Intro to the Starters Part 2

Hello again! Last time, I talked rather extensively about Totodile and Snivy and why I liked them so much. In this episode, I’ll try to keep it more general and talk about my thoughts on all the starters at once.

There are two main ways to classify the starters. The first is by which region or generation they come from: Kanto (Gen. I), Johto (Gen. II), Hoenn (Gen. III), Sinnoh (Gen. IV), and Unova (Gen. V). The second is by their elemental type: Grass, Fire, or Water. This does leave Pikachu and Eevee out, since they’re Electric and Normal-type, respectively. But I will say this about them: I like them both, but I think they work better as Pokémon you catch or adopt after you’ve started the game.

If you were to ask me which elemental type of the starters was my favorite, I would have said Water hands-down until relatively recently. Now, however, it’s kind of hard to say. I like Totodile, Snivy, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle enough that I’d prefer Grass and Water to Fire. But out of those two types, I’d have to say I like them both about equally.

But don’t despair, Fire-type fans. Since there are so many Pokémon, that means there are plenty I haven’t tried yet. I would be curious to try out Charmander and Cyndaquil sometime if I could. I also remember liking Torchic and Tepig when I chose them in Sapphire and White.

That does leave Chimchar, though. I said in my last post that there was only one starter that I disliked. That would be Chimchar. But to be perfectly honest, it’s not for the best reason. I don’t really like Chimchar’s design. In addition, out of the three Fire starters who gain Fighting as a second type when they evolve, the chicken and the pig appeal to me more than the monkey. I kind of wish my reason was better, but in the end, I still like the other Fire-types a lot more.

Now for my preferences by region. These are a little clearer than my type preferences, but not much. I like the Johto starters best. Johto has Totodile, which definitely tips the scale in its favor. I’m also curious to try out Chikorita and Cyndaquil, especially since Cyndaquil’s evolved forms Quilava and Typhlosion look really cool.

After that, I can’t decide whether I prefer the Kanto, Hoenn, or Unova starters. Granted, Unova has Snivy. But out of the rest of them, there’s a huge group of Pokémon that I like about equally: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Treecko, Torchic, and Tepig. I haven’t really tried Mudkip yet, and Oshawott is pretty good but doesn’t jump out at me as much as the others.

This puts the Sinnoh starters last on my list. I’m not a big fan of Chimchar, and I’m ambivalent toward Turtwig and Piplup. That being said, my Turtwig in Diamond was a pretty strong partner in the end, especially after she evolved into Torterra.

Well, that’s all I have to say about the starters in general. Like I said before, let me know if you want to know more about each starter Pokémon specifically. I might make a series on that later on if there’s any interest. See you next time, and good luck catchin’ ‘em all!


(once again, all images were provided by Bulbapedia)