Playing through Gold, Silver, or Crystal and looking to stack your team with the best Pokemon available at the time? Look no further than this list of the Pokemon from Johto with the highest base stat totals. Obvious choices include the Legendaries, but there are some faces here that might surprise you.
Looking for something fast? Try Crobat with its super-high-speed stat. Looking to outlast an opponent? Luckily, Gen II is home to Blissey, one of the bulkiest Pokemon in the series. Here are the other contenders for your team, otherwise known as the highest base stat totals in Gen II.
10 Espeon and Umbreon
The Eeveelutions are always great choices, and the two introduced in Johto are no exception. Espeon and Umbreon both boast a beautiful base stat total of 525, although distributed differently.
Espeon's special attack stat is 130, while Umbreon's special defense equals it. Espeon also has a higher focus on speed (110) than Umbreon, who has the same number in defense (110). Overall, Umbreon is a defensive Pokemon while Espeon is a quick special attacker.
9 Meganium
Poor Meganium, long considered the worst of the three Gen II starters. This is partially due to its typing, but its base stats don't help either. It might be a higher base stat total than most other Johto Pokemon, but it's still the lowest between the three starters.
Meganium has the same base stat total as Espeon and Umbreon — 525 — but it's distributed poorly. It has a decent defense and special defense (both 100) and the rest of its stats are around 80.
8 Feraligatr
Better than Meganium but still not the top spot amongst the starter is Feraligatr, whose base stat total slightly edges out its Grass-type counterpart at 530. Feraligatr's stats are distributed a bit better, with 105 in attack and 100 in defense.
It also has an okay HP stat at 85, making it pretty balanced all around. Slap a Surf HM and an Ice Punch TM on it and you'll be sweeping most things that stand in your way in a Gold/Silver/Crystal playthrough, even though both are special moves in Gen II.
7 Typhlosion
The top spot of the starter trio goes to Typhlosion, the Fire-type, in this generation, although not by much. Typhlosion's base stat total isn't even a full 10 points higher than Meganium's, sitting at 534.
Typhlosion is definitely built to be a speedy special attacker. Its special attack is a nice 109 and it has a speed stat of 100. It's often compared to Charizard for having the same base stat total but different typing.
6 Crobat
Crobat might be a surprising face on this list, but it makes sense when you see its astronomical speed stat of 130. Overall, Crobat's base stat total is one point ahead of Typhlosion's, coming in at 535.
The rest of its stats are decent but not mind-blowing, with the second-highest being its attack at 90. That's a pretty good attack stat, especially compared with its speed, but the rest are mostly just slightly above average.
5 Blissey and Kingdra
Coming in at a tie for base stat total are Blissey and Kingdra, although their stats are distributed drastically differently. Both have a base stat total of 540. Blissey has one of the most imbalanced distributions of any Pokemon, taking the top spot for the most HP at 255, but ranking in the very bottom for attack and defense at 10 each. It also has poor speed at 55, though its 135 stat in special defense is great. The only Pokemon with lower attack and defense stats are, of course, Blissey's pre-evolutions Happiny and Chansey.
Kingdra, on the other hand, is balanced a bit more steadily across its stats. It has an HP stat of 75, a speed stat of 85, and every other stat is 95.
4 Raikou, Entei, and Suicune
Like most Legendary trios, the three Legendary Beasts have a tie in their base stats. Raikou, Entei, and Suicune each have a base stat total of 580. They specialize in different areas, though.
Raikou's highest stats are speed and special attack (both 115), Entei's are HP and physical attack (both 115), and Suicune is a defender with 115 in both physical and special defense.
3 Celebi
Like many other Mythical Pokemon, Celebi has a base stat total of 600. Mew, Jirachi, and many other Mythicals share this same total. Celebi has exactly 100 points in each stat, a characteristic that other Mythicals share exactly, like Mew, Jirachi, and more.
As a result, Celebi doesn't truly focus on any one stat; you can kind of use it for whatever. Unfortunately, in the competitive scene, some of its stats are outclassed, like its speed. It's a great choice, but beware of its shortcomings.
2 Tyranitar
While many Mythicals share a base stat total, so do all of the pseudo-Legendary Pokemon, including Johto's resident pseudo, Tyranitar. Every pseudo has a base stat total of 600 that gets distributed differently for each one.
Tyranitar has a very nice spread, with high points in HP, attack, defense, and special defense. The only place it really suffers is its poor speed stat of 61. However, it's a bulky attacker with a great type combination (watch out for Fighting-moves, though).
1 Lugia and Ho-oh
To the surprise of probably nobody, the top spot for Johto's strongest Pokemon goes to the game mascots, Lugia and Ho-oh. Both have a base stat total of 680, tying with many other Legendaries like Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and most of the game mascot Legendaries.
Both have a special defense stat of 154 and an HP stat of 106, but Lugia heavily favors speed and defense (130 and 110, respectively) while Ho-oh excels in attack (130 in physical and 110 in special).