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Is Pokémon Power Creep Real? Base Stats Across Nine Generations, Measured
We averaged the base stat totals of every fully evolved Pokémon from Generation 1 to 9. Power creep is real but smaller than it looks: the big jumps come from upgrades to old Pokémon and from Paradox Pokémon.
“Newer Pokémon are just stronger” is one of the most repeated claims in the fandom. It is easy to test, because every Pokémon has a base stat total (BST): the sum of its six base stats. This page averages the BST of every fully evolved Pokémon in the Pokédex, generation by generation, and then separates out the groups that distort the picture.
The answer is yes, there is power creep, but less than the headline numbers suggest, and it shows up mostly at the bottom of the range rather than the top.
The short version
- The raw averages climb. Fully evolved, non-legendary Pokémon average 484.6 BST in Generation 1 and 521.9 in Generation 9.
- Two generations cause most of the jump. Generation 4’s rise comes from 22 new evolutions for older Pokémon, such as Magnezone, Togekiss, and Rhyperior. Generation 9’s comes from 20 Paradox Pokémon at 570 to 590 BST.
- Counting only brand-new evolution lines, the creep is modest. Those average 470.0 BST across Generations 1–3 and 491.4 across Generations 5–9, a gain of about 21 points, or roughly 3.5 points per stat.
- The floor rose more than the ceiling. In Generations 1–3, 26% of new fully evolved Pokémon have a BST under 450. In Generations 5–9 that falls to 9%. Meanwhile the “pseudo-legendary” ceiling has stayed at exactly 600 since 1996.
- Legendaries have actually gotten weaker on average, because recent games add more “sub-legendary” groups at 570 to 580 BST.
What is being measured
- Fully evolved means the Pokémon has no further evolution. Single-stage Pokémon like Tauros and Lapras count as fully evolved.
- Non-legendary excludes Pokémon flagged as Legendary or Mythical. Ultra Beasts and Paradox Pokémon are not flagged as either, so they are counted, then separated out where noted.
- Generation is the generation a species was introduced in, so Magnezone counts as Generation 4 even though Magnemite is from Generation 1.
- Only each species’ default form is counted. Megas, regional variants, and other forms would each need their own study.
The raw numbers
| Generation | Fully evolved non-legendary Pokémon | Average BST | Median BST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Red/Blue) | 61 | 484.6 | 490 |
| 2 (Gold/Silver) | 42 | 467.4 | 482.5 |
| 3 (Ruby/Sapphire) | 62 | 464.8 | 466 |
| 4 (Diamond/Pearl) | 54 | 495.6 | 500 |
| 5 (Black/White) | 67 | 493.3 | 490 |
| 6 (X/Y) | 32 | 497.9 | 500 |
| 7 (Sun/Moon) | 44 | 496.5 | 490 |
| 8 (Sword/Shield) | 49 | 497.4 | 502 |
| 9 (Scarlet/Violet) | 68 | 521.9 | 520.5 |
Read naively, this says Generations 2 and 3 got weaker, Generation 4 made a big leap, things held steady for four generations, and Generation 9 made another leap. The two leaps both have specific causes.
Generation 4: upgrades for old Pokémon
Generation 4 gave new evolutions to 22 Pokémon from earlier games. Those 22 average 520.0 BST, while Generation 4’s own new evolution lines average 478.8, lower than Generation 1.
The upgrades: Roserade, Ambipom, Mismagius, Honchkrow, Weavile, Magnezone, Lickilicky, Rhyperior, Tangrowth, Electivire, Magmortar, Togekiss, Yanmega, Leafeon, Glaceon, Gliscor, Mamoswine, Porygon-Z, Gallade, Probopass, Dusknoir, and Froslass.
Generation 2 did the same thing on a smaller scale. Its 10 new evolutions for Generation 1 Pokémon (Crobat, Bellossom, Politoed, Espeon, Umbreon, Slowking, Steelix, Scizor, Kingdra, and Blissey) average 515.5, while its own new lines average just 452.4, the lowest of any generation. Later generations kept the habit: Generation 8 added 12 evolutions for older Pokémon (including Obstagoon, Sirfetch’d, Kleavor, Ursaluna, and Sneasler), and Generation 9 added 6 (including Annihilape, Kingambit, and Archaludon).
Generation 9: Paradox Pokémon
Generation 9 introduced 20 non-legendary Paradox Pokémon, the ancient and future forms like Great Tusk, Flutter Mane, Iron Valiant, and Roaring Moon. Every one of them has a BST of 570 or 590, and together they average 578.0. Generation 7’s Ultra Beasts play the same role on a smaller scale: the 10 fully evolved Ultra Beasts average 567.0.
These are effectively legendary-tier Pokémon that the games do not label as legendary, and they are not what most players mean by “a normal new Pokémon”.
The fair comparison: brand-new evolution lines only
Removing cross-generation evolutions, Paradox Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts leaves each generation’s own new, regular evolution lines:
| Generation | New regular lines (fully evolved) | Average BST | Under 450 BST | 500 BST or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 61 | 484.6 | 11 (18%) | 27 (44%) |
| 2 | 32 | 452.4 | 12 (38%) | 9 (28%) |
| 3 | 62 | 464.8 | 17 (27%) | 13 (21%) |
| 4 | 32 | 478.8 | 7 (22%) | 9 (28%) |
| 5 | 67 | 493.3 | 5 (7%) | 24 (36%) |
| 6 | 31 | 497.1 | 3 (10%) | 16 (52%) |
| 7 | 34 | 475.7 | 6 (18%) | 10 (29%) |
| 8 | 37 | 493.7 | 2 (5%) | 17 (46%) |
| 9 | 42 | 494.6 | 3 (7%) | 20 (48%) |
Across Generations 1–3 the average is 470.0. Across Generations 5–9 it is 491.4. That is a real increase of about 21 BST, roughly 3.5 points per stat, but it is a long way from the 37-point jump in the raw numbers.
Generation 1 also holds up better than its reputation. Its 61 fully evolved Pokémon average 484.6, ahead of the new lines from Generations 2, 3, 4, and 7.
The floor rose more than the ceiling
The clearest change is at the bottom of the range. In Generations 1–3, 26% of new fully evolved Pokémon have a BST under 450 (40 of 155). In Generations 5–9, only 9% do (19 of 211). Fully evolved Pokémon with joke-level stats, like Luvdisc, Delibird, and Kricketune, have become rare, while the top of the range barely moved.
That top is the pseudo-legendaries: three-stage lines, most of them Dragon types, that end at exactly 600 BST.
| Generation | Pseudo-legendary (600 BST) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dragonite |
| 2 | Tyranitar |
| 3 | Salamence, Metagross |
| 4 | Garchomp |
| 5 | Hydreigon |
| 6 | Goodra |
| 7 | Kommo-o |
| 8 | Dragapult |
| 9 | Baxcalibur (and Archaludon, a new evolution of Duraludon) |
The only non-legendary Pokémon above 600 is still Slaking at 670, from 2002, and it pays for that total with Truant, an ability that makes it act only every other turn.
Legendaries went the other way
Fully evolved Legendary and Mythical Pokémon averaged between 604 and 627 BST in each of Generations 1–6. In Generations 7–9 the averages are 577.7, 596.4, and 573.8. Recent games added more “sub-legendary” groups, such as the four Tapus and the Treasures of Ruin at 570 and the Loyal Three at 555, which pulls the average down even as the cover legendaries stay at 670 or more.
How the stat spread changed
Average base stats of each generation’s new regular lines:
| Generation | HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | 89 | 78 | 78 | 82 | 81 |
| 2 | 80 | 75 | 85 | 67 | 83 | 63 |
| 3 | 76 | 86 | 77 | 79 | 75 | 72 |
| 4 | 80 | 90 | 79 | 79 | 77 | 73 |
| 5 | 83 | 95 | 81 | 80 | 78 | 77 |
| 6 | 80 | 81 | 87 | 82 | 87 | 79 |
| 7 | 74 | 90 | 87 | 76 | 87 | 62 |
| 8 | 80 | 94 | 84 | 83 | 81 | 72 |
| 9 | 83 | 90 | 84 | 79 | 76 | 81 |
A few patterns stand out:
- Attack is usually the highest stat. It leads in seven of the nine generations, and Generation 5 has the highest average Attack at 95.
- Generation 2 is slow and defensive. Its new Pokémon average 67 Special Attack, the lowest of any generation, and 63 Speed, with Defense as their best stat.
- Generation 7 is the slowest of all, at 62 average Speed, with heavy investment in both defenses instead.
- Generation 9 ties Generation 5 for the highest average HP (83) and matches Generation 1’s average Speed (81).
What this means when you play
- Older games have fewer strong options, not weaker best options. A Generation 3 run has as many 600-BST pseudo-legendaries as any other, but more of the Pokémon it introduces stay weak even when fully evolved. Keep that in mind when picking a game from the Nuzlocke difficulty rankings.
- Cross-generation evolutions are the hidden upgrades. If a Pokémon you like gained an evolution in a later game (Magneton to Magnezone, Togetic to Togekiss), playing a later game often gives it 50 or more extra BST.
- BST is not everything. Slaking, Wishiwashi, and Shedinja show how much an ability can matter. Use the Stat Calculator to see real stats at a given level, nature, and EV spread.
- Building a random team? The Team Randomizer can include or exclude legendaries and restrict itself to one game’s Pokémon, which makes it easy to test whether a newer generation’s Pokémon really carry a run.
How this analysis was made
All figures come from the site’s Pokédex data, which uses each Pokémon’s latest base stats, so older Pokémon that received stat increases in later games are counted with their current stats. Legendary and Mythical status follow the games’ own species flags. Paradox Pokémon are identified by their Pokédex category, and Ultra Beasts by species. A Pokémon counts as a “new evolution for an older Pokémon” when the Pokémon it evolves from was introduced in an earlier generation. Data current to October 2026.