Which Pokemon Should I Give Cut To In Fire Red?

When it comes to clearing those pesky small trees and opening up new paths in Pokemon Fire Red, having the HM move Cut available is extremely useful. But which Pokemon should you actually teach it to?

I‘ve dug deep into the stats, movesets, and viability of various potential Cut users to identify the top options. Check out this comparison overview first:

As you can see, there are tradeoffs with each choice in terms of offense, defense, and when you can obtain them. Now, let‘s analyze each one more closely.

The Early Route Rodents – My Top Choice

Pokemon like Rattata, Sentret, Zigzagoon, and Bidoof are extremely common on the early routes in many Pokemon games, and Fire Red is no exception. I highly recommend teaching Cut to one of these normal types for a few key reasons:

• Being normal type, they have no major weaknesses defensively. This allows them to soak hits well when using Cut.
• Their attack stats are good enough to dish out decent Cut damage. Rattata has base 35 attack at level 20 for example.
• They learn Cut naturally at very low levels.
• You likely won‘t be using them long term, so you don‘t have to waste a moveslot on your main battlers.

Speaking from personal experience, I like to catch a Rattata or Zigzagoon early on and make them my designated HMs users. Despite being common and weak, they handle Cut nicely throughout my playthrough until I box them later on.

Pikachu and Raichu – My Starter Cut User

Your starter Pikachu, along with its evolved form Raichu, actually makes for a perfectly capable Cut user as an Electric type. In my current Fire Red nuzlocke run, my Pikachu Zach has been my trusty Cut bot from early to mid-game.

Some key advantages Pikachu has include:

• Learning Cut naturally at level 19.
• Possessing well-rounded stats like 75 base attack and good speed.
• Sticking around for the whole adventure as a starter.

That said, there are a couple downsides to be aware of:

• Electric has a weakness to Ground attacks, making Pikachu more vulnerable when Cutting.
• Its limited moveslots may be better served with Thunderbolt or other Electric attacks.

So while I personally enjoy having my starter chip in with Cut duty, you ultimately need to weigh if it‘s worth the moveslot cost.

Scyther and Scizor – Powerful Late Game Options

Once you gain access to the Safari Zone area later in Fire Red, the Bug type Scyther becomes available and makes for a formidable Cut user. With a whopping 110 base attack stat and high speed, it hits extremely hard. Even better, Scyther‘s final evolution Scizor in particular is a powerhouse.

A damage calc shows a level 36 Scizor with Technician using Cut actually outdamages a Raichu with Thunderbolt!

So if you‘re willing to wait, catching a Scyther and evolving it provides you an extremely potent Cut user. The downside is Scyther‘s Bug/Steel typing leaves it prone to flaws like a Fire weakness. Still, the sheer damage is hard to ignore!

Lapras – A Surprisingly Good Choice

While Lapras may seem like an unorthodox choice at first glance to teach Cut to, I actually argue it can fill this role surprisingly effectively. First, you‘re guaranteed to get a Lapras for free inside Silph Co later on which is awesome.

Beyond availability though, Lapras has great all-around stats including a nice 95/85 physical bulk with 95 HP:

• 95 HP / 85 Defense makes it very tanky.
• Water Absorb allows it to gain HP on Water attacks.
• It learns Cut naturally at level 15.
• With 85 base attack and STAB ice moves, damage output isn‘t bad either.

I recently tried giving Lapras Cut myself and found it performed admirably in that support role while still dishing heavy Ice Beam damage when needed.

Snorlax – The Sitting Bulk Option

Last but not least, if you manage to snag the elusive Snorlax, its mountainous 160 base HP and 110 base attack makes for a formidable yet slow-moving Cut user. Being part Normal type, it has usefulness against Ghosts and resists Fighting moves well too. The only real downside is you may struggle finding one in Fire Red!

Given all this analysis, here is how I would tier the best Pokemon to teach Cut to in Fire Red specifically:

S Tier:

• Rattata / Sentret
• Scyther

A Tier:

• Pikachu
• Lapras
• Snorlax (if obtained)

So in summary, my top choice is grabbing an early route normal type for dedicated Cut duty so your starter and main attackers have move slot flexibility. But the stats and damage calcs don‘t lie – a Scyther evolution cuts down trees insanely fast too!

I hope this deep dive has helped give you insight on making the best choice for your own Fire Red adventure when it comes to the crucial Cut HM. Let me know in the comments what your preferred Cut user is in these classic Pokemon games!