Special
Balanced
405Average
58Slow
DTier

Wartortle sits in the middle of its evolution line — stronger than Squirtle but not yet at full power. Most trainers push through to Blastoise as fast as possible. Only weak to Electric and Grass. Known as the Turtle Pokemon.

You won't find a real weakness in Wartortle's stat line. It's well-rounded for the Turtle Pokemon, and what it does with that depends on moveset and items. Yields 2 Defense and Sp. Def EVs, on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats
405Above
HP59
D
Attack63
C
Defense80
C
Sp. Atk65
C
Sp. Def80
C
Speed58
D
Total405
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Wartortle yields +1 Def, +1 SpD
HPAtkDef+1SpASpD+1Spe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Medium Slow1.06M XP•1m / 3'03"•22.5kg / 49.6 lbs•142Base XP
Pokedex Entries

Often hides in water to stalk unwary prey. For swimming fast, it moves its ears to maintain balance.

Red / Blue

Wartortle Weakness

Avg

Wartortle is weak to Electric and Grass-type moves. Not many exploitable gaps in the Water typing defensive chart. Wartortle's Water typing only leaves 2 gaps to cover.

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
ElectricGrass
½xResisti
FireWaterIce
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
None
STAB (3)i
FireGroundRock
2Weak
3Resist
0Immune
Scorei-1
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
TorrentStrengthens water moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.
Rain DishHAHeals for 1/16 max HP after each turn during rain.

Wartortle sits between Squirtle and Blastoise in this three-stage chain. A Water type at 405 stats that can't breed. Sp.Def has grown the most so far (+16), but there's still another 125 stats to gain in the final evolution.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Squirtle
#007Squirtle
16
Level 16
Wartortle
#008Wartortle
36
Level 36
Blastoise
#009Blastoise
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Squirtle
Water
Wartortle
Water
Blastoise
Water
HP
44
59+15
79+20
ATK
48
63+15
83+20
DEF
65
80+15
100+20
SP.ATK
50
65+15
85+20
SP.DEF
64
80+16
105+25
SPE
43
58+15
78+20
BST
314C-Tier
405D-Tier+91
530C-Tier+125
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Utility
Utility
Mixed
Breeding not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Wartortle runs a standard attacker set. A nature nature with flexible EVs EVs shapes the build, while an item brings extra utility. An ability supports the kit from the background.

Best Build

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

Best Wartortle Moveset

  • Hydro PumpSTAB
  • BlizzardCoverage
  • Mega Kick
  • Body Slam

Recommended Teammates

Ivysaur
IvysaurGood
Bulbasaur
BulbasaurGood
Charmander
CharmanderGood

Most of Wartortle's flexibility comes from TMs. Same-type output runs through Hydro Pump and Surf, but Normal and Dark and the rest of the TM pool push it from predictable to genuinely threatening.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Bubble
2010030Water
Lv 1
Tackle
3510035Normal
Lv 1
Tail Whip
—10030Normal
Lv 8
Bubble
2010030Water
Lv 15
Water Gun
4010025Water
Lv 24
Bite
6010025Normal
Lv 31
Withdraw
——40Water
Lv 39
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
Lv 47
Hydro Pump
120805Water

TM Moves

Src
TM34
Bide+1
——10Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110905Ice
TM08
Body Slam
8510015Normal
TM11
Bubble Beam
6510020Water
TM18
Counter-5
—10020Fighting
TM28
Dig
10010010Ground
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM10
Double-Edge
12010015Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9510010Ice
TM05
Mega Kick
120755Normal
TM01
Mega Punch
808520Normal
TM31
Mimic
——10Normal
TM20
Rage
2010020Normal
TM33
Reflect
——20Psychic
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM19
Seismic Toss
—10020Fighting
TM40
Skull Bash
10010010Normal
HM04
Strength
8010015Normal
TM17
Submission
808025Fighting
TM50
Substitute
——10Normal
HM03
Surf
9510015Water
TM09
Take Down
908520Normal
TM06
Toxic
—9010Poison
TM12
Water Gun
4010025Water

Egg Moves

Wartortle doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Wartortle can't learn any Tutor moves

Can't catch Wartortle directly. Start with Squirtle but it's a rare spawn from the locations below, then evolve at level 16. The 2-stage line from Squirtle to Wartortle is where the leveling time goes.

How to Obtain Wartortle in Red & Blue

  1. Squirtle
    Step 1Catch Squirtle
    Pallet Town
    RedGift from NPCLv.5LimitedEarlyCityStarter choice
    MODERATE
    Pallet Town
    BlueGift from NPCLv.5LimitedEarlyCityStarter choice
    MODERATE
  2. Wartortle
    Step 2Wartortle ✓

  • At 405 BST, Wartortle is firmly in pre-evolution territory. Evolve it into Blastoise before bringing it to any serious fight.

  • Wartortle's biggest threats include Jolteon (Electric) and Exeggutor (Grass), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

  • Squirtle evolves into Wartortle at level 16. Wartortle evolves into Blastoise at level 36. Wartortle is a middle-stage evolution in the Squirtle line.

  • Wartortle is a special attacker with base 65 Sp. Atk. Enough bulk to take a hit or two, too. But the speed tells the real story — at base 58 Speed, it won't be moving first often.

  • Wartortle appears in 21 games, including Yellow, Red & Blue, and Gold & Silver.

Present since Red & Blue, Wartortle appears in 21 games spanning 9 generations. Gen 1 originals like Wartortle have the longest track record of availability in the series.