Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Best Starter: Which One Should You Choose?
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have three new starters for players to choose from, but which one is best?
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet best starter is a hard question to answer, but we will give you some tips to help you answer it for yourself. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have brought about the ninth generation of Pokemon games, and with them, a new trio of Pokemon to choose from at the start. Starter Pokemon are a staple of the series, as they often become a partner Pokemon that stay with us throughout the game. Here is everything you need to pick your Pokemon Scarlet and Violet best starter.
- There are more than just three new Pokemon, learn about the rest in our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet new Pokemon guide.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Best Starter: Sprigatito
Let's start by talking about the grass-type starter, Sprigatito. Sprigatito is a Grass Cat Pokemon, resembling a green domestic cat. It evolves into Floragato from level 16, and into Meoscarada from level 36. Upon becoming Meowscarada, the Pokemon gains dark as a secondary type, making it a very useful grass/dark Pokemon.
Grass-type Pokemon are generally very useful, particularly for going out and exploring. Grass is strong against ground, rock, and water, which are common Pokemon types to encounter in the wild. However, Sprigatito has an uphill battle if you go to take on the gym leaders. The lowest level gym leader uses bug-types which grass is weak to, the next up is grass which is also not a great matchup.
That said, once you evolve up to Meowscarada, the added dark-type will make the Pokemon much more useful for later gym leaders like Ryme and Tulip. So as much as Sprigatito suffers in the early game, Meowscarada really steps up to the plate in the late game.
- Make your character look how you want with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet character customisation.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Best Starter: Quaxly
Quaxly is our water-type starter, a duck with a quiff. This dapper lad evolves into Quaxwell at level 16 and then Quaquaval at level 36. Upon evolving into Quaquaval, it becomes a water/fighting Pokemon.
Much like grass-type, water-type Pokemon are generally useful as they don't have many massive weaknesses. They beat ground and rock types, which are quite common. For taking on the gym leaders, Quaxly doesn't have any particular strengths nor many weaknesses. Your biggest worry is electric, so be sure to have another Pokemon ready to take on Iono's electric gym.
Once you evolve it to Quaquaval and it gains fighting-type moves, it will be particularly useful for the normal and ice gyms. Otherwise, Quaxly and its evolutions are perfectly usable Pokemon throughout the game.
- Learn more about the gym challenge with our rundown of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet gym leaders.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Best Starter: Fuecoco
Fuecoco is the fire starter of the ninth generation. This clumsy croc is a fire-breathing reptile with a penchant for cooking food until it's extra crispy. At level 16 it evolves into Crocalor, and then at level 36 it evolves into Skeledirge. Skeledirge is a fire/ghost Pokemon, which makes for a particularly useful combination.
As a fire Pokemon, Fuecoco makes short work of some of the early-game gyms, like Katy's bug Pokemon or Brassius' grass Pokemon. It struggles a bit in the mid-game, particularly up against Kofu's water gym.
However, once you evolve it into Skeledirge, you will absolutely walk through later gyms like Ryme's ghost gym, Tulip's ghost gym, and Grusha's ice gym. Fire and ghost can be very powerful in the right circumstances, and luckily those circumstances tend to come up a lot.
- Get the full list of Pokemon in the game in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Pokedex.
Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Best Starter: The Verdict
In truth, it is very difficult to pick a definitive winner between these three Pokemon. Calling one of them objectively better than the others is not an easy call to make. From a gameplay perspective, Fuecoco has a bit of an advantage, as fire-type starters tend to have, but it isn't as much of an advantage as some classic fire starters had.
With no definitive winner among the bunch, it comes down to personal preference, as it really ought to. The best policy for choosing a starter is to choose the one that appeals the most to you, and in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, you don't need to worry about missing out if you choose the one you like over the one the internet says you should pick.
That is our take on the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet best starter. For more on the game, check out Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Which one is better?
About The Author
Dave McAdam
Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
