Intimidate ability. Lapras is arguably the best Water-type in the game because it also learns Thunderbolt, but you only get it between the end of mid-game and the start of the late-game.
Jolteon and Raichu are typically the best alternatives for Electric-type Pokemon to Zapdos in FireRed and LeafGreen, and they’re both very fast. Hitmonlee is the best Fighting-type in the game, and Primeape follows shortly after. Articuno is a great wall for Lorelei in the Elite Four. Charizard is still a fantastic pick thanks to its Fire/Flying type, but it falls short in terms of special attacks it can learn. Machamp and Raticate have the Guts ability, which makes them hit incredibly hard if you inflict them with a status condition before a big battle.
B Tier — Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Many Middling Pokemon
- Aerodactyl
- Arbok
- Butterfree
- Chansey
- Clefable
- Cloyster
- Dewgong
- Dugtrio
- Electabuzz
- Electrode
- Fearow
- Flareon
- Gyarados
- Golbat
- Golduck
- Golem
- Hypno
- Kabutops
- Kangaskhan
- Kingler
- Magneton
- Marowak
- Muk
- Ninetales
- Omastar
- Persian
- Pinsir
- Poliwrath
- Sandslash
- Scyther
- Seadra
- Tauros
- Tentacruel
- Venomoth
- Victreebel
- Vileplume
- Weezing
Alas, not all Pokemon in these games are good or even fun to use. Some do have their niche use cases, and it’s always a good reason to use them if they are your favorites, even if there are objectively better picks overall. Pinsir would be a much better Pokemon in these Kanto games if it had at least one STAB Bug-type move, for example, but it doesn’t. Poliwrath is commonly used as a counter to Lorelei for its Water/Fighting type combo, but it’s not particularly good outside of that. Pokemon like Electrode and Electabuzz in FireRed and LeafGreen are not inherently bad, but there are hardly any scenarios where they outshine the strongest Electric-types.
I always use Butterfree in my playthroughs for that sweet 97.5% accurate Sleep Powder and teach it Giga Drain, Psychic, and Dream Eater, but I wouldn’t be able to say that it’s one of the best Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen because of its stats. Hypno is decent, but even Kadabra is better than it as a pure Psychic-type Pokemon. Chansey has otherworldly HP, but it has a whopping 5 Attack and Defense, and only 35 Special Attack. Muk is decent offensively and learns good moves, but it’s a bit too slow to outclass other Pokemon. These reasons apply to all of these Pokemon, making them at best decent.
C Tier — Pokemon That Always Have Better Alternatives in FireRed and LeafGreen
- Beedrill
- Ditto
- Farfetch’d
- Hitmonchan
- Lickitung
- Magmar
- Onix
- Parasect
- Pidgeot
- Porygon
- Rapidash
- Rhydon
- Seaking
- Tangela
- Wigglytuff
Most of these Pokemon either have bad stats or bad moves, which can change in other generations, but in Gen 3 and among Kanto critters, there are always better options. For example, Ditto doesn’t have Imposter because it’s a Gen 5 and beyond ability, meaning you have to use Transform manually, and thus have high odds of moving last because of Ditto’s base 48 Speed. Hitmonchan may seem great on paper because it gets access to Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch, but these are all special attacks, and Hitmonchan only has a base Sp. Atk of 45. Beating the Elite Four with Parasect in FireRed and LeafGreen is doable, as it at least has Spore with 100% accuracy, but it’s 4x weak to Fire and Flying, and it’s extremely slow.
Porygon’s signature moves are generally bad, and while it can learn Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Psychic, it’s too slow with a rather low Special Attack to boot. Rapidash is very fast, but it’s a Fire-type Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen, which is, in its own right, a middling characteristic; on top of that, it has very high base Attack and very low Special Attack, meaning its Fire moves hit like wet noodles.
Onix is one of the worst Pokemon in FireRed and LeafGreen because its offensive stats are terrible, to the point that Graveler does the same thing, but better — and it’s not even fully evolved. Lickitung is also one of the worst, if not the worst, because it has low offensive stats, middling bulk, and low Speed, all while getting bad STAB moves and move coverage in general. For these reasons, these Pokemon are more often than not a burden compared to the better picks in the games, but even then, they can still be used with no issues for the story. If competitive battles were easily accessible, things would be different, but for a regular playthrough, anything is ok.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen
- Released
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September 7, 2004
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Mild Fantasy Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
