Physical
Pivot
455Average
95Moderate
CTier

While most trainers evolve Primeape into Annihilape immediately, the unevolved form has a niche with Eviolite boosting its defenses. Only weak to Flying and Psychic. Sits at a decent but contested Speed tier. Known as the Pig Monkey Pokemon.

Primeape's built around physical offense. Attack leads the charge, Defense pays for it. Moderately hard to find, worth 2 Attack EVs. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
455Above
HP65
C
Attack105
B
Defense60
C
Sp. Atk60
C
Sp. Def70
C
Speed95
B
Total455
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Primeape yields +2 Atk
HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe
Details
Catch75Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1m / 3'03"•32kg / 70.5 lbs•159Base XP
Pokedex Entries

It stops being angry only when nobody else is around. To view this moment is very difficult.

Yellow

Primeape Weakness

Avg

Flying and Psychic-type moves hit Primeape for super-effective damage. Its Fighting typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. Primeape leans offensive (base 105 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.

Gen I Type Chart
  • 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
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
FlyingPsychic
½xResisti
BugRock
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
STAB (3)i
NormalIceRock
2Weak
2Resist
0Immune
Scorei-2
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
Vital SpiritPrevents sleep.
Anger PointRaises Attack to the maximum of six stages upon receiving a critical hit.
DefiantHARaises Attack two stages upon having any stat lowered.

Partway through Mankey's chain, Primeape is a Fighting type pushing toward Annihilape. No breeding at this stage. So far, HP got the biggest boost (+25 from Mankey). The final form adds another 80 stats on top.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Mankey
#056Mankey
28
Level 28
Primeape
#057Primeape
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Mankey
Fighting
Primeape
Fighting
HP
40
65+25
ATK
80
105+25
DEF
35
60+25
SP.ATK
35
60+25
SP.DEF
45
70+25
SPE
70
95+25
BST
305D-Tier
455B-Tier+150
ROLE
Balanced
Attacker
TYPE
Physical
Physical
Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

The recommended build leans into Primeape's strengths as an attacker. An item provides extra utility, and flexible EVs EVs back that up. An ability rounds out the package.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 1
Item
Not in Gen 1
Nature
Not in Gen 1

Best Primeape Moveset

  • Rock Slide
  • SubmissionSTAB
  • Hyper Beam
  • Body Slam

Recommended Teammates

Snorlax
SnorlaxDecent
Alakazam
AlakazamDecent
Gengar
GengarDecent

Without TMs, Primeape's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Normal and Ground coverage and more on top of Submission and Karate Chop for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Karate Chop
5010025Normal
Lv 1
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 1
Low Kick
—9020Fighting
Lv 1
Scratch
4010035Normal
Lv 9
Low Kick
—9020Fighting
Lv 15
Karate Chop
5010025Normal
Lv 21
Fury Swipes
188015Normal
Lv 27
Focus Energy
——30Normal
Lv 28
Rage
2010020Normal
Lv 37
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
Lv 45
Screech
—8540Normal
Lv 46
Thrash
12010020Normal

TM Moves

Src
TM34
Bide+1
——10Normal
TM08
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM18
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
TM28
Dig
10010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM05
Mega Kick
120755Normal
TM01
Mega Punch
808520Normal
TM35
Metronome
——10Normal
TM31
Mimic
——10Normal
TM16
Pay Day
4010020Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM48
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM19
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
TM40
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM17
Submission
808025Fighting
TM50
Substitute
——10Normal
TM39
Swift
60—20Normal
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM25
Thunder
1107010Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
9510015Electric
TM06
Toxic
—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Primeape doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Primeape can't learn any Tutor moves

Finding Primeape at moderate rates takes patience. 1 spots are available in late-game routes, but the rate difference between them matters. Lock in the top one from the sorted list below.

Where To Catch Primeape in Yellow

Mankey is your first catch on the way to Primeape. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 3-46 across 5 total spots in the chain.

  1. Mankey
    Step 1Catch Mankey
    Route 22
    GrassLv.3-5UncommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 3
    GrassLv.9UncommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 4
    GrassLv.9UncommonEarlyRoute
    EASY
    Route 23
    GrassLv.36-41UncommonLateRoute
    EASY
  2. Primeape
    Step 2Primeape ✓
    Route 23
    GrassLv.41-46RareLateRoute
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Mankey (Step 1)

  • Primeape isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Annihilape to unlock its full potential. At 455 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

  • Watch for Aerodactyl (Flying) and Alakazam (Psychic) when using Primeape. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Mankey evolves into Primeape at level 28. Primeape evolves into Annihilape using a Rage Fist 20 Times. Primeape is a middle-stage evolution in the Mankey line.

  • Primeape fills the pivot role. It's a physical attacker with base 105 Attack. Base 95 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many.

  • Primeape appears in 20 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Primeape has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 9 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.