Location: Celadon City Gym, prize for defeating Erika
Gen. 1 Effect: A Grass attack that leeches 50% of damage delivered to opponent for HP
Smogon Suggestion: Exeggutor, Gengar, Tangela, Parasect, Venomoth, Butterfree, Golbat, Muk
Casual Suggestion: Same as Smogon
This would be a cooler move if it was stronger. Smogon likes this move better than Solar Beam which is 3 times as strong, but takes a turn to charge up. If you aren’t planning on running Solar Beam, then Exeggutor can use this well, followed by Tangela, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Vileplume who are tied for second place. But if you’re going to use their stronger attacks of Solar Beam, Razor Leaf, or Petal Dance, then the part-Grass Parasect will be your strongest Mega Drain user, with Gengar close behind.
TM07 – Horn Drill PP: 5 Power: OHKO Accuracy: 30%
Location: Rocket Hideout, Basement 2F, in maze
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that causes an instant KO
Smogon Suggestion: Banned
TM02 – Razor Wind PP: 10 Power: 80 Accuracy: 75%
Location: Rocket Hideout, Basement 4F, northwest room
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that takes a turn to charge up
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
This would be a cooler move if it was stronger. Smogon likes this move better than Solar Beam which is 3 times as strong, but takes a turn to charge up. If you aren’t planning on running Solar Beam, then Exeggutor can use this well, followed by Tangela, Venusaur, Victreebel, and Vileplume who are tied for second place. But if you’re going to use their stronger attacks of Solar Beam, Razor Leaf, or Petal Dance, then the part-Grass Parasect will be your strongest Mega Drain user, with Gengar close behind.
Location: Rocket Hideout, Basement 2F, in maze
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that causes an instant KO
Smogon Suggestion: Banned
Casual Suggestion: Tauros, Rapidash
The automatic KO moves in Generation I rely purely on speed. They won’t work at all if the opponent is faster. The fastest Horn Drill users are Tauros, Rapidash, and Mew. Since Tauros has a better competitive movepool to work with, Rapidash is my choice.
TM10 – Double-Edge PP: 15 Power: 100 Accuracy: 100%
Location: Rocket Hideout, Basement 3F, south of stairs
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that deals 1/4 recoil damage to the user
Smogon Suggestion: Exeggutor, Articuno, Fearow, Pidgeot, Porygon, Aerodactyl, Seaking, Golbat, Magneton
The automatic KO moves in Generation I rely purely on speed. They won’t work at all if the opponent is faster. The fastest Horn Drill users are Tauros, Rapidash, and Mew. Since Tauros has a better competitive movepool to work with, Rapidash is my choice.
Location: Rocket Hideout, Basement 3F, south of stairs
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that deals 1/4 recoil damage to the user
Smogon Suggestion: Exeggutor, Articuno, Fearow, Pidgeot, Porygon, Aerodactyl, Seaking, Golbat, Magneton
Casual Suggestion: Dodrio, Tauros, Kangaskhan
Nearly everyone learns this move. Dodrio and Snorlax, are of course the strongest, but if we want them to have Hyper Beam and Body Slam then a third Normal move would be overkill. If you didn't give Dodrio either of those moves, then Double-Edge is a must. So up next is Tauros and Kangaskhan, who will do just fine with it, followed by every other Normal type. Fearow is the strongest of Smogon's suggestions.
Nearly everyone learns this move. Dodrio and Snorlax, are of course the strongest, but if we want them to have Hyper Beam and Body Slam then a third Normal move would be overkill. If you didn't give Dodrio either of those moves, then Double-Edge is a must. So up next is Tauros and Kangaskhan, who will do just fine with it, followed by every other Normal type. Fearow is the strongest of Smogon's suggestions.
Location: Rocket Hideout, Basement 4F, northwest room
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that takes a turn to charge up
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Casual Suggestion: Fearow, Moltres, MissingNo. (Temporarily)
Razor Wind is kind of a pointless move. Only winged/scythed creatures learn it, but it is weak for a move that takes up two turns. Fearow hits the strongest, if you must give it to someone. Moltres is technically the one who gets the most out of it due to its lack of Normal moves (assuming you gave Hyper Beam and Double-Edge away to other stronger Pokémon). The glitch bird MissingNo. can learn it, and since MissingNo. technically has the highest Attack stat in the game (136) and since it's a Bird/Normal type, it'll be a beast with this move. But with a Defense stat of 0, it may not survive that first turn.
(Credit for the retro-style MissingNo. depiction goes to DeviantArtist Warupa.)
Razor Wind is kind of a pointless move. Only winged/scythed creatures learn it, but it is weak for a move that takes up two turns. Fearow hits the strongest, if you must give it to someone. Moltres is technically the one who gets the most out of it due to its lack of Normal moves (assuming you gave Hyper Beam and Double-Edge away to other stronger Pokémon). The glitch bird MissingNo. can learn it, and since MissingNo. technically has the highest Attack stat in the game (136) and since it's a Bird/Normal type, it'll be a beast with this move. But with a Defense stat of 0, it may not survive that first turn.
(Credit for the retro-style MissingNo. depiction goes to DeviantArtist Warupa.)
Location: Saffron City, from Mr. Psychic’s house
Gen. 1 Effect: A Psychic attack with a 33% chance of lowering the opponent’s Special stat
Smogon Suggestion: Exeggutor, Jynx, Mr. Mime, Electabuzz, Butterfree, Porygon
Casual Suggestion: Starmie
You can get this move early if you visit Saffron City as soon as you get a beverage from Celadon Dept. Store to get past the Saffron guards. It's a must-have move and it'll make Erika and Koga very easy to defeat if you give it to Mr. Mime or Haunter. Mewtwo and Alakazam are the strongest but they learn this move naturally, as do most Psychic types (and Venomoth). Exeggutor is your best option, followed by Mr. Mime, Starmie, and Jynx. Jynx needs a strong Psychic move to make it powerful. And Starmie's Psychic will hit a lot harder and is more reliable than Smogon's suggestion of Blizzard.
HM02 – Fly PP: 15 Power: 70 Accuracy: 95%
Location: Route 16, from the recluse in the home north of the Cycling Road
Gen. 1 Effect: A Flying attack where the user is invulnerable for a turn then hits on the second turn
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Location: Route 16, from the recluse in the home north of the Cycling Road
Gen. 1 Effect: A Flying attack where the user is invulnerable for a turn then hits on the second turn
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Casual Suggestion: Articuno, Charizard, Pidgeot, Farfetch'd
While Fly isn’t mandatory for defeating the game, it makes traveling around a lot quicker as you can instantly go back to any previous town you have visited. As an attack, it’s not ideal. The Pokémon that will get the most power out of Fly learn stronger Flying type moves. Dodrio, Moltres, Fearow, and Zapdos, each learn a better move (Drill Peck or Sky Attack). Aerodactyl would then be the strongest, but you’ll want to save a better move for him (and you receive him too late in the game to take advantage of Fly’s out-of-battle power). You had might as well teach it to Articuno, Pidgeot, and/or Farfetch’d (although you’d get the same effect from using Peck or Wing Attack for two turns, as they are each half the strength of Fly). If you’re playing Yellow, Charizard is a good option as it can learn Fly in this version and it’ll hit stronger than Pidgeot.
TM37 – Egg Bomb PP: 10 Power: 100 Accuracy: 75%
Location: Safari Zone, East Area
Effect: A standard Normal attack
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
While Fly isn’t mandatory for defeating the game, it makes traveling around a lot quicker as you can instantly go back to any previous town you have visited. As an attack, it’s not ideal. The Pokémon that will get the most power out of Fly learn stronger Flying type moves. Dodrio, Moltres, Fearow, and Zapdos, each learn a better move (Drill Peck or Sky Attack). Aerodactyl would then be the strongest, but you’ll want to save a better move for him (and you receive him too late in the game to take advantage of Fly’s out-of-battle power). You had might as well teach it to Articuno, Pidgeot, and/or Farfetch’d (although you’d get the same effect from using Peck or Wing Attack for two turns, as they are each half the strength of Fly). If you’re playing Yellow, Charizard is a good option as it can learn Fly in this version and it’ll hit stronger than Pidgeot.
Location: Safari Zone, East Area
Effect: A standard Normal attack
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Casual Suggestion: Exeggutor
This is another obvious choice. Only Chansey, Exeggutor, and Mew learn the move. Chansey has a dismal Attack stat so don’t teach it to her. Mew’s attack is slightly better than Exeggutor, but you’ll probably have much better things for Mew to do. Exeggutor is just the natural choice, and it’s nice since the other strong Normal TMs will most likely be taught to others before Exeggutor gets a crack at them. It's just as strong as Exeggutor's Double-Edge without the recoil (but with lower accuracy) so its a fair trade. Smogon actually lists it as an alternate move for him.
TM32 – Double Team PP: 15 Power: None Accuracy: N/A
Location: Safari Zone, West Area
Gen. 1 Effect: Increases the user's evasion by one stage
Smogon Suggestion: Banned
This is another obvious choice. Only Chansey, Exeggutor, and Mew learn the move. Chansey has a dismal Attack stat so don’t teach it to her. Mew’s attack is slightly better than Exeggutor, but you’ll probably have much better things for Mew to do. Exeggutor is just the natural choice, and it’s nice since the other strong Normal TMs will most likely be taught to others before Exeggutor gets a crack at them. It's just as strong as Exeggutor's Double-Edge without the recoil (but with lower accuracy) so its a fair trade. Smogon actually lists it as an alternate move for him.
Location: Safari Zone, West Area
Gen. 1 Effect: Increases the user's evasion by one stage
Smogon Suggestion: Banned
Casual Suggestion: Anyone (but especially Ninetales!)
Double Team is effectively the most overpowered move. It raises the users evasion which is like permanently lowering all of your opponent’s team’s accuracies. There is no tactic in Generation I to counteract this, so it has been banned from link battles. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it in game. Since everyone can learn it, I like using it on a fast Pokémon that plans on being as annoying as possible (those with trapping moves, status effecting moves, or any move that encourages switching). I personally use a Ninetales with Fire Spin, Toxic, Confuse Ray, and Double Team to make it simply the most irritating opponent in the game.
TM40 – Skull Bash PP: 15 Power: 100 Accuracy: 100%
Location: Safari Zone, North Area
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that takes a turn to charge up
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Double Team is effectively the most overpowered move. It raises the users evasion which is like permanently lowering all of your opponent’s team’s accuracies. There is no tactic in Generation I to counteract this, so it has been banned from link battles. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it in game. Since everyone can learn it, I like using it on a fast Pokémon that plans on being as annoying as possible (those with trapping moves, status effecting moves, or any move that encourages switching). I personally use a Ninetales with Fire Spin, Toxic, Confuse Ray, and Double Team to make it simply the most irritating opponent in the game.
Location: Safari Zone, North Area
Gen. 1 Effect: A Normal attack that takes a turn to charge up
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Casual Suggestion: No one (but especially Beedrill!)
Oh man, this was the hardest to assign. It's like Razor Wind, but worse since every possible option learns a better move (ironic, since it's stronger than Razor Wind). No one needs it because Strength two times in a row does way more damage. I narrowed it down to Beedrill, only if you gave your other Normal TMs to stronger Pokemon. Otherwise, it’s another disposable move for anyone else you give it to (and it’s kind of late in the game for moves like that). Wait... Beedrill learns Cut which does just as much damage over two turns. This really is the most useless TM in the game!
HM03 – Surf PP: 15 Power: 95 Accuracy: 100%
Location: Safari Zone, the Secret House prize at the end of the final area
Gen. 1 Effect: A standard Water attack
Smogon Suggestion: Everyone (if you need it), even Raichu
Oh man, this was the hardest to assign. It's like Razor Wind, but worse since every possible option learns a better move (ironic, since it's stronger than Razor Wind). No one needs it because Strength two times in a row does way more damage. I narrowed it down to Beedrill, only if you gave your other Normal TMs to stronger Pokemon. Otherwise, it’s another disposable move for anyone else you give it to (and it’s kind of late in the game for moves like that). Wait... Beedrill learns Cut which does just as much damage over two turns. This really is the most useless TM in the game!
Location: Safari Zone, the Secret House prize at the end of the final area
Gen. 1 Effect: A standard Water attack
Smogon Suggestion: Everyone (if you need it), even Raichu
Casual Suggestion: Everyone but Kingler
You need this to travel over waterways in the game, but fortunately, it’s also very useable in battle. Basically teach it to every Water Pokémon unless you absolutely want them to use the stronger, less accurate Hydro Pump (Tentacruel, Omastar, Vaporeon, Gyarados, and Starmie all fall into this category). I’m fond of teaching Lapras out of nostalgia’s sake. Dewgong, Cloyster, Seaking, and Slowbro all need a strong Water attack, and some non-Water Pokémon with a high Special can also use it for diversity. Kingler gets the awesome Crabhammer, though, so don’t give Surf to him. Everyone else is fair game.
HM04 – Strength PP: 15 Power: 80 Accuracy: 100%
Location: Fuchsia City, from the Safari Game Warden after returning his lost Gold Teeth
Gen. 1 Effect: A standard Normal attack
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
You need this to travel over waterways in the game, but fortunately, it’s also very useable in battle. Basically teach it to every Water Pokémon unless you absolutely want them to use the stronger, less accurate Hydro Pump (Tentacruel, Omastar, Vaporeon, Gyarados, and Starmie all fall into this category). I’m fond of teaching Lapras out of nostalgia’s sake. Dewgong, Cloyster, Seaking, and Slowbro all need a strong Water attack, and some non-Water Pokémon with a high Special can also use it for diversity. Kingler gets the awesome Crabhammer, though, so don’t give Surf to him. Everyone else is fair game.
Location: Fuchsia City, from the Safari Game Warden after returning his lost Gold Teeth
Gen. 1 Effect: A standard Normal attack
Smogon Suggestion: Don't Use
Casual Suggestion: Machamp, Hitmonlee, Lickitung, Hitmonchan
Basically, if you don’t plan on teaching your Pokémon Hyper Beam, Double-Edge, Egg Bomb, or Body Slam, teach it Strength. Your options are limitless once you've used up all of those TMs. You’ll need to teach someone, but not someone you’ll necessarily want for your final team. Someone like, oh, say, Lickitung? Machamp, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are also fine options. You need it for Seafoam Islands and Victory Road only, so as long as they are strong enough for those areas, you’re fine. (Snorlax, Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Dragonite are the strongest, but why burden them with an HM?)
Stay tuned for Part 4: Koga to Saffron City
Basically, if you don’t plan on teaching your Pokémon Hyper Beam, Double-Edge, Egg Bomb, or Body Slam, teach it Strength. Your options are limitless once you've used up all of those TMs. You’ll need to teach someone, but not someone you’ll necessarily want for your final team. Someone like, oh, say, Lickitung? Machamp, Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are also fine options. You need it for Seafoam Islands and Victory Road only, so as long as they are strong enough for those areas, you’re fine. (Snorlax, Tauros, Kangaskhan, and Dragonite are the strongest, but why burden them with an HM?)
Stay tuned for Part 4: Koga to Saffron City
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