Which region had the best starter Pokemon?

[Pokemaster Justin]

Indigo:
Bulbasaur
Charmander
Squirtle

Johto:
Chickorita
Cyndaquil
Totodile

Hoenn:
Treeko
Torchic
Mudkip

Shinnoh:
Turtwig
Piplup
Chimchar

Which pokemon do you think had the best set of personality and most character development??

This is for Scott ;p

 

[Cybersai]

At this point, I'd probably still say Kanto. Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard got a lot of character development, and whenever they re-appear it usually means something special.

Did you ever notice Bulbasaur/Squirtle/Charizard are the only starters to actually get individual goodbye episodes? When these three left the team, it felt like a "character" moreso than a Pokemon was leaving the show. Their goodbye eps in Johto had a bit of a sad feeling to it, you didn't really get that feeling when the other teams left.

It also really feels like the writers themselves care more about the original starters more than the others. It may just be the nostalgia talking, but there was something about Bulbasaur/Squirtle/Charizard as a team that just felt memorable or interesting, even in the Pikachu shorts. The writers also reunite them or bring them back to Ash's team after every so often, and it always feels like a big event when these three come back, either individually or altogether.

I dunno if it was the chemistry they had together or how much they meant to Ash, but there was something about that team that just seems important or memorable.

 

[MetaRobo]

Bulbasaur/Charmander/Squirtle was indeed a good dynamic, but Blaziken and Sceptile got a lot of character development rivalling Charizard. I would say that the Hoenn starters would be better than Kanto if it weren't for Marshtomp being shafted under Brock.

 

[Shift]

And I think we kinda have a repeat of that in Sinnoh, with Piplup and Chimchar getting the lion's share of devolopment, and Turtwig being more or less under the radar at the moment. Who knows how it'll end up...

Yeah, I agree on Kanto; all three had very strong personalities and developmental arcs, so yeah.

 

[manathief]

Hmm... I'd have to say Johto. I love all three of the Johto starters, especially Cyndaquil.

 

[Lil Brother]

Mmm, as far as the anime is concerned? Probably Hoenn. Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile had a cool, unique personality and presence. Not to mention it had some very entertaining battles and was the most badass Pokémon ever belonging to a main character. Torchic/Combusken/Blaziken was funny but neglected in its first form, but upon evolution became a great, often-used battler who was still very likeable off the battlefield.

I'm going to have to dock points for Mudkip/Marshtomp being so criminally underused, though. Just about everyone loves the Mudkip line, why in the world did it barely get any focus and only a bare-bones personality? Hell, Mudkip only ever used one move before evolving and it was only ever used alongside Lombre when something needed to become wet or blasted away. Poor thing.

Also, let it be known I'm still somewhat sour about the Kanto starters coming the eff out of nowhere at the end of AG and totally shafting the AG group. Screw you guys, Kanto starters, this was the last chance Sceptile, Swellow, and Corphish (who really should have become Crawdaunt) had to show off their show for the forseeable future and you just stole it from them for no good reason.

 

[Cybersai]

Also, let it be known I'm still somewhat sour about the Kanto starters coming the eff out of nowhere at the end of AG and totally shafting the AG group. Screw you guys, Kanto starters, this was the last chance Sceptile, Swellow, and Corphish (who really should have become Crawdaunt) had to show off their show for the forseeable future and you just stole it from them for no good reason.

I agree and disagree.

Swellow and Corphish did enough. Not only were they there for practically the whole series, but both got two Frontier Brain battles. Swellow got Tucker and Spenser and did extremely well in both, in addition to battling Deoxys a little bit. Corphish was also in Tucker as well as Anabel, AND Corphish battled in that Butch/Cassidy tournament episode in which it took out a Marowak and some other pokemon. They did enough.

I know Sceptile should have been used again. It got Spenser's battle, battled that talking Scizor, battled Deoxys, battled Jessie's Dustox, battled Regirock, and battled Blaziken. I do agree it should have been used again, but its a given we'll see it in D/P at some point.

Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard returned because Kanto was their home region and the saga was also intended to advertise FR/LG. Not to mention we didn't get to see Ash's Squirtle at all in AG till the end, remember?

 

[PDL]

Hard to say really. The only reason why the group ends up having all 3 starters at their disposal is for marketing reasons. Even though only one or two will end up having extensive development.

This is off course due to the writer's inability to follow more then two character's storylines at a time. (Brock is only a side character, not a bad thing in itself, but the focus is on the main characters, Ash and the female heroine.)

In the indigo season, Ash ended up catching all three starters. This was fine since there wasn't anyone before them. But it seemed like Ash developed the closest to Bulbasaur. He was on Ash's team for the longest time, and he is Ash's oldest "wild-caught" Pokémon that he still has. Charizard got his share of development, although I think that his development is kinda bad compared to Pokémon that debuted much later in the anime. He developed a disobedient streak for apparently no reason upon evolving, spent only 3 episodes as a charmeleon... They probably wanted Ash to have a Charizard as soon as possible since Charizard is the 2nd most famous Pokémon (after Pikachu). Squirtle however, was developed the least. No hint about if it was going to evolve, and it's only character development was that it fights fires.

The Jotho team was a complete disaster since they were trying to emulate the Kanto team. But Ash was still the closest to Bayleef. Cyndaquil received some character development, but this was later dropped, while Totodile only had that silly dancing.

Hoenn arrived and major changes were introduced. Ash was given only one starter, Treekco, and this character worked extremely well, possibly rivaling Charizard in power. The fire starter was given to May, and this worked extremely well. Although it was somewhat ignored as a Torchic at first, there was a major power boost when it evolved into Combusken, signifying that May was no longer a newbie and can pull her own weight. It's evolution into Blazkien ment that May is no longer a rookie trainer, but a skilled one in her own right. Brock's Mudkip on the other hand... That didn't go so well. This is mostly because Brock's occupation as a Breeder means that there's no real competitions involved. He didn't really have anything to prove to others (Aside from how well cared for his Pokémon were.)

With Sinnoh, It appears that they wanted to start with Ash getting the grass starter (as usual), but they changed a little so that the new heroine got the often neglected water starter and the fire starter went to the rival. It worked well for Ash and Dawn, but the big problem with Chimchar was that Paul didn't appear every episode, so while Turtwig and Piplup received a ton of showcasing, Chimchar received little. So it was hastly fixed so that Paul's Chimchar became Ash's. Now if only Ash would use his starters more...

 

[Yamato-san]

Mmm, as far as the anime is concerned? Probably Hoenn. Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile had a cool, unique personality and presence. Not to mention it had some very entertaining battles and was the most badass Pokémon ever belonging to a main character. Torchic/Combusken/Blaziken was funny but neglected in its first form, but upon evolution became a great, often-used battler who was still very likeable off the battlefield.

personally, I like that Achamo didn't do much before it evolved. The anime constantly portrays starters as these uber (sometimes broken) Pokemon that could kick serious amounts of ass even in their unevolved forms. I know games=/=anime, but I find it worth mentioning that your starter has base stats that are only a little bit higher than the early-game birds and rodents, plus it starts at level 5 whereas they're all level 2-4. Overall, it's meant to make your first venture into the wild a lot easier, but it's anything but uber material, and the anime should really follow this example more often. Haruka's Achamo is probably the only time that the anime actually represented a starter Pokemon in a more realistic fashion, so I actually enjoyed its treatment. Oh, and fucking seconded on Satoshi's Jukain.

I'm going to have to dock points for Mudkip/Marshtomp being so criminally underused, though. Just about everyone loves the Mudkip line, why in the world did it barely get any focus and only a bare-bones personality? Hell, Mudkip only ever used one move before evolving and it was only ever used alongside Lombre when something needed to become wet or blasted away. Poor thing.

even though they finally got rid of Kasumi, I guess the writers never realized that having several Water Gun-spamming Water-types in the party at one time is a horrible idea until around the time Takeshi's Hasubrero evolved into Runpappa. On another note, how ironic that Hasubou ended up being Takeshi's more-developed Pokemon in Houen... could the reason that they completely bullshitted Runpappa out of the cast as soon as Battle Frontier began be because they wanted some focus on Mizugorou/Numacraw?

Also, let it be known I'm still somewhat sour about the Kanto starters coming the eff out of nowhere at the end of AG and totally shafting the AG group. Screw you guys, Kanto starters, this was the last chance Sceptile, Swellow, and Corphish (who really should have become Crawdaunt) had to show off their show for the forseeable future and you just stole it from them for no good reason.

agreed, though I'm more pissed because they totally screwed us out of an epic 3 Regi match and Jukain's proper revenge battle (I keep saying the guy could've fucking won that match if they just showed Satoshi developing a strategy against Lock-on... which was strangely absent with Regice. So now what? Are the writers just gonna leave it that Lock-on is an unstoppable move? Or maybe they're just too damn lazy to think of a proper counter -_-). Admittedly, though, I don't see Oosubame and Heigani being very useful in that type of situation, seeing as Oosubame is disadvantageous against all three, and Heigani's neutral against two of them (and neutrality won't get you far in a legendary match... unless you're deus ex Pikachu), and strong against one, who just happens to also be weak against Jukain (who's clearly the better choice). Though, if they made Jindai's battle a 5-on-5, or even a full 6-on-6, and included some/all of his Pokemon that were used against the 1st gen starters combined with the Regis, then they could probably go out with a bang.

 

[Lil Brother]

Though, if they made Jindai's battle a 5-on-5, or even a full 6-on-6, and included some/all of his Pokemon that were used against the 1st gen starters combined with the Regis, then they could probably go out with a bang.

Now there's an idea. That would have been awesome. XD

 

[Nomura]

1st goes to Kanto
2nd goes to Hoenn

we'll know for sure what sinnoh gets when the league is over.

 

[WolfMan]

I think that easily the best starters are the Kanto ones especially Charizard. I am no talking totally about the anime ones but also about them in general.

For the anime I think that the best is Kanto. Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charizard that belonged to Ash were tbe best and I was sad when all three of them had to leave.

Johto I think for the anime could have been better. The pokemon were cool but I think that they could have had more personality. Chicorita was very possesive, Totodile was active and happy and Cyndaquil was a bit of a baby.

Hoenn was kinda cool I think especially Treecko, Torchic was pathetic at best but it's evolutions were cool. Mudkip I think was just kind of neglected a bit.

Sinnoh's starters were OK I think in the anime. Turtwig was a moody little thing, Turtwig was quite lazy and Chimchar was just sad in every way.


With the pokemon in general Kanto still gets the prize of first place, Charmander being the best with a very close from Squirtle and Bulbasaur and their families.

Johto I thought was good also, especially Typhlosion. The only one I thought could have been better was Croconaw because I don't like his color scheme.

Hoenn I thought really gave it a good boost with original designs. As I said before Torchic was very poor I think. Treecko is the coolest of the three but the one I didn't like was Marshtomp it was plain ugly.

I thought that Sinnoh starters were just lazy. The only half decent one was Turtwig only and his evolutions. Turtwig and Chimchar had pathetic evolutions and also were incredibly annoying.

 

[PowerMac]

Best is Jhoto, 2nd best would be Kanto. I mean I loved the Totodile dance

 

[Musashi]

but the big problem with Chimchar was that Paul didn't appear every episode, so while Turtwig and Piplup received a ton of showcasing, Chimchar received little. So it was hastly fixed so that Paul's Chimchar became Ash's. Now if only Ash would use his starters more...

I think Satoshi getting Hikozaru was planned from the start.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Houen.

Satoshi's Jukain was one of his best and most well-developed Pokemon ever. Haruka's Bashamo was also very awesome, and had tons of great moments. Yeah, Numacraw was on the Takeshi Team of No Return, but 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

 

[Charizards Burn]

I'd say kanto because if you remember the league ash had all those really strong pokemon.

His kingler smashed that magician dudes 3 pokemon!

Second would be johto for me coz johto league had some of the best battles the show has ever seen.

His battle with gary was by far the best.

 

[Midnightmoon602]

for me it's Hoenn. i really like the three starter. i really like Torchic. it's so adorble. ^_^

With the Sinnoh starter but i don't know if it's just me but dosen't Turtwig remind you guys a little bit of Bulbasaur? Bulb, seed? anything common? and with Chimchar it also reminds me of Charmander's tail. they both need it to live. if it's gone. their both dead. Wih Pilpup well thats new.

The Johto startes would have to be my second fav. i love Chickorita
and Cyndaquil. very cute. and love when Totodile always bite Jessies hair. just loved it. ^_^

And the Kanto starters well they have really strong third evoltions. very strong starters.

 

[Musashi]

and with Chimchar it also reminds me of Charmander's tail. they both need it to live. if it's gone. their both dead.

Hikozaru's goes out when it falls asleep. He doesn't need it to live.

 

[MetaRobo]

Hoenn was kinda cool I think especially Treecko, Torchic was pathetic at best but it's evolutions were cool. Mudkip I think was just kind of neglected a bit.

Sinnoh's starters were OK I think in the anime. Turtwig was a moody little thing, Turtwig was quite lazy and Chimchar was just sad in every way.


With the pokemon in general Kanto still gets the prize of first place, Charmander being the best with a very close from Squirtle and Bulbasaur and their families.

Johto I thought was good also, especially Typhlosion. The only one I thought could have been better was Croconaw because I don't like his color scheme.

Hoenn I thought really gave it a good boost with original designs. As I said before Torchic was very poor I think. Treecko is the coolest of the three but the one I didn't like was Marshtomp it was plain ugly.

I thought that Sinnoh starters were just lazy. The only half decent one was Turtwig only and his evolutions. Turtwig and Chimchar had pathetic evolutions and also were incredibly annoying.

I like how the later two generations' starters were more original gameplay-wise. The first two generations' starters had middling stats and obvious typing (except perhaps Charizard and Fire/Flying). The later two generations gave more unique typings such as Fire/Fighting and Water/Steel and the stats were more distinct. They optimized Infernape for sweeping, Sceptile for speed, and Empoleon for Special tanking, for example.

 

[JB88]

Kanto had the original classics, so I can't say anything against them, they helped the franchise become what it is now.

Johto could've had a lot of help. The only starters I thought were alright were Cyndaquil and Totodile. But Chikorita...why did they have to make it so girly? They certainly improved the next generation's grass-type considerably, to make it more cool.

Hoenn-yes all three of them. Right off the bat Treeko just looks great. Its evolved forms have no doubt that they'll be popular. Torchic looks more like a baby Pokemon, but once it evolves it's perfect. Mudkip was alright, like an "average" starter, though it's final evolved form could rival the other two. Overall the Hoenn starters was a great change from Generation II.

With Generation IV, I see they went back from "bulb on it's back" Bulbasaur to "plant on it's head" Turtwig. They copied the whole thing down from Venusaur's flower to Torterra's tree. It's not a bad looking starter though, it's ok. Chimchar is fine, and a pretty awesome Infernape. Piplup is okay too and the Empoleon is no joke.