Gen I Pokémon: Base Stat Total Ranking (Top 28)

— A refresher on power before Sp. Atk / Sp. Def existed!

Read this first: Gen I quirks that change everything

• BST in Gen I = HP + Attack + Defense + Speed + Special. (Sp. Atk/Sp. Def were one stat: Special.)

• Physical/Special were type-locked.
  Special types: Fire/Water/Electric/Grass/Ice/Psychic/Dragon.
  Physical types: Normal/Fighting/Poison/Ground/Flying/Bug/Rock.

• Hyper Beam: no recharge if you KO the target → absurd finisher.

• Freeze: basically permanent (no natural thaw).

• Ghost vs Psychic bug: Ghost attacks didn’t hit Psychic as intended → Psychic dominated.

• Sleep: you can’t act on the wake-up turn → sleep was extra oppressive.

At a glance: Top 28 (tied ranks grouped)

Tied entries share the same rank. The write-ups below focus on roles, meta context, and cool Gen I oddities.

#1 — BST 590

Mewtwo (Psychic)

• The undisputed Gen I apex: Special 154, Speed 130, wild movepool.

• Found post-League in Cerulean Cave at Lv. 70—Master Ball recommended.

• So strong it was often banned or restricted; the “six Mewtwo” joke wasn’t far off.

T-2 — BST 500

Mew (Psychic)

• Hidden in the code, later officially distributed.

• Learns (nearly) every TM—pure versatility, but typically tournament-banned.

Dragonite (Dragon/Flying)

• Evolves at Lv. 55 (brutal grind under the 155 total level rule).

• Ice is everywhere (4× weakness), but Attack 134 + Hyper Beam still deletes teams.

#4 — BST 495

Moltres (Fire/Flying)

• Highest BST of the legendary birds and seen pre-Hall of Fame on Victory Road.

• The Lv. 51 “Leer” quirk (instead of a stronger move) is a famous code oddity.

#5 — BST 490

Zapdos (Electric/Flying)

• Special 125 + Speed 100 + great coverage = S-tier utility and pressure.

• Capturing often involved Sleep due to Gen I’s wake-up penalty.

#6 — BST 485

Articuno (Ice/Flying)

• In the Ice Age meta of Gen I, Special 125 + bulk made it a staple.

• Freeze was nearly permanent—no wonder Nintendo Cup ‘97 teams loved it.

T-7 — BST 480

Cloyster (Water/Ice)

• Defense 180: physical hits just bounce off.

• Ice/Water coverage + support (Double Team/Reflect) + (Self-)Destruct options.

Gyarados (Water/Flying)

• Attack 125, but Water is Special in Gen I—stat mismatch.

• Still dangerous with Hyper Beam and wide TM access.

T-9 — BST 455

Arcanine (Fire)

• High across the board and easy to use.

• Beware stone evolution (missed level-up moves) and Special-only Fire coverage.

Exeggutor (Grass/Psychic)

• Special 125 nuke with bulk—STAB Psychic/SolarBeam hits like a truck.

• Bug 4× looks scary, but Bug moves were weak, and Ghost didn’t threaten Psychic.

• A top-tier core piece in Gen I teams.

T-11 — BST 450

Tauros (Normal)

• Speed 110 + Attack 100 + Hyper Beam (no recharge on KO) = end-game cleaner.

• Ice Beam/Thunderbolt access gave it ridiculous coverage. The face of the meta.

Lapras (Water/Ice)

• One-off gift (Silph Co.), great stats and amazing movepool. Tournament-ready.

T-13 — BST 440

Aerodactyl (Rock/Flying)

• Speed 130 makes it a premier revenge killer; Ice weakness + shallow Rock moves hurt.

Rhydon (Rock/Ground)

• Gargantuan Attack/Defense; 4× Grass/Water is the tradeoff.

• STAB Earthquake + Hyper Beam still bulldozes unprepared teams.

• Also hilariously can Surf you around Kanto.

T-15 — BST 435

Tentacruel (Water/Poison)

• Speed 100 + Special 120 with broad coverage—great in-story, swingy in meta due to Psychic spam.

Starmie (Water/Psychic)

• Speed 115 + Special 100 and huge utility.

• Infamous early-game boss under Misty; top-tier competitive pick later on.

T-17 — BST 430

Snorlax (Normal)

• HP 160 + Attack 110; pairs perfectly with Physical-locked Normal in Gen I.

• Sometimes seen as a slower Tauros, but still a monster when positioned.

Pinsir (Bug)

• Attack 125; Slash / Hyper Beam / Swords Dance give it scary lines.

• Weak Bug movepool holds back STAB value.

Kabutops (Water/Rock)

• Attack 115/Defense 105; Slash crits are nasty.

• Suffers from poor Rock moves and Special-locked Water.

Vaporeon (Water)

• HP 130 + Special 110 = stat-wall that hits back. Surf/Ice Beam staples.

Jolteon (Electric)

• Speed 130 + Special 110; Thunderbolt + Thunder Wave = offense & control.

Flareon (Fire)

• Big Attack, but Fire is Special and coverage is tight → underperforms on paper.

T-23 — BST 425

Omastar (Water/Rock)

• Defense 125 + Special 115 = bulky special attacker.

• 4× Grass and poor Rock moves are the pain points.

Kingler (Water)

• Attack 130 + Defense 115, but Water is Special in Gen I—stat mismatch.

• Guillotine for meme KOs (fails if you’re slower).

Gengar (Ghost/Poison)

• Special 130 + Speed 110, but offensive Ghost options were thin; weak to the Psychic meta.

• Evolution required link-cable trading—rare and iconic.

Venusaur (Grass/Poison)

• The most stable starter for the story—Sleep Powder, Toxic, and utility galore.

• Struggled in Psychic/Ice-heavy competitive play.

Charizard (Fire/Flying)

• S-tier popularity, B-tier results in Gen I: bad early gyms, extra weaknesses, Fire = Special.

Blastoise (Water)

• Wide coverage + few weaknesses = reliable story and competitive all-rounder.

• Ice Beam to check Grass; digs into Electric with Dig in-game.

Takeaways: Why Gen I power isn’t just “who has the biggest number”

• Mechanics shaped strength. Hyper Beam’s KO quirk, perma-freeze, Ghost-Psychic bug, type-locked damage all warped value.

• Same BST, different ceilings. What mattered was STAB quality, coverage, speed tiers, and the Psychic/Ice meta.

• Romance factor is real. Lv. 55 Dragonite, wall-of-steel Cloyster, cleanup-crew Tauros, Swiss-army Mew—Gen I is packed with stories.