Is Primeape Good in Ruby & Sapphire Playthrough?
AbilityVital Spirit blocks sleep, which is helpful against Grass-types and their MoveSleep Powder. Trade-only in RS. Primeape handles Roxanne, Norman, and Sidney well, but Breloom does the same job natively with a Grass sub-typing that adds coverage.
Mankey has the type edge here and should clean up Roxanne's team.
Mankey has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Mankey trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Mankey has the type edge here and should clean up Flannery's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Norman's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Winona's team.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Tate & Liza's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Primeape resists most of Sidney's coverage and hits back hard.
Phoebe's team hits Primeape's weaknesses hard.
Primeape resists most of Glacia's coverage and hits back hard.
Primeape trades roughly evenly with Drake's team.
Primeape has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Primeape cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four. Alternatively, transfer the pre-evolution and level it up to Lv 28.
- After Wattson
- TM24ElectricThunderbolt90100%15
- After Flannery
- TM50FireOverheat13090%5
- After Norman
- TM01FightingFocus Punch225100%20
- After Winona
- TM15NormalHyper Beam15090%5
- After Tate & Liza
- TM26GroundEarthquake100100%10
- After Wallace
- TM31FightingBrick Break113100%15
- LV 45FightingCross Chop15080%5
- LV 63NormalThrash120100%10
How to Get Primeape in Ruby & Sapphire
No wild encounters for Primeape in Ruby & Sapphire. Bring Mankey over from Red & Blue, Yellow, or Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, then level through the stages. Each step in the chain is laid out below.
How to Obtain Primeape in RS
Step 1Obtain MankeyCARTRIDGE TRADEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenAvailableCatch in FireRed & LeafGreen via Walking · Route 22, then trade to the current game via link cable.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Walking · Route 8. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Walking · Route 23. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Gold & SilverNot TradeableAppears in Gold & Silver via Walking · Route 9. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom Diamond & PearlNot TradeableAppears in Diamond & Pearl via Pokeradar · Route 225. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom PlatinumNot TradeableAppears in Platinum via Pokeradar · Route 225. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Walking · Route 42. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
Step 2Primeape ✓
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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Flying, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Bug, Rock, Dark |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
What is Primeape Weak Against
AvgBest Pokemon Against Primeape
 Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x150-177%KO | ||
 Golbat Poison | C | |
 Beautifly Bug | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Beautifly builds →Psychic 2x66-78% Gust 2x39-47% | ||
 Masquerain Bug | C | |
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x127-150%KO Fly 2x69-82% | ||
Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x152-179%KO | ||
Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
 Grumpig Psychic | C | |
 Chimecho Psychic | C | |
Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x157-184%KO | ||
Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x125-148%KO Fly 2x69-81% | ||
Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x150-177%KO | ||
Grumpig Psychic | C | |
Chimecho Psychic | C | |
 Latios DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Latios builds →Psychic 2x122-144%KO Fly 2x53-63% | ||
 Latias DragonPsychic | S | |
Obtain MethodRoaming Surfing Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Latias builds →Psychic 2x106-125%KO Fly 2x47-56% | ||
 Rayquaza Dragon | S | |
Obtain MethodSky Pillar Interact Encounter | ||
Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x124-147%KO Fly 2x69-81% | ||
Gardevoir Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Gardevoir builds →Future Sight 2x156-184%KO | ||
In Ruby & Sapphire, Blissey's Ice Beam hits Primeape for 37-44%. Tyranitar's Earthquake hits Primeape for 69-81%. Metagross's Explosion also KOs at 171-202%.
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilityNatural Cure ItemLeftovers NatureModest Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Blissey builds →Ice Beam37-44% | ||
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Tyranitar builds →Rock Slide25-30% Earthquake69-81% | ||
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilityClearbody ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Metagross builds →Explosion171-202%KO Earthquake69-81% | ||
S | ||
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Primeape View Gengar builds →Thunderbolt48-57% Explosion63-75% | ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityKeeneye ItemLeftovers NatureCareful Moves View Skarmory builds →
| ||
Primeape Evolutions
Primeape is the evolved form of Mankey. Breeding produces Mankey eggs, and they're average hatch time. Evolving from Mankey gave Primeape the biggest boost in HP (+25), bringing the total to 455 stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Primeape to get Mankey eggs easily using 102 partners from the Ground egg group. Notable egg moves include Beat Up, Counter, Foresight and 5 more.
RS Primeape Best Moveset
105 Attack and 95 Speed behind MoveCross Chop for Fighting TermStab and MoveEarthquake for coverage. AbilityVital Spirit blocks sleep moves entirely, shutting down MoveSpore and MoveSleep Powder users. Held ItemChoice Band boosts damage. Sleep immunity on a fast physical attacker.
Best Build
Primeape best EVs are Attack and Speed
Physical Sweeper Moveset
- Cross Chop
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Aerial Ace
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
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 Focus Punch and Cross Chop while coverage across 8 types adds range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
When PRIMEAPE becomes furious, its blood circulation is boosted. In turn, its muscles are made even stronger. However, it also becomes much less intelligent at the same time.
Primeape Ruby & Sapphire Guide
In Ruby & Sapphire, 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 Ruby & Sapphire, 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.
Vital Spirit prevents sleep. That's the one you want on Primeape. Anger Point works too if your team needs something different.
In Ruby & Sapphire, Primeape fills the attacker role. It's a physical attacker with base 105 Attack. Base 95 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many.
In Ruby & Sapphire, 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
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves