Gym Leaders
Brock
Badge awarded: Boulder Badge
TM awarded: TM34 Bide
Brock is, invariably, the first Gym Leader you will challenge and defeat. This serious trainer is the leader of the Pewter City Gym. Although he specializes in the Rock type, none of his Pokémon actually have a Rock-type move.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
Geodude (Rock/Ground) - Lv. 12- Tackle
- Defense Curl
Onix (Rock/Ground) - Lv.14- Tackle
- Screech
- Bind
- Bide
Geodude - Lv. 10- Tackle
Onix - Lv.12- Tackle
- Screech
- Bind
- Bide
Pokémon Yellow
In Red & Blue, if you chose Bulbasaur or Squirtle as your starter, then this battle is a no-brainer - just keep using Vine Whip or Bubble, and the x4 SUPER EFFECTIVE damage will make both his hardy Geodude and even his mighty Onix will go down faster than a clumsy man rolling down a staircase.
If, however, you were to chose Charmander (or chose to not use your starter for any reason), then this battle gets a lot tougher, especially for a first Gym Leader, because of the inexistant avaibilty of Pokémon learning Super-Effective attacks. The best solution here is to rely on Special Type attacks (such as Ember instead of Scratch, or Confusion instead of tackle) because of Geodude and Onix's poorer SPECIAL stat.
An alternative is to minimize his Pokémon's ATTACK and maybe DEFENSE stat with moves such as Growl and Tail Whip and then start hammering them with your (minorly) more powerful moves, such as Twineedle or Horn Attack.
Whatever be the case, if you pick Charmander, you should make sure to have it and your other Pokémon decently-leveled before undertaking this Gym Battle.
As for you, Yellow players, it's impossible to win this Gym Battle with Pikachu alone unless it already learned Quick Attack, due to Brock's Pokémon being immune to the Electric-Type ThunderShock. Your best bet is to catch a Mankey or a Nidoran on Route 22, and level it up until it learns a Fighting-Type move - Low Kick (at level 9) or Double Kick (at level 12) respectively. Low Kick is especially effective on the heavy Onix.
The Boulder Badge allows your Pokémon to use the HM move Flash outside of battle. It is also said to "raise the Attack stat" of your Pokémon.
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Misty
Badge awarded: Cascade Badge
TM awarded: TM11 BubbleBeam
Misty is the (mandatorily) second Gym Leader of the game, known for being actually difficult. She leads the Cerulean City Gym. Her strategy is an "all-out offensive with Water-type Pokémon", and her Starmie will definitely make you see what she means.
- Pokémon Red & Blue & Pokémon Yellow
Staryu (Water) - Lv. 18- Tackle
- Water Gun
Starmie (Water/Psychic) - Lv.21- Tackle
- Water Gun
- Harden
- BubbleBeam
Although Staryu is a bit above the average for this point in the game, it still isn't much of a problem.
The problem here is Starmie. Starmie will be, at this point in the game, the foe with the best stats yet. Although it has less-than-average HP, it has decent defense, extraordinary speed, and an exorbitant Special Stat. Not only it will outspeed almost anything you throw at it, it will also hit hard. Very, very hard. And on top of that, thanks to its high Special stat, it won't take too much damage from the super-effective Electric and Grass-type attacks. To add insult to injury, Misty will also use X Defend and Super Potion on her Starmie.
But that being said, Electric and Grass type attacks are still your best bet. Well, second best bet, actually. Charmander users will have a heck of a time dealing with Misty should they chose to challenge her right away. Bulbasaur users will be able to beat her, but not without trouble. Even Pikachu will take a ton of damage from BubbleBeam just to deal not as much in return.
Your third best bet here is actually a Beedrill with Twinneedle, since Beedrill has (for this point in the game) a decent Attack stat, and Twineedle deals physical Super-effective damage. However, in Generation 1, Beedrill has a very, very poor Special stat, which would make it difficult to keep alive for even one turn.
But your absolute best bet here is to not challenge Misty right when entering Cerulean City. There is a lot of progression you can do before actually having to challenge her. Visiting Cerulean Cape first will allow players of the Red version to find Oddish and players of the Blue version to find Bellsprout, two Grass-type Pokémon that both evolve at Level 21, and I'm not mentionning the ton of trainers up north for you to battle and level up with. It'll give you a much better chance of beating Misty.
And if that is still not enough for you, you can actually go to Vermillion City and go aboard the S.S. Anne. Keep in mind that once you get the HM01, then you can't progress the plot any further until you've beaten Misty. But if you actually do that, then Misty probably won't be a problem at all anymore.
The Cascade Badge allows your Pokémon to use the HM move Cut outside of battle, and makes traded Pokémon up to level 30 obey you. Using Cut is necessary to access any further Gym.
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Lieutenant Surge
Badge awarded: Thunder Badge
TM awarded: TM24 Thunderbolt
Lt.Surge, the Lightning American, is the third Gym Leader and exclusively uses Electric type Pokémon. He is more remembered for the puzzle in his gym rather than the actual battle against him. To be honest, he is fairly easy compared to Misty. His Gym is located in Vermillion City.
Lt.Surge is the first Gym Leader to have more than two Pokémon in the Red & Blue version, and is the only Gym Leader to ever have only one in the Yellow version.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
Voltorb (Electric) - Lv. 21- Tackle
- Screech
- Sonicboom
Pikachu (Electric) - Lv.21- Thundershock
- Thunder Wave
- Growl
- Quick Attack
Raichu (Electric) - Lv.24- Thunderbolt
- Thundershock
- Thunder Wave
- Growl
Raichu (Electric) - Lv.28- Thunderbolt
- Growl
- Mega Punch
- Mega Kick
Pokémon Yellow
After beating Misty's Starmie, you'd say that Surge's Voltorb would be a joke. And you would be right. It's a joke even to your Squirtle. The only thing to worry about here is Voltorb's high Speed stat and Sonicboom, which always does 20 damage a shot.
Pikachu is frail, and has sub-par stats except for Speed, so he should go down quickly and without much problem. Watch out for Thunder Wave, though - being Paralyzed is never a good thing.
The only thing worth notability in Surge's team is his Raichu, which has very good Speed, Attack and Special. Thunderbolt is a very powerful electric-type move, and is the most powerful move you have encountered yet in the game. Raichu suffers from being frail defensively, though, so try hitting it the hardest you can.
Said Raichu is his only Pokémon in the Yellow version, with a four-level boost and two new moves - Mega Punch and Mega Kick, two innacurate but powerful Normal-type moves - Mega Kick is even more powerful than Thunderbolt, so watch out! That Raichu alone can give a harder time than Surge's whole Red & Blue team.
All that being said, this fight becomes an absolute farce if you manage to catch a Dugtrio in the Diglett cave, which happens to be about fifteen steps away from this gym. Diglett and Dugtrio are both immune to Electric type moves, are very speedy, and have a decent Attack stat and a move called Dig, which is Super-effective against all of Surge's frail Pokémon. Dugtrio's only worry is Raichu's Mega Kick in the Yellow version.
Also of note, the Thunder Badge isn't required in any way until the end of the game, where you need it to reach Indigo Plateau. You can entirely skip this Gym up until then, but it is recommended for you to defeat Lt.Surge anyway so you can use Fly outside of Battle.
The Thunder Badge allows you to use Fly outside of battle, and is said to raise your Pokémon's Speed stat.
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Erika
Badge awarded: Rainbow Badge
TM awarded: TM21 Mega Drain
Erika is the fourth Gym Leader, fought in Celadon City's Gym. Being a master of flower arrangement, she is also a master of the Grass type. Her Gym exclusively has female trainers, and needs repetitive use of Cut to navigate.
Erika is one of the Gym Leader who's Pokémon are far more higher-leveled than their Red & Blue counterparts. Bizarrely, this is partially cancelled out by the fact that her Yellow Pokémon aren't as evolved as their Red & Blue counterparts.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
Victreebell (Grass/Poison) - Lv. 29- Wrap
- PoisonPowder
- Sleep Powder
- Razor Leaf
Tangela (Grass) - Lv. 24- Bind
- Constrict
Vileplume (Grass/Poison) - Lv. 29- PoisonPowder
- Mega Drain
- Sleep Powder
- Petal Dance
Tangela (Grass) - Lv. 30- Bind
- Mega Drain
- Vine Whip
- Constrict
Weepinbell (Grass/Poison) - Lv. 32- Wrap
- Stun Spore
- Sleep Powder
- Razor Leaf
Gloom (Grass/Poison) - Lv. 32- Acid
- Petal Dance
- Stun Spore
- Sleep Powder
Pokémon Yellow
And now, for the first (and, unfortunately, last) time ever in the game, a Gym Leader will be a breeze for Charmander & family!
This Gym can be either easy or moderately hard, depending on which Pokémon you take it with. Erika loves to put your whole Party to sleep, and then wrapping them to death. The best solution here is a fast Pokémon that is resistant to grass-type moves - and preferably, knows a move Super Effective to Grass types. Bring some potions.
Bulbasaur and family will have no problem resisting any Grass-type moves, but Bulbasaur's pool of moves outside of grass-type moves is pretty limited. And keep in mind that Leech Seed doesn't work on other Grass Types. You shouldn't bring Squirtle into the fight either - although he could probably resist one Super-Effective Attack, and Tangela doesn't know any.
Speaking of Tangela, one has to wonder what it's doing there, with only these two moves. Yellow's version of Tangela is a little more serious, even though it's not that threatening.
Vileplume and Gloom's Petal Dance is a very powerful moves. Once it uses it, however, it will continue using it until it becomes confused, two or three turns later.
The best solution here is to have either a high-leveled Pidgeotto, Fearow, Dodrio, Charmeleon, Arcanine or Ninetales. Either of them will plow through the entire team rather easily.
The Rainbow Badge allows you to use Strenght outside of battle, and makes any Pokémon up to Level 50 obey you completely. Strenght is only required once you reach the Victory Road, but it's also used for an optional side-quest. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Koga
Badge awarded: Soul Badge
TM awarded: TM06 Toxic
In Fuschia city, at the end of Cycling Road and Silence Bridge, Koga awaits your challenge. He is the Poisonous Ninja Master, and he has the invisible walls to prove it.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
Koffing (Poison) - Lv. 37- Tackle
- Smog
- Sludge
- SmokeScreen
Muk (Poison) - Lv. 39- Disable
- Poison Gas
- Minimize
- Sludge
- Koffing (Poison) - Lv. 37
- Tackle
- Smog
- Sludge
- SmokeScreen
Weezing (Poison) - Lv. 43- Smog
- Sludge
- Toxic
- SelfDestruct
Koga is one interesting Gym Leader. Instead of the general offense-oriented approach, Koga is more of the defensive kind. Indeed, he uses Pokémon that can take a lot of hits, and tries to stall you with accuracy drops, all the while letting Toxic do its thing.
While both of his Koffing will generally take more than a few hits to go down, watch out for SmokeScreen. When you get a SmokeScreen in the face, you should switch out as soon as the Koffing in question faints. The damage they dish out is nothing to write home about, though.
When he dishes out his Muk, however, things start to get serious. Muk will use Disable to prevent you from spamming Super-Effective attacks, and will annoy you greatly with Minimize, which raises its evasiness. Then, it'll steadily take the damage away from you with Poison Gas and Sludge.
His Weezing is very, very tough. It will generally use Toxic first, and then dish out moderate but steady damage with its own attacks. And it'll take its sweet time, because you generally will end up not damaging it quite enough to take it down, but just enough to make Koga use his Hyper Potion on it. And if things get tough for him, he will use SelfDestruct in the hope of OHKOing your Pokémon. I hope it wasn't your last one!
Koga is also known for switching out his Pokémon in a certain strategic way. There is some teamwork going on between his Pokémon, but don't let that impress you!
The best strategy I can recommend here: Haunter. It will both resist Poison type attacks all the while being immune to the Normal type ones. Also, while Koffing and Weezing have very high defense, they have rather low HP, so Night Shade is a great move to have. Keep in mind, however, that Muk is the opposite - it has poorer defenses, but grand HP. And you might want your Haunter to pack another move in case Muk disables Night Shade.
Psychic and Ground type moves are effective as well. You could try teaching Dig or Psychic to one of your Pokémon if you don't mind using a TM.
There isn't really a miracle solution to beating Koga (well, besides the above-listed Haunter). It's not too hard; only if you happened to challenge him while still having a Level-32 Pokémon as your highest-leveled. If you seek a place to level up, either Silence Bridge or the Cycling Road should still have some trainers on it (Silence Bridge has a ton).
Oh wait, but all of the above only applies to Red & Blue...
Venonat (Bug/Poison) - Lv. 44- Tackle
- Toxic
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Venonat (Bug/Poison) - Lv. 46
- Psybeam
- Toxic
- SuperSonic
- Psychic
- Venonat (Bug/Poison) - Lv. 48
- Double-Edge
- Toxic
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
Venomoth (Bug/Poison) - Lv. 50- Leech Life
- Toxic
- Double Team
- Psychic
Kadabra (Psychic) - Lv. 38- Disable
- Psybeam
- Recover
- Psychic
Mr.Mime (Psychic) - Lv. 37- Confusion
- Barrier
- Light Screen
- DoubleSlap
Venomoth (Bug/Poison) - Lv. 38- PoisonPowder
- Leech Life
- Stun Spore
- Psybeam
Alakazam (Psychic) - Lv. 43- Psybeam
- Recover
- Psychic
- Reflect
Abra (Psychic) - Lv. 50- Teleport
- Flash
Kadabra (Psychic) - Lv. 50- Kinesis
- Psywave
- Recover
- Psychic
Alakazam (Psychic) - Lv. 50- Psywave
- Recover
- Psychic
- Reflect
Growlithe (Fire) - Lv. 42- Ember
- Leer
- Take Down
- Agility
Ponyta (Fire) - Lv. 40- Tail Whip
- Stomp
- Growl
- Fire Spin
Rapidash (Fire) - Lv. 42- Tail Whip
- Stomp
- Growl
- Fire Spin
Arcanine (Fire) - Lv. 47- Roar
- Ember
- Take Down
- Fire Blast
Ninetales (Fire) - Lv. 48- Confuse Ray
- Quick Attack
- Tail Whip
- Flamethrower
Rapidash (Fire) - Lv. 50- Take Down
- Stomp
- Growl
- Fire Spin
Arcanine (Fire) - Lv. 54- Reflect
- Flamethrower
- Take Down
- Fire Blast
Rhyhorn (Ground/Rock) - Lv. 45- Stomp
- Tail Whip
- Fury Attack
- Horn Attack
Dugtrio (Ground) - Lv. 42- Growl
- Dig
- Sand-Attack
- Slash
Nidoqueen (Poison/Ground) - Lv. 44- Scratch
- Tail Whip
- Poison Sting
- Body Slam
Nidoking (Poison/Ground) - Lv. 45- Tackle
- Horn Attack
- Poison Sting
- Trash
Rhydon (Ground/Rock) - Lv. 50- Stomp
- Tail Whip
- Fissure
- Horn Drill
Dugtrio (Ground) - Lv. 50- Earthquake
- Dig
- Sand-Attack
- Fissure
Persian (Normal) - Lv. 53- Screech
- Slash
- Fury Swipes
- Double Team
Nidoqueen (Poison/Ground) - Lv. 53- Earthquake
- Tail Whip
- Double Kick
- Thunder
Nidoking (Poison/Ground) - Lv. 55- Earthquake
- Leer
- Thunder
- Trash
Rhydon (Ground/Rock) - Lv. 55- Rock Slide
- Fury Attack
- Earthquake
- Horn Drill
Pokémon Yellow
Because in Yellow, his Team is so subtly different. Can you spot it? I needed someone to point it out for me!
More seriously, though, look at those levels. In Yellow, Koga is the first to have his levels drastically upped from the original game.
Koga's strategy deals more with Status Problems in general instead of the defensive approach seen in Red & Blue. His Venonats will try to either poison your Pokémon or put them to sleep.
His any Venonat, instead of having a Poison type move to attack with, will often use Psychic, which you can't do much about. His Venomoth, on the other end, will use Double Team to annoy you a lot.
Don't let the high levels scare you. His team is rather straightforwards, except very higher-leveled, so the way you deal with it should also be straightforwards and highly-leveled too. Just use Fire, Flying or Psychic type attacks. The best way to defend against Psychic is to use a Pokémon with a high Special stat. Kadabra is a very good option in this case. Just watch out for Venomoth's Leech Life.
The SoulBadge allows you to use Surf outside of battle (finally!), and, in addition, may or may not raise your Pokémon's Defense stat.
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Sabrina
Badge awarded: Marsh Badge
TM awarded: TM46 Psywave
So, after finally thwarting Team Rocket's plan for the fourth time, I bet you're dying to go in that Gym, yes? Sabrina, who for some reason didn't care that a Rocket Grunt blocked the entrence of her gym, awaits your challenge (she probably foresaw it), readying her Psychic type Pokémon.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
If you've challenged and managed to do well against Koga, then Sabrina won't be too much of a problem, considering that she is around the same level. However, her strategy is more of an all-around build with a focus on the Special stat.
Kadabra will try to disable one of your moves, so try hitting him with a move you won't mind losing for a few turns. Even though it knows Recover, if you hit it hard enough, it won't be of any hindrance to you. Kadabra has a litte focus on the Speed stat.
Mr.Mime is the most defensive Pokémon of her team... but watch out! If it uses Light Screen, all of Sabrina's Pokémon will get their Special stat doubled for 5 turns, and since this is generation 1, it means that any Psychic attacks thrown your way will do double damage. Try one-shotting Mr.Mime before it sets up the Light Screen, but if it manages to set it up after all, just wait until the Light Screen is about to fade in order to K.O. Mr.Mime.
Venomoth... isn't anything to write home about, really. I mean, it will try either Paralyzing or Poisoning you, but that's it. It IS kind of powerful, but not that much. Also, you can hit it with a Fire, Flying or Psychic type attack for Super Effective damage.
Alakazam, however, is really a force to be reckonned with. Alakazam has an exhorbitant Speed and Special stat, AND it will set up Reflect to cut physical damage in half. Plus, it uses Recover whenever it has the chance, and its Psychic attack can be devastating. Don't bother using any Special type attacks on him - just hammer him with everything you've physically got. Status problems also help a lot!
Body Slam is an excellent choice of move in this case. In fact, I would definitely recommend either a Slowbro or a Snorlax with Amnesia and a status move. Make the Pokémon use Amnesia 3 times in the beginning of the battle, and it should almost completely wall Alakazam near the end. Watch out for critical hits, though!
Pokémon Yellow
Since Level 50 is high, this battle can be a lot of trouble for a lot of people who can't be bothered about grinding all this way up.
The best way to win this battle is, again, to set up Amnesia. Or, if you don't have Amnesia, you can use six X Special - which works on any Pokémon! Just be sure to bring in two Guard Special for that.
First things first, get a Guard Spec. somewhere before this battle, and use it right away. Or else, Abra will annoy you with Flash for several turns, making you hit air for the majority of the time.
However, if you use Guard Spec., Flash will not work. It will give you a little time to set up Amnesia. Then, just hit Abra with your most powerful attack - Surf or Body Slam would be a good choice here.
Kadabra is more or less the same as the one in Red & Blue - except, you know, fed on Rare Candies. Your forgetful Pokémon can probably take him out easily with even a Special attack, though. Just watch out for Kinesis.
Alakazam... oh boy. Did I tell you that Alakazam was the most broken Pokémon in all of the first generation? It can sweep your entire team if you're not prepared. This opponent is very though.
I recommend to fight fire with fire on this one - that's right, use your own Alakazam. Or, if you don't have one, Kadabra will do fine, too. Just set it up with Guard Spec. and X Special at the beginning of the battle, and your Kadabra should have none a problem.
The Marsh Badge makes all traded Pokémon up to level 70 obey you completely. That's it. You don't need it until going to Victory Road. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blaine
Badge awarded: Volcano Badge
TM awarded: TM38 Fire Blast
Although Seafoam Island is an optional dungeon, people who make a pit stop there will sometimes tell you how much they hate that dungeon. Then again, some people will tell you about how long it took them to figure out that you can jump down a floor in Pokémon Mansion. Either way, those trainers are happy when they finally get to face Blaine.
Blaine is the Gym Leader of Cinnebar Island, and is also a scientist and a friend of Mr.Fuji's. While travelling, he once got lost in a cold mountain range. When night fell, and all hopes seemed to be lost, Moltres appeared and guided Blaine to safety out of the mountains. Thus, Blaine took this inspiration to become a trainer of the Fire Type.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
For a seventh Gym Leader, his team looks... somewhat ineffective. Almost half of his moves will affect you in ways you wouldn't care too much about.
Growlithe, you should be able to take down quickly enough. You should be able to shrug off its Ember or Take Down easily, and if it Leers you, you can always switch out after the round.
Ponyta and Rapidash are almost the same - Rapidash is just a bit tougher, faster and stronger. Don't send a slow Pokémon after them, though, or Fire Spin will get the best of you.
Arcanine... although Arcanine is one of the best Pokémon there, stastitically, is (see below), I just can't take this one very seriously. It has Roar, which, in the particular circumstance this Arcanine exists, does nothing. Although Ember would still leave you raw, Fire Blast can toast you golden brown, however. It's pretty innaccurate, though. Also, you should really watch out for Take Down - combined with Arcanine's high Attack stat, it can be pretty devastating.
There isn't much to say here. Just give it your best. Again, Haunter can be very good, only having to deal with the Fire-type attacks - which, considering Haunter's high Special, wouldn't be such a big deal. Blastoise also have a definite advantage with its high defensive stats and the Super Effective Surf or Hydro Pump. A Rock Type Pokémon, such as Graveler, or especially Kabutops or Ommastar, would work well too.
Pokémon Yellow
Oh man! Guess who got a buff? Now this team, I tend to take it a lot more seriously than the one in Red & Blue. All three of his Pokémon, level aside, are still a good cut above.
Ninetales is already one heck of an opponent on its own. Confuse Ray gives it an obvious advantage. Then, it will normally use Flamethrower on you, which will put a dent even on tough opponents - partially thanks to Ninetale's awesome Special stat. And if you ever come to a situation where you have low HP, it will definitely finish you off with Quick Attack. Heal or switch out to prevent that from happening.
Rapidash, although more imposing of a threat with Take Down, is pretty much the same, really.
Arcanine, however, takes better advantage of its four move slots. Remember when I said that Arcanine was one of the best Pokémon, statistically? It has all-around high stats everywhere, with a subtle but definitive lean towards offense and speed. It has a higher Attack stat. If Mario was a Pokémon, he would be Arcanine.
Anyways, it will sometimes use Reflect to make its defense stronger. And instead of the puny Ember, it will use the more damaging, but just as reliable Flamethrower. It still has Take Down and Fire Blast as its most powerful moves, so watch out.
Haunter and Kabutops are still as good of choices, but you can't expect them to do all the work by themselves - you'll definitely have to be very properly leveled, which can be a real pain. At least, his levels aren't that much higher than Sabrina's, and by now you have almost all of the overworld open to you, so you can search for the most convenient place for you to grind. Of course, all things considered, that'll probably either be Pokémon Mansion or Seafoam Islands...
The Volcano Badge augments the Special Stat of your Pokémon in a very vague and unclear way. It's probably related to Stat EXP.
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Giovanni
Badge awarded: Earth Badge
TM awarded: TM27 Fissure
How long have you been dying to go into the Viridian Gym, the one that was taunting you since the very beginning of the game? Well, I guess asking the question is to answer it, in this case. This Gym opens up after a certain event has happened in the game - I don't quite know which one of the following. Is it just beating Blaine, or getting all the other badges?
Final Gym Leader, people! And as I spoiled it just above, it is, as they say, a climatic battle. Back when this game came out, it was kind of a plot twist. However it is, it's your third battle with Giovanni - and this time, he's got a team that goes with the theme of his gym, which is, for unexplained reason, Ground Type - the only Ground Type gym to this day in the series. Many surprises await in this battle - that is, unless you read the team detailings below.
- Pokémon Red & Blue
To be honest, when they say that Giovanni is Ground-type Gym Leader, to me it sounds more like that the developpers had in mind to put him as the final gym leader, and... they didn't think of Giovanni's type through.
Anyways, on all of his team, he only got two Ground-type moves. And for some unfathomable reason, that doesn't include Earthquake. So most of the moves he'll throw at you will be Normal-type, so there's no crazy type advantage shenanigans going on in here. He'll pretty much just hammer you with these Normal type moves.
I mean, just look at his Rhyhorn, Nidoqueen and Nidoking. If you have a Pokémon that is fast enough, Rhyhorn can just... damage you, and without too much power either. And lower your defense, which can be shrugged off by switching out.
Nidoqueen has the potential to paralyze or poison you, and has fairly good defense. Nidoking is kind of a powerhouse - his Trash attack is known to do a lot of damage - but there isn't much to say about him either.
His Dugtrio, however speedy, is without surprise. It can reduce your accuracy, which can be a bit of a bother, and its Slash attack is nothing to sneeze at, but if it starts using Dig, you can just switch out to your level 5 Fly HM Slave. Seriously.
And his Rhydon? Even though he has two One Hit KO attacks, Rhydon is kind of slow, and as long as you outspeed it, the OHKO Attack won't affect you in the slightest. All it would be left with is his... stomp attack.
Haunter almost completely walls Giovanni. The only threat is Dugtrio's Dig. And it's pretty predictable. All normal attacks don't affect haunter, and Poison type attacks would do minimal damage anyways. Oh, and Fissure? Haunter is generally speedy enough to avoid its effect. Just take your time and Night Shade it up, yo.
Even without Haunter, this shouldn't be too hard. A Ground Pokémon of your own, with Earthquake is a good choice, too.
Pokémon Yellow
Now that sounds a lot more climatic, doesn't it? This battle can prove to be pretty tough in Yellow. Giovanni switches his Rhyhorn for his more Animé-Trademark-ish Persian, and trades a lot of move slots for far superior ones.
One noticeable change is that he gave Fissure to Dugtrio instead of Rhydon. Dugtrio is one of the fastest Pokémon in the game, may I remind you, only bested by few. Even though Fissure's accuracy is still 30% (which sounds more like 65 to the player), it still has a nonzero chance of hitting you.
Dugtrio, like much of the rest of his team, also now has Earthquake. Earthquake is powerful and does super effective damage to four types. Yeah - watch out. Especially you, Pikachu. Did I mention that Dugtrio is fast? You should really take down Dugtrio as fast as you can, so hit it with your best moves. Although, if you have a Flying type out, Dugtrio can't hit you. But that won't keep Giovanni from switching out.
Persian is just good old Persian, minding its own business. Double Team might annoy you, but there's not much else about it, really.
Nidoking and Nidoqueen got radical moveset changes here, and most of it cover for their weaknesses. I remind you that they both got Earthquake now, and they also have Thunder to damage their standard Water and Flying type counters. For Nidoqueen, Double Kick sounds a bit out of place here, but it can cover for both Normal and Ice types while doing normal damage to pretty much anything else not covered by Thunder and Earthquake. Nidoking keeps trashing about, but it's not as dangerous as Earthquake.
Rhyhorn gets an almost whole moveset change for its betterment. Rock Slide and Earthquake covers almost anything you can throw at it. Fury Attack and Horn Drill aren't as useful to it...
The big weakness of Giovanni here is special-type attacks. Surf, Flamethrower, Ice Beam, Solarbeam, anything Special will do heavier damage. A Bulky grass-type such as Venusaur will do good in this battle - you just have to watch out for Dugtrio, for which you might want to bring a Flying type in order to scare off.
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