What is a good in-game team for Gold, Silver and Crystal?

Question

Share your best in-game teams for Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal on this thread! Teams should be aimed toward making casual runs of the game efficient, enjoyable and hassle-free.

Please follow these guidelines regarding detail in your post:

1. For every Pokemon on the team, give recommended moves for use throughout the playthrough. Ideally, comment on more than just the four moves you'll finish with post-game.
2. Provide explanation and detail. Justify your Pokemon and moveset choices; possible discussion points include ease-of-use, team synergy, and coverage for key battles.

Please also follow these guidelines regarding the contents of your team:

1. If you recommend a Pokemon that is restricted by version exclusivity, trade evolution or events, please mention alternatives for people who cannot get the Pokemon. Do the same if you recommend moves, etc. that are only available by breeding or grinding.
2. There are some unspoken rules of in-game teams, such as to keep the starter on the team and avoid legendaries. It's kind to give other options if you break these rules.
3. Do not recommend Pokemon, moves, etc. that are only available through glitches and cheats. Please also avoid Pokemon etc. that are only available through trade or transfer.
4. Original content only. You may use ideas you found elsewhere, but do not steal written content.

Submit your team as an answer, not a comment. To keep things tidy, we will remove any teams posted as comments in this thread. If you want to update your post, use the 'edit' button.

Please be sparing with images and formatting.

It is helpful to note that these games were released prior to the Gen 4 physical-special split. Every Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Dark, Ice and Dragon move is Special, and all others are Physical in these games.

Answer 1

Recently I decided to play Gold again, which I hadn’t touched since its’ release ~20 years ago. Unlike child me, I was prepared to do a bit of research regarding movesets and Pokémon/TM locations before starting the game. I wanted a team that:

• Was reliable to capture and field moves for (so nothing relying on Friendship, trading, hatching eggs, or head-butting trees for several hours),
• Didn’t require a ton of grinding (so no spending half a day getting a Dratini up to speed).
• Included ‘all’ of the available utility TM’s/HM’s, at all times (ie once everything has been captured). This was so that 'in theory', one could use the team to capture everything & complete the dex, whilst still having decent coverage options through the game.

In the end, I settled on a team that contained 2 HM slaves, which meant the game was effectively completed with 4 battle ready Pokémon. As Gold/Silver can technically be completed with ‘1’ battle ready Pokémon (see numerous speedrun videos), I didn’t see this as much of an issue. It also meant minimal time was spent grinding, as the team easily kept up level wise with in-game challenges.

So here’s the team. All of the Pokémon on this list can be captured after completing the Fog Badge (gym no. 4), and fall under the definition of ‘Mixed Sweepers’. Held items haven’t been included. I’ve added moveset progressions , given how important they are early in the game.

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Feraligatr

Strength (HM)
Surf (HM)
Ice Punch (TM)
Dig (TM)

Moveset progression:

Scratch -> Dig (TM, National Park)
Water Gun -> Surf (HM, Ecruteak City)
Leer -> Bite (for Morty) -> Strength (HM, Olivine City)
Rage -> Ice Punch (TM, Goldenrod City)

I chose Feraligatr mainly because of Morty. I wanted a Dark attacker that wasn’t: a Fire Dog/Fox that couldn’t evolve for ages, a Normal Pokemon with poor stats/move coverage, or a bird that required Headbutt to capture.

Strength for moving boulders and to make use of ‘that Attack stat’, Surf because it’s standard on Water ‘mon, Ice Punch for Grass/Dragon/Flying coverage, Dig to get out of caves + Poison/Electric coverage.

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Ampharos (Gold/Silver only)

Thunder Punch
Fire Punch (TM)
Iron Tail (TM)
Light Screen

Movement Progression:

Growl -> Fire Punch (TM, Goldenrod City)
Thundershock -> Thunder Punch
Tackle -> Iron Tail (TM, defeat Jasmine)
Thunder Wave -> Light Screen

Mareep has good all-round stats, is available early, and gets great move coverage. Nothing more to say really, other than ‘sorry Crystal players’!

Thunder Punch because ‘free high-damage STAB at level 30’ (or earlier if you’re desperate), Fire Punch for Grass/Steel/Ice coverage, Iron Tail for Rock coverage (and also Physical coverage), Light Screen as cover for other Pokémon to switch in vs strong Special Attackers.

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Victreebel

Cut (HM)
Razor Leaf
Sludge Bomb (TM)
Sleep Powder

Moveset progression:

Vine Whip -> Razor Leaf
Growth -> Cut (HM, Ilex Forest)
Wrap -> Acid -> Sludge Bomb (TM, Route 43)
Sleep Powder

Bell is also available early, gets Sleep Powder at level 15, and is about as awesome as it was in Gen 1 (though Vine Whip has less PP, which is a little sad). Sadly it cannot evolve until reaching Kanto (unless one gets lucky with ‘a phone call’), but is still decent as Weepingbell until then.

Razor Leaf because special STAB, Cut for clearing bushes and Normal coverage, Sludge Bomb because physical STAB , Sleep Powder because Sleep is silly.

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Xatu

Fly (HM)
Thief (TM)
Psychic (most likely a TM)
Giga Drain (TM)

Moveset Progression:

Teleport -> Fly (HM, defeat Chuck)
Peck -> Thief (TM, Mahogany Town Rocket Hideout)
Leer -> Future Sight -> Psychic (TM, Celadon City)
Night Shade -> Giga Drain (TM, defeat Erika)

Xatu is ‘the Flyer’ and whilst it starts small, it eventually gets decent move coverage once it hits Kanto. Xatu requires a bit of care to get it to evolve from a level 20 Natu, but once it hits 25, evolves, and learns Fly from Chuck’s wife, it’s smooth sailing from there.

Fly because STAB (and flying beats walking), Thief for Psychic/Ghost coverage and to potentially steal items mid-fight, Psychic because high Special Attack+STAB, Giga Drain for Rock/Ground/Water coverage.

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And then the 2 HM slaves:

Paras

Flash (HM, Sprout Tower in Violet Town)
Sweet Scent (TM, Ilex/Route 34 Guardhouse)
Rock Smash (TM, Route 36 after removing Sudowoodo)

Poliwag

Headbutt (TM, Ilex Forest)
Whirlpool (HM, Mahogany Town Rocket Hideout)
Waterfall (HM, Ice Path)

These 2 Pokémon can both be caught/fished in Ilex Forest , which is around about the time that their utility moves start to appear. If one wishes, these two HM slaves can be switched out for Legendaries if/when they are captured, however I never ran into any issues by running a ‘4-mon team’.

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Alternative Team for Crystal

For the sake of balance, here is one potential team that instead contains '6' battle ready Pokemon, should work well for Crystal, AND contains all available utility moves. I would argue however that the team is not 'reliable to capture and field moves for', would require trading, and would require more grinding to avoid being underlevelled.

I won't go into as much detail, just the movesets:

Typhlosion (starter)

Flamethrower
Thunder Punch (TM)
Strength (HM)
Dig (TM)

Victreebel (caught on Route 32)

Sweet Scent (TM)
Razor Leaf
Sludge Bomb (TM)
Sleep Powder

Poliwrath (fished from Ruins of Alph after getting Old Rod)

Surf (HM)
Waterfall (HM)
Whirlpool (HM)
Headbutt (TM)

Alakazam (caught at Route 34 + trade)

Psychic
Thunder Punch (TM)
Ice Punch (TM)
Fire Punch or Reflect (because your starter already has Fire STAB)

Fearow (caught before Whitney via headbutting trees)

Fly
Return
Steel Wing
Thief (Pursuit for Morty)

Heracross (caught before Whitney via headbutting trees, hopefully!)

Cut (HM)
Rock Smash (TM)
Megahorn (Fury Cutter beforehand)
Earthquake (TM)

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..

And finally, I guess a rough walkthrough of how I found my Pokemon teams/TM's/HM's and completed the game. I tried to fight all available trainers, collect visible items, and catch any new Pokémon that I stumbled into, though I don’t explicitly state this in the walkthrough (so I’m stating it here!).

• Do all the intro stuff. Get Totodile to about level 10 before attempting 1st Gym. Use Rage+Berries held by Totodile.

• Capture Mareep and Bellsprout on Route 32. Use Mareep to clear Sprout Tower and grab Flash, use Bellsprout to fight Water/Rock ‘mon on Route 32 and Union Cave. Grab Old Rod from Poke Centre on Route 32. Leave Ruins of Alph for later.

• Get Mareep and Bellsprout to about level 15 before attempting 2nd gym. Use Flaaffy/Thundershock for Bugsy, use Sleep Powder and/or Thunder Wave on Bayleef for Rival Battle (probably the most difficult battle early game TBH , but after this everyone gets Grass coverage so it’s fine).

• Catch Paras and fish for Poliwag in Ilex Forest after grabbing Cut. Teach Cut/Flash to ‘Bell/Paras, teach Headbutt to Poliwag. Talk to butterfly lady in north Ilex Forest guardhouse, teach Sweet Scent to Paras.

• Use ‘Bell and Totodile as main 'mon up until 3rd gym. Buy Fire Punch (for Flaaffy) and Ice Punch (for 'Dile) from Goldenrod Dept. Store , clear underground path, grab a bike. If possible, evolve Totodile/Bell at levels 18/21 before fighting Whitney. Use Sleep on Miltank to stop it from repeatedly drinking milk + interrupt Rollout damage.

• After defeating Whitney, grab Squirtbottle. Set Croconaw as lead, then bike your way to National Park. Head through the gap in the fence on NE side of park (it has no chairs behind it blocking the way), then head SW and grab Dig. Teach Dig to Croc.

• Aim to get Croc to around level 25 before attempting the 4th gym. Squirt Sudo, learn Rock Smash from nearby NPC, teach to Paras. Once in Ecruteak, clear dance house and grab Surf for Croc, THEN do Gym. Use Bite/Dig to clear out the Ghosts, keep some Awakening’s handy for Gengar.

• Now that you have Surf, clear party so that 1 Pokémon slot is available (via Bill’s PC), and backpedal to Route 32. Head down to lower level of Union Cave, Surf across small body of water, then head to NW exit. Capture Level 20 Natu in the grass, then use Teleport to get back to Ecruteak City.

• Stock up on Potions, then head to Burned Tower. Lead with Croc for Rival battle. After that, lead with Natu if you can to level it up, else use bait-and-switch tactic in a similar manner to levelling Magikarp.

• After the tower, battle your way to Olivine City. Once at Olivine, grab Strength from Sailor, teach it to Croc, then clear Lighthouse.

• Once you’ve reached Jasmine, stock up on Potions and Antidotes, and it’s time for a Surf! If Natu hasn’t evolved yet, switching from Natu-> Flaaffy mid-fight is a good way to evolve both of them. There are heaps of trainers between Olivine and Cianwood, so you should fight them and aim to have at least: Ampharos (level 30), Feraligatr (level 30), Weepingbell at 25 and Xatu at 25, before taking on the 5th gym.

• Your team should now be strong enough such that any Pokémon can lead, so rotate them around to make sure they all stay around the same level going forward. Grab medicine, fight Chuck (mainly with Amph and Xatu), get Fly, then fly back to Olivine. Fire Punch your way through Jasmine's 6th gym.

• You should now have all utility moves available bar the end-game Water HM's, so perhaps have an explore! Take a look through Mt Mortar and Dark Cave if you wish. Otherwise, head to Mahogany Town.

• Head to Lake of Rage, kill/capture the Gyarados, then fly back to Mahogany. Clear the Rocket Hideout, grabbing Thief (for Xatu) and Whirlpool (for Poliwag) along the way. After defeating Team Rocket, double back to the Route 43 Gatehouse and grab Sludge Bomb (for 'Bell). Use Gatr/Amph for the 7th gym and Pryce.

• Grab Waterfall (for Poliwag) from Ice Cave and do the Waterfall things. By this point, the only moves left to secure are TM’s found in Kanto for Xatu, so I’m just going to summarise which ‘mon work for each major encounter.

• Rival battles: Ampharos can effectively solo his whole team, just be careful with Confusion/Paralysis/Curse.

• Blackthorn/Clair's 8th gym: Feraligatr does well with Ice Punch, just be careful with Paralysis and Thunderbolt on one of the Dragonairs.

• Indigo Plateau/Will: Buy potions! Xatu/Amph should do well, just be careful of Jynx.

• Koga: Use Xatu/Amph.
• Bruno: Use Xatu/Bell.
• Karen: Use Gatr/Amph, switch to Bell and use Sleep if Sand Attack is annoying.
• Lance: Use Amph/Gatr .
• And then in Kanto:
• Pewter/Brock: Use Bell.
• Cerulean/Misty: Use Bell/Amph. Grab Leaf Stone from Bill's House and evolve ‘Bell if you haven't already.
• Vermillion/Surge: Use Amph with Light Screen/Fire Punch.
• Pick up Psychic from Saffron house (ie ‘Mr Psychic’), teach to Xatu.
• Celadon/Erika: Use Xatu for Erika, then teach Giga Drain to Xatu.
• Saffron/Sabrina: Use Xatu with Fly/Thief.
• Fuschia/Janine: Use Xatu.
• Cinnabar/Blaine: Use Gatr.

• Viridian/Blue: Lead with Amph, switch in whatever is necessary.

• Pallet/Mt Silver/Red: Lead with Amph, and use Light Screen, as 5 out of 6 of Red’s Pokémon are special attackers. Amph > Pikachu (Fire Punch), Xatu > Venusaur (Psychic) and Espeon (Thief), Gatr > Charizard (Surf), Bell > Blastoise (Leaf) and Snorlax (Sleep Powder + Sludge Bombs).

Alternatively, just solo Red with Amph, using Pikachu to set up. Use Guard Spec / 2 X Attack / 2 X Defend / 2 X Specials / 2 X Speeds, Full Restores when necessary, and Light Screen ESPECIALLY for Espeon.

Aaaand that’s it. Hope this helps someone!

Comments

Actually, changing the clock between daylight savings and no daylight savings can trigger phone calls quite quickly, so you don't have to get lucky. Really good answer too. I'm not sure why you don't wanna use headbutt, because it's a tm and you can buy it whenever you want.

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I guess technically one could buy a couple of Headbutts for Gatr and Amph prior to them picking up Dig  and Iron Tail. But after those moves are picked up, there’s not really anywhere to put it!

I wasn’t aware of the clock manipulation thing, but that kinda goes against the spirit of having a ‘reliable team’. So I might leave that out. Plus the post has basically hit the 12,000 character limit, so cramming in even an extra sentence is hard, lol.

Thanks for the kudos. Hopefully people looking for teams scroll down far enough to see my one and get helped by it!

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Thank you so much for sharing this strategy. I’ve been using it for my Virtual Console playthrough of Silver and it has worked like a charm!  I’m at the Radio Tower right now and enjoying every minute.  I’ve been able to catch one of every Pokémon in the hopes of transferring one of each to my Ultra Sun or Sword cartridge down the line.

One thing I added was that I went ahead and trained the HM slaves since my starter was Cyndaquil. I replaced Feraligator with Poliwhirl (who I will evolve into Poliwrath once I find a stone), but he couldn’t learn Dig. So I taught Dig to Parasect and he’s very useful for dealing with electric, steel, and sometimes poison types.  I’ve never used a Parasect before, but she’s quite defensive and has an awesome attack stat. I evolved the HM slave Poliwag into Politoed as soon as he evolved and he has recently become the Pokémon with the most HP on my team!  He’s actually pretty strong with Waterfall & Headbutt. I bought an extra Ice Punch TM and will teach that to him before Clair’s gym.

Thanks again!

Answer 2

This is the one I used. (All Pokemon can be obtained before battling Chuck)

Victreebel: Cut, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf, Sludge Bomb

Poliwrath: Surf, Submission, Hypnosis, Body Slam

Golem/Graveler: Explosion, Earthquake, Rock Smash, Strength

Arcanine: Extremespeed, Flamethrower, Rest, Sleep Talk

Xatu: Fly, Psychic, Night Shade, Flash

Ampharos: Thunder/Thunderpunch (Your Choice), Iron Tail, Toxic, Light Screen

If you like the starters replace Victreebel with Meganium : Body Slam, Reflect, Synthesis, Razor Leaf

Victreebel will help you catch Pokemon and take care of water and ground types. Meganium will be able to set up reflect to raise your tems defense and take care of water and ground types, decent chance to paralyze with body slam. Poliwrath is all out attacker and can also put Pokemon to sleep. Golem will earthquake through the oposition and then explode when it is at low hp. Arcanine uses the classic rest sleep talk strategy with STAB flamethrower. Xatu is your flyer. Ampharos can set up light screen and toxic if Meganium sets up reflect it can mini-stall.

Store desired HM slaves in the box until you need them.

Comments

just sayin this is G/S/C when there were no abilities

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Sorry forgot.
I don't have my gold with me so I just used memory...

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Edited

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with poliwrath you can ditch hypnosis for waterfall since it is a great physical attacker and you have sleep pwdr on victreebell

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Just in case you forgot, these are Gen. 2 games. That's means that whether a move is physical or special depends on the type. So in these games, all water type moves are considered special attacks.

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The evolutionary stones are really hard to get. It's either post-game or giving your number to some people and then waiting for them to call you back. We all know how the Pokégear works, you might get a call the next day or when you're about to fight Red. If you don't get those chances, you'll have three unevolved Pokémon at the league if you use this team.

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Is it ok to replace
Victreebel with Heracross
Poliwrath with Quagsire/Lanturn

Answer 3

So this is the team I recommend, I did research into multiple things for this.

Pokémon 1: Typhlosion
Starter

Moveset:
Thunder Punch
Flamethrower/Flame Wheel
Headbutt/Strength
Dig

This Pokémon is probably the best starter for this game, only having problems with Whitney, Chuck, Clair and possibly Pryce's Piloswine.

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Pokémon 2: Umbreon
Can be received from Bill in Goldenrod City

Moveset:
Feint Attack
Psychic/Zap Cannon
Shadow Ball
Cut/Quick Attack

This Pokémon is not for helping Typhlosion, but it is for your rival and can beat Morty.

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Pokémon 3: Slowbro/Slowking
Either path is fine, can be found in the Slowpoke well

Ice Punch/Blizzard
Fire Blast
Surf
Psychic/Confusion

These Pokémon can cover for Typhlosion when battling against Clair with Ice Punch or Blizzard, Chuck with Psychic or Confusion, and Fire Blast against Pryce's Piloswine

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Pokémon 4: Crobat
Golbat and Zubat are in lots of caves

Moveset:
Fly
Steel Wing
Toxic
Giga Drain

Some of the Gyms are weak to it, like Bugsy and Chuck, and does well against Feraligatr

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Pokémon 5: Victreebel
Can be found at: Route 5, 6, 24, 25, 31, 32, 44 as bellsprout

Moveset:
Sludge Bomb
Slam
SolarBeam
Sunny Day

Its strong against the Feraligatr, and can withstand some of Whitney's Miltank

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Pokémon 6: Heracross
Route 29

Moveset:
Earthquake
Rock Smash/Counter
Fury Cutter
Take Down/Strength

This Pokémon has it covered, can defeat Silver's Sneasel, Kadabra, and Magneton, destroy Pryce's Piloswine, and if you want to trade, get it before Whitney to destroy it.

Comments

Isn't Heracross already available before Whitney, headbutting trees? So no need to trade.

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Can u tell me a better move instead of rock smash and counter for heracross. Because
Rock smash is less power and counter works for physical attacks only

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there's not really any other good STAB moves for Heracross other than Megahorn, as for Fighting type STAB I would just teach it Strength or Return instead although its not STAB it will do a lot of damage..

Answer 4

My Best Team for Gold, Silver and Crystal

Pokemon 1: Feraligatr

Type: Water, Location: Starter (as Totodile)
Moveset:
- Surf (HM03, Ecruteak City, Kimono Dance Theater, Defeat all Kimono Girls)
- Ice Punch (TM33, Goldenrod Department Store, 3000 pokedollars)
- Bite (Level 21)
- Rock Smash (TM08, Route 36)

Advantages:
Gyms:
- Morty's Team (Bite)
- Jasmine's Team (Water STAB and Rock Smash)
- Pryce's Team (Water STAB and Rock Smash)
- Claire's Dragonair(s) (Ice Punch)
- Lt Surge's Magneton (Rock Smash)
- Erica's Team (Ice Punch)
- Janine's Crobat (Ice Punch)
- Sabrina's Team (Bite)
- Brock's Rhyhorn, Graveler and Onix (Water STAB)
- Blaine's Team (Water STAB)
- Blue's Team sans Gyrados (Water STAB, Ice Punch and Bite)
Team Rocket:
- Petrel's Zubat (Ice Punch) and Raticate (Rock Smash)
- Proton's Golbat (Ice Punch)
- Ariana's Gloom and Murkrow (Ice Punch)
- Archer's Houndour Line (Water STAB)
Pokemon League:
- Will's Team (Bite and Ice Punch)
- Bruno's Onix (Water STAB)
- Koga's Crobat (Ice Punch)
- Karen's Team sans Gengar (Water STAB, Ice Punch and Rock Smash)
- Lance's Team sans Gyrados (Water STAB and Ice Punch)
Others:
- Silver's Team sans Haunter (Ice Punch, Bite and Rock Smash)
- Red's Espeon (Bite), Snorlax (Rock Smash), Venusaur (Ice Punch) and Charizard (Water STAB)

Pokemon 2: Fearow

Type: Normal/ Flying, Location: Route 33 (as Spearow)
Moveset:
- Return (TM27, Goldenrod Department Store, have a Pokemon with high Friendship in your Party)
- Drill Peck (Level 40)
- Fly (HM02, Olivine City, from Chuck's Wife after beating him)
- Steel Wing (TM47, Rock Tunnel)/ Pursuit (Level 26)

Advantages:
Gym Leaders
- Bugsy's Team (Flying STAB)
- Morty's Team (Pursuit)
- Chuck's Team (Flying STAB)
- Erica's Team (Flying STAB)
- Janine's Ariados and Venomoth (Flying STAB)
- Sabrina (Pursuit)
Team Rocket
- Ariana's Vileplume (Flying STAB)
Pokemon League
- Will's Team (Pursuit)
- Koga's Ariados and Venomoth (Flying STAB)
- Bruno's Team sans Onix (Flying STAB)
- Karen's Vileplume (Flying STAB) and Gengar (Pursuit)
Others:
- Silver's Sneasel (Steel Wing), Gengar, Alakazam (Pursuit) and Meganium (Flying STAB)
- Red's Venusaur (Flying STAB)

Pokemon 3: Graveler/ Golem

Type: Rock/ Ground, Location: Dark Cave (as Geodude)
Moveset:
- Rock Throw (Level 11)
- Earthquake (Level 41)
- Rock Smash (TM08, Goldenrod Department Store, 1000 pokedollars
- Curse (TM03, Celadon Mansion, Night)

Advantages:
Gyms
- Falkner's Team (Rock STAB)
- Bugsy's Team (Rock STAB)
- Morty's Team (Ground STAB)
- Jasmine's Team (Ground STAB)
- Pryce's Team (Rock STAB)
- Brock's Team (Ground STAB)
- Lt Surge's Team (Ground STAB)
- Janine's Team (Rock and Ground STAB)
- Blaine's Team (Ground STAB)
- Blue's Pidgeot, Gyrados (Rock STAB), Rhydon and Arcanine (Ground STAB)
Team Rocket:
- Petrel's Team (Rock STAB, Ground STAB and Rock Smash)
- Proton's Golbat (Rock STAB)
- Ariana's Team (Rock and Ground STAB)
- Archer's Team (Rock and Ground STAB)
Pokemon League:
- Will's Xatu(s) and Jynx (Rock STAB)
- Koga's Team (Rock and Ground STAB)
- Karen's Team sans Vileplume (Rock STAB, Ground STAB and Rock Smash)
- Lance's Team (Rock STAB)
Other:
- Silver's Sneasel (Rock Smash), Magneton, Gengar (Ground STAB) and Crobat (Rock STAB)
- Red's Pikachu (Ground STAB), Snorlax (Rock Smash) and Charizard (Rock STAB)

Pokemon 4: Magmar

Type: Fire, Location: Burnt Tower (Gold and Silver), Route 34, Odd Egg (as Magby) (Crystal)
Moveset:
- Flamethrower (Level 41)
- Thunder Punch (TM41, Goldenrod Department Store, 3000 pokedollars)
- Iron Tail (TM23, Prize for defeating Jasmine)
- Sunny Day (Level 33)

Advantages:
Gym Leaders:
- Chuck's Poliwrath (Thunder Punch)
- Jasmine's Team (Fire STAB)
- Pryce's Team (Fire STAB and Thunder Punch)
- Brock's Team (Iron Tail and Thunder Punch)
- Misty's Team sans Quagsire (Thunder Punch)
- Lt Surge's Magneton (Fire STAB)
- Erica's Team (Fire STAB)
- Janine's Crobat (Thunder Punch), Ariados and Venomoth (Fire STAB)
- Blue's Pidgeot, Gyarados (Thunder Punch) and Exeggutor (Fire STAB)
Team Rocket:
- Petrel's Zubat
- Proton's Golbat
- Ariana's Vileplume (Fire STAB) and Murkrow (Thunder Punch)
Pokemon League:
- Will's Team (Fire ST) AB and Thunder Punch)
- Koga's Team sans Muk (Fire STAB and Thunder Punch)
- Bruno's Onix
- Karen's Vileplume (Fire STAB) and Murkrow (Thunder Punch)
- Lance's Gyarados, Aerodactyl and Charizard (Thunder Punch)
Others:
- Silver's Sneasel, Magneton, Meganium (Fire STAB) and Crobat (Thunder Punch)
- Red's Venusaur (Fire STAB), Charizard and Blastoise (Thunder Punch)

Pokemon 5: Miltank

Type Normal, Location: Route 38 (Only available during the day in Crystal)
Moveset:
- Strength (HM04, Olivine Cafe)
- Earthquake (TM26, Victory Road)
- Shadow Ball (TM30, Prize for defeating Morty)
- Rollout (TM04, Route 35)

Advantages:
Gym Leaders:
- Pryce's Dewgong (Rollout)
- Brock's Team (Earthquake)
- Misty's Lapras (Rollout) and Starmie (Shadow Ball)
- Lt Surge's Team (Earthquake)
- Janine's Team (Earthquake and Rollout)
- Sabrina (Shadow Ball)
- Blaine (Earthquake)
- Blue's Exeggutor (Shadow Ball), Rhydon and Arcanine (Earthquake)
Team Rocket
- Petrel's Zubat (Rollout)
- Proton's Golbat (Rollout)
- Ariana's Murkrow (Rollout)
- Archer's Houndour Line (Rollout)
Pokemon League:
- Will's Team (Shadow Ball)
- Koga's Team (Earthquake and Rollout)
- Karen's Murkrow (Rollout), Gengar and Houndoom (Earthquake)
- Lance's Team (Rollout)
Others:
- Silver's Team sans Meganium (Earthquake, Shadow Ball and Rollout)
- Red's Pikachu (Earthquake), Espeon (Shadow Ball) and Charizard (Rollout)

Pokemon 6: Jynx

Type: Ice/ Psychic, Location: Ice Path
Moveset:
- Ice Punch (TM33, Goldenrod Department Store, 3000 pokedollars)
- Psychic (TM29, Saffron City)
- Thief (TM46, Rocket Hideout
- Lovely Kiss (Level 9)

Advantages:
Gym Leaders
- Clair's Dragonair(s) (Ice STAB)
- Brock's Graveler, Rhyhorn and Onix (Ice STAB)
- Erica's Team (Ice STAB)
- Janine's Team (Psychic)
- Sabrina's Team (Thief)
- Blue's Pidgeot, Rhydon and Exeggutor (Ice STAB)
Team Rocket:
(Obtained to late to use against them)
Pokemon League:
- Will's Team (Thief and Ice STAB)
- Koga's Crobat (Ice STAB)
- Bruno's Onix (Ice STAB)
- Karen's Vileplume and Murkrow (Ice STAB)
- Lance's Aerodactyl and Dragonite(s) (Ice STAB)
Others:
- Silver's Crobat, Gengar (Psychic), Alakazam (Thief) and Meganium (Ice STAB)
- Red's Espeon (Thief) and Venusaur (Psychic)

Comments

Amazingly detailed answer. Can definitely see that research went into this!

Answer 5

This is the team I've used for Silver and it was very helpful.

Note that it is not for Crystal

Typhlosion @ Charcoal: (Starter)

• Fire punch
• Dig (TM) (Replace with Flamethrower at lvl 60)
• Thunder Punch (TM)
• Cut (HM)

Fire Punch and Flamethrower are great STAB, Dig is for Rock Coverage and Thunder Punch is for Water Coverage. Make sure whether the opponent doesn't have earthquake if you want to use dig. I've not used Earthquake instead of Dig because I've reserved it for someone else. Dig is useful for early game.

Ampharos @ Magnet : (Route 32 as Mareep)

• Thunder Wave
• Thunder Punch / Thunder
• Iron Tail
• Flash (HM)

Thunder Wave to Paralyze the opponent and make them slow. Thunder Punch and Thunder are STAB. Iron Tail just covers some types.

Nidoking @ Black Belt: (Route 35 as Nidoran (male))

• Earthquake (TM)
• Double Kick
• Ice Punch (TM)
• Headbutt (TM)

Earthquake is for STAB. Ice Punch is for Ground Coverage and could knock out the champion who has most 4 times Super effective damage (That's why a special attack for a Physical Sweeper). Double Kick is just for early game, it doesn't require other moves for the game. Headbutt is for neutral coverage. One thing is you can also catch Drowzee on the way to goldenrod city and trade it with the guy in 5th floor in departmental store for a machop to defeat Whitney especially Miltank.

Miltank @ Hard Stone : (Route 38)

• Strength (HM)
• Shadow Ball (TM)
• Milk Drink / Defense Curl (TM)
• Rollout

I don't like rock types as they have five weaknesses and yet useful to defeat the champion who has all flying types. So I'm using Miltank as Rollout user. Strength is HM + STAB. Shadow Ball is useful for Psychic E4 (Most of them have less physical defense and Shadow Ball is Physical prior to Gen 4, So guaranteed OHKO (except Xatu)). Milk drink is to recover itself. Defence Curl (TM) doubles the power of Rollout.

Fearow @ Sharp Beak: (Route 30 as Spearow)

• Fly (HM)
• Drill Peck
• Steel Wing (TM)
• Return / Swift (TM)

Fly is a useful HM. Drill Peck is very useful for E4 as it helps Fearow to defeat both fighting and bug as there are two flying moves. Steel Wing is for Rock and Ice Coverage. Return (Highest Friendship) = 102 Power + STAB

Lapras @ Quick Claw : (Union Cave) (HM Needed - Surf) (Appears only on Friday)

• Surf (HM)
• Ice Beam
• Body Slam / Dream Eater (TM)
• Sing

Surf is a powerful HM + STAB. Never miss Ice Beam if it is learnt by level up and STAB to knock out Dragons with ease. Sing is mainly for those Pesky Dragons. Dream Eater goes with sing very well and heals you. Body Slam is neutral coverage.

Note that I've used only type enhancing items for all except Lapras. You can replace it by NeverMeltIce as it increases Ice moves by 10% (More chance to OHKO Dragon types). Poliwag is our HM Slave. Rotate your team before E4.

A breif walkthrough (Gyms & Important places, not all)

• Starter : choose Cyndaquill (the fire starter) as it is useful for most of the gyms. Totodile won't help because of it's increased attack stat as it is gen 2 (all water type attacks were categorised as special prior to gen 4). Chikorita's moves are resistent to most of the Gyms.
• Catch Spearow in the near grass soon after you get pokeballs. Only at mornings.
• Sprout Tower : Here there are TONS OF bellsprout trainers here and it is a heaven to level up your Spearow and Cyndaquill.

• Violet Gym : Tackles of Spearow (lvl 10-12) and Embers of Cyndaquill/Quilava (10-14) (STAB moves that do neutral damage to the flying types).

• You'll get a Fishing Rod from an old man in the Poké center in the following route. Go back to Violet City and fish to get a Poliwag for a Temporary Water Type. (Teach it HMs eventually)

• Go ahead and catch Mareep and level it up.

• Azelea Town : Quilava(lvl 16) , and Mareep/Flaaffy(lvl 16-18) for Scyther [Don't give all work to Quilava xD].

• Before going to Goldenrod, Catch Drowzee if you want Machop for in-game trade. There would be a guy in the fifth floor of the departmental store. Trade it with him.

• Go to National park for levelling up and to obtain TM Dig.
• On the way to National Park, you would find grass, there catch a Nidoran male and level it up.

• Goldenrod Gym Nidorino's Double Kicks, Machop's Karate Chops. If this is not enough, then Quilava's Dig Flaaffy's Thunder Wave could help you (all around lvl 20).

• Ecruteak Gym : face all Gastly and Haunters with Quilava's Dig and Gengar with Flaaffy's Thunder Wave + Thundershock + a few awakenings

• Go to the route left of the city and catch Miltank (too difficult, 5%). I Paralysed it with thunder wave, got three great balls and caught it.

• Cianwood Gym - Defeat it with Fearow's Peck.

• Lapras - catch it in the Union Cave. Go to the South-West Water tile, Surf till the end to find Lapras swimming, only on Fridays.

• Lake of Rage - Flaaffy/Ampharos for Red Gyarados
• Rocket Hideout - most of them are poison type - Dig of Quilava, also they are so weak, you can use others also.

• Mahogany Gym - Ampharos for Seel and Dewgong, Miltank for Dewgong (Miltank learns Rollout at lvl 31) and Quilava for Piloswine

• Olivine Gym - Quilava would single handedly take over the gym with Digs for Magnemite, Flame Wheel for Steelix (lvl 30-35)

• Goldenrod Radio Tower - Reserve Quilava's (or Typhlosion's) Dig for Rocket Executive's Poison types.

• Blackthorn Gym - By this time you may already receive Moon Stone from your mom (if you had decided to save money with her). Evolve Nidorino to Nidoking, and Teach it Ice Punch. If not, get Lapras to lvl 36 and handle Dragonairs, making the job very easy.

• Get to your home town and Surf East. If you didn't get moonstone yet, now is the perfect time to get it.

• ELITE FOUR
  1. Psychic - Ampharos for Xatu, Miltank for the rest.
  2. Bug - Nidoking's Earthquake for Muk, Fearow / Typhlosion for the rest
  3. Fighting - Lapras for Onix, Fearow for the rest.
  4. Dark - Typhlosion for Vileplume, Nidoking's Double Kicks / Earthquakes for the rest.
  5. Champion - Ampharos for Gyarados and Aerodoctyl , Lapras / Nidoking for Dragonites, Miltank for Charizard.

• Brock - Nidoking and Lapras
• Misty - Ampharos and Miltank's Shadow Ball and Rollout
• Surge - Nidoking
• Erika - Fearow or Typhlosion
• Janine - Nidoking and Fearow
• Sabrina - Basically teamwork. (Miltank with the lead)
• Blaine - Lapras and Nidoking
• Blue - Everyone
• Red - Everyone

This team worked rather effeciently to me, hope this works for the readers also!

Answer 6

only for crystal version

here is the team him using in crystal as its gonna be in the end of the game (with some alternative)

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typhlosion : flamthrower, thunderpunch, iron tail, swift
basic starter sweep, but work damn great. if you want you can replace swift with strength or hyper beam (preferably strenght if neither your heracross or your donphan know strenght. also replace iron tail by earthquake if you dont teach it to heracross)
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donphan : earthquake, defence curl, rollot, flail
heres a tip you can catch it in the morning at route 46 rhigt at the start of the game the only problem is that he run away but you can deal with it easily with some sleep powder or stun powder just catch a skiploom or bellsprout. you can replace flail by strength or take down but your gonna take a few hit when doing rollot so flail would be more powerfull ... but I didnt actually try it so I cant tell you for sure if this works well ... but anyway EARTHQUAKE KILL !!!
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electabuzz : thunderbolt, icepunch, psychic, dizzy punch
another sweep that work really good and give some more coverage. you can get one before hall of fame and with dizzy punch in the egg you get from the man in the daycare, just save before you talk to him cause you can get either smoochum, magby, pichu, cleffa, igglybuff, tyrogue or elekid. ELEKID is the one you want so if the egg you got hatch and its one of the other turn off the game , turn it back on ,then talk to the old fart again until you get elekid. it can be long but its rewarded by geting the best electric type in the game ... after elekid evolved ... I welcome your angry comment below
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fearow : fly, drill peck, steel wing, hyper beam
his your flyer.give him swift if you gave hyper beam to typhlosion if not then ... stick whit hyper beam. the good point about this guy is that he evolve and get stronger pretty fast but if you want one that is the same thing but stronger heres the obvious alternative

dodrio : fly, drill peck, tri attack, steel wing
i put it in alternative instead of fearow cause normaly by the time your gonna be able to get doduo or dodrio you should already got fearow at level around 40 or more and doduo gonna be something like 25 -30 or if your lucky youl get a dodrio at 30 ... but anyway both of them run away ... I think ... feel free to correct me if you know better
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heracross : endure, reversal, megahorn, earthquake
ok first of all this guy praticaly made my turn insane trying to find im. the problem was that every spot that people on the internet were saying you could find I'm I couldnt . the only thing I found were spearow, aipom, and ekans I think it was a glitch ... so I basicly just said f*** the game and started a game in my silver version then when I could I traded away a skiploom with headbutt from crystal to silver and then I finally find one on route 31 I then just traded things away and leveled up heracross to be around the rest of my team ... AND IT WAS SOOOO DAMN WORTH IT CAUSE THIS GUY IS BADASS ... but dont ask my were to find one in crystal I dont do in the miracle department. by the way his a good choice for the hm strength just replace earthquake and teach it to typhlosion instead (see higher)
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slowking : surf, psychic, flamethrower, disable or zap canon or ice beam
this one is basicaly your surfer but he can also put on a good fight if he got a good moveset ... and no I wont do an alternative with slobrow cause he got more deffense than special deffense and most of the type hes weak against are special attacking type (grass , electric , dark are special when bug , ghost are physical) so its better to have high special def then high def .zap canon or ice beam are just some more coverage while disable is more in the case you get stuck against the wall and need something to handicape your ennemi ... in other word nothing who might happens in-game so why the hell am I talking about this anyway...

so thats all I have to say there and I hopeit help you chosing your team bye

Comments

Is Tyranitar able to swapped out for Donphan? Could Crobat work well instead of Fearow?
Could Dodrio be swapped out for Victreebell? Or another strong grass type?

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Tyraniatar is aftergame

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Many people can't get a Slowking. If you think Slowbro is bad, please suggest a different alternative or just remove Slowking from this answer.

Answer 7

Typhlosion

• Flamethrower
• Thunder Punch
• Iron Tail
• Earthquake

Pidgeot

• Fly
• Return
• Steel Wing
• Wing Attack

Victreebel

• Cut
• Sludge Bomb
• Razor Leaf
• Sleep Powder

Kadabra/Alakazam

• Psychic
• Fire Punch
• Thunder Punch
• Ice Punch

Poliwrath

• Surf
• Submission
• Ice Punch
• Body Slam

Magneton

• Zap Cannon
• Thunderbolt
• Lock-On

Typhlosion has high offensive stats and a high speed stat making him very strong. Pidgeot gets you around Johto and Kanto and has decent stats all around. Victreebel has good offensive capabilities and can deal large damage with STAB Sludge Bomb and Razor Leaf. Kadabra and Alakazam have good versatility with all elemental punches being special and very good stats to support these. Poliwrath is a good Surfing Pokemon and has some decent stats and moves to make him quite useful and Magneton is a good alternative to Ampharos as Ampharos is unavailable in Crystal and STAB Zap Cannon and T-Bolt do disgusting damage.

Comments

But magneton doesn't learn tri attack or thunderbolt nor does magnemite

Answer 8

All the items will be leftovers FYI, and this is for Crystal. Abilities don’t exist in gen 2 also.

-Fire Punch/Flamerthrower(You are probably not going to get to lvl 60 before you defeat Lance.)
-Thunder Punch(Covers Weakness)
-Dig(Covers other weaknesses, and earthquake tm should probably be used for anther PkMn)
-Headbutt

-Ice Punch(Dragons and weakness)
-Surf(Stab and Hm)
-Submission(Stab)
-Waterfall(Stab and HM)

-Fly
-Return
-Wing Attack
-Confuse Ray

-Mega Drain(Egg Move)
-Confusion/Psychic(Psychic is after game TM)
-Sludge Bomb
-Egg Bomb

This is for Odd Egg Elekid
-Thunder Punch
-Ice Punch(For Weakness)
-Fire Punch
-Thunderbolt

-Ice Punch(For Weakness)
-Thunder Punch
-Rock Slide
-Earthquake/Low kick(For Weakness)

Comments

Nice. I still hate how everybody chooses Typhlosion... why do you not have Umbreon?

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I perfer Croconaw but it is physical and water type moves are all spc in gen 2. Umbreon is too annyoingto get. I have Umbroen in USUM tho

Answer 9

Typhlosion

Flamethrower
Earthquake
Strength
Thunder Punch

So you're starter is gonna be Cyndaquill it helps early on with Bugsy and it as a Typhlosion works against Jasmine and Chucks Poliwrath with thunder punch, Pryce's Piloswine, Koga's bug types in the elite 4, Karen's Murkrow with Thunder Punch, Lance's team since they all have part flying, Lt. Surge with Earthquake, Erika, Blaine with Earthquake, Janine's Ariados and Venomoth, Blue's Pidgeot and Gyarados with Thunder Punch, his Exeggutor, his Arcanine with Earthquake, Red's Pikachu with Earthquake, his Venusaur, and his Charizard and Blastoise with thunder punch. For it's moveset, Flamethrower for STAB (Obtained in Game Corner for 5,500 Coins), An alternative for Flamethrower if you do not wanna grind at the game corner is Fire Punch which is at the goldenrod department store. Earthquake is in victory road and is for coverage. Strength for HM usage and a strong filler attack, you get it from a sailor in Olivine. And finally Thunder Punch for coverage and it is also obtained at the department store.

Graveler/Golem

Earthquake
Rollout/Rock Slide
Explosion
Headbutt/Protect

Geodude can be found earliest at route 46 right above route 29, The Geodude line does well against Falkner and Bugsy early on (If you level up your Geodude to know Rock Throw), Morty's Poison types, Jasmine, Pryce's Dewgong (But that's risky), Koga, Karen's Gengar (And Vileplume but that's risky), Lt. Surge, Lance's Team except be careful with Gyarados, Blue's Arcanine, Pidgeot, and Gyarados but also be careful, Red's Pikachu, and his Charizard. His moveset consists of Earthquake for STAB (Level 41), use Dig earlier on, Rock Slide if you breed Any of the Geodude line with Sudowoodo, or Rollout which is learned at level 34, Explosion to put huge dents in peoples teams, and then either Headbutt or Protect depending on if you want a filler attack spot or a move that can prevent you from taking damage, I recommend Protect though.

Fearow

Drill Peck
Fly
Return
Agility

Spearow can be found on route 29 at the earliest and its line does well against Bugsy, Chuck, Will's Exeggutor, Koga's bug types, Bruno's team except Onix, Karen's Vileplume, Erika, Janine's bug types, Blue's Exeggutor, and Red's Venusaur. So Fearow isn't the best member of our team but early on as a Spearow he still can deal with various trainers like bug catchers and lasses, his final moveset will have Drill Peck for STAB (Learned at level 40) Fly because it is an HM that we need and if you run out of PP for Drill Peck, Return for a filler attack you can replace it with Swift or Double Edge if you want but I prefer Return, and Agility to raise your speed.

Victreebel

Razor Leaf
Sludge Bomb
Sleep Powder
Growth

Bellsprout can be found very early on route 31, and the line does well against Chuck's Poliwrath, Pryce's Seel and Piloswine (But that's risky), Brock, Misty but her Lapras is risky, Erika with Sludge Bomb, Blue's Gyarados and Exeggutor, and Red's Blastoise. Now his moveset is Razor Leaf for STAB (Weepinbell learns it at level 27), and Sludge Bomb for STAB (Found in the area near the Lake of Rage), Sleep Powder to for making other Pokemon fall asleep. And then Growth to raise your Attack and Special Attack stats.

Umbreon

Feint Attack
Swift(?)
Confuse Ray
Iron Tail

Umbreon can be obtained if you level up Eevee with high friendship at night, Eevee can be gotten from Goldenrod City. The only reason it is on the team is coverage for Psychic and Ghost Types but if you want you can use Gengar or Heracross for Psychic types. It will do well against Morty, Pryce's Piloswine with Iron Tail, Will's Team, Bruno's Onix with Iron Tail, Karen's Gengar, Brock's Rock/Ground types with Iron Tail, Misty's Starmie, Sabrina's Team, Blue's Exeggutor and Alakazam, Blue's Rhydon with Iron Tail, and Red's Espeon. His moveset will be Feint Attack for STAB (Learned at level 37), Confuse Ray to confuse other Pokemon (Learned at level 30), Iron Tail for coverage, and Swift (Found in Union Cave) because it always hits and is a filler spot (Also because I can't think of a final spot). Not the best moveset but again, he is only for Psychic and Ghost types.

Lapras

Surf
Ice Beam
Rest
Confuse Ray

Lapras is found in Union Cave and is a very good bulky water/Ice type. Lapras does well against Jasmine's Steelix, Pryce's Piloswine, Will's Xatu, Koga's Crobat, Bruno's Onix, Karen's Vileplume, Lance's Team, Brock's Rock/Ground types, Erika's Team (But that's risky), Janine's Crobat, Blaine, Blue's Pidgeot, Rhydon, and his Exeggutor with Ice Beam but that's risky, then finally Red's Charizard and his Venusaur with Ice beam but again I wouldn't recommend it. Surf is for STAB and for HM Usage (Found in the Ecruteak City Dance Theater), Ice Beam is also for STAB and is learned at level 36. Rest is to recover health and is found in the Ice Path, and finally Confuse Ray which is learned at level 22.

You can use this team in Gold, Silver or Crystal because their is no version exclusives! :)

Answer 10

One thing that's important is that GSC is a bit weird. Some Pokemon are found earlier in the game depending on the version and some can only evolve during post game. With this, I will try and create a team that you can get somewhat earlier on and that no trading or version exclusives will be included.

Meganium

Item: Miracle seed
Razor Leaf
Light Screen
Giga Drain
Body Slam

While it is weak to the first two gyms, with the team I've made, you will have another Pokemon to deal with those gyms. Razor leaf for critical hits, Light screen to half special damage, Giga drain for a powerful grass attacks, and body slam for paralysis. You can get the Miracle seed from a guy after beating falkner early on which is nice to boost grass attacks

Pidgeot

Fly
Wing Attack
Return
Steel wing

Mainly your flying type Pokemon. It's typing allows you to avoid Falkner's Mud slap lowering accuracy. Fly is for travel, wing attack is if you don't want to keep using a two turn fly, Return is stab and depending on friendship does high damage, and steel wing for rock types and others.

Quagsire

Earthquake
Surf
Waterfall
Ice Punch

It has a unique typing in this gen and as a result, can safely deal with electric types, so red's Pikachu is done for. Earthquake is powerful and is stab, Surf for travel and as a good water type move, Waterfall while a special move is needed for travel, and Ice punch for flying and grass types. It's found early in game and evolves at level 20.

Magneton

Thunder Wave
Thunder
Zap Cannon
Lock On

Ampharos is not available in Crystal so yeah. Thunder wave is for paralyzing your opponent, Thunder is hard to get as you need to teach it with a TM from the game corner, but it's powerful. Lock on is to increase accuracy and Zap cannon will accompany it for a shockingly powerful attack.

Jynx

Ice Punch
Lovely Kiss
Psychic
Mean Look

Ice Punch is stab and unless you can grind up coins for blizzard, you're kinda stuck with it. Lovely kiss is to put opponents to sleep, psychic is powerful and stab, and mean look is to trap your opponent. While not as good as gen 1, Jynx is an excellent Pokemon to use on your team. It can shred Lance's Dragon Pokemon.

Magmar

Flamethrower
Thunder Punch
Strength
Sunny Day

In Gold and Silver, you can't evolve vulpix and ninetales until post game since elemental stones are post game only. Magmar is a good alternative. It learns flamethrower at level 41 which is nice and you can boost it with sunny day which it learns with level up. Strength is for travel and thunder punch is for flying types

Now Magmar is found much later in Crystal version so instead use...

Arcanine

Flamethrower
Dig
Extremespeed
Takedown

The fire stone can be found before post game in Crystal. Flamethrower is a move tutor move you can learn, TM Dig is found very early, Extreme speed allows you to move first, and takedown is just a base 90 move that can be helpful.

Answer 11

I wanted to do playthrough with a Dragon/Water team and this is what I came up with. I played this on Crystal version, but as far as I know, it works for Gold and Silver as well. It has all of the HMs/TMs you'll need to explore the map and with the exception of Dragonite/Dratini, all the Pokemon are available fairly early into the game.

Feraligatr
Held Item: Black Glasses

1. Strength
2. Bite
3. Surf --> Rock Smash
4. Cut

Strength for strong physical coverage. Bite for psychic/ghost and special coverage. Surf for STAB early game and easier to train up to level 40ish on Victory Road. Then take it to the move deleter in Blackthorn City and give it Rock Smash.

Gyarados
Held item: Dragon Fang

1. Dragon Rage --> Twister --> DragonBreath
2. Bite --> Icy Wind
3. Tackle --> Return
4. Fire Blast

The hardest part of the game for this team is early on vs grass types (your rival) so it's important to evolve Magikarp as soon a possible. Dragon & ice moves for decent coverage but especially effective vs Blackthorn's gym and Clair's Kingdra. Bite helps with Morty and other ghost types. Return is a strong physical attack for a great physical attacker. Fire Blast for grass/steel coverage. To make quick work of Jasmine's Steelix, hit it with a strong water attack to bait out Sunny Day, then you can switch to Gyarados and spam Fire Blast. It's also pretty decent against the fighting gym in Cinwood.

Quagsire
Held item: Soft Sand

1. Dig
2. Slam --> Sludge Bomb
3. Water Gun --> Iron Tail
4. Flash

Quagsire is your bread and butter vs electric types. Dig for STAB. Slam into Sludge Bomb for good physical coverage. Iron Tail for ice coverage. This is proby the hardest Pokemon in your team to get to level 40ish before the elite 4 because it's not really effective against the wild Pokemon on Victory Road. I would suggest using it against team rocket in Mahogany Town and Goldenrod to level up.

Poliwrath
Held item: Nevermelt Ice

1. Hypnosis
2. Ice Punch
3. Earthquake
4. Dynamic Punch or Submission

Particularly useful against dark and normal types because of its fighting move. This is just an all around hard hitting good coverage Pokemon.

Lapras
Held item: Pink Bow

1. Surf
2. Ice Beam
3. Body Slam
4. Whirlpool

Surf and Ice Beam for STAB. Body Slam for strong physical coverage + a chance to paralyze. Fairly straightforward. This tanky Pokemon is extremely effective against Lance's team.

Dragonite
Held item: Magnet

1. Rain Dance
2. Waterfall
3. Thunder
4. ExtremeSpeed --> Fly

Dragonite being the only flyable Pokemon in the party, I went into this knowing that most likely I wouldn't be able to fly until Dragonair evolves at some point in Kanto. This wasn't really too much of a problem in battle though because Dragonair is still a solid Pokemon. If you have the TMs, you can teach them immediately after getting Dratini. It helps a lot to get the Dratini with ExtremeSpeed from the Monks in Dragon's Den. It's is a great priority physical move to use until you can teach it Fly when Dragonair finally evolves. Rain Dance is to boost Waterfall and give Thunder 100% accuracy. Also to possibly set up Lapras to fight fire types. Thunder for water/flying coverage (Lance's Gyarados).

Answer 12

When I played through Crystal this time, I wanted a team of 6 that could perform well on set mode and synergize particularly well with each other. I would recommend this team for players who like to play a little on the defensive side, enjoy using move combos such as paralysis+confusion, and want to work on the PokeDex.

Meganium @Leftovers or Miracle Seed
- Razor Leaf
- Tackle -> Headbutt -> Body Slam
- Cut / Earthquake
- Reflect -> Light Screen

If it can't get a knockout with either Razor Leaf or Body Slam / Cut, it can attempt to paralyze with Body Slam or set up Light Screen to aid the entire team. If you would rather have more super-effective coverage over utility, you can replace Cut with Earthquake.

Graveler @Quick Claw
- Rock Throw -> Rollout
- Magnitude -> Earthquake
- Rock Smash / Dynamic Punch
- Defense Curl / Strength

Walls anything with only physical attacks. Defense Curl further increases said walling capabilities as well as doubles the power of Rollout. Rock Smash is for field utility as well as weakening super bulky walls with its 50% chance to drop defense. Dynamic Punch can be used instead if you tend to carry around X Accuracies with you (they remove the accuracy check so you always hit) and don't mind the loss of utility. Strength in the final slot is if you want to enhance the power of Granbull (detailed below).

Haunter @Amulet Coin
- Lick -> Shadow Ball
- Hypnosis
- Curse -> Dream Eater
- Mean Look / Move of choice

It feels good when you're fighting a Graveler, Electrode or the like, and switch into Haunter successfully predicting a Self-Destruct. Helps to catch Pokemon for the PokeDex and a good Pokemon to lead with when passing through the grass in case you run into a shiny or a roaming legendary (that's what Mean Look is for). Otherwise, you can use any other learn move of your choice. Curse helps whittle down tough opponents that are otherwise difficult to take out.

Jynx @NeverMeltIce
- Confusion / Move of choice -> Psychic
- Ice Punch
- Nightmare
- Sing / Lovely Kiss

If you raise a Smoochum from an egg rather than a Jynx caught at the Ice Path, you get the benefit of learning Psychic-type moves upon level up, meaning that you'll have one for the Elite Four. Nightmare has a similar function to Haunter's Curse in that it helps whittle down difficult opponents. Sing is if you opted to raise a Smoochum while Lovely Kiss is if you opted to raise a Jynx caught from the wild. You can delay evolution until level 37 if you want to have Psychic for the Elite Four.

Lanturn @Magnet or Leftovers
- Surf
- Spark
- Supersonic -> Confuse Ray
- Thunder Wave

If it can't get a knockout with either Surf or Spark, it can either go for Spark's 30% paralysis chance or Thunder Wave followed by Confuse Ray to cripple the opponent. It can be fun to watch the NPC trainers try to get a move off through both paralysis and confusion.

Granbull @BlackGlasses
- Tackle -> Headbutt -> Strength / Return
- Bite
- Fire Punch
- Attract

Helps against Ghost-type opponents and boasts coverage against them as well as Steel types. If the opponent has been paralyzed by another team member, Granbull can come in and make their day even worse by going for Attract and/or Bite (the latter has a 30% chance to flinch). Otherwise, it hits hard with Strength. If you'd rather make Granbull more powerful albeit sacrificing utility, you can replace Strength with Return.

Throughout the game, you can choose to lead with whoever needs the most levels and then you have a variety of defensive switch-in options. If you have access to trading, you can make Graveler and Haunter even stronger via evolution, though it is not necessary.

Answer 13

I played this on Crystal version, but as far as I know, it works for Gold and Silver as well. It has most of the HMs/TMs you'll need to explore the map and all the Pokemon are available fairly early into the game.

Meganium
Held Item: Pink Bow

1. Body Slam
2. Razor Leaf
3. Synthesis
4. Cut

Fairly straight forward. Body Slam for physical coverage + a chance to paralyze. Combined that with synthesis and you have an okay self-healing wall/stall with good offense.

Pidgeot
Held Item: Sharp Beak

1. Gust --> Fly
2. Sand Attack
3. Quick Attack --> Rest
4. Sleep Talk

Fly for STAB and getting around the map. This is one of three Pokemon in the party that are potential setups for Slowbrow. Sand Attack to lower accuracy. Rest + Sleep Talk to heal and lower accuracy while asleep (because Sleep Talk doesn't choose Fly).

Slowbro
Held Item: Quick Claw --> Leftovers

1. Water Gun --> Surf
2. Tackle --> Headbutt --> Swift
3. Curse
4. Amnesia

This is the main sweeper of the party. For best results, it helps to bring this out only after the opponents Pokemon's accuracy has been lowered as much as possible. Once it's out, spam Curse and Amnesia until those stats are maxed out. Then watch as it slices through most any opponent. I went with Swift over any other physical move so it would barley be effected by lowered accuracy or raised opponent evasion. Because this requires such a long setup, it's really only worth using vs gym leaders or trainers with more than two or three in their party. Giving it Quick Claw is fine for the most part but some of its few weaknesses are poison, confusion, and other statuses that may cause you to lose health. Because if this, Leftovers is a much better held item for late game.

Weezing
Held Item: Charcoal

1. Sludge --> Sludge Bomb
2. SmokeScreen
3. Fire Blast
4. Haze

This is the second setup Pokemon for Slowbro. Sludge Bomb is strong physical move + STAB + poison chance. SmokeScreen to lower accuracy. Fire Blast is a strong special move that gives coverage for steel types. In my playthrough, I went with Haze as the fourth move, though I only remember it coming in handy once. Instead of Haze, you can go with Rollout for more offensive coverage or Explosion for the pure damage. But the fourth move could be anything and is really up to personal preference. This is the only slot in the party that isn't tied to any necessary HMs so you can use any Pokemon you want but I'll include an interesting alternative option at the end.

Miltank
Held Item: King's Rock

1. Strength
2. Mud-Slap --> Earthquake
3. Milk Drink
4. Stomp --> Body Slam --> Heal Bell

Maybe one of the mose useful Pokemon in the game. Strength is a good strong physical move with STAB. Earthquake is also strong and has electric & poison coverage. Milk Drink to heal itself in battle and others outside of battle. With the addition of Heal Bell to cure your party of status ailments, this Pokemon feels completely broken. On top of all that, give it a King's Rock to potentially cause flinch.

Lanturn
Held Item: Mystic Water

1. Water Gun --> Waterfall
2. Flash
3. Thunder Wave
4. Whirlpool

This is the third setup Pokemon for Slowbro. Thunder Wave to paralyze while you spam Flash to lower accuracy. Its got a big enough health pool to tank a bunch of hits while you wait for Flash to not miss. Offense wise, it's somewhat niche. Most of what it's strong against can be easily taken care of with other Pokemon in the party. It's best against Houndoom because it can tank a Crunch a little better than Slowbro.

An alternative to Weezing:
Ursaring
Held Item: Quick Claw

1. Lick
2. Curse
3. Rest
4. Snore

If you go with this, you'll lose a setup for Slowbro as well as some offensive coverage, but you'll gain another potential sweeper. While it's awake, spam curse until you feel you need to Rest to heal or until those stats are maxed out. Snore for a consistent attack while it's asleep. Once it's awake and it's attack is maxed out, use Lick to deal pretty good damage (because it's a physical type attack) and potentially paralyze.

Answer 14

Here is the team I put together for my latest run of Gold. It's not the best but it has some of my favorite Pokemon in it and altogether is pretty powerful with a decent movepool.

Meganium:
-Razor Leaf
-Synthesis
-Body Slam
-Toxic

Graveler:
-Rock Throw
-Earthquake
-Magnitude
-Rollout

Ampharos:
-Thunderpunch
-Thunder Wave
-Thunder
-Zap Cannon

Furret:
-Surf
-Rest
-Slam
-Snore

Magmar:
-Psychic
-Flamethrower
-Rest
-Fire Punch

Noctowl:
-Fly
-Take Down
-Hypnosis
-Dream Eater

Comments

That Magmar sprite has me chuckling.

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Why exactly does Graveler have both Magnitude and Earthquake, when Earthquake is pretty much Magnitude 10 every time?

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Same with Magmar: Why does he have a physical move and special move when back before until Gen IV all fire moves were special? Am I missing something with the two 'mons?

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Replace Magnitude on Graveller with Defence Curl since it does really good with Rollout. Rock Throw is not really needed because you already have Rollout so replace it with either Dynamic Punch or Explosion. Having both Thunder and Zap Cannon on Ampharos seems a bit strange. You should maybe replace one of them with Fire Punch. Return is better than Slam on Furret, and if you want, consider replacing Snore for Sleep Talk. Replace Fire Punch on Magmar with either Confuse Ray or Theif. Other than that, this is a great team.

Answer 15

Tyranitar:
- Crunch
- Rockslide
- Thunderbolt
- Earthquake
Feraligatr:
- Surf
- Ice Punch
- Blizzard
- Hydropump
Magneton:
- Zap Cannon
- Tri Attack
- Thunderbolt
- Lock-On
Gyarados:
- Dragonbreath
- Hyperbeam
- Hydropump
- Surf
Exeggutor:
- Psychic
- Toxic
- Giga Drain
- Leech Seed
Dragonite:
- Outrage
- Surf
- Thunder
- Blizzard
All these Pokemon, as well as these moves can be obtained within normal gameplay. No cheats or trading required. The Gyarados can be shiny (my preference) and that can be captured at Lake of Rage. You can replace one of the above Pokemon with Snorlax, which you find in Vermilion city. I have Body Slam, Rest, Rollout, and snore on mine at the moment, but I'm thinking of putting sleep talk on it. Hope this helps guys :)

Comments

How did u get magneton to learn thunderbolt?

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Magneton can be taught Thunderbolt by a Move Tutor post-game in Crystal.

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Tyranitar is after game

Answer 16

This is my team. Personally, I relied a lot on my starter. My personal opinion, suggestions gladly accepted ^_^

1.Typhlosion (Sweeper)
-Swift
-Flamethrower
-Earthquake
-Thunderpunch
2.Jynx
-Lovely Kiss
-Dream Eater
-Ice Punch
-Blizzard/Psychic/Icy Winds
3.Pidgeot
-Wing Attack
-Fly
-Steel Wing (To take care of all the pesky rock types like onix,graveller,etc)
-Mirror Move
4.Victreebel
-Sleep Powder/Toxic
-Razor Leaf
-Giga Drain/Cut
-Sludge Bomb
5.Gyarados
-Surf
-Hyper Beam
-Hydro Pump
-Waterfall/Iron Tail/ Dragonbreath
6.Dragonite
-Outrage
-Blizzard
-Flamethrower
-Thunderbolt/Thunder

My sweepers are mainly Typhlosion and Pidgeot, although Jynx is surprisingly good at cleaning off the teams in front. Victreebel and Dragonite can be replaced with a Snorlax and a fighting/electric type Pokemon though this team alone is good enough to beat Red without a fuss. Now I'm raising my Raikou and he is proving to be a real beast! ;)

Comments

This might be late but whatever. It's pretty good but for Typhlosion you can put Return instead of Swift, because it's your starter. Jynx is good. Pidgeot is also good. I wouldn't suggest using Victreebel because it has a lot of weaknesses, so I would use Ampharos: Thunderpunch, Ice Punch (weakness), Thunder, and maybe Thunder wave for catching Pokemon or Earthquake for type coverage. You can get another earthquake by using the clone glitch. For Gyarados, I wouldn't suggest using it because Gyrados is physical, but in gen 2, water type moves are special, so it's kind of dumb. Lapras is a good choice: Surf, Psychic, Ice Beam, and Body Slam/Perish Song/ Strength. Dragonite is good, but I would give it Wing Attack instead of Blizzard for PP, Accuracy, and STAB. But if you don't care about accuracy and only want power, blizzard is fine

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You’re telling him to use a Jynx? Really? Otherwise great!

Answer 17

This team will be valid no matter the starter. This is for Pokemon Crystal so if youre playing Gold or Silver some things may not be possible for you. Im listing HMs to the movesets so make sure yourself that you only give one of each of those to your Pokemon.

1 FIRE TYPE

Typhlosion: Flamethrower/Fire Blast, Thunder Punch, Strength/Headbutt/Cut, Dynamic Punch

OR

Arcanine: Flamethrower/Fire Blast, Return, Rest, Sleep Talk

2 WATER TYPE

Feraligatr: Surf, Whirlpool/Ice Punch, Dynamic Punch, Cut/Strength/Headbutt

OR

Gyarados: Surf, Waterfall/Whirlpool, Thrash/Strength, Zap Cannon

3 GRASS TYPE

Meganium: Cut/Strength/Headbutt, Synthesis, Razor Leaf/Giga Drain, Light Screen/Reflect

OR

Victreebel: Cut/Return, Razor Leaf/Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, Sleep Powder

4 EGG POKEMON
Whatever Pokemon you got from the odd egg.

Wigglytuff: Strength/Double-Edge/Body Slam, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt/Thunder, Sing/Sweet Kiss

Clefable: Strength/Return, Moonlight, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt/Thunder

Electabuzz: Strength/Fire Punch, Thunderbolt, Ice Punch, Dynamic Punch/Light Screen

Jynx: Ice Beam, Sweet Kiss, Psychic, Perish Song

Raichu: Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Dynamic Punch/Iron Tail, Strength/Return

Im not listing Magmar since you already have Arcanine/Typhlosion as a fire type and I'm not listing Tyrogues evolutions either since later in this list therell be better options for a fighting type. If you got either of those two and not one of the other five (or you did get one of the other five but you just dont want to use the one you got) you could use one of these:

Espeon: Psychic, Morning Sun, Protect, Toxic

OR

Jolteon: Thunderbolt/Thunder, Baton Pass, Agility, Thunder Wave

5 - FLYER

Dragonite: Fly, Whirlpool/Waterfall, Thunderbolt/Thunder/Dynamic Punch, Ice Beam/Outrage/Thunder Wave/Extreme Speed

Since you get Dragonite pretty late before getting him you could use Fearow, Pidgeot or any other flying type you want before getting him.

6 - EXTRA

You can use pretty much anything you want. I definitely recommend Heracross.

Heracross: Endure, Reversal, Megahorn, Earthquake

Here are some other options though if you dont want him:

Pinsir: Strength/Return, Seismic Toss, Submission, Swords Dance

Scyther: False Swipe, Swords Dance, Steel Wing, Return/Slash

Graveler: Earthquake, Rollout, Explosion, Strength/Rock Throw/Headbutt

Machoke: Earthquake, Cross Chop, Seismic Toss, Strength/Return/Curse

Answer 18

I've found this team to have decent coverage and counter weaknesses really damn well.

Typhlosion:
Flamethrower/Fire Blast
Iron Tail
Thunder Punch
Rollout/Earthquake/Dynamicpunch

This set gives decent coverage, clearing out most water, rock and ground types with iron tail, earthquake or dynamicpunch, and rollout can be run to get rid of fire types whilst taking minimal damage yourself.

Lapras:
Surf/Hydro Pump
Ice Beam/Blizzard
Confuse Ray/toxic
Body Slam/Whirlpool

Again, a good bit of coverage, especially for any grass types with some STAB ice moves. Best to choose hydro pump or blizzard as you really need at least one 100% accuracy stab move. Body slam and confuse ray can cripple most Pokemon with self inflicted damage/paralysis stall, or you can use leftovers and Lapras' bulk with a whirlpool toxic combo to get up a huge amount of damage each turn.

Aerodactyl:

Ancientpower
Earthquake
Fly
Take Down/Hyper Beam

Hard Pokemon to get granted you have to trade a chansey for it, but so fast and so strong in attack that it speaks for itself really.

Pinsir:

Submission
Fury Cutter
swords dance
Strength

Set up a swords dance, chuck a leftovers on it to make up for the submission recoil and Pinsir is easily one of the strongest physical attackers in the game.

Espeon:

Zap Cannon
Psychic
Bite
Shadow Ball

Best psychic type and special attacker you can get without going for lugia/mewtwo or having to trade an alakazam. Shadow ball is great for taking out stuff with high special defence and paper defence stats too, as espeon gets okay attack stats if you train it right

Dragonite:

Hyper Beam
Thunder Wave
Outrage
Steel Wing

You need thunder wave on this set to counter the missed turn on hyper beam and the confusion from outrage but Dragonite is easily one of the most powerful Pokemon in the game. Steel wing covers the Ice/Rock weaknesses it has too.

Answer 19

This is the team I used in Pokemon Gold.
I have listed HMs in the movesets along with a replacement move because I dont like to use HM slaves. Instead, I replace the HMs post game or before the elite four.
TYPHLOSION

Item: Leftovers
Moves:
- flamethrower
- fire blast
- strength (HM)/earthquake
- hidden power ice or grass/rest
Flamethrower and fire blast are good STAB attacks. Both the hidden powers cover for weakness along with earthquake and rest can be used for easy recovery.
VICTREEBEL

Item: Leftovers
Moves:
- sludge bomb
- cut (HM)/swords dance
- sleep powder
- giga drain
In generation 2 sludge bomb is physical so it can do some serious damage alongside a swords dance. Giga drain is a solid recovery move and sleep powder can destroy teams
GYARADOS

Item: Leftovers
Moves:
- double edge
- surf (HM)/hydro pump
- waterfall (HM)/zap cannon
- whirlpool (HM)/return
Return and double edge are the physical moves Gyarados needs. Hydro pump gives your team a water type option and zap cannon can paralyze
SKARMORY

Item: Leftovers
Moves:
- fly (HM)/drill peck
- curse
- whirlwind
- rest
Skarmory is one of the best Pokemon around. It has an amazing defense stat along with 9 resistances and 2 immunities. Use whirlwind to switch out anything resisting drill peck. Rest gives it recovery and curse boosts its two most prominent stats.
AMPHAROS

Item: Leftovers
Moves:
- thunderbolt
- fire punch
- thunder wave
- flash (HM)/dynamic punch
Thunderbolt is good STAB and fire punch is good coverage. Thunder wave really helps Ampharos because of its low speed and dynamic punch is just that extra bit of coverage.
HERACROSS

Item: Leftovers
Moves:
- megahorn
- rest
- sleep talk
- earthquake
This is a pretty simple set. megahorn for good STAB, earthquake for coverage plus restalk

OTHER OPTIONS
Heracross: Machamp
Ampharos: Jolteon
Skarmory: This Pokemon is irreplaceable
Gyarados: Starmie/Feraligatr/Vaporeon
Victreebel: Exeggutor/Meganium
Typhlosion: Arcanine/Ninetales/Houndoom/Flareon

If you would like to see my crystal and silver teams, ask in the comments.

Answer 20

Here's one for Crystal
Remember that you can change Pokemon, these are just good Pokemon with the best movesets in my opinion. Please correct me if Im wrong.
Meganium / Victreebel
Razor Leaf
Reflect / Sludge Bomb
Cut / Strenght / Body Slam / Sunny Day / Return
Synthesis

Poliwrath / Feraligatr
Surf / Waterfall / Whirlpool
Detect / Belly Drum / Sleep Talk / Return
Rest / Ice Fang
Dynamicpunch / Strength / Bite

Crobat /Noctowl / Pidgeotto
Toxic / Wing Attack
Fly
Toxic / Flash / Quick Attack / Other Move
Steel Wing / Psychic / Detect

Sudowoodo / Graveler / Golem
Rock Slide / Rock Throw
Earthquake
Ice Punch / Fire Punch
Strength / Mud-Slap

Ampharos
Thunderpunch / Thunder / Thunderbolt
Cotton Spore
Light Screen
Rain Dance / Iron Tail

Umbreon / Houndoom / Thyplosion
Curse / Shadow Ball / Fire Blast
Toxic / Moonlight / Iron Tail / Thunderpunch
Confuse Ray / Flamethrower
Bite / Faint Attack / Return

Comments

If this is for crystal why does it have Ampharos on it?