The early game Pokémon available to the player in Pokémon Gold and Silver are far more diverse than in the original Red and Blue games, with the player having access to the likes of Gastly and Onix even before the first gym leader has been beaten, and allow for more diverse and powerful teams to be made earlier in the game with what is available.
However, not all early game Pokémon fall into the category of useful, as is the case with most other Pokémon titles, many of the creatures that can be caught early in the game are quickly overshadowed in later areas of the game.
10 Invest: Mareep
It’s a bit of a tease for Game Freak to put an Electric-type Pokémon in the area that opens up only after obtaining the Zephyr Badge, but that doesn’t mean Mareep isn’t worth catching. The electric sheep, despite missing its chance to defeat Falkner, is useful for the majority of the game with both its attacks and its array of support moves like Thunder Wave and Cotton Spore. Ampharos also has the ability to learn Fire Punch, a special attack TM that can be bought in Goldenrod City very early on and can give it some much-needed coverage against Grass-type Pokémon that would otherwise resist its attacks.
9 Leave Alone: Ledyba/Spinarak
Early game Bug-type Pokémon tend to be pretty terrible, but both the options in Gold and Silver are particularly bad even when compared to Caterpie and Weedle. Both Ledian and Ariados have their usefulness, with Ledian being able to learn Baton Pass and Ariados learning Spider Web, but both of these moves aren’t available until later in the game. Their stats and movepools are so bad that they are otherwise unable to keep up with the rest of their teammates in every other way, and end up just being a waste of players time to train up.
8 Invest: Heracross
On the other hand, there is one early game Bug-type that is absolutely worth investing in, though it can be very hard to find. Once players have obtained the Headbutt TM, it can be found in the area immediately to the right of Azalea Town by headbutting small trees, with a 30% chance of appearing.
Heracross is a bit of a late bloomer in terms of its level-up moves, but the moves it can learn both by level up and TM make it a bug worth investing time and energy into. It also has the ability to learn both Cut and Strength, making it a good option for HM usage as its physical attack is high enough to make good use of both of these moves.
7 Leave Alone: Noctowl
Like Pidgeotto, Ash’s shiny Noctowl is an easily recognizable Pokémon and many players will be tempted to have one for themselves, whether it is shiny or not. Unfortunately, for standard gameplay, Hoothoot and Noctowl are nowhere near as useful as Ash makes it out to be. Leaning more towards special attack than physical, Noctowl is able to learn some surprising moves for a Normal/Flying-type, such as Confusion and Dream Eater, but this also means it can’t fully utilize either of its same type attacks, as both Normal and Flying-type moves are considered physical attacks.
6 Invest: Zubat
In just one generation, Zubat went from a pain in the butt to the Pokémon many players wanted to get their hands on as soon as possible. With the addition of Crobat, the Zubat line got some much-needed power and speed that makes it a viable option throughout the entire game. Although its level-up moves leave little to be desired, it has access to many useful TM’s such as Steel Wing, Giga Drain, and Toxic, as well as being able to learn Fly via HM and decent egg moves in Faint Attack and Pursuit.
5 Leave Alone: Aipom
In the generation four games, Aipom received a much-needed boost in power with its evolution, Ambipom. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have this same strength in Gold and Silver, which is surprising for a Pokémon that is easy to miss. Found in the same places as Heracross, its low catch rate could have suggested that this is a Pokémon worth catching and investing in, but without its generation four abilities and evolutions, this is one that is worth leaving alone.
4 Invest: Slowpoke
Slowpoke may not evolve until quite late in the game, particularly if players aren’t trade evolving it into a Slowking, but Slowpoke is one of the best early game Pokémon available and shouldn’t be slept on. Aside from having a very good Water/Psychic-type combination, it is able to learn a surprisingly broad range of moves that wouldn’t be expected from such a dopey Pokémon.
Aside from the normal Water, Psychic, and Ice-type moves that would be expected, it can also learn Zap Cannon, an Electric-type move, and Fire Blast, a Fire-type move, giving it type coverage that rivals even Dragon-type Pokémon.
3 Leave Alone: Paras
If players are looking for an early game Grass-type Pokémon, they should look anywhere else except Paras. As a Bug/Grass-type Pokémon, it has far too many weaknesses for it to be of any use, despite its diverse movepool that would suggest otherwise. The best use for a Paras and Parasect is to teach Smeargle Spore, as it is the only Pokémon in Gold and Silver that can learn it. Paras also has the misfortune of being found in the same area as Oddish, a far better Grass-type in both of its final evolutions.
2 Invest: Krabby
Although Krabby can’t be caught until Olivine City, it’s very easy to make a beeline for the coastal town after moving the Sudowoodo from its sleeping place in the road and catching this crab. Krabby and Kingler may have unfortunate stats for its typing, being very heavy on physical attack despite Water-type moves being special, but it has the advantage of being able to learn four HM’s in Cut, Strength, Whirlpool, and Surf, as well as Rock Smash for added usefulness. As it can make decent use of all of these moves, it makes for one of the best HM users available in Gold and Silver.
1 Leave Alone: Sentret
Like Rattata, Sentret is an early evolving Normal-type that quickly becomes overshadowed after the first few gyms. It can be tempting to use Furret, as it is capable of learning all of the elemental punch TM’s that can be bought in Goldenrod City, as well as being able to learn Cut, Strength, and Surf, but this isn’t enough to make it worth investing in, particularly when Krabby is easily obtainable fairly early on. Furret’s base stat total is also only 415, a mere 10 points higher than the second form starter Pokémon and well behind the likes of Heracross, who has a base stat total of 500 and can be caught after beating the second gym.
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