Fuchsia Gym · Gym 5
How to beat Koga in Pokemon Yellow
Yellow’s Koga is a level spike: Venonat 44 / 46 / 48 and Venomoth 50, all armed with Toxic. Navigate the invisible-wall maze, bring Psychic (or strong Flying), stock Antidotes, and treat this like a mini Elite Four room—not a normal mid-game gym.
Fast Answer
Psychic spam + Antidotes
Train into the mid-40s to 50, lead with Kadabra / Hypno / Mr. Mime (or any special attacker packing Psychic), and KO through Toxic turns with Full Heals ready. Flying STAB also hits Bug/Poison hard. Do not walk in at “Celadon gym levels”—Yellow Koga will outlevel a lazy party.
Fuchsia Gym fight
Koga’s Yellow team
Yellow-specific: four Bug/Poison mon peaking at 50. Red/Blue Koga guides with lower levels do not apply.
Slots 1–3
Venonat · 44 / 46 / 48
- Shared: Toxic on every set
- 44: Tackle, Sleep Powder, Psychic tools
- 46: Psybeam / Supersonic pressure
- 48: Double-Edge + Sleep Powder
Ace
Venomoth · Lv.50
- Key: Leech Life, Double Team, Psychic, Toxic
- Threat: Evasion spam + special damage + bad poison
- Answer: Hard Psychic KO; don’t stall into Double Team
Soul Badge permits Surf outdoors once you have HM03. Gen 1 also applies a Speed badge boost in battle—see the gym tool for the full badge note. Practically: win before Toxic ends the run.
Counters
Psychic first, Flying second
Psychic attackers
- Psychic is super effective on the Poison half of every mon here.
- Kadabra from Route 8 evolution of Abra (or prize Abra)—glass cannon but deletes Venonat.
- Mr. Mime via in-game trade if you need a bulkier special wall—see the trades tool.
- Alakazam is ideal but needs a trade evolution; Kadabra is enough if levels match.
Flying / other plans
- Flying is 2× into Bug and still fine into Poison—strong secondary STAB.
- Fire is 2× into every Bug/Poison member: Poison is neutral to Fire while Bug is weak.
- Ground does not stop Toxic; Nidoking can hit but is not “safe mode.”
- Never rely on Normal-only spam while poisoned—KOs race the Toxic clock.
Gym puzzle
Invisible-wall maze
- Walls are mostly invisible; dotted floor edges hint the outline.
- Trace the outside lanes first, then work inward toward Koga.
- Jugglers and Tamers sit on wrong turns—Psychic still answers most of them, but Hypno/Kadabra wars can waste PP.
- Use the site map overlay if you keep looping; save before long maze attempts on Nuzlocke files.
Optional trainers include multiple Psychic users (Drowzee / Kadabra / Hypno)—ironic warm-ups before the Poison leader. Links start at Juggler #7 and neighbors in the trainer archive.
Suggested order
Fuchsia block & badge order
- Finish Celadon / Tower / hideout arcs as your run prefers; grab a Psychic mon early if missing.
- Reach Fuchsia via Cycling Road; optional Safari Zone and Snorlax catches.
- Train to ~45–50—Safari, Routes 15–18, or gym trainers outside Koga.
- Solve the maze, heal, stock Antidotes / Full Heals / PP recovery.
- Defeat Koga; claim Soul Badge + TM06 Toxic.
- Collect HM03 Surf from the Safari Zone Secret House—no Warden quest is required. Returning the Gold Teeth to the Warden gives HM04 Strength instead.
- Sabrina can be before or after Koga in Yellow; many players hit Fuchsia when levels finally match this spike.
Checklist
Track Koga prep on this device
Tips
Yellow-only gotchas
Wrong-version guides
If a page lists lower levels or a different Koga team, it is not Yellow. Trust Lv.44–50 Venonat/Venomoth.
Toxic clock
Bad poison escalates. Switch, heal, or finish—never soft-stall with setup moves into three more Toxics.
Double Team Venomoth
Do not let the ace stack evasion. Keep pressing Psychic; X Accuracy is a luxury, not required if you one-shot range.
Nuzlocke level caps
Hardcore runs often set Koga’s cap near 50—see the Nuzlocke guide for Yellow caps.
Linked tools