The most important part of starting a new Pokémon game is choosing a starter, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s selection of Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly is no exception. One of these three will be the player’s first Pokémon in Paldea, and like many starters, it will likely become the player’s main Pokémon through their journey. Because of this, choosing the right Gen 9 starter can be crucial to success.
Starter Pokémon have a few constants. They are always a selection of Grass-, Fire-, and Water-types, and they have Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent as their abilities, respectively. In addition, most of them are quite strong, at least in terms of the single-player campaign. They’re usually stronger than most Pokémon that the player encounters in the early game, and their final forms typically have at least one good stat or set of moves available. While one can already argue which Scarlet and Violet starter is cutest, it takes a closer look to determine which will be strongest in the long run.
Sprigatito Is Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Fast, Aggressive Grass Starter
Sprigatito quickly gained a lot of fan popularity upon release for being a cute green cat. Despite its cute appearance, Sprigatito is tougher than one may expect. While a lot of past Grass-type starters have been largely defensive and focused on status effects, Sprigatito and its evolutions are all about aggression. Even though its final form Meowscarada is based on a magician, its stats and moveset all point toward being a fierce physical fighter.
Sprigatito starts with its Attack and Speed being slightly higher than its other stats, and that’s exaggerated once it evolves into Meowscarada, when those two stats are significantly higher than everything else. In fact, Meowscarada is the fastest fully-evolved starter Pokémon in the series to date. Although Pokémon‘s starters evolve slightly too quickly, that just lets Sprigatito reach its full potential earlier. That forms a lethal combination when combined with Meowscarada’s signature Flower Trick, with is guaranteed to hit and score a critical hit. However, for as strong as the Sprigatito line is, all of its stats aside from its phenomenal Speed and Attack suffer. While Sprigatito will be a solid battler early on against enemies with a lower power level, Meowscarada needs to knock out its late-game opponents quickly, otherwise, it’s liable to get taken down itself.
Sprigatito is a significantly different beast from most Grass-types. It borrows more from Sun and Moon‘s Tsareena than the series’ original Grass-type starter Bulbasaur. It goes against the norm, and does so in an impressive way. Sprigatito hides a lot of potential behind its adorable face, and fans of Grass-type Pokémon are unlikely to be disappointed. Not only does Sprigatito have Scarlet and Violet‘s best starter design, but it may be one of the best starters overall.
Fuecoco Is A Silly, But Well-Balanced Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Fire Starter
While Sprigatito is clearly a cat and Quaxly is clearly a duck, the silly-looking Fuecoco’s inspiration was a little harder to discern until its evolution Skeledirge made it clear that it’s supposed to be a crocodile. That doesn’t make Fuecoco any less solid of a choice as a starter, though. However, there is a rather stark difference between Fuecoco’s early potential and that of Skeledirge in the late game.
Ironically for a Fire-type, Fuecoco’s speed is glacial, and that isn’t something that improves much as it evolves. This is a notable weakness, and it can really hold it back early on as it will be almost constantly moving last. Thankfully, Fuecoco is durable enough to endure a lot of attacks, and has the Special Attack to make its own hits count when faced with Scarlet and Violet‘s new Paradox Pokémon. Its final evolution Skeledirge also gives it a fantastic weapon in Torch Song, which raises its Special Attack further with every use. At the same time, while the Fuecoco line has more good stats than the other starter choices, its strengths are less emphasized to balance it out.
Fuecoco’s low speed is a disadvantage that its trainers will be forced to play around all game, but its potential will only grow the longer the game goes on. Fuecoco has no competition in terms of being the tankiest of Scarlet and Violet‘s starters, but it’s debatable whether it’s actually better than Sprigatito. Although Fuecoco would win in a head-to-head battle, Sprigatito’s ability to act earlier in most fights without sacrificing any power gives it a distinct advantage. Although Fuecoco shares Scarlet and Violet‘s Pokédex with Charizard, it has enough to offer to stand out in its own right.
Quaxly Is A Water Starter With A Powerful Trick In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Quaxly is a tiny duckling Pokémon with a design reminiscent of a blue rubber ducky, making it easy to like on aesthetic alone. It’s also rather easy to underestimate Quaxly because even in the early game, it’s quite a bit stronger than one may expect. It has a lot to live up to after previous Water-type starters like Mudkip and Popplio, but Quaxly brings its own set of perks to Scarlet and Violet that set it apart from the other options.
Quaxly’s stats are rather evenly-distributed, except for its higher Attack, and this continues until its final evolution, where its Attack skyrockets to a top-tier rating, almost comparable to Pokémon‘s rare and powerful pseudo-Legendaries. Thanks to this, by the end of the game Quaquaval can hit harder than any of the other starter evolutions by default. If anything, the Quaxly line’s biggest downside is that while its Attack is excellent, its other stats are only average. It doesn’t have Strigatito’s eventual speed or Fuecoco’s eventual bulk. Even its signature move, Aqua Step, is a step below the others, as while its Speed increasing effect is useful, it doesn’t help Quaquaval hit harder like Flower Trick or Torch Song do.
Looking solely at base potential, Quaxly is unfortunately probably not the best, but by no means does that make it a bad Pokémon. It can hit the hardest by default, and its hidden Moxie ability can make it even more dangerous. The Quaxly line may not be the best in Paldea, but it can still do well to guide players through Scarlet and Violet‘s three story campaigns.
With everything taken into consideration, Sprigatito looks like the best available starter option in Scarlet and Violet, thanks to it having the greatest ability to end fights quickly. It’s a fairly close race between the three though, and all of them are still valid options that players can get a lot out of. No matter which of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s starters one may consider the best, it’s up to each player to make their own choice.