Strongest Starter Pokemon Evolutions

nine lineages. Every time, three initial Pokemon are introduced. In addition, there is Pokemon Yellow and Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee. That brings the total to 29 and counting. There are supporters for each starter. More people follow some than others. But regardless of their ultimate evolution’s typing and whether they are Fire, Water, Grass, or something else entirely, they are rock stars.

Today, we’ll quickly examine the last evolutions of ten starter Pokemon from a very specific perspective: their strength. There are many ways to quantify strength, but we’re searching for the ten players who are most likely to succeed in the major leagues through postgame challenges, online competitions, and even competitive tournaments.

Our rankings represent the metagame as of late 2023, after “The Indigo Disk,” Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s second major DLC, was released. As a result, there can be a few noteworthy additions and exclusions. When we conducted our investigation, we were shocked to see that some historically neglected types were included!

7 Serperior

 

Yes, you read correctly. Once regarded as disturbingly weak in Pokemon Black & White and hardly found on the roster of any “serious-minded” player, Serperior is now a formidable opponent. Its Contrary ability has long been hailed as a strategically useful move because it raises its targeted stat when struck with a debuff and lowers it when hit with a buff. Other factors that have hindered it include a tough move pool and comparatively low basic stats.

Leaf Storm has been receiving a lot of attention lately, and rightfully so. Normally, as a trade-off for its exceptional damage-dealing, this 130 Base Power Special Attack move drops the user’s Special Attack stat by two levels. You can see how Contrary steps in to give our Grass-type pal something fun and interesting. If you can deal with Serperior’s typing-related weakness and add a Hidden Power move like Hidden Power Fire that offers the kind of coverage that will make your opponent nervous, you’ve got it going on.

6 Venusaur

Though millions have long been more familiar with its despotic Fire-starter ally Charizard, Venusaur has discreetly risen to a position of great power. It can keep its HP topped off with Giga Drain thanks to its respectable array of resistances, natural tendency toward survival, and possession of a Life Orb, which depletes tenth of its HP after each attack in return for amplifying those attacks by an additional thirty percent.

In the right conditions, chlorophyll and sunny days work in perfect harmony to double the speed of a venusaur. You have two options: either put your EVs into a category other than Speed and rely on Sunny Day to make your friend fast, or you can add 252 EVs to the stat to make your friend extremely fast.

5Hisuian Samurott

The Hisuian variant of Samurott from Pokemon Legends: Arceus is what has made this sea lion famous, even though THE original version is still quite good. All “slicing moves” gain a 50% power boost when Sharpness is applied. There’s good news for Razor Shell, a 75 Base Power Water-type move that can be boosted up to roughly 113 and has a one in two chance of also lowering the Defense of the opponent. It sums up with 108 Base Attack and 252 EVs increasing that 108 to 171.

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With its ability to prevent switch-outs with hazard damage that can seriously disrupt your opponent’s preparations, Ceaseless Edge places the dependable Spikes obstacle right at your opponent’s feet. Hisuian Samurott is not the kind to stall, so think about putting him on your front line to deal as much damage as possible right away.

4 Rillaboom

Although Pokemon Sword & Shield is no longer the dominant game, two of its starters are still at the top. We adore Rillaboom because he combines the Speed-lowering Attack move Drum Beating with a 125 Base Attack stat (thanks to the 252 EV boost, naturally) to create a very formidable opponent.

Despite being a pure Grass-type, Rillaboom can take full advantage of its attack to cover a wide range of Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, including the powerful and everlasting Earthquake, Brick Break, and Drain Punch.

3 Skeledirge

Skeledirge excels at using the fantastic type combination of Fire and Ghost. It can withstand some strikes rather easily, negate Special Attacks with equal flair, and mess with anyone who depends on hazards (like the previously stated Spikes!) to swing the balance in their favor. Verify that yours has Unaware selected instead of Bold. Skeledirge’s Unaware ability allows him to be blissfully unaware of any changes in stats on the field, allowing you to neutralize opponents who are overly aggressive and maintain a statistically balanced situation.

Keep yours healthy with Slack Off, which when employed, reduces its HP by half. You can also maintain pressure by using Fire-type Torch Song, Ghost-type Shadow Ball, or Hex. Skeledirge can use Alluring Voice to provide Fairy coverage if necessary. Additionally, he can use this ability to synergize a Sunny Day for other allies, such as Venusaur.

2 Greninja

Quite frankly, the list of Greninja’s skills is an embarrassment of riches. Protean switches its own type to the move it performs once every switch-in, Torrent amplifies its Water strikes when its HP is low, and Battle Bond increases its Attack, Special Attack, and Speed after defeating an opponent. If we were under pressure, we would state that we listed these in ascending order of usefulness, but with the correct configuration, you could utilize any of them.

Still, good luck obtaining a Battle Bond Greninja in reality. They are linked to the demo of Pokemon Sun & Moon, which can no longer be downloaded.

If your strategy seems sound, give your Greninja Choice Specs so that it can utilize its first move immediately upon switching in at the price of its other three movements. Giving it a Life Orb will give it a somewhat slimmer boost at the cost of 10% of its HP per hit, if you’re not feeling very confident. You’ll have excellent offensive coverage against Water, Dark, and Ice, as well as the speed stat to hit hard and quickly, depending on what you connect it up with for attacks.

1 Cinderace

During the Sword & Shield era, Cinderace was so amazing that it broke beyond the “OU” (Overused) ceiling to become “Uber.” That is quite bizarre. Its unique ability, which grants it the advantage of STAB for whatever move it utilizes once every switch-in, is similar to that of the Greninja’s Protean. This allows it to spread incredibly well on moves like the High Jump Kick (fighting), Zen Headbutt (psychic), Gunk Shot (poison), and U-turn (bug).

Cinderace’s defining move is Pyro Ball, which has 120 Base Power, a 10% chance of dealing Burn, and an incredible animation to top it all off. When you use Court Change, the terrain effects are shifted from your opponent’s side to your own, seriously complicating anything the other player may be thinking—or, more likely, disrupting whatever your opponent is “thinking” while they are playing the game.