Is Muk Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Muk absorbs special hits surprisingly well and hits hard physically. The problem hasn't changed since Red and Blue: nothing important in the game is weak to Poison. Muk does its job, but the job doesn't come up often enough.
Brock's typing presses Muk's defenses.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Lt. Surge's typing presses Muk's defenses.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Giovanni's team hits Muk's weaknesses hard.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Lorelei's team.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Agatha's team hits Muk's weaknesses hard.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Muk trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
In-Game Trade
Muk can be received through an in-game trade on Cinnabar Island. Trade Kangaskhan. Trade a Kangaskhan to the scientist in the fossil room of the Pokemon Lab on Cinnabar Island to get a Muk nicknamed STICKY.
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- LV 37PoisonSludgePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Kanto Power Plant
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
Catch Grimer
Catch Grimer in the Pokémon Mansion (walking, Lv 23-26, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM21GrassMega DrainPower 40Accuracy 100%PP 10Prize for defeating Celadon Gym Leader Erika
- LV 37PoisonSludgePower 98Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Koga
- TM36NormalSelf-DestructPower 130Accuracy 100%PP 5Silph Co.
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Kanto Power Plant
- After Blaine
- TM38FireFire BlastPower 120Accuracy 85%PP 5Prize for defeating Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine
- After Giovanni
- TM47NormalExplosionPower 170Accuracy 100%PP 5Victory Road 3F
How to Get Muk in Yellow
Wild Muk hides at rare odds deep in the same sludge areas. Hand a Kangaskhan to the right islander on Cinnabar and you'll get one straight away instead.
3 locations to catch Muk2 locations to catch Grimer
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6
Badge 7Catch Grimer at any of the 2 locations below, then level it up to 38 — it evolves into Muk.
Badge 6 Badge 7Where To Catch Muk in Y
Grimer is your first catch on the way to Muk. You'll find walking and trade encounters from Lv. 23-41 across 10 total spots in the chain.
To plan your throws, open the Yellow catch rate calculator with Muk preloaded.
Muk Weakness
Ground, Psychic, and Bug moves hit Muk for super-effective damage. With 105 HP and balanced defenses, Muk can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ground, Psychic, Bug |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Grass, Fighting, Poison |
- 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 Muk Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Muk
 Rhydon GroundRock | S | |
 Sandslash Ground | C | |
 Nidoking PoisonGround | C | |
 Nidoqueen PoisonGround | C | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Graveler RockGround | C | |
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Muk View Kadabra builds →Psychic 2x94-112%KO Dig 2x25-30% | ||
 Marowak Ground | C | |
 Dugtrio Ground | B | |
 Parasect BugGrass | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Muk View Parasect builds →Dig 2x52-61% Leech Life 2x17-20% | ||
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 12 Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Muk View Slowbro builds →Psychic 2x81-95% Earthquake 2x43-51% | ||
 Onix RockGround | C | |
 Venomoth BugPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Muk View Venomoth builds →Psychic 2x50-59% Leech Life 2x12-15% | ||
Muk Evolutions
You get Muk from Grimer at level 38. This Poison type hits 465 total but remains in the Undiscovered group. The evolution from Grimer pushed Muk to 465 total stats. HP saw the largest single gain at +25. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Muk Best Moveset
Every useful offensive option ignores the Poison type. MoveBody Slam and MoveEarthquake carry the damage at 105 Attack while the actual Poison TermStab threatens nothing at the top. Good Attack stat, wrong type to use it.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Explosion
- Acid Armor
- Sludge
- Body Slam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
The level-up pool is slim, so TMs matter here. Muk's Normal and Fire coverage and more all comes from technical machines, built on top of Sludge for same-type damage. Explosion and Fire Blast are the payoff moves.
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 15 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
Smells so awful, it can cause fainting. Through degeneration, it lost its sense of smell.
Muk Yellow Guide
Trade a Kangaskhan to the scientist in the fossil room of the Pokemon Lab on Cinnabar Island to get a Muk nicknamed STICKY. This is an NPC trade, so the Muk you receive is yours immediately, no transfer cable needed.
In Yellow, use Muk as an attacker. Physical side carries the damage. Not the fastest, Sludge is the primary attack.
Muk has an Alolan form that swaps the typing and reshuffles the stats. Introduced in Gen 7. Worth checking if the original version doesn't fit your team.
Game Availability
Available since Red & Blue, Muk appears in 19 games spanning 9 generations. Beyond its original form, it gained an Alolan form in Generation 7.
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 7SMAlolan
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7Let's Go
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
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 Muk.
Keep playing · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List