Pokémon Sun and Moon brings a new generation of Pokémon, the seventh, to the world. When an entry to the series adds more Pokémon to the hundreds of others, we’re given a few new starters to choose at the beginning of our adventure. Some turn out more popular than others in the long run.
My personal favorite starters are the original three, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. I don’t really have some deep analysis as to why, it’s likely simply because I started playing with the original generation and have needlessly latched onto them.
Charmander’s remained the most popular of the three, as Charizard received not one, but two Mega Evolutions in XY and ORAS (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire). Meanwhile, Blastoise and Venusaur only got one Mega Evolution.
So what the hell am I getting at? Well, picking your starter can be an important thing to your Pokémon cred. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got to work with this generation.
We’ve got Rowlett, Litten, and Popplio. I ended up going with Rowlett because, well, look at it. It’s a goddamn baby owl with a leaf bowtie! And it’ll turn its head around while in battle like a real owl. It’s adorable! And when you go to pet it, it’s favorite spot to rubbed on is its bowtie!
So how has that choice been working out for me? Well… here’s Dartix, its first evolution. It’s…ummm…well, I’m not thrilled with how it looks.
And now here’s Decidueye, Rowlett’s final evolved form. It adds Ghost to it’s type, which is a handy thing to have. It’s not as outright stupid looking as Dartrix, but it’s still pretty odd looking.
Litten is your Fire-type starter and eventually evolves into Torracat. Largely inoffensive in appearance, I started thinking maybe I should have followed my gut and went with a Fire-type.
And finally, it evolves into Incineroar, adding Dark and the look of a professional wrestler to it. Okay, I’m glad I didn’t go this route after all.
And finally, we have Popplio who, for some reason, ended up with a ton of hate. Its initial form is cute enough, so I was a little surprised by the direction it took when it evolves into Brionne.
And finally, it evolves into Primarina. While not thrilled with the actual look of it, it gains Fairy-type. It doesn’t seem like a big addition, but strong Fairy-types are a rarity and their moves are some of the only ones that can take down Dragon-types with ease.
Once I got into the post game grind of leveling and capturing in X, Xerneas, a Fairy-type legendary, ended up being at the forefront of my party, wrecking just about everything in its path without much effort. Maybe I should’ve went with Popplio after all. Instead I ended up with an owl that looks like a fourth tier superhero.
