Excluding Venusaur (who isn’t available to all players), Exeggutor is the best Grass type Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green.
Grass is not a strong type in Fire Red/Leaf Green so the pickings are slim, but Victreebel and Vileplume are also decent options. Tangela and Parasect are probably the next best after this, which is saying something.
Fire Red/Leaf Green Best Grass Pokemon
Exeggutor is a chunky little tank of a Pokemon and is not a version exclusive so will be available to you whether you’re on Fire Red or Leaf Green. It’s also a dual Grass-Psychic type – the Psychic helps to make up for Grass’ many weaknesses in this game.
Exeggutor
I always thought Exeggutor’s faces were, well, eggs. Sounds reasonable based on the name, right? But it’s also known as the Coconut Pokemon and it’s clearly a Coconut Tree-based design so now I don’t even know what’s real anymore.
Exeggutor base stats (Fire Red/Leaf Green)
Exeggutor’s base stat total is 520:
- HP: 95
- Attack: 95
- Defense: 85
- Sp. Attack: 125
- Sp. Defense: 65
- Speed: 55
With beneficial nature plus EVs and IVs, Exeggutor’s max base stat total at level 100 is 1885.
Best Exeggutor moveset in Fire Red/Leaf Green
Exeggutor has some hefty moves available to it and an optimal moveset should take full advantage of its huge Special Attack stat.
Teach Exeggutor SolarBeam using TM22 for a STAB (same type attack bonus) special that deals serious damage with 100 accuracy.
This little buddy’s ability to learn Psychic is what really sets it apart from other Grass type Pokemon. It’s a massively OP move in these games and especially so with STAB.
You could go for an HP recovery move like Ingrain, Moonlight, or Giga Drain, but I personally prefer just using potions and freeing space for either Sleep Powder or Hypnosis.
I like to fill the final slot with Sunny Day to bring Exeggutor’s Cholorphyll ability into play, raising its speed and making those heavy-hitting STAB Special Attacks even more useful.
What is Exeggutor strong against?
With such a wide move pool thanks to that all-important Psychic dual type plus a big Special Attack and the Chlorophyll ability, Exeggutor is a serious Pokemon.
It is resistant to no fewer than six different move types: Water, Electric, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Psychic.
Keep him away from everything else, and you should cruise through battles with Exeggutor’s Special Attacks.
What is Exeggutor weak against?
Psychic type Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green are very powerful, but a dual Grass-Psychic type also has plenty of weaknesses.
Exeggutor can pack a hefty punch but it’s as slow as anything and doesn’t have great Special Defense so it’s vulnerable to a quick special sweeper like Zapdos.
Bug type moves are also ultra-effective against it thanks to its dual type.
Where to catch Exeggutor in Fire Red/Leaf Green
Exeggutor can be evolved from Exeggcute, which you can find in the Safari Zone in both Fire Red and Leaf Green.
Head to the central area of the Safari Zone, where Exeggcute has a 20% encounter rate. You’ll then need to expose Exeggcute to a Leaf Stone to get it to evolve into Exeggutor.
Other strong Grass Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green
You shouldn’t really look past Venusaur or Exeggutor for Grass Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green.
However, if for some reason you don’t want to use either, here are a few more suggestions:
Victreebel
Bellsprout is very cute. It evolves into Weepinbell which is… odd-looking and then into Victreebel which is just downright menacing with its big, toothy fly trap.
It might be scary looking but the Flycatcher Pokemon is a decent Grass type option (note: Victreebel is exclusive to Leaf Green so all of you Fire Red players will have to trade to get one).
Victreebel base stats (Fire Red/Leaf Green)
Victreebel’s base stat total is 480:
- HP: 80
- Attack: 105
- Defense: 65
- Sp. Attack: 100
- Sp. Defense: 60
- Speed: 70
With beneficial nature plus EVs and IVs, Victreebel’s max base stat total at level 100 is 1806.
Best Victreebel moveset in Fire Red/Leaf Green
Victreebel has balanced Attack and Special Attack stats so it’s fine to utilize a varied move pool of Physical and Special type moves. It also has access to some nice STAB Poison moves thanks to its dual type.
Like Exeggutor, Victreebel has the Chlorophyll ability so I like to use Sunny Day to give it a much-needed speed boost.
SolarBeam is a must and I would take Toxic despite its relatively low accuracy (85) as I think that’s worth the gamble to potentially badly poison an opponent.
I’m not a huge fan of Swords Dance when I already have a status boost move in Sunny Day, so I would go for Sleep Powder to complete my Victreebel moveset.
What is Victreebel strong against?
Victreebel is a dual Grass-Poison type which means it is ultra-effective against Grass types. While a lot of its best moves are TM-dependent, Victreebel is an amazing Pokemon to use against Erika in the Celadon City gym.
It is also strong against Electric, Fighting, Fairy, and Water Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green.
What is Victreebel weak against?
Any strong sweeper (Physical or Special) will be useful against Victreebel given its poor defense stats.
Aside from this, its natural weaknesses are against Fire Red/Leaf Green Ground, Poison, Ghost, Rock, and Steel Pokemon.
Where to catch Victreebel in Fire Red/Leaf Green
Weepinbell, which evolves into Victreebel, can be found in the small pockets of long grass on Route 12. To access this route, you’ll need cut as well as the Pokemon Flute to wake up Snorlax and get him out of the way.
That’s probably quicker than catching a Bellsprout earlier on in the game and leveling it up.
As Victreebel is exclusive to Leaf Green, Fire Red players will have to trade to get one.
Vileplume
Vileplume is the last of the genuinely decent Grass Pokemon in the Gen 1 remakes. Like Victreebel, Vileplume is a Grass-Poison dual type.
There’s nothing particularly remarkable about Vileplume, but you might prefer it to Victreebel if you’re on Fire Red as it’s exclusive to that version so will be less hassle to find. It’s also one of the better Posion type Pokemon in the game.
Vileplume base stats (Fire Red/Leaf Green)
Vileplume’s base stat total is 480:
- HP: 75
- Attack: 80
- Defense: 85
- Sp. Attack: 100
- Sp. Defense: 90
- Speed: 50
With beneficial nature plus EVs and IVs, Vileplume’s max base stat total at level 100 is 1807.
Best Vileplume moveset in Fire Red/Leaf Green
As usual with the Gen 1 Grass Pokemon, we can make the best of Vileplume’s Chlorophyll ability using Sunny Day.
Petal Dance is quite a strong STAB move for Vileplume, but it does come with a 50% chance of it Vileplume getting confused after using it. I still think that’s probably worth it (at least until you get access to Sludge Bomb).
A Sunny Day/STAB-boosted SolarBeam is nailed on for one of the spots and I’d go for Stun Spore too.
What is Vileplume strong against
Vileplume has OK Special Attack stats so its STAB moves like SolarBeam will do plenty of damage against any Pokemon with below-average Special Defense.
Like Victreebel, Vileplume’s Special Attacks are ultra-effective against other Grass types and they will cause problems for FireRed/Leaf Green’s Water type Pokemon as well as Electric, Fighting, and Fairy.
What is Vileplume weak against
Vileplume’s defense stats are not as horrific as Victreebel, but they’re still not at all good. When coupled with an abysmal Speed stat, this makes Vileplume a bit of a sitting duck against any half-decent sweeper.
Where to catch Vileplume in Fire Red/Leaf Green
You’ll need to expose Gloom to a Leaf Stone to get yourself a Vileplume (exposing it to a Sun Stone will get you Bellossom.
Gloom can be captured fairly easily in Fire Red (it’s a version exclusive) in the lower section of Route 12 once you’ve got Cut and moved Snorlax out of the way using the Pokemon Flute.
Tangela
You know you’re clutching at straws when Tangela makes the top five of any list of the best Pokemon to use in the Gen 1 remakes, but the fact is there just aren’t that many good Grass type Pokemon in these games!
One thing that Tangela does have over Victreebel and Vileplume, though, is good Defense.
Tangela base stats (Fire Red/Leaf Green)
Tangela’s base stat total is 435:
- HP: 65
- Attack: 55
- Defense: 115
- Sp. Attack: 100
- Sp. Defense: 40
- Speed: 60
With beneficial nature plus EVs and IVs, Tangela’s max base stat total at level 100 is 1688.
Best Tangela moveset in Fire Red/Leaf Green
It feels worthwhile using TMs on Exeggutor, Victreebel, and even Vileplume to unlock their best movesets, but Tangela?… Not so much.
That said, if you were going to use up those precious TMs on this noodly mess of a Pokemon then you should stick to the Special Attacks.
You could do worse than Sunny Day and STAB-boosted SolarBeam, Giga-Drain, and Toxic.
What is Tangela strong against?
Tangela is the only pure Grass type in Gen 1 which means it’s not ultra-effective against any other type but it will have some success against Fire, Ice, Posion, Flying, and Bug Pokemon.
That’s especially true if those Pokemon are heavily dependent on Special Attacks and weak on Physical, given Tangela’s high Defense stat.
What is Tangela weak against?
Tangela has by far the best Defense of all the Pokemon on this page, but it also has by far the worst Special Defense base stat at a measly 40.
I don’t have enough time to go through all the different Pokemon that would have a field day against Tangela, but you should just know that Ice, Poison, Flying, Bug, and Fire Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green will tear it apart.
Where to catch Tangela in Fire Red/Leaf Green
You need a Pokemon that knows Surf to get Tangela. Sort that out, then head to Pallet Town and get in the water on the south side of the town.
Surf just past the fence that’s blocking normal walking access and jump out on the right-hand side. Tangela has a 100% encounter rate in the patch of long grass here.
Parasect
I’ve only included Parasect here because all my other ‘Best [Type] Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green’ articles include five different Pokemon.
Collect it for your Pokedex if you want but, otherwise, please just leave it alone.
Parasect base stats (Fire Red/Leaf Green)
Parasect’s base stat total is 405:
- HP: 60
- Attack: 95
- Defense: 80
- Sp. Attack: 60
- Sp. Defense: 80
- Speed: 30
With beneficial nature plus EVs and IVs, Parasect’s max base stat total at level 100 is 1623.
Best Parasect moveset in Fire Red/Leaf Green
Parasect’s moveset is hampered by the same issues as all the other Grass type Pokemon in Gen 1 – you’ll need to burn your TMs in order for them to learn the good moves.
I can’t think of a circumstance where it would be worth wasting those TMs on Parasect but, if you are a sadist, then go for Sludge Bomb, Hyper Beam, and Toxic.
One good thing about Parasect, I guess, is its ability to use Spore. Get your opponent to fall asleep and then swap this useless hermit crab out for something more effective.
Parasect can also be used as an HM slave – teach it Cut or Flash and keep those slots free on your stronger Pokemon.
What is Parasect strong against
Parasect is ultra-effective against Grass type Pokemon and Fire Red/Leaf Green Fighting Pokemon might also take some damage.
Water, Electric, and Ground types are also naturally weak against Parasect’s dual Grass/Bug type.
What is Parasect weak against
Parasect is so slow to the point that it’s not really that far from useless against any Pokemon that isn’t stuck wading through treacle themselves.
Even the standard Grass tactics of Sunny Day plus STAB SolarBeam don’t work well with Parasect because of its terrible Special Attack base stat.
Fire and Flying types are ultra-effective against Parasect and it is also particularly weak against Ice, Poison Bug, and Rock Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green.
Where to catch Parasect in Fire Red/Leaf Green
Paras, which evolves into Parasect, can be found all over Mount Moon.
To get to the area where it appears the most often (100% encounter rate), go into Mount Moon and head to your right. Follow the path up and to the right and climb down the first ladder you see.
Paras evolves into Parasect at level 24.
Fire Red/Leaf Green best Grass Pokemon – conclusion
Start with Venusaur or use Exeggutor if you want a strong Grass Pokemon in Fire Red/Leaf Green.
Version exclusives Victreebel and Vileplume are OK options, but the rest of the Gen 1 Grass Pokemon are not worth wasting your time on.
