Is Primeape Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Trade-only in Crystal since Mankey didn't make the roster. Primeape's Fighting-type attacks handle Whitney's Miltank and Jasmine's Steelix, but Machop is available locally and does the same job without a trade cable.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Falkner's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Bugsy's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Whitney's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Primeape resists most of Jasmine's coverage and hits back hard.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Clair's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Sabrina's Pokemon outpace and outclass Primeape here.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Janine's team hits Primeape's weaknesses hard.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Will's team hits Primeape's weaknesses hard.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Karen's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Trade
Primeape cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 28.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner prize (5500 coins)
- TM48FireFire PunchPower 75Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Department Store
- After Morty
- HM04NormalStrengthPower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Olivine City
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingDynamic PunchPower 150Accuracy 50%PP 5Prize for defeating Chuck
- LV 45FightingCross ChopPower 150Accuracy 80%PP 5
- After Lt. Surge
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Celadon Game Corner prize (7500 coins)
- TUTORElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod City
- LV 63NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
How to Get Primeape in Crystal
With Mankey gone from Crystal, Primeape has no wild source either. You'd trade in a Mankey from Gold or Gen 1 and level it to 28, since neither stage of the line spawns here.
How to Obtain Primeape in C
- Step 1Obtain MankeyCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom Gold & SilverAvailableCatch in Gold & Silver via Walking · Route 42, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 8. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Walking · Route 23. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenNot TradeableAppears in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Route 22. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Pokeradar · Route 225. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Pokeradar · Route 226. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Walking · Route 42. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Primeape ✓
How to Get Shiny Primeape in Crystal
Primeape is absent from Crystal because the whole Mankey line was cut, so a shiny one has to be traded in from Gold, where it turns up rarely on Route 9. See every game where Shiny Primeape can be hunted
Primeape Weakness
Flying and Psychic 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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Flying, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Bug, Rock, Dark |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Primeape Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Primeape
 Lugia Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodWhirl Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Lugia builds →Dream Eater 2x99-117%KO Aeroblast 2x112-132%KO | ||
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x152-179%KO | ||
 Celebi PsychicGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Interact Encounter Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Celebi builds →Future Sight 2x130-154%KO | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x124-146%KO Fly 2x69-81% | ||
 Scyther Bug | B | |
 Jynx IcePsychic | B | |
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | C | |
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing | ||
 Ho-Oh Fire | S | |
Obtain MethodTin Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Ho-Oh builds →Fly 2x107-127%KO Dream Eater 2x78-93% | ||
 Dragonite Dragon | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dragonair (Dragons Den Super Rod) | ||
 Mr. Mime Psychic | C | |
 Dodrio Normal | B | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Golbat Poison | B | |
Primeape Evolutions
Primeape is the evolved form of Mankey. Breeding produces Mankey eggs, and they take an average time to hatch. Evolving from Mankey gave Primeape the biggest boost in HP (+25), bringing the total to 455 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Primeape to get Mankey eggs easily using 66 partners from the Field egg group. Notable egg moves include Beat Up, Counter, Foresight and 3 more.
C Primeape Best Moveset
95 Speed outspeeds much of the mid-tier, and 105 Attack powers physical coverage from MoveEarthquake and MoveRock Slide. Fighting TermStab now has Dark types to target. Held ItemLeftovers sustains. Physical attacker with improved matchups compared to the previous generation.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Cross Chop
- Rock Slide
- Body Slam
- Meditate
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Primeape picks up Beat Up and Counter only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Cross Chop and Dynamic Punch while coverage across 8 types adds range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- 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, Egg, 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, Egg, 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
25 of 30 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It will beat up anyone who makes it mad, even if it has to chase them until the end of the world.
Primeape Crystal Guide
Primeape isn't catchable in Crystal. Catch one in Gold or Silver, then trade it to Crystal.
In Crystal, Primeape has 455 BST, so weigh it against what your team already covers.
In Crystal, use Primeape as a pivot. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,
Game Availability
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.
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 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 Primeape.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List