In Red & Blue, 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 445 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Primeape weak to?

In Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, 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. Def60

Speed95

Total445

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

Always furious and tenacious to boot. It will not abandon chasing its quarry until it is caught.

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

Type ChartAvg

2Weak

2Resist

0Immune

Score-2

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

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Flying Psychic

½xResist

Bug Rock

¼xResist

None

0xImmune

None

STAB (3)

Normal Ice Rock

How to Beat Primeape in Red & Blue (Best Counters)

In Red & Blue, Alakazam can KO Primeape with Psychic (141-166%). Slowbro's Surf hits Primeape for 54-64%. Articuno deals 63-75% with Blizzard.

Alakazam Psychic	S
Recommended Build Moves PsychicSTAB RecoverRecovery Thunder Wave Seismic Toss Damage vs Primeape Psychic 2x 141-166%KO View Alakazam builds →
Slowbro WaterPsychic	B
Recommended Build Moves AmnesiaUtility RestRecovery SurfSTAB Thunder Wave Damage vs Primeape Surf 54-64% View Slowbro builds →
Articuno IceFlying	B
Recommended Build Moves BlizzardSTAB AgilitySetup Hyper Beam Ice Beam Damage vs Primeape Blizzard 63-75% Hyper Beam 52-62% Ice Beam 52-61% View Articuno builds →

Red & Blue Evolution

Partway through Mankey's chain, Primeape is a Fighting type pushing toward Annihilape. No breeding at this stage. So far, HP got the biggest boost (+25 from Mankey). The final form adds another 90 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 not available · Introduced in Gen 2

Red & Blue Primeape Best Moveset

Best Build

Experimental

Utility

Ability

Not in Gen 1

Item

Not in Gen 1

Nature

Not in Gen 1

Utility Moveset

Rock Slide
SubmissionSTAB
Hyper Beam
Body Slam

Recommended Teammates

SnorlaxDecent

AlakazamDecent

GengarDecent

Moves

Without TMs, Primeape's movepool is bare bones. With them, you get Normal and Ground coverage and more on top of Submission and Karate Chop for STAB. The natural kit handles basics, but TMs are doing the real work.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Fury Swipes

—188015Normal

Lv 1

Karate Chop

—5010025Normal

Lv 1

Leer

——10030Normal

Lv 1

Scratch

—4010035Normal

Lv 15

Karate Chop

—5010025Normal

Lv 21

Fury Swipes

—188015Normal

Lv 27

Focus Energy

———30Normal

Lv 37

Seismic Toss

B—10020Fighting

Lv 46

Thrash

—12010020Normal

TM Moves

TM34

Bide+1

———10Normal

TM08

Body Slam

A8510015Normal

TM18

Counter-5

B—10020Fighting

TM28

Dig

—10010010Ground

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM10

Double-Edge

B12010015Normal

TM15

Hyper Beam

A150905Normal

TM05

Mega Kick

C120755Normal

TM01

Mega Punch

C808520Normal

TM35

Metronome

D——10Normal

TM31

Mimic

———10Normal

TM16

Pay Day

—4010020Normal

TM20

Rage

—2010020Normal

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM48

Rock Slide

S759010Rock

TM19

Seismic Toss

B—10020Fighting

TM40

Skull Bash

B10010010Normal

HM04

Strength

—8010015Normal

TM17

Submission

A808025Fighting

TM50

Substitute

C——10Normal

TM39

Swift

D60—20Normal

TM09

Take Down

—908520Normal

TM25

Thunder

D1107010Electric

TM24

Thunderbolt

D9510015Electric

TM06

Toxic

C—9010Poison

Egg Moves

Primeape doesn't have any Egg moves

Tutor Moves

Primeape can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Primeape in Red & Blue

You're catching Mankey first, not Primeape. Mankey appears at solid rates in the encounters below. The step cards map the full 2-stage line with evolution methods between each stage.

How to Obtain Primeape in Red & Blue

The path to Primeape starts with Mankey at Lv. 10-20 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.

Step 1Catch Mankey
Route 5
Grass Lv.10-16 Route
30%Early
Route 6
Grass Lv.10-16 Route
30%Early
Route 7
Grass Lv.17-20 Route
30%Mid
Route 8
Grass Lv.18-20 Route
30%Mid
Train until Level 28
Step 2Primeape ✓

Primeape Guide

In Red & Blue, 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 445 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, 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 Red & Blue, 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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