Am I the only person who feels bad about this?

[Takoto]

Sorry for stupid title, the title I originally wanted wouldn't fit in.

Am I the only person who feels... well, bad, or feels negatively too raising a Pokémon's level higher than the level of your original, starter Pokémon? Maybe I have some OCD over this, maybe it is just me, but I was wondering if anyone else felt like this.

Even if it's one level over I feel like my starter should be at least level with them, or over the level their at.

Anyone else get this?

 

[Halberd Bravo]

Well I can understand. It's very easy to get emotionally attached to your starter or consider it to be your "main" Pokémon (and therefore reason that it should be your strongest). I usually think like that, unless I make a conscious decision to focus on Pokémon other than my starter proir to playing.

 

[Destry]

You're not alone! All through Platinum, my pokémon have constantly been higher-levelled than my starter... and it made me feel as though it would like me less. D: Even with the Footsteps ribbon and giving it poffins and stuff, I just feel bad. I guess we're just irrational, eh? Haha. I guess that's part of the fun of pokémon, though. You get attached to this creatures you help grow throughout the game.

 

[pokechamp116]

When I play, I only use my starter. Like in Fire Red I evolved my starter at the start of the game just to get past the first gym! Don't judge me I was 5. And when any other pokemon (legend or not) gets to a higher level, I feel just awful.

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

Looking back at my team, I realize that my five other Pokémon are all one or two levels higher than my starter... Poor PunchMunky! He did win me a Contest ribbon and some Battle Points, though...

 

[DerMißingno]

I do this, but not always with my starter. In Sapphire, it's always Gardevoir. I always ditch my starter in the beginning and use Gardevoir as my main Pokemon. In Platinum, it was Staraptor, Luxray and Gardevoir. In the old games, it was always Dragonite, which was kind of difficult since you didn't get one until the safari zone.

But yeah, my Pokemon of choice will vary from game to game as I experiment and try to beat it in different ways.

 

[The Fool on the Hill]

I always keep my in-game party Pokemon at roughly the same level throughout the journey, so I don't really have this issue.

 

[KantoBoy]

Sorry for stupid title, the title I originally wanted wouldn't fit in.

Am I the only person who feels... well, bad, or feels negatively too raising a Pokémon's level higher than the level of your original, starter Pokémon? Maybe I have some OCD over this, maybe it is just me, but I was wondering if anyone else felt like this.

Even if it's one level over I feel like my starter should be at least level with them, or over the level their at.

Anyone else get this?

I Do the Exact same :]

 

[Dorothy]

Me too.

 

[AiedailEclipsed]

I sometimes do that, but on my Platinum playthrough (still haven't beat the E4) I totally dropped my starter after I got the team i wanted.

 

[jazzmoth]

Haha I get it. Until I find a dream team, my started always has to be at least one level above any of the others. In Diamond, I started with Piplup, so she is staying on.
(How is Empoleon not a pseudolegendary?)

 

[Cows Go µ]

I'm actually the opposite. I feel bad if my starter is much higher than the rest of my team. I always try and keep the entire team at the same level. But the starter always seems to push out in front of the rest

 

[RJ x JC]

Sorry for stupid title, the title I originally wanted wouldn't fit in.

Am I the only person who feels... well, bad, or feels negatively too raising a Pokémon's level higher than the level of your original, starter Pokémon? Maybe I have some OCD over this, maybe it is just me, but I was wondering if anyone else felt like this.

Even if it's one level over I feel like my starter should be at least level with them, or over the level their at.

Anyone else get this?

I understand you, friend. I get that feeling too, sometimes.

Of course, it's natural, with the starter carrying you through from the beginning to the end, you naturally want him to be the "leader" of your team. I was like that back then in Yellow, where my Pikachu was several levels higher than everyone else.

Nowadays, I always make sure that everyone is cycled around so that everyone is the same level, so I no longer worry that my starter isn't the same level as the rest of my team. I arrange them first from weakest (based on level, HP, and then their stats, in that order) to strongest, then level up the front man, move him to the back of the line, and so on and so forth...

 

[Fluffy Cinccino]

My starter is at a higher level than my other Pokémon always. Sometimes my legendary can be at a high level, but my starter is at the highest level.

 

[turtlecash]

I tend to keep my team perfectly balanced, but yes I understand what you mean. When training for Crasher Wake's battle my Leafeon slipped ahead of the rest of them and I felt really bad about it.

When I caught Giratina in Plat I also immediately trained Infernape past Lv 70 because despite Giratina not becoming a part of the team, I knew it was in the PC, and I knew what level it was at.

 

[Luna Tiger]

I honestly get that sentimental. I always want my starter to be my beast, my ace-in-the-hole. Level 16 something-against a level 24? Bust out the level 30 starter and put it in its place: the mortuary (or, you know, the nurse's office).

I can't stand any of my other pokémon being higher than my starter...except obviously at level 100. Even when it's for a good cause (like leveling up my damn Houndour to 43 so it can learn Flamethrower before evolving -_-), I always powertrain my starter to at least one level higher (or more if I know the one I just trained is going to be exercised plenty).

I arrange them first from weakest (based on level, HP, and then their stats, in that order) to strongest, then level up the front man, move him to the back of the line, and so on and so forth...

I do all of that too, except for me it goes level -> HP -> nat'dex order.

 

[Flint_A]

Well, my battling strategy is generally high speed combined with super effective moves. I admit I've only played the first two Gens, but this has allowed me to beat the Elite Fours with most of my Pokémon still in their 30s, some 40s, one almost 50.(In Yellow, one Pokémon passed 50 while fighting the Elite Four. In Crystal, one reached 50. I never reached the end with Red&Blue or Gold&Silver. Still playing Crystal, obviously, but beat the first half.)

In Gen II(and beyond), I've realized you can be super effective against EVERY type with only six types: Fighting, Flying, Electric, Ground, Ice, Dark.(You could replace Electric with Grass, but Grass has so many weaknesses and Electric is usually faster and more offensive.) I suppose you could move them around with duals to include your starter, but I didn't really take a liking to any of the Gen II starters. I just switch to whoever's strong and take the enemy out in one move.(Rarely two, for strong enemies.) Although Gen II seems to be pretty annoying creature-wise, I won't have my dream team until halfway through Kanto. It was quite easier in Gen I.

This limited strategy helps me a lot because I'm seriously lazy. Since most battles are one or two moves, I don't need lots of moves, leaving me a lot of empty room for out-of-battle moves. Right now, on the team I just beat the Elite Four with; I have Teleport, Flash, Fly, Whirlpool, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Dig, Strength and Cut...without carrying around a mule I don't use. Why? Because I really do not like changing Pokémon for one cave.

Of course, making this work requires a lot of planning. Gotta look through all of Bulbapedia to see which Pokémon have good moves and good stats, who to breed from what and WHEN, what to use on who...there is no room for error. For example, if I hadn't thought of using Lanturn as my Electric, I couldn't have put all those water HMs anywhere.(And it turned out WAY stronger than I expected...although the vitamins might have helped.)

So, this means, there is no room for any of the starters. Although in Gen I, I could use Charizard in Red&Blue and Pikachu in Yellow.(Pikachu's kinda weak, but there's no sense in playing Yellow without Pikachu.) The list was kinda different there, especially since moves were limited and types didn't fully cover each other, but there was still room for Flying.(I had to use 8 types in total, and Psychic and Ghost still weren't covered...but in Gen I a trainer-raised Kadabra could hold his own against those. Half of the types didn't even have one decent attack, that made things hard.) In Gen II, they were all useless. In Gen III, I guess I can use Blaziken as my fighting, he's cool.(Swampert COULD work as ground, but I don't like that line.) In Gen IV, I'll again have to drop my starters, because I just LOVE Piplup and will have to get it...but I don't need Water or Steel. Hope it won't be too unhappy in the PC.

The only time I really felt a connection to my starter was Yellow, because it's REALLY special there. But unfortunately I couldn't prevent it from being surpassed, because in Gen I Psychic is just unstoppable. I put my Kadabra at the back and never used it until everything else was gone...but it STILL got easily 10 levels over everyone else. It was like...half a cave with 5 Pokémon, the other half with Kadabra.(Yeah, too lazy to go back and heal as long as I have a Pokémon left.) I filled poor Pika full of vitamins, it still couldn't perform well. It was pretty happy though, looking back and seeing the cute little thing hopping around warmed my heart.



Though I like to think that, if I was really in that world...once I became the Pokémon champion and earned some money, I'd buy a mansion somewhere and make it up to my unused Pokémon by playing with them for years in the fields. Thinking like that, I probably shouldn't catch a Muk if I don't want to end up like Prof. Oak.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Nine or ten years ago, when Generation II had just come out, I was on the receiving end of my first - and favorite - Pokémon game, Silver. Well, okay, technically I had played Yellow previously, but this was the first one I actually understood how to play.

That is, I thought I did...

And before you know it, there's a level 70-some Typhlosion at the head of my team and the rest didn't exceed level 45.

How did this happen...?

Luckily, that's where Red Version came in. After a certain point in that game - and later, FireRed - I ended up completely ditching Charizard. He made it as far as level 50 in Red, and she didn't even hit 40 in FireRed. And once I beat the Elite in that game, I was able to transfer (or rather, clone) my hard-trained fighters over to Silver - a sort of quick-fix back-up plan.

I still haven't even beaten Liza and Tate in Ruby Version, and Combusken's still in my party, but his original position as leader has been taken by my Graveler.

Diamond again sees the top spot taken by another Pokémon (this time my Machoke), but again, Monferno remains in my party as the "second-in-command".

And even after I learned my lesson...something about Typhlosion made me train it harder than ever. It got as far as level 91...that's when I found out about the Generation II battery problem.

Not willing to take any chances, I stuffed Typhlosion and his brethren into Pokémon Stadium 2.

And to this day, I still worry if Typhlosion will ever be able to come back out. Never once have I worried about the others (except maybe Typhlosion's bride-to-be).

So, no, you're not alone. There are many Trainers who become emotionally attached to their starters. I know for a fact I would never, ever trade Typhlosion, even if I were offered a Celebi in return. Besides what, I can get that on my own. :naughty:

 

[Ampharos King]

Not really, cuz I mainly alternate when it comes to using six of them at a time. That way, their levels will be very close to one another.

 

[mineowyn]

Starters are generally one of a kind in each game plus they ARE strong pokemon species compared to the common pokemon you find in the wild of similar types.

I remember I did the mistake of only leveling my pikachu to such an extent it was the only pokemon at level 70 while I have level 5 squirtle, bulbasaur and charmander; level 16 nidorino and pidgeotto and a level 10 clefairy. And that's all the pokemon I had. I could pretty much thunder my way through everything except ground and rock types and none of the trainers used that type. or even if they did they weren't strong enough to overcome my nidorino. Until I met Gary's Sandslash... :/

That was bad training methodology I bet..