A staple of the Pokemon series is the first Pokemon that you choose to start your journey and Pokemon GO is no different. When you begin the game, you’ll have a selection of starter Pokemon nearby that you can catch to get started. You’ll have some of the classics like Charmander, and Squirtle as well as some lesser known starters like Pikachu, and Eevee. Even though you’ll spend a lot of time catching new Pokemon and the same Pokemon to get the necessary Candies, your starter can prove to be invaluable in the beginning and can grow to be one of your strongest allies if you put in the time and effort.
When choosing a starter, you need to think about what they will become in the future. Some will stay the same type while others may gain a new type which can change entirely how they play. Dual-typing can be useful in making your starter more versatile, but also opens them up to new vulnerabilities. Depending on how they grow, your starters will gain access to different moves as they get stronger and evolve. Make sure you frequently check what moves are available for your Pokemon as they level up while keeping in mind that certain moves will be locked until they reach a certain point.
TOP 5 BEST STARTERS IN POKEMON GO
Bulbasaur -> Venusaur
One of the original trio, Bulbasaur is considered one of the least popular starter choices. However, they have new life and value in Pokemon GO. A lot of their strength comes from the fact that they’re dual-type, Poison and Grass. In the early game, this makes Bulbasaur an effective starter as they can learn a variety of Poison and Grass moves that can be combined for defensive and offensive strategies. When it finally evolves into Venusaur, it’s able to learn some very powerful moves. One of the strongest pairings is Razor Leaf (fast) and Frenzy Plant (charge). Although Frenzy Plant takes a bit longer to charge, it has one of the highest damage outputs of any Grass-type move.
Charmander -> Charizard
Following Bulbasaur, you also have the option to choose arguably the most popular of the original trio, Charmander. Starting out as just a Fire-type, they’re limited in their effectiveness but they learn some damaging charge moves early on such as Flame Burst. As long as they don’t have a bad matchup, Charmander can sweep a lot of opponents early on. The true power comes when they turn into the fan favourite Charizard. Becoming a Fire/Flying dual-type, they can learn a combination of Fire, Flying, and the highly effective Dragon-type moves. A good combo that gives them a strong ranking in both offense and defense, is to assign Wing Attack to the Fast slot and Blast Burn to the Charge slot. Easily one of the best starters in Pokemon GO.
Treecko -> Sceptile
As Pokemon has evolved, single-types have struggled to remain a good choice both in the early and late game. For Pokemon GO, Treecko is a well-known Grass-type that proves to be stronger than they let on. It starts off by having some decent Fast Grass moves, but can be surprising in also knowing an adaptable Normal move as well as the surprising Flying attack Aerial Ace. When it finally becomes Sceptile, that’s when it really lays into the power plays. It still holds onto Aerial Ace, but also can learn the Dragon attack Dragon Claw, the bug attack Fury Cutter, and the high-damage Grass move Leaf Blade. The most balanced and efficient combo for this large green lizard is to give them the fast-hitting Bullet Seed to quickly build up the Frenzy Plant meter.