For Yellow, we rate Starmie S-Tier: one of the best picks in the Yellow meta. At 535 BST, it fits the sweeper role. Recover anchors the moveset.

What is Starmie weak to?

In Yellow, watch for Raikou (Electric) and Venusaur (Grass) when using Starmie. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

What role does Starmie play in battle?

Base 115 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Starmie is a special attacker with base 100 Special. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.

What counters Starmie?

For Yellow, Starmie has answers, but so do you. Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.

What are the best moves for Starmie?

In Yellow, run Recover, Thunder Wave, Blizzard, and Psychic on Starmie. Recover is the most common pick at 24% usage. Psychic provides reliable STAB damage.

Starmie - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Special

Sweeper

STier

115Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

Speed and Special carry most of Starmie's stat budget. HP's the obvious dump stat. Moderately hard to find and yields 2 Speed stat exp. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats

High

HP60

Attack75

Defense85

Sp. Atk100

Sp. Def100

Speed115

Total535

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging60 / 255

Growth Rate

Slow1.25M XP

Height1.1 m

Weight80.0 kg

Base XP182

Abilities

Abilities were introduced in Generation III. Shown below for reference.

Illuminate

Doubles the wild encounter rate.

Natural Cure

Cures any major status ailment upon switching out.

AnalyticHA

Strengthens moves to 1.3× their power when moving last.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpASpDSpe+2

Speed training target

Pokedex Entries

The center section is named the core. People think it is communicating when it glows in 7 colors.

Yellow

Starmie Weakness

Electric and Grass moves hit Starmie for super-effective damage. The upside? Ghost-type moves can't touch it at all. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. With 60 HP and balanced defenses, Starmie can afford to eat a neutral hit or two.

Starmie Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Electric, Grass
0.5x (Resist)	Fire, Water, Ice, Fighting, Psychic
0x (Immune)	Ghost

Type ChartExcellent

2Weak

5Resist

1Immune

Score+4

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

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Electric Grass

½xResist

Fire Water Ice Fighting Psychic

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

Ghost

STAB (5)

Fire Ground Rock Fighting Poison

How to Beat Starmie in Yellow (Best Counters)

In Yellow, Arcanine's Hyper Beam hits Starmie for 51-61%. Nidoqueen deals 44-52% with Earthquake.

ArcanineDrops Attack via Intimidate Fire	C
Recommended Build Moves Body Slam Fire Blast Hyper Beam AgilitySetup Damage vs Starmie Body Slam 29-34% Fire Blast 23-27% Hyper Beam 51-61% View Arcanine builds →
DewgongResists Water WaterIce	C
Recommended Build Moves SurfSTAB RestRecovery Headbutt Aurora Beam Damage vs Starmie Surf 14-16% Headbutt 17-20% View Dewgong builds →
NidoqueenThreatens with Thunderbolt PoisonGround	C
Recommended Build Moves EarthquakeSTAB Thunderbolt Blizzard Body Slam Damage vs Starmie Earthquake 44-52% Thunderbolt 2x 39-47% Blizzard 12-14% Body Slam 25-30% View Nidoqueen builds →
Machamp Fighting	C
Recommended Build Moves Earthquake Body Slam SubmissionSTAB Low Kick Damage vs Starmie Earthquake 39-47% Body Slam 34-40% Submission 24-28% View Machamp builds →
BlastoiseResists Water Water	C
Recommended Build Moves Blizzard Hydro Pump Body Slam SurfSTAB Damage vs Starmie Blizzard 13-16% Hydro Pump 20-23% Body Slam 23-28% Surf 16-19% View Blastoise builds →

Yellow Evolution

You get Starmie from Staryu using a Water Stone. This Water/Psychic-type hits 535 total stats and can't produce eggs. Special grew the most through evolution (+45 over Staryu), and Starmie peaks at 535 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#120Staryu

Water Stone

#121Starmie

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Staryu

Water

Starmie

WaterPsychic

60+30

ATK

75+30

DEF

85+30

SP.ATK

100+30

SP.DEF

85+30

SPE

115+30

BST

340D-Tier

520A-Tier+180

ROLE

Balanced

Sweeper

TYPE

Special

Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Yellow Starmie Best Moveset

Best Build

Highly recommended

Support

Ability

Not in Gen 1

Item

Not in Gen 1

Nature

Not in Gen 1

Support Moveset

RecoverRecovery
Thunder Wave
BlizzardCoverage
PsychicSTAB

Recommended Teammates

TaurosGood

SnorlaxGood

ChanseyGood

Moves

Level-up moves are just the starting point for Starmie. TMs unlock Normal and Ice coverage and turn a straightforward STAB kit around Psychic and Surf into something with actual range.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Harden

D——30Normal

Lv 1

Tackle

D3510035Normal

Lv 1

Water Gun

C4010025Water

TM Moves

TM34

Bide+1

———10Normal

TM14

Blizzard

S110905Ice

TM11

Bubble Beam

C6510020Water

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM10

Double-Edge

C12010015Normal

HM05

Flash

——7020Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

B150905Normal

TM13

Ice Beam

C9510010Ice

TM31

Mimic

———10Normal

TM29

Psychic

A9010010Psychic

TM46

Psywave

——10015Psychic

TM20

Rage

—2010020Normal

TM33

Reflect

C——20Psychic

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM40

Skull Bash

C10010010Normal

TM50

Substitute

C——10Normal

HM03

Surf

B9510015Water

TM39

Swift

C60—20Normal

TM09

Take Down

—908520Normal

TM30

Teleport-6

———20Psychic

TM25

Thunder

C1107010Electric

TM45

Thunder Wave

S—10020Electric

TM24

Thunderbolt

A9510015Electric

TM06

Toxic

C—9010Poison

TM49

Tri Attack

—8010010Normal

TM12

Water Gun

C4010025Water

Egg Moves

Starmie doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Starmie can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Starmie in Yellow

Can't catch Starmie directly. Start with Staryu at solid rates from the locations below, then evolve through a special method. The 2-stage line from Staryu to Starmie is where the leveling time goes.

How to Obtain Starmie in Yellow

The path to Starmie starts with Staryu at Lv. 5-40 via fishing and surfing encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

Step 1Catch Staryu
Pallet Town
Super Rod Lv.5-10 City
50%Early
Vermilion City - Harbor
Super Rod Lv.15 City
20%Early
Seafoam Islands - B4F
Super Rod Lv.20-40 Water
50%Mid
Seafoam Islands - B3F
Super Rod Lv.20-40 Water
50%Mid
Seafoam Islands - B4F
Surfing on water Lv.30 Water
30%Mid
Seafoam Islands - B3F
Surfing on water Lv.30 Water
30%Mid
Route 19
Super Rod Lv.20 Route
25%Mid
Route 21
Super Rod Lv.20 Route
25%Mid
Route 20
Super Rod Lv.30 Route
25%Mid
Water Stone
Step 2Starmie ✓

Starmie Guide

For Yellow, we rate Starmie S-Tier: one of the best picks in the Yellow meta. At 535 BST, it fits the sweeper role. Recover anchors the moveset.
In Yellow, watch for Raikou (Electric) and Venusaur (Grass) when using Starmie. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
Base 115 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Starmie is a special attacker with base 100 Special. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two. Best used as a sweeper.
For Yellow, Starmie has answers, but so do you. Priority moves (Mach Punch, Aqua Jet, Ice Shard) bypass its speed. Bulky walls that resist its STAB also shut it down.
In Yellow, run Recover, Thunder Wave, Blizzard, and Psychic on Starmie. Recover is the most common pick at 24% usage. Psychic provides reliable STAB damage.

Game Availability

One of the original 151, Starmie has appeared in 20 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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