Electabuzz or Electrode in Pokemon Crystal?

Question

I'm kinda of trying to build my team beforehand. But idk which electric type to get in crystal cuz I don't have mareep. I was thinking Electrode because he's hella fast but lmk if you guys have any recommendations. Edit: some of you are probably gonna tell me that I can have kadabra learn it or sum but I don't wanna have to wait that long.

Comments

You can get a thunder punch Abra as soon as you get to Goldenrod City, which is almost the exact same time as Elekid and much earlier than Voltorb. Why are you willing to grind a level 5 Elekid or wait longer for Voltorb and unwilling to wait a shorter time for a thunder punch Abra?

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Well I know that now. But yeah ima use abra instead of those two.

Answer 1

Electrode
+ One of the fastest Pokemon in the game
+ Easily obtainable from Team Rocket HQ
+ Learns moves like Selfdestruct and Light Screen
- Average to poor stats in everything but Speed
- Doesn't get Electric moves via level up; must rely on Thunder via TM
- Shallow movepool
- Learns no HMs other than Flash

Electabuzz
+ Elekid randomly obtained from the Odd Egg
+ Learns moves like ThunderPunch, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, and Headbutt
+ Higher Special Attack than Electrode
+ Serviceable Speed
+ Learns Strength while Electrode cannot
- Elekid evolves at Level 30
- Incredibly weak before evolution
- Elekid is not guaranteed from the Odd Egg

Between the two, Electabuzz is better because it gets more moves and has higher Special Attack. However, it's a gamble to obtain and Elekid is wholly useless until it evolves in the late midgame.

Kadabra is arguably better at using ThunderPunch and will be more consistent throughout the game. If you absolutely must have an Electric type, Magneton might be better than Electabuzz because it has the coveted Steel typing and better Special Attack. Unfortunately, it also has a completely barren movepool.

Electabuzz
- ThunderPunch (Level 9)
- Fire Punch (TM from Goldenrod Department Store)
- Ice Punch (TM from Goldenrod Department Store)
- Strength (HM)

Magneton
- Thunder (TM from Goldenrod Game Corner)
- Rain Dance (TM in the Slowpoke Well)
- Tri Attack (Level 35)
- Flash (HM)

Comments

Thanks again, I might just use magneton just for electric moves until kadabra gets thunder punch cuz I keep getting f***d up by silver and his stupid totodile. Also btw ur an awesome mod.

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No problem man. I'm pretty sure you can get ThunderPunch on Kadabra before you can catch Magnemite, but the latter's Thunder is definitely stronger. Good luck!

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So the team I'm probably gonna end up with is: Lapras, typhlosion,heracross,kadabra, and crobat. Do you have any recommendations for the 6th pokemon? I'm not that much of a grinder so a mid experience Mon would probably be best.

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Due to Johto's level curve, it's difficult to maintain a party of six. The five you've chosen should be more than enough to get you through the game and reduce grinding time.

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Dang.. well I've never used a team of less than 6. But I'll definetly see if I like it. Thanks again for the advice!

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Whatever you do, do not use Crobat or Heracross. Fearow gets boosted experience (just make sure you use the one from Webster and not a wild Spearow) and evolves more easily, and drill peck and return are both stronger than whatever STAB Crobat gets in this generation. Heracross has good stats, but until it gets megahorn in the post-game, its only STAB moves are rock smash (which is weak) and fury cutter and reversal (which are unreliable). There might not be any good fighting or bug Pokemon in the whole game, so I would recommend just dropping Heracross and not replacing it with anything. So you'd be left with Typhlosion, Fearow, Kadabra, and Lapras.
Also Magmar might be better than Typhlosion, but it's probably already too late to change that.

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Idk man. It was pretty easy for me to evolve Golbat in hgss. You might be right but crobat is 4x defensive against fighting types,  he was also very reliable and has amazing speed (ik it's different from gen 2 and 4 but still) And if not heracross, what fighting type should I use? I'm going to need one for Karen.

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Looking at crobats moves, you probably are right. I already got zubat but I'll switch him out for kenya.

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As far as I know, there aren't any good fighting or bug Pokemon in GSC, but all of Karen's Pokemon besides Umbreon have other weaknesses that your team can hit. Umbreon itself has low special attack and relies confuse ray and feint attack to do damage, so you should be able to break through it just by using Fearow and spamming return.

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Well tbh I kinda feel unsafe without a team of atleast 5, do you have any pokemon for support you'd recommend?

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Especially in older Pokemon games, smaller teams are better than bigger teams because this lets each Pokemon get more experience. Typhlosion, Fearow, Kadabra, and Lapras are a pretty balanced team, so you shouldn't have to worry about getting stuck in any one boss battle.