For many years, the Poison type was barely worth using. Then, the Fairy type emerged in Pokémon X/Y with a weakness to Poison. With super effective moves against Grass type Pokémon too, every team could make use of either a Poison type or a Pokémon capable of learning Poison moves.
Fighting and Bug type moves are ineffective against Poison type Pokémon, so they counter quite a few decent types by now. If you’re looking for that Pokémon to fill your last party slot, I recommend one of the entries on this list.
I’ll be going through the 10 best Poison types in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, describing the strengths/weaknesses of each one as well as potential move-sets and how to obtain them!
10. Zubat
Stat total: 245
Recommended move-set: Wing Attack, Bite, Leech Life and Confuse Ray.
One of the first Poison type Pokémon you can encounter, Zubat has the added benefit of being a Flying type too. Such a typing removes the built-in Poison weakness to Ground moves but it adds weaknesses to Ice, Rock and Electric moves.
Focusing more on Attack other than Sp. Attack, Zubat’s stats favor a physical, varied move-set.
Found as early as Mt. Moon. Zubat evolves at just level 22, making it a great choice for the first couple of gyms.
9. Grimer
Stat total: 325
Recommended move-set: Poison Jab, Minimize, Rock Slide & Crunch
Exclusive to the Pikachu version of Pokémon Let’s Go, Grimer is found in the Power Plant or Mansion on Cinnabar Island. With decent HP and Attack stats, Grimer is a well-rounded physical attacker with some nice defensive stats.
As a pure Poison type, its only weak to Ground or Psychic type moves, two types we don’t see much of in a play-through. Grimer evolves at level 38.
See recommended moves for a great list, covering a massive amount of types!
8. Ekans
Stat total: 288
Recommended move-set: Poison Jab, Glare, Iron Tail & Earthquake
Available only in Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee, Ekans is a snake Pokémon with some great advantages. Firstly, it’s found in routes 3 and 4, making it one of the earliest Poison type Pokémon you can obtain if you have the right game version. Naturally learning Poison Jab instead of requiring a TM is pretty big too.
Ekans’ stats are biased towards Attack, Sp. Defense and Speed. Its HP and Sp. Attack suffer greatly, try to get one with an Adamant nature. This Pokémon evolves at level 22.
7. Koffing
Stat total: 340
Recommended move-set: Toxic, Protect, Sludge Bomb & Explosion
Another Let’s Go Eevee exclusive unfortunately, Koffing is a defensive Pokémon that can be a nightmare to deal with. Unlike the previous entries, this Poison Pokémon seeks to outlast opponents instead of outright beating them. Low stats across the board, other than its high Defense, utilize Koffing as a tank for stalling.
Evolving at level 35, you’ll likely encounter it and be able to evolve it straight after due to the level you encounter it at. It can be found in place of Grimer.
6. Golbat
Stat total: 455
Recommended move-set: Fly (stick with Wing Attack for competitive battling), Crunch, Toxic and Confuse Ray.
With well-rounded stats across the board, Golbat is a decent jack-of-all-trades Poison Pokémon available in both game versions.
Fly is not a good move for competitive as opposing players know to switch out their Pokémon before Fly hits.
It’s just a shame there’s no physical Poison type moves available to Golbat, missing out on STAB bonuses sucks.
5. Arbok
Stat total: 448
Recommended move-set: Poison Jab, Glare, Iron Tail & Earthquake
If you want an Arbok, you’ll have to evolve an Ekans, you cannot find one in the wild. Attack, Speed and Sp. Defense make up the bulk of Arbok’s stats, making it a potent physical attacker. Glare is a powerful non-damaging move, paralyzing big Pokémon can win entire battles!
4. Muk
Stat total: 500
Recommended move-set: Poison Jab, Minimize, Rock Slide & Crunch
Muk sees competitive play for its huge HP, Attack and Sp. Defense stats. Even its physical Defense is pretty good, only Muk’s Speed and Sp. Attack are low. Obtain it by evolving a Grimer or finding it in the same locations that Grimer is found in.
In battle, Muk can either be a tank or “juggernaut”. By juggernaut I mean like mostly tank but with a more offensive move-set and more candies put into Attack!
3. Weezing
Stat total: 490
Recommended move-set: Toxic, Protect, Sludge Bomb & Explosion
Due to an unmarked reason (thematicaly, due to it floating), Weezing is unaffected by Ground type moves – leaving it only weak to Psychic type moves. This is handy, as Weezing’s exceptionally high Defense stat makes it one of the best tanks in the game. It can be built as a special attacking bruiser too.
Weezing can be caught or evolved from Koffing. Bizarrely, it can learn the likes of Psybeam, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball and even Dark Pulse. Such versatility is actually pretty awesome!
2. Alolan Muk
Stat total: 500
Recommended move-set: Foul Play, Poison Jab & your choice of 2 of Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch or Rock Slide
Unlike the normal Muk, Alolan Muk has Dark for a secondary type, removing its weakness to Psychic. While it does look too weird/ugly to be worth using, Alolan Muk retains the stats of the normal variant so its clearly a like for like upgrade in terms of combat potential.
Looking at the move-pool, it’s hard to find a reason not to use Alolan Muk. Finding one with the right IVs and nature can result in a Pokémon ready to take on other players!
1. Nidoking/Nidoqueen
Stat total: 505
Recommended move-set: Earthquake, Brick Break, Poison Jab & Iron Tail
Which one you choose is up to you, I personally prefer Nidoqueen. They do have different stats but I figured I’d add them as the same entry. Having Ground as a secondary type has some good results, but also drawbacks. Earthquake getting a STAB bonus is pretty crazy, these Nido Pokémon have additional weaknesses to Water and Ice moves though.
Nidoking has more Attack, Sp. Attack and Speed. Whereas Nidoqueen has more HP, Defense and Sp. Defense. Of all Pokémon on this list or maybe in the entire game, Nidoking/Queen have possibly the biggest variety of moves available to them. Learning everything from Thunder, Shadow Ball to Ice Beam and Dragon Tail!