While they’ve always been perfect for whittling down that one foe that just won’t go down, the introduction of the Fairy-type pushed their power to a new level. But regardless of what Generation you’re playing, Poison-types can be a great addition to your team. So let’s take a look at the best choices you can add to your Hoenn journey.
5. Seviper
Seviper is a pure Poison-type that somehow isn’t part of the Arbok family. It suffers from some low defenses and HP, but makes up for it with good attack stats and a wide moveset that can cover its main weaknesses. For a solid build, Seviper’s main moves will be Poison Jab and Toxic, which act as its main STAB move and main source of poisoning respectively. Poison Jab is learned at level 34, while Toxic (TM06) can be picked up on the Fiery Path on Route 112. And then cover for Seviper’s weakness to Psychic-type moves, teach it Night Slash at level 28. This should deal with any Psychic-type Pokémon in one hit, as long as Seviper manages to hit them first. At level 40 you could replace Night Slash with Crunch, or let it keep both moves simultaneously to give it some more power to deal with the Psychic-type threats. How to catch: Seviper is available on Route 114 in Sapphire, Emerald and Alpha Sapphire. It us unfortunately not available for capture in Ruby and Omega Ruby, so in those games you’d have to trade one in.
4. Tentacruel
Tentacruel is a unique choice because of its focus on defense, and because of it’s dual Water/Poison-typing. Since Tentacruel is a Water-type, you should absolutely teach it 2 of the Water HMs since they’re useful in battle and in the overworld. Surf and Waterfall are my picks – and both those HMs are found naturally during the main story. Then Sludge Wave is Tentacruel’s best Poison STAB damage, so at level 48 make sure to keep that around. This is especially important if you’re playing the ORAS remakes, as Sludge Wave is one of the best moves for countering the Fairy-types that are all over the games’ hardest battles. And finally, no defensive Pokémon is complete without Toxic, so make sure to teach it to Tentacruel for some guaranteed Poison infliction. How to catch: You can catch a Tentacool just about anywhere that there’s water. But the earliest way to catch one is by using the Old Rod or Good Rod on Route 103. Get the Old Rod from the fisherman in Dewford Town, or the Good Rod from a fisherman on Route 118. Tentacool will evolve into Tentacruel when it hits level 30.
3. Vileplume
Vileplume is a great Grass/Poison-type that excels at inflicting status effects. Of course, poisoning is its main strategy, so we can build a moveset around that. First pick up Toxic (TM06) for the best shot at poisoning your foe. If you’re facing a Poison or Steel-type that’s unaffected by poison, use Stun Spore on it to inflict paralysis, a decent alternative status effect. You can teach Stun Spore to Oddish, Vileplume’s first form, at level 15. For Poison-type STAB damage, take advantage of Vileplume’s high special attack by picking up Sludge Bomb (TM36) outside of the Dewford City Pokemon Center. Finally, pick up the Grass-type move Energy Ball from the Safari Zone (TM53). Make sure to bring both bikes in order to reach it. How to catch: Oddish can be found on a few routes, starting with Route 110. Catch one and raise it to level 21 to evolve into Gloom. You can then get a Leaf Stone by surfing across the river on Route 119, and then use it on Gloom to evolve it into Vileplume.
2. Roserade
Roserade is a much-needed Generation 4 upgrade to Roselia. But since it was introduced after RSE, those of you playing through the Gen 3 RSE games may want to move onto the next choice in our list Roserade is another Grass/Poison-type that became much stronger with the introduction of the Fairy-type. Fans who have beaten the Sinnoh games will know the power of a Roserade that’s been built properly – so we’ll be building Roserade in a similar way to how Cynthia did back in Gen 4. Tip: Bear in mind that since Roserade uses a stone to evolve, it learns no moves as a Roserade. Make sure that Roselia has all the moves you want before you evolve it. First up, Roselia will learn Giga Drain at level 25, a great Grass-type move that returns half of its dealt damage back to Roselia as HP. Then teach Roselia Toxic Spikes at level 28 for an entry hazard that’ll poison any Pokémon that enters the battlefield, so long as they aren’t immune to poisoning. Of course, Toxic will also make an appearance as Roserade’s best poisoning move. And finally, teach Roselia Petal Dance at level 37 for the highest Grass-type damage it can deal. How to catch: Catch a Roselia on Route 117. Once it’s learned Petal Dance, find a Shiny Stone on Route 121 or Mt. Pyre, then use it on Roselia to evolve it into Roserade.
1. Crobat
Crobat is a Poison/Flying-type that will outspeed and overwhelm almost any Pokémon it faces. We’ll take advantage of Crobat’s high physical attack & speed to hit first and hit hard. Let’s see what we can do for a build: Since Crobat is almost guaranteed to strike first, open up with Toxic or Confuse Ray, depending whether you want to inflict Poison or Confusion. Confuse Ray is learned at level 17 by Zubat, while Crobat will have to use TM06 to learn Toxic. Poison Fang is Crobat’s best option for Poison-type STAB, and Golbat will learn it fairly early at level 27. Then for some never-miss Flying STAB, teach Crobat Aerial Ace, which is available for purchase at the Mauville City Pokemart. How to catch: Get a Zubat in Granite Cave, then raise it to level 22 to evolve it into Golbat. Golbat will evolve into Crobat by leveling up with a high happiness level.
