The franchise has earned quite a reputation for its low difficulty curve in the past decade, and it’s really no wonder why when taking a quick glimpse at Gym Leader levels and parties across Generations. If they’re not underleveled, chances are each major Gym Leader has a poor party that won’t be doing them many favors. This is especial﷽ly true for the that seem more intent on🌜 carrying Trainers to the Elite Four rather than letting them earn their spot as Champion.
This is only one of the many reasons rev🦂isiting Generation I is as refreshing ♉as it is. Beyond a care for overworld & dungeon design that’s completely vanished by this point, the original actually featu♔re a somewhat demanding difficulty curve. Kanto Gym Leaders are a 📖breed of their own, and their signature Pokémon can make beting Red & Blue a welcome challenge for the franchise.
8 Brock: Onix (Lv. 14)
Generation I’s first Gym Leader, Brock unfortunately doesn’t get a 𒐪chance to strut his full potential, but he can still put up a solid fight depending on a Traine✅r’s choice of starter. Rather infamously, Generation I’s Starter Pokémon form their own internal difficulty curve– Bulbasaur is easy, Squirtle in medium, and Charmander is hard.
Funny enough, however, Squirtle has the easiest time against Onix as most Water-Type attacks will take it down fast. Bulbasaur will likely be too underleveled to do serious damage, while a Generation I Charmander will fight an uphill battle𒅌 without the𝓡 Metal Claw Generation III gave it. Coupled with Bind and Bide, Brock’s Onix has all the makings of an early game wake-up call.
7 Misty: Starmie (Lv. 21)
As much of a fig💃ht as Brock’s Onix can put up, Misty immediately ups the ante with her team. While her Water based Gym isn’t too daunting, Misty brings with her a spike in difficulty tha🌱t would make even Brock blush. Tackle and Water Gun make Staryu easy enough to deal with, but Starmie is a completely different story.
It’s easy to take for granted just how dangerous a few Hardens can be, and Starmie’s incredibly high speed basically means it’ll be attacking first every turn. Taking out Starmie can be an outright war of attrition. Not even I𝔉vysaur will have an easy time if it’🔥s sub Level 20. To put it further into perspective, Starmie is so sturdy that an overleveled Pikachu– the sole starter in Pokémon Yellow– won’t be able to defeat Starmie alone.
6 Lt. Surge: Raichu (Lv. 24)
Diglett Tunnel being stationed right next to Vermillion City makes countering Lt. Surge’s Raichu simple enough, but heading into his Gym without exploring the surroundi🦩ng area can be a challenge for all three starters. While Raichu isn’t much higher in level than Misty’s Starmie, the fact ﷺit can inflict paralysis is a problem.
There also isn’t that much time between Cerulean and Vermillion City. While there♑ are various Trainers along the way to grind again, Raichu’s formidable enough to handle an overleveled Pokémon just fine. Notably, Lt. Surge references both a Pokémon War and the fact Pokémon saved his life.
5 Erika: Vileplume (Lv. 29)
It’s around this point where the difficulty curve for starters begins to shift around. Bulbasaur’s easier🍬 early game is about to become considerably more difficult and Squirtle Trainers are about to face their hardest Gym yet, but anyone repping Charmel🎉eon (or a Charizard) will handle Erika’s pure Grass Type Gym just fine.
Erika’s Gym isn’t too challenging, but it’s filled with plenty of Trainers and her Vileplume is dangerous. Virtually every move in its move pool is deadly: Both Poisonpowder & Sleep Powder leave nasty side effects, Mega Drain heals Vileplume while doing damage, and Petal Dance rips through health– especially when Super Effec🥃tive.
4 Koga: Weezing (Lv. 43)
From late 20s to low 40s in the blink of an eye, Generation I’s midgame difficulty curve is relentl🐠ess. The higher leveled Trainers certainly pose a threat, but what makes Koga’s Gym particularly dangerous is its focus on Poison. Every single Pokémon in Koga’s Party has access to poison, but his Weezing’s Toxic is best countered immediately.
Toxic bad🥂ly poisons any Pokémon it touche𓂃s, draining their health fast, but almost all of Weezing’s moves inflict the status ailment. Any Trainer unprepared to cure poison damage will be in for a h🍨ard time. Weezing’s only other ♚move is Self Destruct, which actually isn’t that threatening so long as Trainers aren’t down to their last Pokémon.
3 Sabrina: Alakazam (Lv. 43)
Psychic Type Pokémon are ferociously overpowered in Generation I, so it goes without saying that Sabrina’s Alakazam is something of a beast. While the Abra-line has weak defen♌se across the board, Sabrina’s Alakazam has access to R൲eflect, a move which doubles its defense. With its high speed, Alakazam will use Reflect right a🥀way and start countering damage.
All three starters will struggle against Alaꦑkazam, especially if they can’t knock it out right away. Alakazam not only hits hard and fast, it can heal itself thanks to Recover. It’s not unusual for Alakazam to keep itself long enough to sweep an underleveled or unprepared party. Thankfully, anyone struggling can tackle the Silph Co. dungeon to grind levels & stand a chance against Alakazam.𝄹
2 Blaine: Arcanine (Lv. 47)
Trainers better have Burn Heal on them, because Blaine and his full Fire party do not hold back. While a Bl🐠astoise can comfortably Surf their way through Blaine’s Team, Arcanine will pose a serious threat to both Venusaur and Charizard (the former more so.) Roar and Take Down make Arcanine a headache, but it’s Fire Blast that often turns the tide iꩵn Blaine’s favor.
Fire Blast is essentially the fire version of Toxic, potentially🎀 severely burning any Pokémon the attack touches. Although low in accuracy, Fire Blast is considered the strongest Fire Type move in the game, and its 🃏damage makes it clear why. Arcanine can drop otherwise healthy Pokémon with ease.
1 Giovanni: Rhydon (Lv. 50)
In the grand scheme of things, Giovanni is one of the easiest Gym Leaders in Ge♔neration I. Trainers are guaranteed to have at least one Pokémon with Surf in their party at this point, and the entirety of Giovanni’s Team is weak to water. This includes his signature Pokémon, Rhydon. That said, Rhydon is actually fairly dangerous for anyone lacking in strong Water Types.
Despite low accuracy, Fissure and Horn Drill are rare OHKO (one hit knockout) moves and they do connect enough to be a problem. Should Giovanni take out a player’s ꧃main Water Type early, Rhydon can devour their party.