In Gold & Silver, Primeape isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Annihilape to unlock its full potential. At 455 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Primeape weak to?

In Gold & Silver, watch for Aerodactyl (Flying) and Alakazam (Psychic) when using Primeape. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.

How do you evolve Primeape?

In Gold & Silver, Mankey evolves into Primeape at level 28. Primeape evolves into Annihilape using a Rage Fist 20 Times. Primeape is a middle-stage evolution in the Mankey line.

What role does Primeape play in battle?

In Gold & Silver, Primeape fills the pivot role. It's a physical attacker with base 105 Attack. Base 95 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many.

Should I use Primeape?

In Gold & Silver, Primeape does the job early-game if you need a Fighting type on your team. Evolve it into Annihilape before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Primeape - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Pivot

CTier

95Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Primeape's built around physical offense. Attack leads the charge, Defense pays for it. Moderately hard to find, worth 2 Attack stat exp. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats

Above

HP65

Attack105

Defense60

Sp. Atk60

Sp. Def70

Speed95

Total455

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging75 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Fast1M XP

Height1.0 m

Weight32.0 kg

Base XP159

Abilities

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

Vital Spirit

Prevents sleep.

Anger Point

Raises Attack to the maximum of six stages upon receiving a critical hit.

DefiantHA

Raises Attack two stages upon having any stat lowered.

EV Yield

HPAtk+2DefSpASpDSpe

Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

If approached while asleep, it may awaken and angrily give chase in a groggy state of semi-sleep.

Primeape Weakness

Flying and Psychic moves hit Primeape for super-effective damage. Its Fighting typing keeps the defensive matchups simple. Primeape leans offensive (base 105 Atk) rather than trying to tank its weaknesses.

Primeape Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Flying, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)	Bug, Rock, Dark

Type ChartAvg

2Weak

3Resist

0Immune

Score-1

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

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Flying Psychic

½xResist

Bug Rock Dark

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (5)

Normal Ice Rock Dark Steel

How to Beat Primeape in Gold & Silver (Best Counters)

Skarmory SteelFlying	A
Available Moves Moves FlyHM02 PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Fly 2x 90-106%KO Peck 2x 38-45% View Skarmory builds →
Scyther BugFlying	C
Available Move Moves Wing AttackLv. 30 Damage vs Primeape Wing Attack 2x 76-90% View Scyther builds →
Girafarig NormalPsychic	C
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 7 Damage vs Primeape Confusion 2x 52-61% View Girafarig builds →
Noctowl NormalFlying	C
Available Moves Moves FlyHM02 PeckLv. 11 Damage vs Primeape Fly 2x 62-74% Peck 2x 27-32% View Noctowl builds →
Golbat PoisonFlying	D
Available Move Moves Wing AttackLv. 30 Damage vs Primeape Wing Attack 2x 60-71% View Golbat builds →

Gold & Silver Evolution

Primeape is partway through a three-stage line between Mankey and Annihilape. The chain involves an evolution item, so it's not a straightforward grind. So far, HP got the biggest boost (+25 from Mankey). The final form adds another 80 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms

#056Mankey

Level 28

#057Primeape

Stat Comparison 2 Stages

Mankey

Fighting

Primeape

Fighting

65+25

ATK

105+25

DEF

60+25

SP.ATK

60+25

SP.DEF

70+25

SPE

95+25

BST

305D-Tier

455B-Tier+150

ROLE

Balanced

Attacker

TYPE

Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Primeape to get Mankey eggs easily using 66 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Beat Up, Counter, Foresight and 3 more.

Egg Groups

Ground

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

6moves

Breed With (best first)

Gold & Silver Primeape Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Ability

Not in Gen 2

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Nature

Not in Gen 2

Utility Moveset

Cross ChopSTAB
Rock Slide
Body Slam
MeditateUtility

Recommended Teammates

VenomothGood

QwilfishGood

WeezingGood

Moves

Don't skip the egg moves. Primeape picks up Beat Up and Counter only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Cross Chop and Dynamic Punch while coverage across 8 types adds range.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 1

Low Kick

D—9020Fighting

Lv 1

Rage

—2010020Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 9

Low Kick

D—9020Fighting

Lv 15

Karate Chop

—5010025Fighting

Lv 21

Fury Swipes

D188015Normal

Lv 27

Focus Energy

———30Normal

Lv 28

Rage

—2010020Normal

Lv 36

Seismic Toss

D—10020Fighting

Lv 45

Cross Chop

S100805Fighting

Lv 54

Screech

D—8540Normal

Lv 63

Thrash

—12010020Normal

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

D—10015Normal

TM03

Curse

C——10Ghost

TM40

Defense Curl

D——40Normal

TM43

Detect+4

D——5Fighting

TM28

Dig

C6010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM01

Dynamic Punch

C100505Fighting

TM20

Endure+4

D——10Normal

TM48

Fire Punch

C7510015Fire

TM21

Frustration

D—10020Normal

TM02

Headbutt

C7010015Normal

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

C150905Normal

TM33

Ice Punch

C7510015Ice

TM23

Iron Tail

C1007515Steel

TM31

Mud-Slap

D2010010Ground

TM17

Protect+4

B——10Normal

TM09

Psych Up

D——10Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM08

Rock Smash

—2010015Fighting

TM35

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TM13

Snore

—4010015Normal

HM04

Strength

C8010015Normal

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM34

Swagger

C—8515Normal

TM39

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM46

Thief

C6010025Dark

TM25

Thunder

D1207010Electric

TM41

Thunder Punch

C7510015Electric

TM06

Toxic

C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Beat Up

——10010Dark

Egg

Counter-5

D—10020Fighting

Egg

Foresight

——10040Normal

Egg

Meditate

A——40Psychic

Egg

Reversal

D—10015Fighting

Egg

Rock Slide

S759010Rock

Tutor Moves

Primeape can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Primeape in Gold & Silver

Primeape sits at moderate rates across 1 spots in early-game routes. Pick one from the sorted list and commit to it. Jumping between areas wastes more time than waiting in the right location.

Where To Catch Primeape in Gold & Silver

To get Primeape, start by catching Mankey through walking encounters at Lv. 13-15. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

Step 1Catch Mankey
Route 9
Grass Lv.13 Route
30%Early
Route 42
Grass Lv.15 Route
30%Early
Train until Level 28
Step 2Primeape ✓
Route 9
Grass Lv.15 Route
5%Early
or evolve from Mankey (Step 1)

Primeape Guide

In Gold & Silver, Primeape isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Annihilape to unlock its full potential. At 455 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Gold & Silver, watch for Aerodactyl (Flying) and Alakazam (Psychic) when using Primeape. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about.
In Gold & Silver, Mankey evolves into Primeape at level 28. Primeape evolves into Annihilape using a Rage Fist 20 Times. Primeape is a middle-stage evolution in the Mankey line.
In Gold & Silver, Primeape fills the pivot role. It's a physical attacker with base 105 Attack. Base 95 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many.
In Gold & Silver, Primeape does the job early-game if you need a Fighting type on your team. Evolve it into Annihilape before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.

Game Availability

Primeape has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 20 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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Spearow NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 40-48% View Spearow builds →
Hoothoot NormalFlying	D
Upcoming Move Moves PeckLv. 11 Learns Peck at Level 11 View Hoothoot builds →
Pidgey NormalFlying	D
Upcoming Move Moves GustLv. 9 Learns Gust at Level 9 View Pidgey builds →

Natu PsychicFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 29-35% View Natu builds →
Spearow NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 33-41% View Spearow builds →
Hoothoot NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 11 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 24-29% View Hoothoot builds →
Pidgey NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves GustLv. 9 Damage vs Primeape Gust 2x 33-41% View Pidgey builds →
Golbat PoisonFlying	D
Upcoming Move Moves Wing AttackLv. 30 Learns Wing Attack at Level 30 View Golbat builds →

Drowzee Psychic	D
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 18 Damage vs Primeape Confusion 2x 35-44% View Drowzee builds →
Natu PsychicFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 32-39% View Natu builds →
Slowpoke WaterPsychic	D
Obtain MethodSlowpoke Well Surfing Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 20 Damage vs Primeape Confusion 2x 32-39% View Slowpoke builds →
Spearow NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 35-44% View Spearow builds →
Hoothoot NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 11 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 24-29% View Hoothoot builds →

Noctowl NormalFlying	C
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 11 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 28-33% View Noctowl builds →
Farfetch'd NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 42-50% View Farfetch'd builds →
Pidgeotto NormalFlying	D
Available Move Moves GustLv. 9 Damage vs Primeape Gust 2x 35-42% View Pidgeotto builds →
Drowzee Psychic	D
Available Move Moves ConfusionLv. 18 Damage vs Primeape Confusion 2x 31-38% View Drowzee builds →
Natu PsychicFlying	D
Available Move Moves PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Peck 2x 28-33% View Natu builds →

Scyther BugFlying	C
Available Move Moves Wing AttackLv. 30 Damage vs Primeape Wing Attack 2x 81-97% View Scyther builds →
Noctowl NormalFlying	C
Available Moves Moves FlyHM02 PeckLv. 11 Damage vs Primeape Fly 2x 68-80% Peck 2x 28-33% View Noctowl builds →
Golbat PoisonFlying	D
Available Move Moves Wing AttackLv. 30 Damage vs Primeape Wing Attack 2x 64-77% View Golbat builds →
Farfetch'd NormalFlying	D
Available Moves Moves FlyHM02 PeckLv. 1 Damage vs Primeape Fly 2x 101-120%KO Peck 2x 42-50% View Farfetch'd builds →
Pidgeotto NormalFlying	D
Available Moves Moves FlyHM02 GustLv. 9 Damage vs Primeape Fly 2x 76-90% Gust 2x 37-43% View Pidgeotto builds →