The short answer is Generation 9. Its fully evolved Pokémon average 521.9 in base stat total, and nobody else gets past 498. Generation 3 comes last on both measures we tried.
A base stat total, or BST, is the six base stats added together. It measures raw size, not who wins a battle. If you want the stats explained first, read base stats explained. Every number here comes from the pokee.si data for the 1,025 species. Mega Evolutions and other forms are not counted, only each species' normal form.
Two ways to measure a generation
A generation's raw average is dragged down by its small early stages. Caterpie has a total of 195, and every generation has plenty of Pokémon like it. So we ran two measures.
- All species. Every Pokémon first introduced in that generation.
- Fully evolved, not Legendary or Mythical. Only species that do not evolve further, with the Legendary and Mythical tags removed. That is 479 species, and Ultra Beasts and Paradox Pokémon stay in unless they also carry the Legendary tag.
| Gen | Species | Average total | Median total | Fully evolved, not Legendary or Mythical | Their average | Their median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 151 | 407.6 | 405 | 61 | 484.6 | 490 |
| 2 | 100 | 407.2 | 415 | 42 | 467.4 | 483 |
| 3 | 135 | 403.7 | 410 | 62 | 464.8 | 466 |
| 4 | 107 | 445.6 | 480 | 54 | 495.6 | 500 |
| 5 | 156 | 425.8 | 446 | 67 | 493.3 | 490 |
| 6 | 72 | 429.3 | 450 | 32 | 497.9 | 500 |
| 7 | 88 | 449.4 | 480 | 44 | 496.5 | 490 |
| 8 | 96 | 439.2 | 482 | 49 | 497.4 | 502 |
| 9 | 120 | 457.4 | 489 | 68 | 521.9 | 521 |
Across all 1,025 species the average is 427.7 and the median is 450. For the 479 fully evolved, non-Legendary, non-Mythical species the average is 491.6 and the median is 495.
Generation 9 leads on both: 457.4 for all species and 521.9 for fully evolved ones. Generation 7 is second for all species, at 449.4, and Generation 4 third. For the fully evolved group the next four are close together: Generation 6 at 497.9, Generation 8 at 497.4, Generation 7 at 496.5 and Generation 4 at 495.6. Generations 2 and 3 are at the bottom with 467.4 and 464.8.
One thing to read carefully: Generations 1 to 3 have the lowest averages for all species, but Generation 1's fully evolved group (484.6) sits well above Generations 2 and 3.
How many strong Pokémon each generation added
Averages hide the top end. This table counts the fully evolved, non-Legendary, non-Mythical species with a total of 500 or more, and with 600 or more.
| Gen | Fully evolved, not Legendary or Mythical | 500 or more | 600 or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61 | 27 | 1 |
| 2 | 42 | 17 | 1 |
| 3 | 62 | 13 | 3 |
| 4 | 54 | 28 | 1 |
| 5 | 67 | 24 | 1 |
| 6 | 32 | 17 | 1 |
| 7 | 44 | 20 | 1 |
| 8 | 49 | 27 | 1 |
| 9 | 68 | 45 | 2 |
Generation 9 has 45 of its 68 at 500 or more. Generation 3 has only 13 of 62, but it also has three at 600: Slaking, Salamence and Metagross. Every other generation has one or two.
The strongest Pokémon in each generation
| Gen | Highest total | Highest total, not Legendary or Mythical |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mewtwo 680 | Dragonite 600 |
| 2 | Lugia 680, Ho-Oh 680 | Tyranitar 600 |
| 3 | Rayquaza 680 | Slaking 670 |
| 4 | Arceus 720 | Garchomp 600 |
| 5 | Reshiram 680, Zekrom 680 | Hydreigon 600 |
| 6 | Xerneas 680, Yveltal 680 | Goodra 600 |
| 7 | Solgaleo 680, Lunala 680 | Kommo-o 600 |
| 8 | Eternatus 690 | Dragapult 600 |
| 9 | Koraidon 670, Miraidon 670 | Baxcalibur 600, Archaludon 600 |
The highest totals belong to Legendary Pokémon, and ties are shown together. Arceus, a Mythical Pokémon from Generation 4, is the highest of all at 720. Without the Legendary and Mythical species, the picture changes:
- Slaking, from Generation 3, is the highest non-Legendary species at 670. Its only Ability is Truant, so in practice it acts every other turn.
- Every other generation's best non-Legendary species is at exactly 600: Dragonite, Tyranitar, Garchomp, Hydreigon, Goodra, Kommo-o, Dragapult, and in Generation 9 both Baxcalibur and Archaludon.
All of them except Archaludon are what fans call pseudo-legendary Pokémon, which is a fan term and not an official one. Every generation has at least one, and Generation 3 has two. The pseudo-legendary article lists them.
Legendary and Mythical Pokémon by generation
| Gen | Legendary | Mythical | Together | Share of the generation | Pseudo-legendary (fan term) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3% | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6% | 1 |
| 3 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 7% | 2 |
| 4 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 13% | 1 |
| 5 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 8% | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8% | 1 |
| 7 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 18% | 1 |
| 8 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 13% | 1 |
| 9 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 10% | 1 |
Generation 7 added the most Legendary and Mythical species, 16 of its 88. Generation 1 added the fewest, 5 of 151. Together the series has 71 Legendary and 23 Mythical species. If you are not sure of the difference, Legendary vs Mythical explains it.
Average stats by generation
Each stat can lead in a different generation. This table is for the fully evolved, non-Legendary, non-Mythical group.
| Gen | HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 76.7 | 89.2 | 78.1 | 78.0 | 82.0 | 80.6 |
| 2 | 84.0 | 75.8 | 86.3 | 70.3 | 86.7 | 64.3 |
| 3 | 76.1 | 86.0 | 76.6 | 79.3 | 74.6 | 72.1 |
| 4 | 79.4 | 91.4 | 84.4 | 83.6 | 80.9 | 75.9 |
| 5 | 82.9 | 94.9 | 81.1 | 79.5 | 77.9 | 77.0 |
| 6 | 80.6 | 80.5 | 86.5 | 83.1 | 88.7 | 78.6 |
| 7 | 78.3 | 94.9 | 88.4 | 83.0 | 84.1 | 67.8 |
| 8 | 81.0 | 98.2 | 85.3 | 80.5 | 81.3 | 71.1 |
| 9 | 89.5 | 95.3 | 87.7 | 83.6 | 81.0 | 84.8 |
Among those species, Generation 8 has the highest average Attack (98.2) and Generation 9 the highest HP (89.5), Special Attack (83.6, the same figure as Generation 4) and Speed (84.8). Generation 7 leads Defense at 88.4, and Generation 6 leads Special Defense at 88.7. Generation 2 has the lowest Attack, Special Attack and Speed.
Counting every species instead of only the fully evolved ones, Generation 7 has the highest Attack, Defense and Special Attack, and Generation 9 the highest HP and Speed.
What this does not tell you
A generation with a high average is not a better set of Pokémon. Totals ignore typing, Abilities, moves and speed tiers. Generation 10 species have no National Dex numbers in our data yet, so they are not included. For the strongest individual species, see the strongest Pokémon by base stats, and for the order the generations came out, see Pokémon generations in order.