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Best starter from each gen?

lordfridge

Welcome Home, Good Hunter
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Naturally, this is all down to opinion... so tell me why.
Here's mine.
Sorry if this is already a thing... but I couldn't find one similar after a quick look.

1 - Charmander, because I am a filthy normie in that regard and I think it's cool when the big dragon breathes fire.
2 - Totodile, because I really like reptilian Pokemon, and it's just so cute tbh.
3 - Treecko, because Mystery Dungeon went and ruined me as a kid. Also, gecko!
4 - Piplup, because I am emotionally attached to my first ever starter to this day.
5 - Snivy, because even though I'm actually really fond of all the starters from this gen, I can't not love that smug little face.
6 - Froakie, because having a starter that ends up with Dark typing is really cool to me.
7 - Litten, because look at this tiny little emo cat. Look at it. I also really like Incineroar.
8 - Sobble, because once again I am drawn to the little lizard ones.
 
  1. bulbasaur, what's not to love about the little baby? he's precious! he has a flower on his back! he says "bulbabulbabulbabulba"
  2. cyndaquil, he close his eyes. he sleep. he a volcano baby
  3. treecko, i'm just drawn to it for some reason. it has badass evos too!
  4. piplup, my first ever starter. i love all of the sinnoh starters, but as piplup was the first one i chose, i will always choose it when playing a sinnoh game. <3
  5. oshawott, i'm super fond of all the unova starters but LOOK at his lil shell!! his ears!! <3
  6. chespin, its evos make me go ): so i never evolved mine in xy, but it's just so precious <3
  7. popplio, ever since i first saw the alola starters i was just... drawn to it. what an angel!
  8. sobble, even though i want grookey and scorbunny on my team as well, i want to start my journey out with sobble
 
  1. Charmander. As a kid, I was never a fan of the other 2 and Charizard back then was awesome in the anime. Besides that, I'm mainstream in that aspect and I'm a sucker for dragons. Also, just look at Shiny Charizard and Mega Charizard X. Dear lord.
  2. Feraligatr. The only cool and worthwhile one. The other two we don't talk about.
  3. Swampert. Derpy during the first two stages, but then just pulls up and becomes the tank you need. My love for this guy comes from my Sapphire run as a kid, where it was the first ever mon I got to level 100 and never let me down when I needed him. Sceptile and Blaziken are cool too, but this thing has a special place in my heart amongst these three.
  4. Infernape. You can go both ways with it, good HA, large movepool, nice design. Clean sweep for the monkey.
  5. Samurott. He becomes a fucking sea lion samurai with a moustache. COME ON MAN.
  6. Greninja. It's a gosh darn ninja frog with his tongue as scarf. The other two... have nothing. Clean sweep for the frog.
  7. Primarina. There's a certain charm to the design that I can't really put my finger on, unlike Incineroar, who, while cool, looks really awkward with such a lowerbody while Decidueye is... it's cool design-wise, but that's all he has going for him. Grumbles at all the bad experiences with Decidueye during Ultra Sun playthrough.
  8. Sobble. I usually tend to await for the final evolution, but this guy's such a cutie. And it has the potential to get an absolute gem of a final evolution.
 
Kanto - Tough choice. I like all three of them equally, but if I had to choose I'd do for Bulbasaur.
Johto - Cyndaquil! Cute little fiery mouse.
Hoenn - Mudkip. I definitely liek it :p
Sinnoh - Don't really like any of them TBH.
Unova - Ditto :p (Don't really like any of them either)
Kalos - Fennekin. Its a fiery fennec fox - of course its very cute! <3
Alola - This would have to be a tie between Litten and Popplio.
Galar - Scorbunny. Its the cutest of the three, followed closely by Sobble.
 
Mine are:
Kanto - Bulbasaur, it's cute and has awesome evolutions.
Johto - Cyndaquil, same as Bulbasaur. Totodile is my second fav from this gen/region.
Hoenn - Torchic, though Treecko is a close second.
Sinnoh - Piplup, I love penguins.
Unova - Snivy, love the smug look it has and Serperior is so regal looking. Oshawott and Tepig are also cute though.
Kalos - Fennekin, I love foxes, especially fennec foxes. It's evolutions appeal to me as well.
Alola - Popplio, a cute seal who's final evo is a pretty mermaid looking seal, instant like.
Galar - Sobble, it's design appeals to me, though Scorbunny is also a close second. Though I'll have to wait and see if my opinion stays the same once I see their full lines.
 
Kanto: Charmander, although I don't like standard Charizard, I love both of its Megas.
Johto: Totodile, it has a good movepool, unlike Cyndaquil, and hits hard, unlike Chikorita.
Hoenn: Mudkip, Swampert has a good typing and I love its derpy yet powerful looks.
Sinnoh: Turtwig, it has a good level-up movepool, and Torterra is pretty cool-looking.
Unova: Oshawott, I don't like Snivy's movepool and stat spread (and you can't get a Contrary one in-game), and Emboar is too slow.
Kalos: Froakie, I like Greninja's sleek design and movepool.
Alola: Popplio, Primarina is elegant and hits hard.
Galar: currently Scorbunny.
 
Kanto: Bulbasaur: The little guy served me very well back in the day, even though I didn't have a clue to what I was doing back then.
Johto: Cyndaquil: C'mon, the little guy is adorable! I just wanna hug him. Plus, I was starting to lean toward Fire-types by that point.
Hoenn: Torchic: Admit it, when Blaziken squared off against Charizard and won, it was awesome. Plus, Torchic is so fluffy and cuddly, and I like birds.
Sinnoh: A hard sell between Turtwig and Chimchar, but Chimchar edges out, mostly because Sinnoh's Fire element was pretty much non-existent. Plus, he becomes a great lightning bruiser.
Unova: Tepig: Loved the little guy from the start, and I actually like Pignite and Emboar. Plus Emboar is basically the definition of versatile, as he learns moves from ALL of the starter types (Fire, Grass, Electric, AND Water), so that's a huge bonus.
Kalos: Froakie: I admit I was a Fennekin fan (and still am), but Froakie has incredible power and versatility. It's the Pokemon Swiss Army Knife. Plus it has TWO unique abilities, just to further show how powerful it is. Plus, it's a ninja. Who doesn't love ninjas?
Alola: Litten: I'm not usually a cat person, but I fell in love with Incineroar's awesomeness. Sure, he's not gonna win any races, but he just OOZES with personality, which is becoming somewhat of a rarity in the 3D games.
Galar: Scorbunny: Don't get me wrong, I like Sobble, as he's really cute, but I like the confident, almost leadership-like vibe Scorbunny gives off even more. He's awesome and he knows it.
 
Kanto: Bulbasaur, mainly thanks to it being my favorite of the Kanto starters in the anime.
Johto: Chikorita, it's so cute and has the best designed evolution line of that set of starters IMO. All three starters were great this gen, though.
Hoenn: Mudkip, it was really useful to me in Emerald, though this is a tough pick between Mudkip and Torchic admittedly.
Sinnoh: Piplup, because evolving into Empoleon makes it best, so much that I can ignore how annoying Dawn's Piplup was in the anime.
Unova: Oshawott... I love it alone, but I really don't like its evolutions. If this was based on the entire line, I'd instead say Snivy.
Kalos: Fennekin, so adorable and reminds me of my cat!
Alola: Popplio, which belongs to one of my absolute favorite evolutionary lines in the series. I love this one.
Galar: Sobble, just a first impression. The other two don't grab me, so I really hope Sobble's evolutions end up being to my tastes!
 
Kanto: Squirtle - love his little face and I just really prefer Blastoise over the others.
Johto: Totodile - chose this guy when I first played the game and he stuck with me 19+ years later.
Hoenn: Torchic - cute, then Blaziken looks p. cool.
Sinnoh: Turtwig - Love the idea of the island on Toterra
Unova: Tepig - Cute little piggy to big, honkin' piggy.
Kalos: Froakie - cus Greninja is cool
Alola: Rowlet - archery + owls? yes.
 
for myself? -

  • Kanto - Charmander - not to much a fan of the other two, as long as its not shiny Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard and M Charizard Y are my favorite in the line (do hate the shiny form and the MCX too) - I only like 3 of the 9
  • Johto - Cyndaquil - love the cute echidna and evolves into my favorite fiery weasel!! such cute design for sure, I also like Totodile and its evolutions - I could have given it to Totodile, but the species that Cyndaquil evolves to love a lot more - so 6 out of 9 I like
  • Hoenn - ??? - none, as still the only region I really dislike all three starters and their evolutions, will give it slight like towards Torchic only since its a bird - so 0 of 9
  • Sinnoh - Piplup - again, not too much a fan of either of starters, will give like to Piplup and Empoleon as I do kind of like them - 2 out of 9
  • Unova - Snivy - kind of hard to pick for me between Snivy or Oshawott, both are cute and full of fun, thanks to anime loved Snivy even more, as Servine and Seperior I do love... I also love Dewott and Samurott, and also Tepig and Pignite are cute, do dislike Emboar a lot, so possible 8 out of 9
  • Kalos - Fennekin - no surprise at all, I love foxes!! so when I saw Fennekin it was "love at first sight" love the evolved forms too, also was kind of hard to pick since Froakie and its evolutions I love a lot, and same with Chespin, cute and funny so easily for me - 9 out of 9
  • Alola - Litten - same as previous gen, I love cats, so it was again "love at first sight" Torracat being one of my top favorites for sure, similar issue to Kalos - as Popplio and its to evolutions I learned to love, and Rowlett and its evolutions have grown as my favorites so - 9 out of 9
  • Galar - Scorbunny - out of the three revealed, Scorbunny catches my attention the most of the three, hope the evolutions look cute and strong, so for now: 1 of 3 I like


5 fire - 1 grass - 1 water - I do favor fire types more
 
Kanto - It's a hard choice between Bulbasaur and Squirtle for me, and in the past I might've said Bulbasaur, but right now I'm leaning toward Squirtle
Johto - Totodile
Hoenn - Treecko
Sinnoh - Piplup
Unnova - Snivy
Kalos - Fennekin
Alola - Popplio
 
Kanto: Charmander, only for the Mega Evolutions
Johto: Chikorita. I struggled with this thing a lot, goddammit, during my first run of SoulSilver, but I guess that does give you a closer bond with your starter.
Hoenn: I like all three, but I have to go with Torchic here.
Sinnoh: Turtwig, my first starter!
Unova: Tepig is the only one I use.
Kalos: Begrudgingly, Froakie
Alola: Litten I guess
Galar: Scorbunny so far
 
I - Bulbasaur, I guess. I find all three designs solid, but nothing that stick out much.
II - Cyndaquil
III - Torchic. Forget about its later evolutions, which I don't care for at all. Torchic is cute.
IV - Piplup
V - Oshawott, because Samurott is my favorite final evolution starter.
VI - Fennekin
VII - Rowlet
 
Kanto- Bulbasaur. A good flowery toad dinosaur who you can trust to have your back. Has a great Mega.

Johto- Can’t choose, I love them all! Chikorita’s line is solid and great for people with anxiety like me but it’s not very good in battle. Cyndaquil is cute, Quilava is the perfect mixture of adorable and awesome and has my favorite design of the nine, and Typhlosion is awesome. Totodile’s cute, especially in the anime with it’s Donald Duck voice and it’s happy dance, and Feraligatr’s awesome but Croconaw’s design is unappealing to me.

Hoenn- Treecko. Awesome blade wielding geckos that pack quite the punch. Also has a cool Mega Evolution with a Christmas tree for a tail!

Sinnoh- Piplup. I liked Dawn’s Piplup in the anime and I love penguins, not to mention Water/Steel is a great typing but Chimchar and Torterra are really great too. Also my first Starter.

Unova- Oshawott. I like otters, Revenge is a very useful move, and Samurott is awesome! The Snivy line is fantastic as well. Snivy just has so much personality, Serperior is elegant and awesome, Ash’s Snivy was one of the few things I liked about the BW anime, and I like snakes.

Kalos- Fennekin! What can I say, it’s adorable! My absolute favorite Pokémon!

Alola- Popplio! Solid line, dependable, I like seals, Sparkling Aria and Oceanic Opperetta are cool moves, Water/Fairy’s a good typing, and I like the siren/mermaid incorporated into Primarina. Also a proud member of the Popplio Defense Squad.
 
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I always choose a starter based on its final evolution.

Kanto: Charizard
Johto: Typhlosion
Hoenn: Sceptile and Swampert. I like them both equally :)
Sinnoh: Torterra
Unova: Samurott
Kalos: Greninja
Alola: Decidueye
 
I am not fond of most starters, but it's easier to pick first stages.

Kanto: Bulbasaur, because it's pretty cute and very honorable/mature in the anime.
Johto: Chikorita, because it's adorable, feisty, loving and demands respect. The other two are great, but not as much.
Hoenn: Torchic. Bird bias.
Sinnoh: Piplup. Bird bias wins despite the way it was depicted in the anime.
Unova: Snivy. The smugness helps.
Kalos: Fennekin, although once again the anime didn't help.
Unova: Rowlet. Bird bias again, but the other two are nice.
Galar: Sobble's invisibility makes it stand out, but I don't find it cute.
 
Kanto: Charizard (sorry Karina!) It just felt like it was the most fun to use in the original games.

Johto: Typhlosion. Not only did I find its evolutionary line very cute but it had flames erupting from it's back. What's not to like?!

Hoenn: Sceptile. Mostly its mega decided this one for me because its mega is really cool honestly.

Sinnoh: Infernape. It was always super powerful and carried my butt through a lot of battles.

Unova: Serperior. To be honest with you this one is more of I dislike this the least out of the Gen 5 starters.

Kalos: Delphox. I mean come on its a magical fire fox, that's awesome and something I thought I'd only see in a game like Yu-Gi-Oh!

Alola: Primarina. I thought it was super cute right away, and I liked its typing. Also Oceanic Operetta reminded me of a Spirit Bomb with how it looked.
 
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