User blog:Mrdaimion/Top Fifteen Starter Pokemon - Part Three (5-1)

As some of you may have noticed, I like Pokemon. A lot. Because of my not-so-secret love for it, I've decided to make a countdown blog about it discussing something very important- the starters. Some starters are amazing. Some starters are absoultly terrible. However, today I gather to talk about both of them- the good and the bad- to say who I think is superior. Will anyone agree with my opinions? Probably not, but let's get started anyways!

Also, just so you all know, I'll mainly be going over the Pokemon's final evolution even when I refer to them as their first form's name, simply because you'll be using the final form for most of the game.

5. Charmander
On a random note, I'm actually using Charmander on my current LeafGreen run.

Now that that bit of pointlessness is out of the way though, while Charmander is extremly over-rated (fun fact: it's on the boxart of five different games [Red, Firered, Pokemon Ranger, Pokemon Stadium, and PMD: Explorers of Sky), I can't deny that it deserves every bit of fame it gets, being incredibly powerful. It has (debatably) one of the best Starter types, with Fire and Flying both being super-effective against Grass, and the fact that Blastoise isn't Steel (which I always found stupid) makes Flying do regular damage, a huge advantage when it comes to fighting it. It's typing isn't all talk either, it has the best stats of all the Kanto starters, and- as far as I'm aware- in a tie for best stats of all starters, period. It's move pull was pretty good in the original version as well (though I can't stress enough how stupid it was for the final move it learned to be- of all things- Fire Spin [a move with 15 Power]), and only increased over time, now being able to learn Flare Blitz. It's design is pretty BA too, not gonna lie about that- especially it's Shiny sprite (which you can see here). It also gets bonus points for being one of the best Pokemon in the anime, being so strong it even realized how terrible of a trainer Ash was and never obeyed him.

Charmander isn't nearly as great as everyone says, though- for a huge flaw, it's pretty much screwed in Wi-Fi battling, as Stealth Rock takes out half of it's HP when it comes out onto the field. Also... I dunno, there's just something I kind of don't like about this Pokemon.

4. Torchic
That's weird, we got rid of the three remanining fire types in a row.

But anyway, Torchic is a really, really good Pokemon. Not only did it start out the Fire/Fighting combo typing- which was only good on Blaziken by the way- but it also has stats to help back up the typing, with 120 Attack and 110 Spec. Attack. (I will admit, though, the typing wasn't very good for moves such as Blaze Kick until the Gen IV Physical/Special split.) Blaziken's design also has to be one of my favorite Fire type designs, because I like how it makes something as silly as a Chicken look so... Threatening. Blaziken's move pull was alright as well, I suppose, learning Sky Uppercut, Mirror Move, and Blaze Kick (though it's move pull wasn't the best, it certainly could have been worse).

And, as an added bonus, Blaziken is so good, it's the only Starter banned from tournaments- it's Dream World ability (Speed Boost; raises Speed after every turn) made it such a potential sweeper that it was unfair. I dunno about you, but I think that that alone is a good enough reason to put Torchic up this high.

3. Snivy
Ah, yes, the Smugleaf everyone loves/hates (depends on who you ask). Obviously, I'm one of the few who love it. Why, you ask? Well, unlike some, I really do love how smug all of it's designs look- it's kind of like saying "yeah, I'm great and I know it. You wanna argue with me about it?" And it's not that it has no basis for it's confidence as well, having the best Dream World ability out of every Starter by far (Contary; makes stat changes to you have the opposite effect), being an extremly fast Wall (which can prove to be very useful), and having a good move pull, learning moves like Leaf Tornado (move with 65 Power and it learns it at Level 16), Leaf Blade, and Giga Drain. Honestly, though, I don't have much to say on this Pokemon- probably cause I never finished Black and White, but still, I love Snivy anyways.

2. Squirtle
Yeah, some fanboys are already sharpening their swords for Squirtle not being #1, but I love the top one- who, if you've been keeping track you should know- even more, and you'll see why when I talk about it. Back onto Squirtle, though, this is debatably the best Starter wall in the game, having amazing Defense of 100 and 105 (Spec.), and it has the good Atk. (83) and Spec. Atk. (85), along with the really good moves to back it up (learning Skull Bash, Iron Defense, and- most famously- Hydro Pump). Also- though I know you all are sick of hearing this- it's Blastoise design looks really good, you can't deny it. I also really like it's Pokedex entry:

''Blastoise has water spouts that protrude from its shell. The water spouts are very accurate. They can shoot bullets of water with enough accuracy to strike empty cans from a distance of over 160 feet.''

Still don't think Squirtle deserves this spot? Blastoise has effin' cannons coming out of it's back. Your arguement is invalid.

1. Treecko
Yeah, my favorite Starter ever is Treecko- allow me to explain.

For one thing, I really like how- so far- it's the only Grass Starter who's based offensivly rather then defensively, having really high Spec. Attack (105) and Speed (120), a nice pace of change for the series. Grovyle's design is also one of my favorite Pokemon designs ever, because come on... It looks so cool. It also has a really good move pull, learning things such as Leaf Blade (which, in Gen III, was it's signature move), Slam, False Swipe (though False Swipe can be argued to not very good, it's very helpful for catching Pokemon, as it never knocks them out), and- believe it or not- Leaf Storm. I know I said Leaf Storm wasn't very good back with Venusaur, but it works a lot better with Sceptile- Sceptile is faster, so it can use it's moves a lot faster then Venusaur, therefore allowing it more chances to attack, and also, it has it's Physical moves to rely on, unlike Venusaur. And, to end off this list, witness one of the best Pokedex entries in existance (not sure why I love it so much, but hey):

''The leaves that grow on its arms can slice down thick trees. It is without peer in jungle combat.''