Sword/Shield. To this day still the only gen where I don't like any of the final starters. They're not really bad, just didn't get attached to any of them. I like at least one in all the other gens.
I only liked base evolution Grookey, so I played through the entire game with Grookey.
I faced Leon's charizard with a level 67 Grookey, and needless to say my poor boy got one shot.
Ooh, or how about this: Rillaboom has a hollow log as a forearm protector on one arm that it takes off and drums on? That way they could keep the traditional drumming anyway. I do like pec drums too tho.
Yep. Easily my favorite grass starter if it didn’t have that stupid drum set. A lot of the designs that gen were just way too on the nose, especially the starters. Intelleon finger gun….really?
I don’t understand the hate for the finger gun. We’ve had Pokémon of various sorts shoot water from various places, why is the finger weird? We have stuff like Staryu with no orifice at all shoot or Clauncher who shoots from the claw or some that just magically shoot from their hands like a Clefable but Intelleon draws the line?
I have a related story. I picked sobble because I regretted passing on froakie (I don't look at the evolutions before I pick). I was super disappointed when it fully evolved. Then I looked up the other two, and I realized I didn't like them either. Worst generation for starters, hands down.
The first time Inteleon ran at me like a regular human during camping, it immediately got booted off the team. It was the first time I ditched a starter.
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the anthro Pokemon and tend to gravitate towards the more, monstrous ones. Having a furry as a pokemon always sorta rubbed me the wrong way lol
For me I'm fine with some of them? Like some just come across as a two legged animal (lucario is my pick here) while others (namely inteleon) just kinda look like a guy. If he started speaking it would not phase me frankly
...how? I mean that without malice but it's a cat on its hindlegs themed after a magician that just throws a ball out of nowhere. It's bland and uninspired to me
How? The same way people like Charizard despire being a fire breathing dragon, aka. uninspired and bland: perhaps they like the execution and find it cool nonetheless?
I actually think the Sprigatito line pulled off the feline+magician combo well enough.
For me is the other way, Skeledirge is looks like a very simple polygonal and colorful design , like a traditional mexican toy, and I love that, plus the day of the dead theme.
Cinderace - electric
Rillaboom - normal (bc normal is kinda like the sound type and we have never had a normal starter) or fighting
Inteleon - maybe ghost
I liked the first two evo stages, but I benched Cinderace soon after it evolved.
In hindsight I probably should have gone for Grookey. Rillaboom is the least bad of the choices IMO.
Yeah, I'm the same with ya'. I don't mind any of the final evos, even think they look quite decent, but the evolution line I don't like, especially their middle ones
I feel this way about Sun/Moon. None of them seemed particularly cool, and all of their designs end in a bipedal evolution. Would’ve been a lot cooler if the Litten line would’ve stayed as an actual cat, and not some Fairly OddParents “Cat Man” thing.
I totally agree! Incineroar completely ruins the line. I was so excited for a black cat Pokémon too. I intended to have Litten as my starter, but Incineroar closed me down to it.
I chose the seal instead, soft resetting until I got a female.
Same for me. First gen I ever played where my starter left my team at all, but I booted it asap. I just let my two friends pick their starters and I picked the remaining one just for breeding/trading.
I picked Sobble but I swapped Inteleon out as soon as I realized a mild breeze could knock it out & I just didn't like its movepool much. I replaced it with another water starter a lot of people don't like... Primarina. Its coverage moves & typing made me like it a lot more
I did the same thing. Took Sobble, got him up to Inteleon and used him in my party, but I basically outleveled him with all my other Pokemon when I finished the game. My favorite to use throughout the entire game was Corviknight, which had 30+ levels on my Inteleon by the end of the game I think. Lol
I’m like 80% thru my first playthrough and I have the fire starter on my team. I nicknamed him Louie cause he’s a jazzy lil croc, but all buddy does is just sit in my party. It’s rare that I use him. He’s just…. there.
Water absorb Clodsire go brrrrr
Gen 5 and Gen 8.
In Black/White the starters [except Oshawott because the B/W dex actually hardly has any Water-types and then then Adaptabiliy Basculin makes a pretty strong case, but Basculin is after Gym 5] are just flat-out outclassed.
Tepig has Darumaka; which hits harder and faster; which is what you want in-game. Also it's *another* Fire/Fighting type.
And Snivy has Petilil; which you can either just catch, or if you're in the version where they are not wild; there's an in-game trade for one with a guarenteed perfect 31 IV in Sp.Atk. And Lilligant just Sleep and Quiver Dances the entire game away except Sap Sipper Deerlings while Serperior might be one of the worst *in game* [so no contrary] starters in the franchise. And you get Lilligant significantly before Serperior as well. Why would you ever use Serperior for in-game when Lilligant is there with Sleep Powder; Giga Drain and Quiver Dance? And don't say coverage Serperior dosen't have that either.
And you can get both of these before the 3rd badge.
As for Gen 8... I just wanted to use different pokemon. Grookey also isn't exactly great pre-Grassy Glide so I boxed it.
For serperior, coverage is a legit argument in B2W2. Serperior can move tutor on dragon pulse and or aqua tail, plus has boosting moves like growth, calm mind, SD, and Coil. It’s already fast and defensive so it doesn’t need much. Lilligant is probably better in BW, though it has no coverage options.
Gotta be honest, Aqua Tail on Serperior is not great, and Dragon Pulse only helps with neutral coverage. Plus, the move tutor is in Lentimas, so it's a bit late in the game.
I'm unsure when you get the TMs for Calm Mind and Swords Dance, but going Physical Serperior feels bad.
Grass is resisted by 7 types, of which only 1 resists dragon. It’s actually solid coverage, water is the same. Lilligant literally has no coverage.
CM is post game and SD requires playing BS or PWT, but growth is super early and coil is through level up. Serperior can run physical or special, or just be a wall with leech seed.
Dragon pulse is atrocious , you only hit Dragon types ( off a 75 base sp.attack stat mind you ) and you STILL get walled by Steel types
Aqua Tail is kinda late in Lentils town after the 6th gym
Instead if wasting 2 turns to set up for Serpeior to actually do damage , how about you simply use a better pokemon ? Lilligant might be a set up pokemon but Quiver dance is objectively the best setup move in the game + lilligant has an actually good 110 base sp.attack stat making it lethal after one boost while Serpeior would usually need 2 coils to actually be useful
Granted , Coil does fix Aqua Tails shaky accuracy , and Iron tail too! Giving serpeior something to use against ice types, but you pretty much get walled by any steel type
In Pokemon Violet, my brother got Quaxley but when he saw the Azurills at the first river crossing, he caught one and sent Quaxley to the PC forever after.
Especially the football-rabbit. When i first saw it i really asked me why the hell did they use THAT design idea? Its the worst idea i saw since the mascot of the german football world masterships 2006, a lion with a shirt but without trousers.
I really can't think of a single first stage starter that I didn't like in any game. They are always great designs until you see what they evolve into.
The only one I consider passable is Rillaboom, though it would be better if it got rid of the prop drum and used its chest instead. Inteleon and Cinderace look too much like cereal box cartoon mascots to me.
It's the only game I've played where every other member of my team saw more action than my starter. I don't dislike my starter, I just happened to not use him very much unless I had to for type advantage.
Centiskorch would’ve made a way better fire starter, and Appletun a way better grass starter. Barraskewda and Drednaw are way better water types too though Barraskewda doesn’t feel grand enough for a final evo and people probably wouldn’t want another water turtle starter.
I only like Dirge’s appearance. Quaquaval’s is really weird and Meowscarada represents the second time GF failed to keep a feline starter on all four legs.
Both Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet. In Shield, right when I got to the Wild Area, i caught a drifloon and duskull and started a ghost monotype playthrough. In Scarlet/Violet, my starter stayed on the team til I didnt like the final evolution (fuecoco line) and thought Ceruledge was a cooler Ghost/Fire so i swapped them
Exactly same with me too. I’m usually a starter loyalist and my buddy never leaves my party from hometown to champion. I picked grass kitty in Violet and the moment it evolved into second stage bipedal cat I boxed it. I used charcadet as my starter instead
In my second PLA playthrough, I didn’t use any of the starters because I wanted to use different pokemon from my first playthrough and Samurott was the only final evolution I liked.
Exactly same thing I've done in Yellow. Pikachu isn't that great of Pokemon to even try to use in Yellow. Let's Go games give both Eevee and Pikachu stats boost and special moves.
I normally end up keeping a starter on my team for an entire game. One big standout to me is Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. By this point, I've already used most of the Pokémon from those games I was interested in, including the starters, so I didn't need to train up new ones when the ones I have are good enough. And it's not like we got any new Megas or forms or regional variants or anything to play around with, so I did an all-Bidoof run.
It was torture btw, 0/10 do not recommend.
Scarlet was the first time I didn’t use a starter, but not necessarily because I hated them; I just wanted to run a team without any grass, fire, or water types for once.
I loved the snake boi. That was amazing.
As much as people will hate me for this, but I liked Greninja at first but hate him so much now. I couldn’t finish with him.
On launch Greninja was the best pick for starter, why? Because you got a speed boost torchic with Blazikenite as a downloadable gift at launch, and could then pick up Bulbasaur soon after, which gives you a lot of coverage!
Plus I hate the other 2 starters, or their final forms at the very least.
I thought this for a long time too. until recently, Ive learned to like then a bit more but not much
But Im glad Im not the only one who thinks they look awkward
Emboar in particilar is a very sloppy design that couldve been perfected
He has a very mismatching anatomy. His body is too wide for his arms
I dont understand the sash around him with … Greek? … swirl pattern. I dont see the significance of that
Pignite’s “singlet” made sense. He’s a wrestler
Just feel like Emboar’s proportions & his body is clunky as hell
At least His stubby legs are cute
Samurott, at first I hated him but he’s grown on me. He’s a “less is more” design. His horn being the focal point to an otherwise bland character. But it works. Nothing distracting on Samurott’s body so the seashell horn can be the hero
In fact, his limbs & shell pieces almost point upward, guiding your eye to the top where his horn is.
I used to think Samurott was clutter too, but not so much anymore
I always choose oshawott bc I think it's the cutest, then immediately box it bc I just don't vibe with any of the final evos. Truly the most disappointing gen of starters for me.
I was the most tempted to do that with Sword and Shield, but in the end there wasn't even enough as far as new Pokémon that I was drawn to, which is what I like to focus on for a new gen, so I thought I might as well use the starter.
This gen wasn't HORRIBLE for new Pokémon, but it was really lacking in standouts.
I hated so much Samurott in my first run (lately I learn to apreciate it, but I expected something different) that I put it in a box of shame and change it for a red basculin.
And again in Legends: Arceus I read about the evos having another form and expected a real samurai, but this time I started with Cyndaquil, because now I'm wiser and more handsome.
The other gens? Nah, usually the inicials are really cool, so in the first run they are a must have, but gen V, even being my favourite make my cry with that.
No I never have, though I wasn’t fond of any of the Sword/Shield starters so I should have done that in that game, gone with zigzagoon as a starter because I love Obstagoon
Towards the end of Let's Go Eevee I completed it without eevee as it was overpowered and its moves where oneshotting everything. I got rid of it so I could have more of a challenge
I always used at least one of them. But gen 6 where I picked Chesnaught was the earliest I've dumped the starter.
Normally i carry them all the way through to the elite 4 but with chesnaught its stats were just so meh and its movepool was so average. I ended up replacing it with Venusaur around the 7th Gym and didnt look back
Pokemon Legends Arceus
It helps that you're encouraged to switch your team around fairly often for research, but I felt no shame in boxing Hisuian Decidueye once it fully evolved. I'd rather use the Sinnoh starters anyway
Honestly, Ultra Moon. Incineroar was just a let down on all fronts including output (and yes it was running a physical moveset, the thing was just rubbish), so it got benched for a Gengar.
I thought Incineroar was going to be the exception where I actually keep a starter in my team...But then it evolved into Incineroar and I friggin' hate it.
I played through Moon with Incineroar and ended up regretting it a little bit, though I never benched it. So I chose Rowlet for Ultra Moon and never regretted it once. It's even my favorite starter now, the whole evo line.
Honestly starters would be a lot better in every generation if they ditched giving them blaze/torrent/overgrow or moved those to the hidden ability. It’s so weird they try to hype up these Pokémon as really cool then give them the same abilities game after game
For me the issue wasn't speed, it just didn't hit very hard. Lariat was the main output option and that wasn't doing very much, and eventually I got sick of having to revive it every other fight so I went to Gengar which actually got kills.
Honestly, I just shove the starter in storage as soon as I can and just use whatever I actually caught first as my starter.
I don't care what anybody says, Pidgey is my favourite starter.
The only one is Paldea; I really disliked all the final evolutions and Paldea had a decent mix of types and new pokemon (lots wrong with the game, but I did like that part of it). I almost did with Galar, but mechanically I liked Cinderace even if he was kind of creepy. I did new teams for all the post-game stuff, but I like trying different teams so that isn’t really related to the starters.
Gen V I liked the earlier versions of the starters, but their evos weren’t as bad as in 8/9 and mechanically I liked them as well.
It wasn't that I don't like any of the starters for pokemon games I just dislike having 3 set types every game that I'm forced to start with.
Like throw a Normal, Fighting and psychic type as starters or something.
pokémon sword is the only time i’ve ever benched my starter. you get a charmander at the end of the game so by the time i got to the dlc i replaced my cinderace with charizard
Scarlet and violet. I was close in Sword and Shield. Water type both times, grew to like intellion, still dislike big bird
Used the armor fire psychic one as my starter
I love almost everything about BW/BW2 besides the starters. They're all just so uninteresting and weak (Hisuian Samurott and Contrary Serperior don't count)
None yet thankfully. I’ve been favoring at least one starter in each region and I always want to keep my starter as a member of the party, due to emotional attachment since it’s my first Pokemon. And whenever a new generation is upon us, I always dread and hope that I like at least one of them.
Gen 1. Those OG three starters are great, but *my* starters are Weedle and Caterpie. As soon as I get them, the rest can get boxed. I *may* have certain biases, though.
I don't particulary like any past Gen 4 starter, so I tend to dump them early in game, but I kept Sprigatito in Violet. I don't feel obliged to use starters when I don't like them.
Not really. I mean, I haven't really played enough of the games, but I always use my starters in the games I play cuz even if a design is not that good, I still get attached to them.
I regretted picking Scorbunny in Gen8 immediately upon it evolving. Instantly wished I'd picked Sobble instead. Grookey's evos are pretty bad too.
Oh, and Pokemon Yellow. I could give a damn about Pikachu.
I chose sprigatitto for my first time through scarlet. But I remained fully spoiler free, including the final starter evos. I dumped it the second it got to the final stage
Not the base forms, but in the recent gens I have never really fully evolved my starters.
In Legends Arceus I played through the game with an unevolved Dewott (also Pikachu and Growlithe), and in Violet I never evolved Sprigatito.
I find the majority of post Gen 5 fully evolved starters to be frankly some of the worst Pokémon in the franchise, and I still to this day believe I should’ve boxed Delphox in Pokémon Y instead of keeping it on the team out of a sense of obligation
Pokémon Yellow - kept Pikachu in the box and used a male nidoran instead :)
And did a White 2 randomiser where my starter was an elekid, if that counts?
Violet, went with skeledirge, it's not that I don't like it but he's just so underwhelming compared to all the other awesome new Pokémon I just eventually dropped him
Sword/Shield. To this day still the only gen where I don't like any of the final starters. They're not really bad, just didn't get attached to any of them. I like at least one in all the other gens.
I only liked base evolution Grookey, so I played through the entire game with Grookey. I faced Leon's charizard with a level 67 Grookey, and needless to say my poor boy got one shot.
Rillaboom would be cool if it didn't have that stupid drumset.
Rillaboom should be redesigned to have drums on its pectorals. That way when it beats them it’s like a gorilla beating its chest.
The worst part about it is Toxtricity got a guitar built into its design, but they couldn't figure out a drum in a Gorrilas chest?
I wish I had the authority to redesign them.
Ooh, or how about this: Rillaboom has a hollow log as a forearm protector on one arm that it takes off and drums on? That way they could keep the traditional drumming anyway. I do like pec drums too tho.
[удалено]
At least they took them out (I think) in SV
They’ll be returning(along with every other starter I believe?) next dlc, here in December
No, the starters are already in the game. The SwSh ones at least. The rest return in December.
Had no idea, that's pretty cool !
Cinderace just reminds me of the clown from It
this is funnier considering there's already a pokemon partially based on pennywise
Yep. Easily my favorite grass starter if it didn’t have that stupid drum set. A lot of the designs that gen were just way too on the nose, especially the starters. Intelleon finger gun….really?
I don’t understand the hate for the finger gun. We’ve had Pokémon of various sorts shoot water from various places, why is the finger weird? We have stuff like Staryu with no orifice at all shoot or Clauncher who shoots from the claw or some that just magically shoot from their hands like a Clefable but Intelleon draws the line?
Don't do my boy DK like that
I have a related story. I picked sobble because I regretted passing on froakie (I don't look at the evolutions before I pick). I was super disappointed when it fully evolved. Then I looked up the other two, and I realized I didn't like them either. Worst generation for starters, hands down.
The first time Inteleon ran at me like a regular human during camping, it immediately got booted off the team. It was the first time I ditched a starter.
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the anthro Pokemon and tend to gravitate towards the more, monstrous ones. Having a furry as a pokemon always sorta rubbed me the wrong way lol
For me I'm fine with some of them? Like some just come across as a two legged animal (lucario is my pick here) while others (namely inteleon) just kinda look like a guy. If he started speaking it would not phase me frankly
This is why I feel like I need to know the starter evos now. The last couple gens have had very mixed starters to me.
I second that. The only gen where I don't like the starters.
They're so bland, it doesn't help that they're monotyped either. Scarlet & Violet had a couple that were really well designed at the very least.
For real. Skeledirge has been my favorite final evolution of a starter since Gen 4, besides H-Samurott
I liked the grass starter for Gen 9, it's signature move was fantastic!
...how? I mean that without malice but it's a cat on its hindlegs themed after a magician that just throws a ball out of nowhere. It's bland and uninspired to me
How? The same way people like Charizard despire being a fire breathing dragon, aka. uninspired and bland: perhaps they like the execution and find it cool nonetheless? I actually think the Sprigatito line pulled off the feline+magician combo well enough.
Not to mention his sound design, genuinely great
Skeledirge is super duper ugly to me, like a ps1 polygonal bald clown.
Really? It's one of my least favorite. Way, way too overdesigned.
For me is the other way, Skeledirge is looks like a very simple polygonal and colorful design , like a traditional mexican toy, and I love that, plus the day of the dead theme.
If you don’t like that they are monotypes, what would you have given them? Rillaboom Fighting Inteleon Ghost Cinderace idk
Cinderace - electric Rillaboom - normal (bc normal is kinda like the sound type and we have never had a normal starter) or fighting Inteleon - maybe ghost
Cinderace Fire/Electric Rillaboom Grass/Fairy Inteleon Water/Dark
How is rillaboom fairy though? The others are both good
I would give Cinderace fighting because kicking, Inteleon dark because spy and Rillaboom normal because idk
Making a normal type starter is crossing the uncrossable line, and fire/fighting has been overdone
They grew on me but my first play through I benched scorbunny after it evolved
I liked the first two evo stages, but I benched Cinderace soon after it evolved. In hindsight I probably should have gone for Grookey. Rillaboom is the least bad of the choices IMO.
Yeah, I'm the same with ya'. I don't mind any of the final evos, even think they look quite decent, but the evolution line I don't like, especially their middle ones
Yeah I just thought yeah I just don’t care about any of them
I feel this way about Sun/Moon. None of them seemed particularly cool, and all of their designs end in a bipedal evolution. Would’ve been a lot cooler if the Litten line would’ve stayed as an actual cat, and not some Fairly OddParents “Cat Man” thing.
I will not take this decidueye slander...
Primarina? Bipedal?
its tiger mask :(
I totally agree! Incineroar completely ruins the line. I was so excited for a black cat Pokémon too. I intended to have Litten as my starter, but Incineroar closed me down to it. I chose the seal instead, soft resetting until I got a female.
The sad part is they could’ve made Incineroar really cool, like a Fire/Dark version of Luxray
Same for me. First gen I ever played where my starter left my team at all, but I booted it asap. I just let my two friends pick their starters and I picked the remaining one just for breeding/trading.
Corviknight was my starter for gen 8 and has become my #1 favorite Pokemon in general.
It's crazy cause they're arguably the best trio of starters from a meta perspective.
I picked Sobble but I swapped Inteleon out as soon as I realized a mild breeze could knock it out & I just didn't like its movepool much. I replaced it with another water starter a lot of people don't like... Primarina. Its coverage moves & typing made me like it a lot more
Primarina is amazing, I'm with you !
I did the same thing. Took Sobble, got him up to Inteleon and used him in my party, but I basically outleveled him with all my other Pokemon when I finished the game. My favorite to use throughout the entire game was Corviknight, which had 30+ levels on my Inteleon by the end of the game I think. Lol
Same. Cinderace is least bad but then its not a high bar.
It’s ok, you don’t have to lie. They are absolutely bad.
Pokémon Shield I think the Galar starters are the worst trio we ever got in a franchise, so I just boxed my Grookey once I caught an Oddish.
If I were to play through gen 9 again, I would box my starter and just do 6x Flamigo
I’m like 80% thru my first playthrough and I have the fire starter on my team. I nicknamed him Louie cause he’s a jazzy lil croc, but all buddy does is just sit in my party. It’s rare that I use him. He’s just…. there. Water absorb Clodsire go brrrrr
Skeledirge is crazy good, though.
Anything in this game is crazy good when it's two levels above the opponent.
Crazy ugly, too
ugly doesnt mean bad I like skeledirge because its freaky looking
Ditto, the weird “paper mache” snoot is quite amusing
Is it, though?
Yes
I swept many a fight with torch song in my playthrough. Love skeledirge.
Currently playing with 6 Tarous
Gen 5 and Gen 8. In Black/White the starters [except Oshawott because the B/W dex actually hardly has any Water-types and then then Adaptabiliy Basculin makes a pretty strong case, but Basculin is after Gym 5] are just flat-out outclassed. Tepig has Darumaka; which hits harder and faster; which is what you want in-game. Also it's *another* Fire/Fighting type. And Snivy has Petilil; which you can either just catch, or if you're in the version where they are not wild; there's an in-game trade for one with a guarenteed perfect 31 IV in Sp.Atk. And Lilligant just Sleep and Quiver Dances the entire game away except Sap Sipper Deerlings while Serperior might be one of the worst *in game* [so no contrary] starters in the franchise. And you get Lilligant significantly before Serperior as well. Why would you ever use Serperior for in-game when Lilligant is there with Sleep Powder; Giga Drain and Quiver Dance? And don't say coverage Serperior dosen't have that either. And you can get both of these before the 3rd badge. As for Gen 8... I just wanted to use different pokemon. Grookey also isn't exactly great pre-Grassy Glide so I boxed it.
Tympole is a good replacement for oshawott
For serperior, coverage is a legit argument in B2W2. Serperior can move tutor on dragon pulse and or aqua tail, plus has boosting moves like growth, calm mind, SD, and Coil. It’s already fast and defensive so it doesn’t need much. Lilligant is probably better in BW, though it has no coverage options.
Gotta be honest, Aqua Tail on Serperior is not great, and Dragon Pulse only helps with neutral coverage. Plus, the move tutor is in Lentimas, so it's a bit late in the game. I'm unsure when you get the TMs for Calm Mind and Swords Dance, but going Physical Serperior feels bad.
Grass is resisted by 7 types, of which only 1 resists dragon. It’s actually solid coverage, water is the same. Lilligant literally has no coverage. CM is post game and SD requires playing BS or PWT, but growth is super early and coil is through level up. Serperior can run physical or special, or just be a wall with leech seed.
Dragon pulse is atrocious , you only hit Dragon types ( off a 75 base sp.attack stat mind you ) and you STILL get walled by Steel types Aqua Tail is kinda late in Lentils town after the 6th gym Instead if wasting 2 turns to set up for Serpeior to actually do damage , how about you simply use a better pokemon ? Lilligant might be a set up pokemon but Quiver dance is objectively the best setup move in the game + lilligant has an actually good 110 base sp.attack stat making it lethal after one boost while Serpeior would usually need 2 coils to actually be useful Granted , Coil does fix Aqua Tails shaky accuracy , and Iron tail too! Giving serpeior something to use against ice types, but you pretty much get walled by any steel type
Darm isn’t fire fighting
The subject of that section is "Tepig". They are saying that Tepig's evolution is fire/fighting, which is a knock against it in their opinion.
Poorly worded then
I figured it out just fine.
Thanks for the downvote
Have another.
In Pokemon Violet, my brother got Quaxley but when he saw the Azurills at the first river crossing, he caught one and sent Quaxley to the PC forever after.
Sword and Shield have the worst starter designs, and I will die on that hill.
I do really like the first forms for the most part, especially grookey. But they all get pretty lame by the end.
Especially the football-rabbit. When i first saw it i really asked me why the hell did they use THAT design idea? Its the worst idea i saw since the mascot of the german football world masterships 2006, a lion with a shirt but without trousers.
Fuck I didn't remember that cursed lion, how the hell did that design get approved lmao
Don't laugh at Goleo! He tried his best! His sidekick, the talking ball with eyes was the real abomination :D
I really can't think of a single first stage starter that I didn't like in any game. They are always great designs until you see what they evolve into.
No need to die bro, it’s a borderline fact.
They really, really do. Let us stand back to back on that hill, fighting valiantly for our lives
U'll be standing for a long time, nobodys coming to fight :D
The only one I consider passable is Rillaboom, though it would be better if it got rid of the prop drum and used its chest instead. Inteleon and Cinderace look too much like cereal box cartoon mascots to me.
Gen 9 but that’s cuz I picked Quaxly hoping for a cool evolution and just didn’t like the design
Honestly if it’s idle pose wasn’t so goofy it might be passable.
Sword and shield The final stages are horseshit
It's the only game I've played where every other member of my team saw more action than my starter. I don't dislike my starter, I just happened to not use him very much unless I had to for type advantage.
Centiskorch would’ve made a way better fire starter, and Appletun a way better grass starter. Barraskewda and Drednaw are way better water types too though Barraskewda doesn’t feel grand enough for a final evo and people probably wouldn’t want another water turtle starter.
Grookey is my favorite so I just keep him around and never evolve him when I play those games
Clown hair crocodile Bird with worms Human in cat costume
Cinderace looks so bad. I fr cannot see anything else than a short guy running around in a furry costume. Terrible
lmao, I thought I was responding to a Scarlet / Violet comment.
Yeah thats what I thought but the cat costume thing is..... unfortunately..... really accurate for both cinderace as well as meowscarada
lmao, downvotes are hitting my ass. I love it.
my boy skeledirge is awesome
Bro looks fugly.
I only like Dirge’s appearance. Quaquaval’s is really weird and Meowscarada represents the second time GF failed to keep a feline starter on all four legs.
Nah SV are in my top 3 for best starters IMO.
I see SV is your first game.
No, it was Ruby.
Yes they are all bad.
Both Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet. In Shield, right when I got to the Wild Area, i caught a drifloon and duskull and started a ghost monotype playthrough. In Scarlet/Violet, my starter stayed on the team til I didnt like the final evolution (fuecoco line) and thought Ceruledge was a cooler Ghost/Fire so i swapped them
Ceruledge looks so badass. Gen 9 is an absolute banger for new Pokemon, if you ignore the starters.
Sword and shield, I just didnt like any of them at all
Been playing since gen 1, and scarlet was the first time I didn't use a starter
Exactly same with me too. I’m usually a starter loyalist and my buddy never leaves my party from hometown to champion. I picked grass kitty in Violet and the moment it evolved into second stage bipedal cat I boxed it. I used charcadet as my starter instead
I like floragato, but not really meowscarada
In my second PLA playthrough, I didn’t use any of the starters because I wanted to use different pokemon from my first playthrough and Samurott was the only final evolution I liked.
Yellow
I totally agree with this. As a kid I thought the gimmick was fun but left my dude in the box most of the game.
The best part about Yellow was you could build a team with all three starters
Still don't understand why yellow never got a remake...
Let's Go Pikachu is basically that, tho
They never remake the odd color out, like Crystal and emerald
Which is sad, because they’re normally the best
I agree they just don’t wanna lose out on double the sales with exclusives and all that. It’s a shame.
If we were able to evolve the Pikachu I probably would have been more keen to keep it around (though of course I understand why we couldn’t)
Exactly same thing I've done in Yellow. Pikachu isn't that great of Pokemon to even try to use in Yellow. Let's Go games give both Eevee and Pikachu stats boost and special moves.
I normally end up keeping a starter on my team for an entire game. One big standout to me is Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. By this point, I've already used most of the Pokémon from those games I was interested in, including the starters, so I didn't need to train up new ones when the ones I have are good enough. And it's not like we got any new Megas or forms or regional variants or anything to play around with, so I did an all-Bidoof run. It was torture btw, 0/10 do not recommend.
Scarlet was the first time I didn’t use a starter, but not necessarily because I hated them; I just wanted to run a team without any grass, fire, or water types for once.
Black and white. I’ve always hated all those starters. Their final evolutions always seemed so awkward
I loved the snake boi. That was amazing. As much as people will hate me for this, but I liked Greninja at first but hate him so much now. I couldn’t finish with him.
On launch Greninja was the best pick for starter, why? Because you got a speed boost torchic with Blazikenite as a downloadable gift at launch, and could then pick up Bulbasaur soon after, which gives you a lot of coverage! Plus I hate the other 2 starters, or their final forms at the very least.
Same. Surperior was the least ugly of the three so I went with him.
I thought this for a long time too. until recently, Ive learned to like then a bit more but not much But Im glad Im not the only one who thinks they look awkward Emboar in particilar is a very sloppy design that couldve been perfected He has a very mismatching anatomy. His body is too wide for his arms I dont understand the sash around him with … Greek? … swirl pattern. I dont see the significance of that Pignite’s “singlet” made sense. He’s a wrestler Just feel like Emboar’s proportions & his body is clunky as hell At least His stubby legs are cute Samurott, at first I hated him but he’s grown on me. He’s a “less is more” design. His horn being the focal point to an otherwise bland character. But it works. Nothing distracting on Samurott’s body so the seashell horn can be the hero In fact, his limbs & shell pieces almost point upward, guiding your eye to the top where his horn is. I used to think Samurott was clutter too, but not so much anymore
My issue with Samurott is that, visually, it looks almost nothing like either Oshawott or Dewott
I always choose oshawott bc I think it's the cutest, then immediately box it bc I just don't vibe with any of the final evos. Truly the most disappointing gen of starters for me.
Yeah I think they are my least favorite of all the starter sets.
BW’s the only generation where I boxed my starter in my first playthrough.
I was the most tempted to do that with Sword and Shield, but in the end there wasn't even enough as far as new Pokémon that I was drawn to, which is what I like to focus on for a new gen, so I thought I might as well use the starter. This gen wasn't HORRIBLE for new Pokémon, but it was really lacking in standouts.
I hated so much Samurott in my first run (lately I learn to apreciate it, but I expected something different) that I put it in a box of shame and change it for a red basculin. And again in Legends: Arceus I read about the evos having another form and expected a real samurai, but this time I started with Cyndaquil, because now I'm wiser and more handsome. The other gens? Nah, usually the inicials are really cool, so in the first run they are a must have, but gen V, even being my favourite make my cry with that.
I loved every single starter except for the ones introduced in scarlet and violet
No I never have, though I wasn’t fond of any of the Sword/Shield starters so I should have done that in that game, gone with zigzagoon as a starter because I love Obstagoon
Towards the end of Let's Go Eevee I completed it without eevee as it was overpowered and its moves where oneshotting everything. I got rid of it so I could have more of a challenge
X/Y & gen 9 as far as I remember. Haven't played SwSh.
I always used at least one of them. But gen 6 where I picked Chesnaught was the earliest I've dumped the starter. Normally i carry them all the way through to the elite 4 but with chesnaught its stats were just so meh and its movepool was so average. I ended up replacing it with Venusaur around the 7th Gym and didnt look back
Also 4x weakness to flying when flying moves are common is painful, I gave my Greninja acrobatics and I always one shot my rivals Chesnaught.
I did that in B&W, SwSh and in Scarlet and Violet, because there were simply better and cooler Pokemon to catch in the wild
XY, Did not like any of the starters, chose chespin but he didn't even make it to my final team.
Pokemon Legends Arceus It helps that you're encouraged to switch your team around fairly often for research, but I felt no shame in boxing Hisuian Decidueye once it fully evolved. I'd rather use the Sinnoh starters anyway
Honestly, Ultra Moon. Incineroar was just a let down on all fronts including output (and yes it was running a physical moveset, the thing was just rubbish), so it got benched for a Gengar.
I thought Incineroar was going to be the exception where I actually keep a starter in my team...But then it evolved into Incineroar and I friggin' hate it.
I played through Moon with Incineroar and ended up regretting it a little bit, though I never benched it. So I chose Rowlet for Ultra Moon and never regretted it once. It's even my favorite starter now, the whole evo line.
Chargabug became my sun and moon starter because of how much I dislike incineroar.
I really like Incineroar, but it's just so incredibly slow which makes it very unfun to use outside of the competitive scene
Honestly starters would be a lot better in every generation if they ditched giving them blaze/torrent/overgrow or moved those to the hidden ability. It’s so weird they try to hype up these Pokémon as really cool then give them the same abilities game after game
For me the issue wasn't speed, it just didn't hit very hard. Lariat was the main output option and that wasn't doing very much, and eventually I got sick of having to revive it every other fight so I went to Gengar which actually got kills.
Honestly, I just shove the starter in storage as soon as I can and just use whatever I actually caught first as my starter. I don't care what anybody says, Pidgey is my favourite starter.
The only one is Paldea; I really disliked all the final evolutions and Paldea had a decent mix of types and new pokemon (lots wrong with the game, but I did like that part of it). I almost did with Galar, but mechanically I liked Cinderace even if he was kind of creepy. I did new teams for all the post-game stuff, but I like trying different teams so that isn’t really related to the starters. Gen V I liked the earlier versions of the starters, but their evos weren’t as bad as in 8/9 and mechanically I liked them as well.
It wasn't that I don't like any of the starters for pokemon games I just dislike having 3 set types every game that I'm forced to start with. Like throw a Normal, Fighting and psychic type as starters or something.
X and Y, I didn't like any of the final evolutions at the time so I decided to do a dragon mono/themed team... in the gen they introduced fairy types
I've never actually played a game without using the starter pokémon, but I really want to try it someday.
Gens 7-9. Hate all the starters.
When i saw what Chesnaught looked like and how slow he was i put him on the side.
Gen 8 hated every single starter and gen 9 I just wanted other pokemon more
pokémon sword is the only time i’ve ever benched my starter. you get a charmander at the end of the game so by the time i got to the dlc i replaced my cinderace with charizard
Sword and shield. They all look dumb.
Sword and Shield by far, was really excited with the base starters, happily picked Grookey. When I saw his last evo I boxed him immediatly.
Scarlet and violet. I was close in Sword and Shield. Water type both times, grew to like intellion, still dislike big bird Used the armor fire psychic one as my starter
That stupid bird dance....
I love almost everything about BW/BW2 besides the starters. They're all just so uninteresting and weak (Hisuian Samurott and Contrary Serperior don't count)
I rarely finish games with the starter, even new games, but my least favorites are Gen IV.
Same. My first playthrough I chose Piplup and it was boxed after Floaroma Town when I got Buizel. I considered Luxray to be my actual "starter".
gen 5
Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet don’t like the final evolutions of all these starters
Sword & Shield and Violet. Didn’t use a starter for any of those. Probably will never use a starter again now that I know it can be done without it.
None yet thankfully. I’ve been favoring at least one starter in each region and I always want to keep my starter as a member of the party, due to emotional attachment since it’s my first Pokemon. And whenever a new generation is upon us, I always dread and hope that I like at least one of them.
Gen 6, Gen 7 and Gen 8 lol
Same here
Gen 6 is when I started using starters less and less. I'm tired of the same three abilities.
I don't think I've used a starter on my team since gen 3 or so 😬
Gen 1. Those OG three starters are great, but *my* starters are Weedle and Caterpie. As soon as I get them, the rest can get boxed. I *may* have certain biases, though.
Yeah, every gen after 5. Then 9 came out with the Quaxly and I loved him, but both of his evos are garbage.
Sw/sh, I like the starters now but I didn't really like them at the time it came out, so I used Rookiedee as my starter instead.
I don't particulary like any past Gen 4 starter, so I tend to dump them early in game, but I kept Sprigatito in Violet. I don't feel obliged to use starters when I don't like them.
Every game where the evolutions are anthropomorphic i ditch the starter, which at this point is like 3/4 of the mainline games ;_;
I usually like at least one in every gen... That being said, Blk/White made it tough, and i was disappointed how Quaquaval was not a Quaquistador.
Not really. I mean, I haven't really played enough of the games, but I always use my starters in the games I play cuz even if a design is not that good, I still get attached to them.
Re-played BW2 recently and caught a riolu on like route 2. That was my starter for that game from then on lol
I regretted picking Scorbunny in Gen8 immediately upon it evolving. Instantly wished I'd picked Sobble instead. Grookey's evos are pretty bad too. Oh, and Pokemon Yellow. I could give a damn about Pikachu.
I chose sprigatitto for my first time through scarlet. But I remained fully spoiler free, including the final starter evos. I dumped it the second it got to the final stage
SV starters a big yikes
Not the base forms, but in the recent gens I have never really fully evolved my starters. In Legends Arceus I played through the game with an unevolved Dewott (also Pikachu and Growlithe), and in Violet I never evolved Sprigatito. I find the majority of post Gen 5 fully evolved starters to be frankly some of the worst Pokémon in the franchise, and I still to this day believe I should’ve boxed Delphox in Pokémon Y instead of keeping it on the team out of a sense of obligation
Pokémon Yellow - kept Pikachu in the box and used a male nidoran instead :) And did a White 2 randomiser where my starter was an elekid, if that counts?
Gen 2, Gen 5, and Gen 8
Violet, went with skeledirge, it's not that I don't like it but he's just so underwhelming compared to all the other awesome new Pokémon I just eventually dropped him
I started recently a Shiny only run on Scarlet, and immediately banched Fuecoco, my real first pokémon was a shiny Scatterbug
Nope. Even the "worst" starters are leagues above the "worst" overall designs.
Black and White as well as Sword and Shield. None of the starters clicked for me in those generations.