Is Moltres Good in Red & Blue Playthrough?
The weakest of the three legendary birds, but still a legendary. Moltres hits hard on the special side, though the Fire/Flying typing creates a Rock weakness that matters against Lance. Found in Victory Road right before the E4. Usable, just not as plug-and-play as Zapdos or Articuno.
Moltres trades roughly evenly with Brock's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Moltres resists most of Erika's coverage and hits back hard.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Giovanni's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Moltres has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Moltres trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Moltres trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Moltres trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catchable
Catch Moltres in Victory Road (interact, Lv 50, limited). Victory Road 2F, boulder puzzle required. Navigate the Victory Road boulder puzzle to reach 2F where Moltres waits as a stationary encounter.
Recommended Moves
- After Lt. Surge
- HM02FlyingFlyPower 105Accuracy 95%PP 15Route 16 (from girl in house)
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM09NormalTake DownPower 90Accuracy 85%PP 20Silph Co.
- TM02NormalRazor WindPower 80Accuracy 75%PP 10Celadon Department Store
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 180Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- LV 55PsychicAgilityPower —Accuracy 100%PP 30
- LV 60FlyingSky AttackPower 210Accuracy 90%PP 5
How to Get Moltres in Red & Blue
Moltres guards the second floor of Victory Road behind a boulder puzzle, level 50. A catch rate of 3 and no second chance make it the riskiest bird to fumble, the most likely to faint before a ball lands.
1 location to catch Moltres
Badge 8How to Get Moltres in Red & Blue
Moltres Weakness
Type-wise, Moltres takes extra damage from Rock, Water, Electric, and Ice. Watch out for Rock attacks, those deal 4x damage. Ground moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. The Fire/Flying typing picks up 4 resistances to work with. Moltres's special bulk (base 125 Special) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 4x (Critical) | Rock |
| 2x (Weak) | Water, Electric, Ice |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fire, Fighting |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Ground |
- Only 15 types exist — Dark, Steel, and Fairy are absent
- Ghost has no effect on Psychic (a known bug, fixed in Gen II)
- Special stat governs both offense and defense — no Sp.Atk / Sp.Def split
What is Moltres Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Moltres
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Rhydon builds →Rock Slide 4x145-171%KO Blizzard 2x24-28% Thunderbolt 2x21-24% Surf 2x21-24% | ||
 Omastar RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Omanyte (Cinnabar Island Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Omastar builds →Hydro Pump 2x79-93% Blizzard 2x48-57% | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Kabutops RockWater | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Kabuto (Cinnabar Island Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Kabutops builds →Surf 2x40-47% Blizzard 2x31-36% | ||
 Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Articuno builds →Blizzard 2x62-73% Bubble Beam 2x24-29% | ||
 Jolteon Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Celadon City Gift) | ||
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Lapras WaterIce | B | |
Obtain MethodSilph Co Gift Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Lapras builds →Blizzard 2x57-67% Hydro Pump 2x62-73% Thunderbolt 2x33-39% | ||
 Magneton Electric | C | |
 Gyarados Water | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Magikarp (Route 4 Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Gyarados builds →Hydro Pump 2x48-56% Blizzard 2x28-34% Thunderbolt 2x25-30% | ||
 Dewgong WaterIce | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Dewgong builds →Blizzard 2x49-58% Surf 2x41-49% | ||
 Starmie WaterPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Staryu (Cinnabar Island Super Rod) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Starmie builds →Surf 2x55-65% Blizzard 2x43-51% Thunderbolt 2x37-44% | ||
 Blastoise Water | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Squirtle (Pallet Town Gift) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Blastoise builds →Surf 2x49-58% Blizzard 2x38-45% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Moltres View Slowbro builds →Surf 2x55-65% Blizzard 2x43-51% | ||
Moltres Evolutions
No breeding, no evolution. Moltres is a Fire/Flying legendary with 620 base stat total that you obtain once and build around. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
RB Moltres Best Moveset
Fire/Flying legendary with 125 Special firing MoveFire Blast hard, but MoveEarthquake saturation and Water dominance punish the Fire typing constantly. MoveHyper Beam closes weakened targets without recharge on KO. Hits from the special side and relies on raw power to overcome the type disadvantages.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Fire Blast
- Agility
- Fire Spin
- Hyper Beam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Most of Moltres's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Sky Attack and Fire Blast, but Normal and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
All 17 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Known as the legendary bird of fire. Every flap of its wings creates a dazzling flash of flames.
Moltres Red & Blue Guide
Moltres is a static encounter at Victory Road in Red & Blue. Moltres appears at level 50. Prerequisite: Victory Road 2F, boulder puzzle required. Save before the encounter. These one-shot Pokemon don't respawn if you knock them out or run out of Poke Balls.
In Red & Blue, Moltres plays as a wallbreaker. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Set up with Agility when you get a free turn.
Yes. Galarian Moltres is a regional variant with different typing and a reworked stat spread. Introduced in Gen 8. Plays completely differently from the original.
Game Availability
Since Red & Blue, Moltres has appeared in 20 games. Legendary Pokemon like Moltres are usually found through story events or special post-game areas rather than random encounters.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwShGalarian
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves
Explore
Where to go next after Moltres.
Keep playing · Red & BlueRed & Blue Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Red & Blue Tier List