Ausuka ranks Pokémon starters (COMPLETE)

[Isis]

the fire type is vulpix because you wouldn't betray us by picking any less cute fire type for this top toppy list

[DkKoba]

the fire type is vulpix because you wouldn't betray us by picking any less cute fire type for this top toppy list

but this isnt a pmd starter list

[Isis]

at whose feet shall we lay the blame for that

[DkKoba]

idk but machop number 1

[Ausuka]

#17: Eevee

Let's start with the obvious - Eevee is adorable, and one of my favourite Pokemon of all time. What animal is Eevee? A fox, a dog, maybe a cat? It's not anything, it's just Eevee! That feels like ideal for a Pokemon mascot, and it's also just really cute and well designed. Its fur, its tail, its ears - everything about it makes you want to reach out and pet it. And of course, it also has a fantastic gimmick - it can evolve into a bunch of different types. In gen 1 we got fire, water and electric and since then we've added psychic, dark, grass, ice and fairy.

However, it's a starter in one game. That's Pokemon Let's Go Eevee, and in that game Eevee is cute as ever but like. It can't evolve. It's literally called the Evolution Pokemon! I guess in canon the reason is like, it doesn't want to evolve or whatever, but to me it just feels like it goes against the whole Eevee identity! Pikachu is much more well-suited to the idea of not evolving. It's also kind of a starter in Pokemon Yellow but like not really because you can't choose it. And like... the issues with having Eevee as a starter for the entire game I went over in the Pikachu entry.

So while Eevee is an amazing Pokemon, can it really be considered a good starter? Meh.

#16: Torchic

I'm starting to get to the point where it feels difficult to eliminate Pokemon. Torchic isn't my first ever Pokemon, but I did use it quite a lot as a kid playing Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. It's a pretty cute little bird. I don't think it's like... as cute as the entries higher on the list, is the big issue here for me. I guess the thing on the top of its head is a bit goofy? Its eyes are really cute though and I enjoy the orange and yellow theme. Blaziken really kicked off the trend of the bipedal humanoid animal Fire starter which is designed to look cool, but its legs look like a fried food mascot and its hair just looks strange. Even so, at least it holds some nostalgia for me, which raises where it goes on this list! And I do think the idea of a fire-type chicken is conceptually pretty funny. I also don't think it gets as much favouritism as some other Fire starters I could mention.

#15: Grookey

Of all the monkey starters, Grookey is by far the best. It looks simple and cute. I like how it has its stick and it can use it to grow plant life and stuff. That's really neat. Its personality is happy, and in the starter introductory scene, it comforts Sobble when it starts crying, which is absolutely adorable. Thwackey is, uh, yes, and Rillaboom is a big beast which is also a drummer which I find kind of cool? In general, though, I think it just lacks qualities that really make it stand out. It's solid, even good, but I don't think it's great, which limits how high I can put it on the list - there is really stiff competition here!

[Ausuka]

#14 - Alola, Galar or Paldea starter.
#13 - Water starter
#12 - Sinnoh, Unova or Kalos starter

[Ythan]

This is a troll thread

[Ausuka]

i will speak my truth

[Skygazer]

I am questioning your ability to act as a representative for this site

[Ausuka]

I am questioning your ability to act as a representative for this site

I am questioning your ability to guess which pokemon I am going to eliminate

[Ausuka]

tbh I thought this would be the least controversial round yet

I mean I know people like torchic but we're really not in 'bottom of the list' territory anymore

Is it because I compared blaziken to a fast food mascot

[Skygazer]

I did not know Eevee couldn't evolve in Let's Go and that fact disturbs me

[Ausuka]

blame the pokemon company smh

[Ausuka]

[Skygazer]

SOBBLE
POPPLIO
OSHAWOTT

[T3]

i stopped following pokemon after pokemon y

what did i miss

[T3]

i remember really liking litten when i was younger

like my profile picture on every website was litten

[Ausuka]

#14: Sprigatito

I'm generally a fan of Sprigatito. I mean, I love the grass type, and I love cats. If anything I should love Sprigatito more than I do. It's pretty adorable, but uh, it's definitely a stoner. Look at that leaf and the red eyes. Which I mean, sure, but it's not especially my thing. I also do not love how it immediately goes bipedal? Although if you ignore that part, Floragato is excellent. Meowscarada is slightly too 'evil grandma' for my tastes, and its fur genuinely seems intended to give it the appearance of a human woman, but I really like the leaves extending from its sides. I would rank it higher if they called Meowscarada the Girlboss Pokemon. Seriously though, I think this Pokemon had so much potential if it evolved into some kind of lioness-inspired creature.

#13: Squirtle

I really enjoy Squirtle. It's a cute little water turtle. It feels like the definition of what a Water type should be. I also think its middle evolution, Wartortle, has the rare distinction of being actually good. Blastoise, too, is super cool - a turtle with back cannons. It's just unfortunate that it doesn't seem to make use of them? Obviously, there were technical limitations at the time of its implementation, but I am a bit surprised the Kanto starters never got retroactively given unique moves. I like how in gen 1, it's good, but not so obviously better than Charizard or Venusaur as to make the choice uninteresting. I think Squirtle is overall the best choice for Kanto fwiw for speedrunning especially, although Bulbasaur is better casually in the sense of having a type advantage for the first 3 gyms - it's worse later, but at that point you have had many opportunities to catch a strong Water type.

I do think a potential weakness is that in Kanto you basically just get a Lapras and water-type Fossil handed to you. It's not really that important though because you get both at very low levels. I've used both before but not really sure it's worth it given the time investment and how they're... not really better than over water types.

#12: Fennekin

Fennekin itself is actually one of the best Pokemon of all time. It's an adorable fox!!! Just look at it! It's excellent. The fur in its ears is very aesthetically pleasing, its orangey theme in general just feels like the right way to do a cute Fire type, and it has that SUPER CUTE tail. It's just the best and I choose this every time from gen 6. Then it evolves into furry bait.

I even like Braixen! Its magic stick is super cool. The way its fur in its ears grows out feels appropriate and cool as well. Same with the massive bushy tail. I'm not that massive of a fan of it being bipedal but I can get over that. But like... Again, Fennekin is just a fox. And this thing is CLEARLY a humanoid. Like... where is this grey fur coming from? Anyone could tell you it's meant to look like a skirt and tights. Which, again, why does the fur look like that? It's just like a human fox woman and while I gladly have not seen too much of it, I know there is a lot of NSFW stuff out there. And I mean, it's cool that the furries have Pokemon and all, but why is Fennekin this? Why does it keep happening to these Pokemon like Ralts and the starters which get pushed by the game? Meh. At least with Lucario I feel like, with Riolu, it's obvious what the idea behind it is and what direction it's supposed to go in. And I like feminine Pokemon - they're often cute, like Fennekin, but they do not need to look like actual human girls.

Anyway Delphox is cool you guys are just mean. I mean, it's not as good as Fennekin, but it's about on par with Braixen to me. It doesn't need patches on its fur dress, but like whatever. I like the fire stick and most of its design elements. It's a pretty cool fire magician. Touching on the last point, I do like having feminine coded starters as well - inclusivity is good! Overall this is definitely my favourite gen 6 starter and is generally underrated. Also I like foxes.

[Ausuka]

#11 - Fire type starter
#10 - Water type starter
#9 - Hoenn, Sinnoh or Unova starter

[Pink Ball]

#13: Squirtle

She can't keep getting away with this

[Yimmy]

yeah if there's one thing i know about pokemon it's that bulbasaur is #1, charmander is #4, and squirtle is #9. get a pokedex!!!

[Ausuka]

#13: Squirtle

She can't keep getting away with this

That's the top half what more do you want from me!!!

[Ausuka]

bulbasaur is #1

intriguing feedback. I'll think about it

[Pink Ball]

#13: Squirtle

She can't keep getting away with this

That's the top half what more do you want from me!!!

We’ll talk when you’re done, maybe you redeem yourself at the end!

[Skygazer]

cyndaquil
piplup
treecko