Ausuka ranks Pokémon starters (COMPLETE)

[Ausuka]

#11: Cyndaquil

So uh, Cyndaquil is cute right? It's an adorable little mouse thing with fire on its back. The blue and tan colour scheme fits with it really well. And, like, the back flame being a consistent thing along the evolution line is really excellent and I think makes it feel like a really essential Fire type. It's kind of wild how it goes from being 2 legs to 4 legs to 2 legs, and it's not the kind of weirdness I tend to like, but whatever.

I think Typhlosion is underdesigned. It's got nothing going on with most of its body which is like I guess kinda realistic but not super aesthetically pleasing. I actually think the Hisui variant does it better with the ghost necklace which feels Misdreavus style.

Anyway I appreciate this evo line. It's good, but not too good in its game, it's cute and overall aesthetically pleasing. Definitely a good choice for the Johto games, and one I find myself making most of the time I play these games. I don't think it wows me as much as some other Pokemon though.

#10: Oshawott

This little otter is like super cute. Look at those little ears!!! Look at the blue and white colour scheme! Look at those freckles. It's an amazing design for a first stage Water type. The shell on its tummy also looks super cool and unique. This is also a Pokemon which looks good when it evolves - Dewott is definitely a good middle-evo. It continues to be a cute looking blue otter, and it really looks the part of 'martial artist'. I appreciate otters, as an animal, a lot in general, which helps.

I do think Samurott is slightly out of left field, but I still like it. It's a really cool and strong looking otter with a spike on its head! Which is great. But it *does* sort of feel like it could have been a different evolution line. Like, apart from the FIGHTING aesthetic, which like it isn't even Water/Fighting, it doesn't follow from Dewott especially well. The 4 legs thing doesn't help.

Anyway Oshawott has the advantage of being clearly the best Water type in Unova as well. I've obviously ranked it lower than Snivy, but I think this is a good choice for the gen 5 games and deserving of the top 10 spot I've given it here.

#9: Piplup

Similar to the previous entry - I adore penguins, just like I adore otters. That makes Piplup a great Pokemon for me, and it's just obviously adorable. Look at those eyes. Look at the BEAK. It evolves into Prinplup and Empoleon and both of those are great too - I like the spin on the 'emporor penguin' and the Steel dual typing is new but it works. It's not too strong but it's not weak either. I picked it for BDSP and that game was awful so I do kind of associate Piplup with that. It benefits from competing against Chimchar and Turtwig which are starters I personally consider weak, but it's a great starter in its own right and deserves to make the top 10. A penguin Water starter was an excellent idea and it was always going to be difficult to screw that one up.

[Ausuka]

#8 - Water type starter.
#7 - Treecko, Snivy or Rowlet
#6 - Fuecoco, Bulbasaur or Chikorita

[Skygazer]

bulbasaur is clearly going to be #6

[Skygazer]

i;m going to try and put effort into this one

[schadd_]

popplio i guess
treecko
fuecoco

[schadd_]

cyndaquil definitely just like turns into a bigger version of the same guy when it evolves. the thing is that its a really cool guy. and i like that its really just like an angry evil monster that shoot fire at you when you get down to brass tacks

[Skygazer]

popplio
treecko
chikorita

[Isis]

popplio is such a dark horse

[Ausuka]

#8: Sobble

To eliminate Sobble hurts my heart. If I'm being honest, I think I've grown significantly fonder of it during the course of this project. But we are in the final 8, and everyone has their time. This is Sobble's time.

Let's start with the obvious. Sobble is adorable. The sky blue and ocean blue go together really well. And I mean, just look at those eyes. I want to PROTECT it. I want to see it grow up strong and healthy. This lizard inspires incredible protective feelings in me. The tail is also just a really good design.

Drizzile being an emo kid is something a lot of people don't like. Personally I think it's absolutely hilarious. Why is it purple and green??? It's so jarring and a bit discordant and it kind of hurts Sobble's position on the list. On the other hand, it's just like objectively really funny that Sobble turns into an emo teenager with green hands and purple hair. The Pokedex even describes it as 'extremely lazy'! As the kids would say, it is just like me fr fr.

Inteleon isn't very aesthetically pleasing to me tbh. It's just so sticklike. The fact it's supposed to be aerodynamic makes it better, but still. I do enjoy the spy theme, though!

#7: Treecko

Treecko was the first ever Pokemon I had, when I played Pokemon Alpha Sapphire for the first time as a child. It will always have a fond place in my heart for that reason. Unusually for a first stage Pokemon, it tries to be cool instead of cute, but it totally lands. Treecko is just indifferent enough that it looks cool but not annoying. It really feels like an ideal partner for a Trainer starting their journey. I also just like lizards and think Treecko is a good execution of 'grass lizard' simply enough. Grovyle is like, not super visually appealing to me, but I can at least see what they were going for? It just doesn't quite land for me. Sceptile doesn't wow me and that prevents this line from being higher on the list, but Sceptile is a good mon in its own right. That tail is really cool and it overall fits together quite well. It's just... not my favourite I guess. Well deserving of a top 10 spot, though.

#6: Chikorita

Once upon a time, Chikorita was my favourite Pokemon. When I first got it in the postgame of Alpha Sapphire I immediately loved it. It's just adorable. I love its little petal necklace. I love the leaf on its head. I love how it manages to look clean and not overdesigned, while still having cute features. I also liked its appearance in the anime for whatever that's worth! When it evolves into Bayleef, I continue to like it. Maybe I'd have kept it green but the leaf on its head and the petals around its neck continue to look amazing. Meganium feels like a good climax to the line - it has a flower around its neck which is super pretty and elegant, and I like its antannae too! There is only one issue here.

As a starter it has been ABSOLUTELY FUCKED OVER by game freak. In Johto, there is a grand total of ZERO gyms the Grass type is strong against. Elite 4 members? Nope. I get the idea was they want to use the types Kanto didn't use, but frankly if anything that makes me think the grass type is underpowered. It certainly didn't need ANOTHER nerf going into gen 2 in the form of the steel type! Chikorita just has no use in Johto. In terms of practical use it is THE WORST starter of all time. Worse - it probably will be forever because I can't see them fucking up that badly ever again. Just... why? They even gave it bad stats. It's a mixed attacker, which means it's fairly bad but not awful at both - 82 atk and 83 spatk. Its speed is also mediocre. It has good defenses, but it's weak to a lot of things, and tanky builds just aren't that amazing outside competitive. Especially mono Grass tanks. Like... It just needs a decent attack stat. You know what has a higher special attack in gen 2 than meganium? Stantler. Gloom. Weepinbell. Omanyte. SMOOCHUM. It also has worse attack than Ponyta, if you care about that. Oh, and particularly in the original gen 2 games... while Cyndaquil gets Flamethrower (eventually) and Totodile can learn Surf and whatever, Meganium is literally just stuck with Razor Leaf forever. It has 55 power, but it's the strongest move Meganium can learn. Giga Drain actually has 60 power in these games but has slightly worse damage output because of crits. Anyway, it's like they just designed Chikorita in a lab to suck ass. And I used to overlook this because it's cute and it's a hard mode or whatever. But you just end up catching better Pokemon while you play through gen 2 anyway. Like, it's not even that impossible to win with Meganium, but battles do take a lot longer and feel a lot more annoying. So, I'm sorry Chikorita. The game has been rigged against you from the start and in terms of the best starters, I feel obligated to take that into account. You're just not fun to use, and that's the sad truth.

[Ausuka]

Bulbasaur, Fuecoco, Popplio, Rowlet, Snivy

3 grass types. 1 fire type. 1 water type.

I will reveal that there will be 1 grass type finalist and 1 non-grass type finalist. That is the only hint I feel I can give given the narrow constraints of this situation. I'll be impressed if anyone gets the order of the final 5 right. I do have it in my head where everyone is going to go.

[schadd_]

i think that grovyle is cool. attacka you with leafs.

[Ausuka]

#5: Rowlet

Okay, so first of all, this is literally an owl with a bow tie. I think that's enough said. Really though, Rowlet is an adorable little thing. The bird starter was pretty innovative and it went right in the best way. I liked it having a dual typing from the start - which I believe wasn't done since Bulbasaur - but also *changed* its dual typing. Maybe I wouldn't like it if it was done regularly, but when it's rare it can be a treat. A lot of people love Rowlet and I would definitely count myself among them. Everything about it is cute and aesthetically pleasing, while also having dorky vibes. To me that's an accomplishment. It kind of looks like there are no thoughts behind those eyes. It is truly one of the owls of all time.

It becomes Dartrix, and to be honest Dartrix is a bit of a poor man's Drizzile. It looks awkward and weird, and if they were going in that direction, they could have been more creative with it. Decidueye is... Not *super* aesthetically pleasing, but makes up for it by being cool. An owl archer is just a fantastic Pokemon concept and it's executed well. Those eyes look DANGEROUS, and it's so cool how its wings are like 'arrow quills'.

#4: Fuecoco

This adorable little crocodile monster is easily the best Fire starter of all time to me. I'm sorry to all you geriatric fire type fans reading this. I know that, deep in your heart, you hold love for Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, and Chimchar, and do not believe one of these newfangled Digimon could ever hope to compete. And yet, Fuecoco not only competes, but shatters the glass ceiling and reveals the true potential of Fire starters.

I wanted to say that generation 9 is the first ever generation where I tend to pick the Fire starter. This actually isn't true, but only because generation 6 has kind of a terrible starter selection, and I prefer Fennekin out of the three despite it being... not really first choice standard? Anyway, Fuecoco is the first Fire type starter which I'm passionate about liking and I think it makes a perfect entry to the top 5. This crocodile does 'goofy starter' right and manages to be extremely cute in the process. That little grin is just amazing and full of personality. I love the little pips on top of its head as well.

Skeledirge gets Torch Song. I might say it's too strong, but Skeledirge isn't exactly a fantastic Pokemon without it, so I feel like it works out in the end? A Pokemon with better stats would be OP with that move though. Since it's not super strong - it's UU in Smogon - it's difficult to hold that against it! Skeledirge is also just a pretty cool crocodile; it's different from Fuecoco, but that's okay. It feels... wise, I guess. It has a purple tongue and the red, white and purple colouring just *feels* right for something with very high temperatures.

Also crocalor has a goofy hat

#3: Snivy

Snivy was close to being #2 here. I really love this snake! It's smug and that gives it personality. I think it's also super easy on the eyes,with the sleek design. It has a leaf tail which is pretty cool. It has red eyes which is, again, pretty cool. Its yellow and slight tan accents make for a very good colour scheme. It's just a great Pokemon design in general.

A great thing about Snivy, though, is that every Pokemon in the evolution design is about as good! That's rare. Servine is a really good middle evolution. It's still aesthetically pleasing, makes total sense as a continuation of Snivy, and it even looks kind of like it has a yellow sword. I really like the leaves going down its back, too. One thing I do question about Servine is how its leaves can't be used in photosynthesis if they're dirty, but they travel along the ground? Seems miserable. Maybe you should have evolved, like, opposable thumbs or something. Serperior loses its limbs which a lot of people lambast but it's a snake sooooo I don't care? Its hair and the little hood thing look SUPER regal, and ditto with the pattern along its skin. I think it's a great final design. Of course, it gets Contrary Leaf Storm, which I think is fun to use and it's still not that overpowered despite it. Partially because leaf storm has 8 PP and grass kind of sucks as a type. Its stats are also pretty bad - similar to Meganium it's a 'mixed attacker' which means it sucks at both. It has worse attacking stats - both attacking and special - THAN FUCKING MONFERNO. Monferno. Why? But at least it does have that redeeming quality and also gets Glare and Coil so whatever.

[Ausuka]

We now have our final two!

Who will win - the grass type Bulbasaur, or the water type Popplio?

Find out tonight!

[Silverclaw]

Being a mixed attacker isn't a bad thing, the problem is that snivy's move pool sucks for a mixed attacker and it's offensive stats are a little too small to make it work. For a sweeper it really only had contrary leaf storm going for it (which is super fun)

Infernape is an incredible mixed attacker and came out the generation prior

[Ausuka]

#2: Popplio

It won't come as any surprise at this point, but I love Popplio. I love seals in general and ... obviously Popplio is a seal! And for a seal starter, it's really good. Sure, it's blue and seals aren't blue, but that's the kind of artistic license we know and love from Pokemon - not every seal pokemon needs to be, well, Seel. It has a cool nose and is clearly circus themed, and it performs its job pretty well.

It evolves into Brionne, which is a really good middle evolution. The design is obviously meant to invoke a ruffled skirt, but I don't mind that - I actually like it, and think it looks good. I think I only really have an issue with it if the design is otherwise clearly humanoid, and Brionne is obviously a seal and isn't really furrybait. The blue, white and pink colour scheme works very well. Primarina completes the transition from circus clown to pop idol, and it's literally a mermaid seal!!! That is, like, the coolest thing ever. And it ties its hair with pearls, and it has the pink star on its head... I just think it's neat. I think the line's status as 'performer' is done really well - it has personality from the start, but the specifics shift over time. I also like how they're not afraid to make a Pokemon which is 87.5% male so decisively feminine.

I think Popplio really suffers from stiff competition within its own generation. Rowlet is such a strong contender, and even Litten is REALLY REALLY good - although its evolutions *strongly* falter. Gen 7 is the strongest generation starter wise and the end result is that Popplio struggles to stand out. And while gen 1 is also a strong generation, gen 7 doesn't have the same cult following as the other Pokemon. The amount of people who are devoted to Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur helps boost all of them, but particularly gives Bulbasaur an edge over Popplio.

#1: Bulbasaur

Of course, the winner is Bulbasaur. I think some people saw this coming from the start, and now it has come true. This thing is so adorable - I love the 'leaf sprouting on its back into a flower' theme that progresses through the evolution tree. The frog/toad/lizard thing is also really appealing to me, as someone who's a big fan of all those animals but especially frogs. Ivysaur has a budding flower, and ivy-looking leaves growing out on the sides - it's a good continuation of Bulbasaur and a great Pokemon in its own right. I had Ivysaur as my avatar for a long time. Venusaur is just really cool - I especially love the flower tree that grows on its back. It feels more like... at the risk of sounding pretentious, it's less designed to *look cool* and feels more *actually cool* compared to Charizard and Blastoise. All the Pokemon in this line are amazing and the progression is great. It has everything I want in a starter.

Bulbasaur benefits from being a classic and culturally relevant. People will look at you confused if you ask them if they prefer Litten, Popplio or Rowlet. Everyone knows Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur and it's always a fun experience to find a fellow Bulbasaur enjoyer.

The oddish -> vileplume line is also good, and the exact same dual typing, in the exact same generation. Even their flowers look pretty similar!! So Bulbasaur suffers a bit from that, but frankly I don't think it's enough to knock it off the #1 slot where it rightly belongs. #1 in the Pokedex and #1 in my heart. Enjoy the crown, Bulby.

[Ausuka]

Complete Ranking

1. Bulbasaur
   
2. Popplio
   
3. Snivy
   
4. Fuecoco
   
5. Rowlet
   
6. Chikorita
   
7. Treecko
   
8. Sobble
   
9. Piplup
   
10. Oshawott
    
11. Cyndaquil
    
12. Fennekin
    
13. Squirtle
    
14. Sprigatito
    
15. Grookey
    
16. Torchic
    
17. Eevee
    
18. Charmander
    
19. Froakie
    
20. Pikachu
    
21. Litten
    
22. Quaxly
    
23. Mudkip
    
24. Totodile
    
25. Chespin
    
26. Turtwig
    
27. Scorbunny
    
28. Tepig
    
29. Chimchar

[schadd_]

bulbasour

[Pink Ball]

Spoiler:

29.- Chespin
28.- Oshawott
27.- Turtwig
26.- Tepig
25.- Scorbunny
24.- Popplio
23.- Litten
22.- Sobble
21.- Fennekin
20.- Grookey
19.- Piplup
18.- Eevee
17.- Chikorita
16.- Froakie
15.- Chimchar
14.- Pikachu
13.- Treecko
12.- Sprigatito
11.- Snivy
10.- Quaxly
9.- Cyndaquil
8.- Squirtle
7.- Torchic
6.- Fuecoco
5.- Rowlet
4.- Totodile
3.- Bulbasaur
2.- Mudkip
1.- Charmander

[schadd_]

[Ausuka]

SO TRUE

[Ausuka]

but I'd be happy if this thread became a thread for rankings like pink balls! it's interesting to see what people think. I think there is at least a weak correlation between our lists, although I can't approve of Popplio's placement

[schadd_]

ok well i cant approve of your placement of mubkip. so we'll have to approve to disapprove

[Ausuka]

schadd_ you need to log into your pink ball alt before you post that

[Pink Ball]

Oh shit my bad

[Pink Ball]

but I'd be happy if this thread became a thread for rankings like pink balls! it's interesting to see what people think. I think there is at least a weak correlation between our lists, although I can't approve of Popplio's placement

Yeah sorry my plan was posting my list and then adding some comments. I wanted to see your whole list before saying anything else because my gut reaction was "lol look where Totodile and Mudkip are, this list SUCKS" but it's obvious by my list that there's a big nostalgia factor coming from my part.

We both agree that Tepig, Scorbunny, Turtwig and Chespin are bad (Litten is only a tad better because of smash); new generation's starters are pretty cool; and we have two top 5 starters (Rowlet and Bulbasaur).

I'd like to see more opinions too to see if we can all agree that Chespin is a disgrace.