Mixed
Balanced
450Average
90Moderate
CTier

As a Bug/Poison-type, Venomoth fills a straightforward role. Only weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock. Known as the Poison Moth Pokémon. Known as the Poison Moth Pokemon. Can go either physical or special depending on the set.

Sp. Atk and Speed carry most of Venomoth's stat budget. Defense's the obvious dump stat. Moderately hard to find and yields 2 Sp. Atk and Speed EVs. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
450Above
HP70
C
Attack65
C
Defense60
C
Sp. Atk90
B
Sp. Def75
C
Speed90
B
Total450
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Venomoth yields +1 SpA, +1 Spe
HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe+1
Details
Catch75Challenging•Medium Fast1M XP•1.5m / 4'11"•12.5kg / 27.6 lbs•158Base XP
Pokedex Entries

When it attacks, it flaps its large wings violently to scatter its poisonous powder all around.

Gold

The powder on its wings is poisonous if it is dark in color. If it is light, it causes paralysis.

Silver

Venomoth Weakness

Avg

Fire, Flying, Psychic, and Rock-type moves hit Venomoth for super-effective damage. 4 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Venomoth leans toward special offense (base 90 Sp.Atk) instead of trying to wall anything.

Gen II Type Chart
  • 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
4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
FireFlyingPsychicRock
½xResisti
PoisonBug
¼xResisti
GrassFighting
0xImmunei
None
STAB (3)i
GrassPsychicDark
4Weak
4Resist
0Immune
Scorei-2
Stealth Rock25% on switch
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesAbsorbs on switch
Abilities
Shield DustProtects against incoming moves' extra effects.
Tinted LensDoubles damage inflicted with not-very-effective moves.
Wonder SkinHALowers incoming non-damaging moves' base accuracy to exactly 50%.

Evolved from Venonat. Venomoth is the final form in this two-stage line. A decent partner pool for breeding via one egg group. Eggs are average hatch time. Sp.Atk grew the most through evolution (+50 over Venonat), and Venomoth peaks at 450 total stats.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Venonat
#048Venonat
31
Level 31
Venomoth
#049Venomoth
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Venonat
BugPoison
Venomoth
BugPoison
HP
60
70+10
ATK
55
65+10
DEF
50
60+10
SP.ATK
40
90+50
SP.DEF
55
75+20
SPE
45
90+45
BST
305D-Tier
450C-Tier+145
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Special
Breeding
Very Easy

Breed with Venomoth to get Venonat eggs easily using 23 partners from the Bug egg group. Notable egg moves include Baton Pass, Giga Drain, Screech.

Egg Groups
Bug
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
3moves
Breed With (best first)
parasectparasshuckleforretressvenomothgligarariadosbutterfreebeedrillledianyanmavenonat
12 of 23·

The recommended build leans into Venomoth's strengths as an attacker. Nothing provides extra utility, and flexible EVs EVs back that up. An ability rounds out the package.

Best Build

Utility
Ability
Not in Gen 2
Item
Nothing
Nature
Not in Gen 2

Best Venomoth Moveset

  • Sleep Powder
  • ThiefCoverage
  • PsychicCoverage
  • Giga Drain

Recommended Teammates

Qwilfish
QwilfishGood
Weezing
WeezingDecent
Primeape
PrimeapeDecent

Don't skip the egg moves. Venomoth picks up Baton Pass and Giga Drain only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Sludge Bomb and Leech Life while Normal and Psychic coverage and more adds range.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Disable
—5520Normal
Lv 1
Foresight
—10040Normal
Lv 1
Supersonic
—5520Normal
Lv 1
Tackle
3510035Normal
Lv 9
Supersonic
—5520Normal
Lv 17
Confusion
5010025Psychic
Lv 20
Poison Powder
—7535Poison
Lv 25
Leech Life
2010010Bug
Lv 28
Stun Spore
—7530Grass
Lv 31
Gust
4010035Flying
Lv 36
Psybeam
6510020Psychic
Lv 42
Sleep Powder
—7515Grass
Lv 52
Psychic
9010010Psychic

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM03
Curse
——10Ghost
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM20
Endure+4
——10Normal
HM05
Flash
—7020Normal
TM21
Frustration
—10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
751005Grass
TM10
Hidden Power
6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM29
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM27
Return
—10020Normal
TM35
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM36
Sludge Bomb
9010010Poison
TM13
Snore
4010015Normal
TM22
Solar Beam
12010010Grass
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM34
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM12
Sweet Scent
—10020Normal
TM39
Swift
60—20Normal
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM06
Toxic
—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Baton Pass
——40Normal
Egg
Giga Drain
751005Grass
Egg
Screech
—8540Normal

Tutor Moves

Venomoth can't learn any Tutor moves

decent spawn rates across 4 locations for Venomoth in early-game routes. Scroll the sorted list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route. The rate differences between locations are worth comparing.

Where To Catch Venomoth in Gold & Silver

The path to Venomoth starts with Venonat at Lv. 8-16 via walking encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Venonat
    Step 1Catch Venonat
    Route 24
    GoldGrassLv.8CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 24
    SilverGrassLv.8CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 25
    SilverGrassLv.8CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 25
    GoldGrassLv.8CommonEarlyRouteNight
    EFFORTLESS
    Route 25
    SilverGrassLv.8UncommonEarlyRouteMorning
    EASY
    Route 25
    GoldGrassLv.8UncommonEarlyRouteMorning
    EASY
    National Park - Bug Catching Contest
    SilverGrassLv.10-16UncommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    National Park - Bug Catching Contest
    GoldGrassLv.10-16UncommonEarlyFacility
    EASY
    Route 24
    GoldGrassLv.8RareEarlyRouteMorning
    CHALLENGING
    Route 24
    SilverGrassLv.8RareEarlyRouteMorning
    CHALLENGING
    Route 43
    GoldGrassLv.16UncommonMidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 43
    SilverGrassLv.16UncommonMidRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 43
    GoldGrassLv.16RareMidRouteMorning
    CHALLENGING
    Route 43
    SilverGrassLv.16RareMidRouteMorning
    CHALLENGING
  2. Venomoth
    Step 2Venomoth ✓
    Route 25
    GoldGrassLv.10UncommonEarlyRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 25
    SilverGrassLv.10UncommonEarlyRouteNight
    EASY
    Route 24
    GoldGrassLv.10RareEarlyRouteNight
    CHALLENGING
    Route 24
    SilverGrassLv.10RareEarlyRouteNight
    CHALLENGING
    or evolve from Venonat (Step 1)

  • Tinted Lens changes the entire equation for Venomoth. The 450 BST doesn't tell the full story. Ranked C-Tier.

  • Watch for Arcanine (Fire), Dodrio (Flying), and Starmie (Psychic) when using Venomoth. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Rock-type attackers are also a problem.

  • Venonat evolves into Venomoth at level 31. Venomoth is the fully evolved form. It sits at 450 BST in its evolved form.

  • Base 90 Speed is workable — faster than some, slower than many. On offense, Venomoth is a mixed attacker — base 65 Attack and 90 Sp. Atk. Defensively? Enough bulk to take a hit or two.

  • Venomoth appears in 19 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

One of the original 151, Venomoth has appeared in 19 games — most mainline games. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.