Is Primeape Good in Yellow Playthrough?
Primeape earns its spot by solving the Brock problem and sticking around as a fast physical attacker. Fighting coverage helps against Giovanni's team and threatens Lorelei's Lapras. Fragile on the special side, but the speed usually means it hits first.
Mankey has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Misty's typing presses Mankey's defenses.
Mankey trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Erika's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Sabrina's Pokemon outpace and outclass Primeape here.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Giovanni's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Lorelei's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Agatha's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Lance's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Catch Mankey
Catch Mankey on Route 3 (walking, Lv 9, uncommon).
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- After Misty
- TM08NormalBody SlamPower 85Accuracy 100%PP 15S.S. Anne
- After Lt. Surge
- TM17FightingSubmissionPower 120Accuracy 80%PP 25Celadon Department Store
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 39NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
Evolve Mankey to Primeape
Mankey evolves into Primeape at Level 28. Your Mankey should hit Level 28 before you reach Erika, at typical leveling pace.
Recommended Moves
- After Brock
- TM28GroundDigPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Returned by the Team Rocket Grunt in Cerulean City after you defeat him
- After Lt. Surge
- TM17FightingSubmissionPower 120Accuracy 80%PP 25Celadon Department Store
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Rocket Game Corner
- TM05NormalMega KickPower 120Accuracy 75%PP 5Celadon Department Store
- TM10NormalDouble-EdgePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Rocket Hideout
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge
- After Erika
- TM40NormalSkull BashPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Safari Zone
- LV 46NormalThrashPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
How to Get Primeape in Yellow
One rare wild spot on the high-level routes is all Yellow gives Primeape directly. Most players never see it and just evolve a Mankey at 28.
1 location to catch Primeape4 locations to catch Mankey
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 8Catch Mankey at any of the 4 locations below, then level it up to 28 — it evolves into Primeape.
Badge 1
Badge 2
Badge 3
Badge 4
Badge 5
Badge 6
Badge 7 Badge 8Where To Catch Primeape in Y
Available earlier: catch Mankey (before Badge 2) and evolve it at Lv 28. Wild Primeape first appears at Route 23 (after Badge 8).
To plan your throws, open the Yellow catch rate calculator with Primeape preloaded.
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 |
- 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 Primeape Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Primeape
 Moltres Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodVictory Road Interact Encounter | ||
 Zapdos Electric | A | |
Obtain MethodPower Plant Interact Encounter | ||
 Exeggutor GrassPsychic | S | |
 Aerodactyl Rock | B | |
Obtain MethodCinnabar Island Gift | ||
 Dodrio Normal | B | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Articuno Ice | B | |
Obtain MethodSeafoam Islands Interact Encounter | ||
 Fearow Normal | C | |
 Slowbro WaterPsychic | B | |
Obtain MethodRoute 12 Surfing | ||
 Scyther Bug | C | |
Obtain MethodCeladon City Gift | ||
 Pidgeot Normal | C | |
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
 Charizard Fire | B | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Primeape Evolutions
You get Primeape from Mankey at level 28. This Fighting type hits 445 total but remains in the Undiscovered group. Evolving from Mankey gave Primeape the biggest boost in HP (+25), bringing the total to 445 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Y Primeape Best Moveset
Fast enough at 95 Speed to outrun much of the mid-tier, and 105 Attack powers MoveBody Slam and MoveEarthquake for physical damage that works. Fighting TermStab gets punished by Psychic dominance across the format. The moves that hit hardest aren't the ones matching the type.
Best Build
Utility Moveset
- Rock Slide
- Submission
- Hyper Beam
- Body Slam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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.
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 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It stops being angry only when nobody else is around. To view this moment is very difficult.
Primeape Yellow Guide
In Yellow, Primeape has 445 BST, so weigh it against what your team already covers.
In Yellow, use Primeape as a pivot. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling, Submission is the primary attack.
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 · YellowYellow Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Yellow Tier List