What is your favorite second stage evolution out of the starter lines?

[RTLfan]

People care a lot less about second stage evolutions than about first and third stage ones, and since we have a lot of 'what is your favorite' questions going on at the moment I thought I'd make a thread about them.

My favorite is Grovyle which is also one of my favorite Pokemon of all time. Special mention goes to Prinplup and Bayleef which are somewhere in my top 20 favorite too.

The ones that I've noticed are popular include: Bayleef, Quilava, Combusken, and Braixen (particularly this one).

Rank them all if you're in the mood for it.

 

[Aozora]

I actually like a lot of mid-stage Pokémon too. Grovyle is probably my favorite of the starters as well. Wartortle is also pretty cool.

 

[RTLfan]

I actually like a lot of mid-stage Pokémon too. Grovyle is probably my favorite of the starters as well. Wartortle is also pretty cool.

I've posted a poll now.

 

[Vulpix037]

Kanto: Unsure
Johto: Quilava
Hoenn: Marshtomp
Sinnoh: Unsure
Unova: Pignite
Kalos: Quilladin
Alola: Torracat

 

[RTLfan]

I actually like a lot of mid-stage Pokémon too. Grovyle is probably my favorite of the starters as well. Wartortle is also pretty cool.

So what do you like about those two?

 

[Aozora]

So what do you like about those two?

I like the designs I guess. Grovyle looks pretty agile and I like the leaves on its hands. I like Wartortles's ears and tail.

 

[Tenjiku]

Gen I: Ivysaur
Gen II: Quilava
Gen III: Combusken
Gen IV: Prinplup
Gen V: Servine
Gen VI: Braixen
Gen VII: Brionne

They are part of my favorite starter lines in each gen, so this was an easy pick for me.

 

[Gengarzilla]

Am I really alone in my Grotle love here? How depressing. None of the other twenty options appeal to me that much.

 

[DoctorWhy]

Kanto: Wartortle
Johto: Quilava
Hoenn: Marshtomp
Sinnoh: Monferno
Unova: Dewott
Kalos: Quilladin
Alola: Dartrix

 

[RTLfan]

Am I really alone in my Grotle love here? How depressing. None of the other twenty options appeal to me that much.

What do you like about it?

 

[Nicolas721]

Marshtomp is the god of gods, and our world was made on its image and likeness.

Anyway, I will classify them in good ones, decent ones and meh ones.

..............Good.................Decent......................Meh
Kanto....Charmeleon .....Ivysaur.....................Wartortle
Johto.....- .......................Quilava/Bayleef.......Croconaw
Hoenn...Marshtomp......Grovyle....................Combusken
Sinnoh..Grotle...............Monferno.................Prinplup
Unova...Pignite/Dewott.-...............................Servine
Kalos.....- ........................Quilladin/Frogadier..Braixen
Alola......Dartrix..............Torracat......................Brionne

 

[zvinko]

Dartrix is my favorite, but I picked one for every gen:
Wartotle
Bayleef
Grovyle
Prinplup
Servine
Braixen
Dartrix

 

[Esserise]

Gen 1: Ivysaur - The Bulbasaur line, out of the Gen 1 Starter lines, has by far the smoothest transition across its evolutions, and that is due in large part to Ivysaur hitting exactly the right balance of slightly older-looking Bulbasaur traits and blossoming Venusaur traits. I've always had a liking for it; design-wise I prefer it to both Bulbasaur and Venusaur. My favorite thing about it is the colors, the teal body with the green leaves, capped by the lovely pink bulb.

Gen 2: Croconaw - Totodile is my favorite Johto Starter by a pretty wide margin, and Croconaw lives up to that. It's just cartoonish enough to seem like it has a silly side, like Totodile, but it is equally capable of looking fierce. I also really like the "caveman" look that the pattern across its torso gives it, and like the Bulbasaur line, this is a very smooth evolutionary transition, with Croconaw looking like a perfect blend of Totodile and Feraligatr. The name "Croconaw" is also pretty satisfying to say.

Gen 3: Grovyle - The coolest of cool. Just look at the air of calm but capable aloofness that this thing effortlessly radiates. Grovyle's look is so satisfying, that it is the only mid-stage Starter that I sometimes feel tempted to leave unevolved (but I never do, of course, because Sceptile is awesome as well - but the temptation is there).

Gen 4: Monferno - A well-rounded design with enough going on to look interesting, which is where Grotle and Prinplup kind of fall short. Grotle's concept hasn't materialized enough yet to really latch on to, and I was never a huge fan of Prinplup's design.

Gen 5: Pignite - It has the most personality of the three for me, and its burliness gives it a sense of gravity and solidity. The little details like the "singlet" and its tail ending in a smoke cloud shape are what seal it for me.

Gen 6: Frogadier - A.K.A. Wet Grovyle. Braixen comes close to being my choice here, but Frogadier is so cool-looking that I can't resist.

Gen 7: Torracat - Huge cat/tiger lover here, and Torracat looks so proud and confident, but not in a way that's loud of boisterous. I especially love the use of the collar bell as the "active flame" that appears on many Fire-type Starters. But also, look at those eyes. And especially in this Refresh animation, the appearance of which in a trailer I remember being the moment that I was sold on Torracat:

Spoiler

 

[Gengarzilla]

What do you like about it?

The inspiration behind Grotle's (and subsequently Torterra's) overall design, even if it's a bit simple/bland coming after something as liked as Grovyle. I was very happy to see that it was taking ideas from the World Turtle myths and it's a species I still vividly remember using before its evolution in my Platinum run a year ago. Normally I eventually forget about most things my starters do in their basic and middle stages.

One moment in particular was it overcoming my little sister's Feraligatr after taking a hard Ice Fang hit. Grass weakness aside, Feraligatr has superior stats from being higher in its evolution line so I found it really impressive.

 

[SirOni]

Brionne is my absolute favorite. It's incredibly cute and I love all of its animations. This Pokemon is so overflowing with joy it's just so precious!

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

Torracat and Charmeleon

 

[Zkat]

Grovyle, Dewott, and Torracat

 

[Sakuraa]

Grovyle and Dewott.

 

[Camille]

Kanto: Wartortle, love its fur-covered tail and ears. Ivysaur is pretty cool, too, but I don't like Charmeleon because it looks full of itself and arrogant.
Johto: Quilava, it's so sleek. Bayleef is quite cute, but Croconaw is just goofy.
Hoenn: Grovyle, it is also sleek. Marshtomp and Combusken both look derpy.
Sinnoh: don't like any of the middle stages.
Unova: Servine, it is so elegant.
Kalos: Braixen, simply because Quilladin is creepy and Frogadier is bland.
Alola: Torracat, for its sleek design. Dartrix is goofy and Brionne has the skirt-thing I don't like.

 

[ocelotlrama jaguar]

I love Pignite and Torracat! I kind of wish I didn't have to evolve them as I like them more than their evolutions (even though I love their evolutions, too).