Which Starter?

[JacksonVirgo]

But now the tough question... which starter do you pick? Which one should you pick? Which one do you want to pick regardless of what you should pick?

Let's look at the pros and cons of each starter, mostly just talking in-game.



Treecko -> Grovyle -> Sceptile -> Mega Sceptile
Type: Grass -> Grass -> Grass -> Grass/Dragon
Good level-up moves: Leaf Blade, Leaf Storm
Good TM moves: Dragon Claw, Sunny Day, Solar Beam, Earthquake, Energy Ball, Swords Dance, Rock Slide, X-Scissor
Good ORAS Move Tutor moves: Dual Chop, Seed Bomb, Thunder Punch, Dragon Pulse, Synthesis, Giga Drain, Drain Punch, Focus Punch, Outrage
HM moves: Cut, Strength

Pros:
- Treecko is a badass.
- Will be extremely useful up until Flannery (4th Gym).
- Gets part-Dragon typing as Mega Sceptile to power up moves like Dual Chop and Dragon Pulse, as well as gain some resistances.
- 145 base speed and sp atk as Mega Sceptile. Extremely fast and powerful.
- There aren't really any better grass types to be found in Hoenn. Ludicolo and Breloom are probably the only two that come close.

Cons:
- From Flannery through to the Elite 4 and Champ, the Fire types and Flying types will keep Sceptile in hiding. You won't even risk using it against Water types, because let's be honest, every Water type is packing an Ice type move these days.
- Mega Sceptile's part-Dragon typing makes it 4x weak against Ice type attacks, making Water, Ice and probably even Psychic and Fairy Pokemon a frightening opponent for Mega Sceptile.
- It's unknown when you'll get the mega stone for Sceptile. Those stat boosts and dragon-type boosts and resistances might even have to wait until post-game.




Torchic -> Combusken -> Blaziken -> Mega Blaziken
Type: Fire -> Fire/Fighting - Fire/Fighting -> Fire/Fighting
Good level-up moves: Bulk Up, Blaze Kick, Brave Bird, Sky Uppercut, Flare Blitz
Good TM moves: Bulk Up, Protect, Earthquake, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Overheat, Shadow Claw, Stone Edge, Swords Dance, Rock Slide
Good ORAS Move Tutor moves: Dual Chop, Bounce, Thunder Punch, Superpower, Knock Off, Heat Wave, Focus Punch
HM moves: Cut, Strength

Pros:
- Will be kinda useless against Roxanne (1st Gym), but have a good run up until the 6th Gym. Pretty handy against the Elite 4 and Champ.
- Mega Blaziken gets Speed Boost. I'm sure most of you have already learned how incredible that is by training your free Torchic holding a Blazikenite in Pokemon X/Y.
- Mega Blaziken has an amazing movepool to go along with the Speed Boost ability. Protect + 3 other moves and you're all set.
- There is no better fire type to be found in the Hoenn region.

Cons:
- Being useless against the first gym means you have to catch other Pokemon and do a bit of grinding with them.
- Mega Blaziken is old news. Don't you want a new Mega?





Mudkip -> Marshtomp -> Swampert -> Mega Swampert
Type: Water -> Water/Ground -> Water/Ground -> Water/Ground
Good level-up moves: Muddy Water, Earthquake, Hammer Arm
Good TM moves: Ice Beam, Blizzard, Rain Dance, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Surf, Waterfall
Good ORAS Move Tutor moves: Ice Punch, Superpower, Aqua Tail, Focus Punch, Outrage, Stealth Rock
HM moves: Surf, Strength, Waterfall, Dive(?)

Pros:
- I heard you like Mudkips.
- Dat bulk.
- Oh my gosh, look at dat bulk as Mega Swampert, plus 150 base atk. :O
- So bulky you'll never die, unless you get hit by grass type moves. Beware of grass types.
- Mega Swampert's ability is Swift Swim. So use Rain Dance and you'll be bulky AND fast. Oh wow, oh jeez.
- You shouldn't have too much trouble against any of the gyms and Elite 4 and Champion.
- It not only learns the most HM moves out of the 3 starters but it learns the most useful ones. Turn Swampert into a HM Slave if you wish but that's such a waste.

Cons:
- The Mudkip meme is actually dead.
- You might end up resuming your 12-year old ways of using only your starter for the entire game because the Mudkip line is just that good.
- Even with Swift Swim + Rain Dance, it won't be as fast as Sceptile or Blaziken (extremely minor con).

My fave is Mudkip HE IS AWESOME