Is Mankey a Good Pokémon and Should You Keep It?
Pokémon, which is short for Pocket Monsters, is a Japanese media franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori back in 1995. It is a fantasy franchise set in a world where humans live together with creatures called Pokémon, who take on different shapes and sizes. It started off as a series of video games for the Game Boy console, but soon expanded to other media. The video games and the anime (including the connected films) are the most popular brands today, although the franchise has expanded to even live-action movies, trading cards, toys, and other merchandise. In today’s article, we at Fiction Horizon are going to talk about one specific Pokémon – Mankey!
Although not as good when compared to some more recent Pokémon, Mankey ranks among the better Generation I Pokémon you could own. It has a solid Base Stats total, it is easy to evolve (already at level 28) and it can pack quite a punch, especially since it’s weak to only two types from the original Generation, while also being effective against Normal-type Pokémon, known for having a high Defense.
In today’s article, we are going to discuss whether Mankey is a good Pokémon and whether you, as a player, should have it on your team or not. You’re going to find out about its base stats, about its evolution but also its strengths and weaknesses. Enjoy!
How strong is Mankey?
Mankey is the first stage of Primeape. It is a pure Fighting-type Pokémon introduced in Generation I. It resembles a monkey and is quite playful but also stubborn and potentially aggressive in nature. Although it can be found in the wild, it is not a very common Pokémon if you do not know where to look for it. Its base stats are as follows:
| HP: | 40 |
| Attack: | 80 |
| Defense: | 35 |
| Sp. Atk.: | 35 |
| Sp. Def.: | 40 |
| Speed: | 70 |
| TOTAL: | 305 |
Now, this seems like a solid batch of numbers for a first-stage Generation I Pokémon with just one evolution. But, if we want to put things into perspective, we’ll have to compare Mankey to similar Pokémon from other generations. The Pokémon included here are only first-stage pure Fighting-type Pokémon with one evolution. Let us see where Mankey stands:
| Mankey | Makuhita | Mienfoo | Pancham | Crabrawler | Clobbopus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP: | 40 | 144 | 45 | 67 | 47 | 50 |
| Attack: | 80 | 120 | 85 | 82 | 82 | 68 |
| Defense: | 35 | 60 | 50 | 62 | 57 | 60 |
| Sp. Atk.: | 35 | 40 | 55 | 46 | 42 | 50 |
| Sp. Def.: | 40 | 60 | 50 | 48 | 47 | 50 |
| Speed: | 70 | 50 | 65 | 43 | 63 | 32 |
| TOTAL: | 305 | 474 | 350 | 348 | 338 | 310 |
As you can see, Mankey seems to be the weakest among similar Pokémon but that can be attributed to the fact that the authors generally made new Pokémon stronger, especially similar ones. Still, a 305 total is quite solid for a first-stage Generation I Pokémon and that still makes Mankey stronger than dozens of other similar Pokémon.
The conclusion? Mankey is not the strongest Pokémon you might catch but it is still solid enough when compared to a lot of other Pokémon.
What is Mankey’s max CP?
For Pokémon Go players, we are also going to answer the question related to Mankey’s CP in the game. You can catch a Mankey with various CP numbers but the max CP a Mankey can achieve is 1317, or, if it’s your Buddy Pokémon – 1332.
What Pokémon is Mankey weak against?
As a Fighting-type Pokémon, Mankey has the same weakness-strength structure as other pure Fighting-type Pokémon. Fighting-type Pokémon like Mankey are weak against Flying-type Pokémon, Psychic-type Pokémon and, as of the introduction of that Type, Fairy-type Pokémon.
The good thing here, if there is a good thing in a situation where your Pokémon takes double the damage, is that Mankey is a pure Fighting-type Pokémon so he takes only twice the damage; if he were, for example, a Grass/Fighting-type, he would take four times the damage, which would be horrible. This is why you can knock out a Swampert, who is a Ground/Water-type Pokémon, with just one blow from Sceptile.
Mankey is, on the other hand, resistant to Bug-type Pokémon, Dark-type Pokémon, and Rock-type Pokémon, meaning that the damage of such attacks on Mankey is going to be halved.
As for the offensive aspect of Mankey, he will deal double damage against a variety of different types. Dark-type Pokémon, Ice-type Pokémon, Rock-type Pokémon, Steel-type Pokémon, and – of course – Normal-type Pokémon are all weak against Fighting-type moves, which gives Mankey a significant advantage.
Does Mankey evolve?
Like most Pokémon in the franchise, Mankey does evolve. It has only one evolution and does not have any further variations, such as a Mega Evolution or a Dynamax form. It also does not have any regional variant like some Generation I Pokémon.
Mankey evolves into Primeape, starting with level 28. All you need to is level up your Mankey and you’ll get a Primeape. There are no additional requirements for this evolution. Primeape is a pretty solid Pokémon to have, especially in Generation I, so we’ll just briefly show the Stats changes here:
| Mankey | Primeape | |
|---|---|---|
| HP: | 40 | 65 |
| Attack: | 80 | 105 |
| Defense: | 35 | 60 |
| Sp. Atk.: | 35 | 60 |
| Sp. Def.: | 45 | 70 |
| Speed: | 70 | 95 |
| TOTAL | 305 | 455 |
Also, for Pokémon Go players, in order to evolve a Mankey in the game, you’ll have to collect 50 Mankey Candy, also without any additional requirements on the player’s side.
Is Mankey a good Pokémon? Should you keep or transfer Mankey?
In terms of keeping a Pokémon or not, we are of the opinion that true fans of the franchise will always want to keep a Pokémon rather than actually get rid of it. The franchise’s tagline clearly states that you have to catch them all, so transferring or releasing your Mankey doesn’t really make much sense, especially if you can store it in a Box (main games) or just keep it in your roster (Pokémon Go).
Now, as for whether Mankey is a good Pokémon to have in your main six-Pokémon team, that is a completely different issue. Mankey is a solid fighter and it is easy to evolve, which will give you the chance of having a relatively strong Fighting-type Pokémon early on in the game, since Mankey can be obtained not long into your journey in the Generation I games. On the other hand, when compared to some stronger Fighting-type Pokémon you’ll encounter later on, both Mankey and Primeape aren’t really that good so we’re of the opinion that you should catch it, evolve it, and use it early on in the game and then, later, keep it in your Box. You should definitely not simply get rid of it.
And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we gave you all the information you were looking for! See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!
