Top 10 Worst Starter Pokémon
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the host revisits the topic of worst Pokémon starters, evolving his ranking criteria from a previous video. He now focuses on how certain starters make the game more challenging due to their type disadvantages and lack of utility in their respective games. The ranking includes familiar faces like Chikorita and Charmander, with Pikachu in Yellow Version taking the top spot for its inability to evolve and overall weakness. The host provides a detailed analysis of each starter's performance against gym leaders and emphasizes the importance of type matchups in making strategic choices in Pokémon games.
Takeaways
- 🔄 The video creator, Michael, has evolved in his ranking method since his last video, now focusing on how starters perform in the games rather than just criticizing them.
- 🌟 The ranking is based on which starters make the game more difficult when chosen, considering their effectiveness against gym leaders and other battles.
- 🔍 Spatio is not a bad starter overall, but it has some weaknesses and requires patience to become strong, making it the 10th worst starter to pick.
- 🐢 Squirtle from Kanto is beneficial against the first gym but struggles in subsequent gyms, making it replaceable and the 8th worst starter.
- 🦊 Sableye is the least effective of the Galar starters, only excelling in one major battle and being frail in double battles, ranking it as the 7th worst.
- 🔥 Ash is particularly limited in Black and White, only excelling in one gym battle and being weak in several others, placing it at number 6.
- 🌿 Squirtle in X and Y suffers from being a water type in a region where it isn't the best choice, and it never gets a secondary type to improve its utility, making it the 5th worst starter.
- 🌱 Chespin is the least effective of the Kalos starters, being weak to many gym leaders and only shining in the last two gyms, ranking it as the 4th worst.
- 🔥 Charmander in Kanto is a challenging choice due to being weak against the first two gyms and not providing much utility afterward, making it the 3rd worst starter.
- 🌿 Chikorita is infamous for being a poor choice, with a pure grass type that has many weaknesses and limited usefulness in its home region, ranking it as the 2nd worst starter.
- ⚡ Pikachu in Yellow Version is the worst starter because it cannot evolve and has a low base stat total, making it a weak choice throughout the game.
Q & A
What was the main purpose of the video?
-The main purpose of the video was to rank the top 10 worst starters in Pokémon games based on which ones make the game more difficult when selected.
How has the creator's perspective on ranking Pokémon changed over time?
-The creator has evolved in their perspective, moving away from simply criticizing Pokémon others like to a more balanced approach that acknowledges personal growth and changing opinions on certain Pokémon.
What is the ranking method used for the video?
-The ranking method is based on which starters are the worst to pick in the games in terms of making the game more difficult, rather than just criticizing Pokémon for the sake of it.
Why did the creator choose to include Spatio on the list?
-Spatio was included because, despite not being a bad starter with some strengths, it has several weaknesses and requires more patience to become effective, making it somewhat flawed.
What is the issue with Squirtle as a starter in the Kanto region?
-Squirtle struggles after being useful against the first gym, Brock. It is weak against several subsequent gyms and, while it eventually becomes useful again, it is replaceable by other water types available later in the game.
How does Sableone's performance in the Galar region compare to the other two starters?
-Sableone gets the worst order of gym matchups in the Galar region, being weak or not particularly helpful in several of the early gym battles, making it less effective than the other starters.
What makes Turtwig, the starter from the Sinnoh region, a less desirable choice?
-Turtwig, and its evolutions, have limited opportunities to excel due to a lack of secondary typing and facing several gym leaders with Pokémon that either resist or are strong against it.
Why is Squirtle's performance in X and Y considered poor?
-Squirtle in X and Y is weak against several gym leaders and does not receive a secondary type to help it in battles, making it a less effective choice compared to other starters.
What are some of the challenges Snivy faces in the Unova region gyms?
-Snivy faces challenges as it is weak against multiple gym leaders and does not have many opportunities to excel due to the types of Pokémon used by the gym leaders.
How does Chespin's performance in the Kalos region compare to other starters?
-Chespin is considered the worst of the Kalos starters because it is weak to several gym leaders and does not have the opportunity to shine until late in the game, making it a less effective choice.
What makes Charmander a difficult starter to use in the Kanto region?
-Charmander is weak to the first two gym leaders, which is a significant disadvantage early in the game when team options are limited. It also does not provide much help beyond the third gym leader.
Why is Chikorita considered one of the worst starters?
-Chikorita is considered one of the worst starters due to its pure Grass typing, which gives it multiple weaknesses, a limited move pool, and lack of useful abilities, making it less effective throughout the game.
What makes Pikachu in Yellow Version the worst starter of all?
-Pikachu in Yellow Version is considered the worst starter because it cannot evolve, has a low base stat total, and its pure Electric typing is not as effective as other starters, making it a weak choice throughout the game.
Outlines
🔥 Ranking the Worst Starter Pokémon in the Games
The video script discusses a ranking of the top 10 worst starter Pokémon to choose in the games based on their effectiveness. It mentions that the ranking method has evolved and now focuses on which starters make the game more difficult. The script acknowledges that Sprigatito from Scarlet and Violet isn't a bad starter but is included due to its weaknesses and resistances in early game battles. Squirtle from Kanto is highlighted for its initial strength against the first gym but its subsequent weaknesses against later gyms. The ranking aims to provide insight into which starters require more patience or strategy to use effectively in their respective games.
🌊 Squirtle's Struggles and Starter Weaknesses
This paragraph delves into the specific challenges faced when choosing Squirtle as a starter in the X and Y games, where its water typing is less advantageous. It also discusses the general issue of starters without secondary typing, using Mudkip as an example of how a secondary typing can significantly impact a starter's effectiveness. Mega Evolutions for the Kanto starters are critiqued, with Mega Blastoise's Mega Launcher ability being highlighted as underwhelming compared to the other Kanto starters' Mega Evolutions. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of type coverage and resistances when evaluating the strength of a starter Pokémon.
🐍 The Trials of Chespin and Charmander Starters
The script continues with an analysis of Chespin from X and Y, detailing its weaknesses against multiple gym leaders and its limited utility due to a lack of secondary typing. It also discusses Charmander's challenges in the Kanto region, where it is weak against the first two gyms and only becomes useful later in the game. The paragraph highlights the importance of a starter's typing and evolution in relation to the gym leaders' teams and the overall game strategy. It emphasizes the difficulty of using these starters due to their type disadvantages and the lack of opportunities to shine throughout the game.
🌿 Chikorita's Infamy and Pikachu's Unique Challenge
The final paragraph addresses the notorious Chikorita line, known for being one of the least effective starters, particularly in its home region of Johto. It points out Chikorita's pure grass typing, lack of useful abilities, and the removal of Bayleaf's Headleaf ability as significant drawbacks. The paragraph also introduces Pikachu from Yellow Version as the worst starter due to its inability to evolve, resulting in a permanently weaker Pokémon compared to the others. The video script concludes by emphasizing the importance of a starter's growth and evolution in determining its overall effectiveness in the game.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Starters
💡Ragebait
💡Evolution
💡Type Effectiveness
💡Gym Battles
💡Mega Evolution
💡BST (Base Stat Total)
💡Partner Pokémon
💡Move Pool
💡Type Coverage
💡Ineffectiveness
Highlights
The video ranks the top 10 worst Pokémon starters based on their in-game performance rather than personal dislike.
Spatio is not a bad starter but has a limited number of good matchups before evolving into Meowstic.
Squirtle in Kanto is beneficial early on against the first gym but struggles in subsequent gym battles.
Sableye faces a challenging order of gyms, excelling only in the first and having limited usefulness afterward.
Ashewott's lack of secondary typing limits its effectiveness, especially in Black and White versions.
Squirtle in X and Y suffers from being a Water-type with no secondary typing to aid in various gym battles.
Snivy's Grass-type is weak against multiple gym leaders, making it a challenging choice in Black and White games.
Chespin's Grass/Fighting typing makes it weak to a significant number of gym battles in X and Y.
Charmander is a difficult choice in Kanto due to being weak to the first two gyms and having limited usefulness afterward.
Chikorita is infamous for its poor performance as a starter, especially in its home region of Johto.
Pikachu in Yellow Version is the worst starter due to its inability to evolve and having a low base stat total.
The video emphasizes the importance of a starter's typing and evolution in relation to gym battles.
Some starters like Mudkip benefit greatly from secondary typing, which improves their in-game performance.
Mega Evolutions can significantly impact a starter's effectiveness, as seen with Mega Blastoise's limited power-up.
The video creator has evolved in their ranking method, now focusing on objective in-game performance over personal bias.
A subscription reminder is given halfway through the video to ensure viewers receive future content.
The video concludes by emphasizing that despite their rankings, all starters can still lead to a strong team at the end of the game.
Transcripts
gings boy fans Michael here and 8 years
ago Jesus I made a video of the top five
worst starters and attempt to get
ragebait views by saying imp polion was
ugly and to be fair to me I did get the
views this video is the top 10 worst
starters but my ranking method will not
be the same since like a Pokémon I've
evolved not only do I now think it's
lame to just crap on Pokémon that other
people like except mil tank but also I
just don't really like care that much
anymore like I used to really hate Del
Fox and now I just like it's fine I'm
indifferent this video will rank the
starters based on which ones are the
worst to pick in the games in which you
can select them I've already made a
video about the best starter in every
game so this is the opposite which
starters make the game more difficult by
selecting them number 10 spatio I should
say first that spro is not a bad starter
Meara is fast and hits hard and its
signature move flower trick is stupid
good it's just that when you have a top
10 list but there's only 30 starters
total nine of which are never going to
be in here because they're the best
starter in each of the regions you're
going to end up with some Pokémon on the
list that aren't awful just somewhat
flawed scarlet and Violet's major
battles can be done in any order but
I'll be basing my decision on the
suggested order and the first four
battles of that are bug Rock grass and
flying two of those spto is weak against
one it mutually resists and one it's
good against the next stretch is a bit
better but not great it evolves into its
final form at 36 so if we look at the
battles up to that level it's good
against water neutral against dark and
normal defensively good against Electric
offensively bad against steel then weak
to Fire and poison that means it really
only has two good matchups before
getting to its final form it really
starts to excel once it's meow Scara so
it's far from totally useless but it's
just going to require a bit more
patience for it to get good than several
other starters number n Squirtle and
Kanto I have to specify Kanto since
Squirtle is also selectable in X and Y
Squirtle is low on this list because
it's great against the first gym in the
game Brock and that's a very significant
benefit with how limited your team
options are that early that's really
huge however it made it onto this list
because it struggles for a while after
that Misty's second gym is water so War
Toral isn't helping much but then back
to back you have Lieutenant sergeon
Erica electric and grass which a water
starter obviously gets wrecked by having
it on your team is a dead party spot for
half of the first four gyms now to its
credit it's great against the final two
gyms fire and ground but those are late
and by that time you'll have tons of
water type options including Lapras who
gets stabbed for its ice moves making it
better against Lance later so basically
it's great then awful then good but
replaceable number eight Sable none of
the three Galler starters are awful in
an attempt to bounce balance things the
first three Galler gyms are grass fire
and water so regardless of your starter
you get one it's good against one it's
mutually resisted by and one it's weak
to Sao just gets the worst order the
first gym is grass then it's not helpful
in the water gym and then finally it
gets to take on fire but after that
water just doesn't get to do much since
intellion doesn't get a secondary typing
there's no ground specialist and The
Rock specialist Gordy is only in Sword
so if you're playing Shield you're
intellion gets to excel in just one
major battle well I guess not exactly
two of ryon's Pokémon are weak to water
but intellion is terribly frail which is
a liability in double battles it's not
weak to any gyms beyond the first one
there's no electric gym except for me I
am on a quest to become the Galler
Regan's first electric type gym leader
but it's simply just not helpful for
most of the game number seven ashaw like
many starters that lack secondary typing
it's limited in where it can Excel but
but univa is especially rough for ashaad
in black and white the fire gy leader is
technically Chile who you do not fight
if you chose aswat ground has clay the
fifth gym leader and duat is good
against two of his Pokemon but then
there's no Rock specialist so it's just
one major battle but it doesn't Excel
defensively either all the starters deal
with the advantage having monkey in the
first gym but then the third gym Berg is
actually somewhat dangerous for datat
since while dble is weak to water his
Ace is grass typ Le vany then of course
there's Alisa which wrecks it it's not
weak to any gyms after the Electric Gym
but it's just not much help either black
to and white two is similar duat now
beats all of Clay's Pokémon but Berg now
has two grass types instead of one the
ice gym becoming water is a bit of a hit
too since samuro resists ice and water
but the ice gym did not resist water
stab in short ashwat really only shines
in one spot and it's in the second half
of the gyms number six Squirtle in X and
Y I feel bad cuz I love Squirtle but it
just ended up in two games where water
isn't the best starter type and also it
never gets a secondary type to help
boost things Squirtle is the worst Kanto
starter selection in X and Y for
multiple reasons the first is that it's
water typing its only stab simply is not
helpful against much yes you fight the
rock gym early which is credit toward it
but only one of Grant's two Pokemon is
actually weak to water then you have one
neutral gym then back to back grass and
electric gyms where it obviously stinks
then while water type defense helps with
the last gym and the steel specialist
Wickstrom water offense doesn't really
help you with anything until malva in
the Elite 4 I already mentioned this
briefly but starters that never get
secondary typing a lot of times just end
up not being as good like here's another
example Mudkip is by far the best
starter in the hoen region because it's
good against three of the first four
gyms thanks to marshtomp's ground type
but if you take away that ground type
from marom it goes from being good
against three of the first first four to
only two of the first four and now it's
weak to the electric one additionally
Mega Blastoise is the worst of the Kanto
starter megas Mega Venusaur gives you
stab offense for fairy types and deletes
its weaknesses to Fire and Ice using
thick fat Mega Charizard Y is stupid
strong under the sunlight it sets up
itself Mega Charizard X is not quite as
good as y but it still hits with massive
damage thanks to tough claws boosted
flare Blitz and dragon claw plus it has
five resistances meanwhile Mega
Blastoise gets Mega launcher which sure
gives a boost to some non stab moves but
the only water move it Powers up that
Blastoise can learn is water pulse which
is only 60 power which means blastoise's
fancy Mega ability just makes it so his
water pulse is now as strong as surf
Blastoise is simply somewhat of a
liability early in the game and then
it's just not helpful later this marks
the halfway point so real quick just
want to ask you a favor check to see if
you're subscribed if you've watched this
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do enjoy my videos hit that subscribe
and make sure that YouTube always sends
you my stuff number five Snivy
regardless of which univa game you're
playing Snivy is weak to two of the
first three
gyms they come as a shock to you but
that's pretty bad in black and white
Chile uses his panser and then Berg has
bugs in black two and white two Chile's
gone replaced by rocks a poison type gym
leader that is brutal your starter is
dead weight early in the game but
unfortunately even once you get past
that it's not looking that good despite
servine resisting electric Alisa has two
flying typy mulga with aerial Ace in
black two and white two though they
don't get flying moves so it's slightly
better then comes clay which is
favorable but his best Pokemon Excadrill
is not weak to Grass then you have Skyla
which is of course bad it's a flying gym
the final two gy vary depending on the
game black and white have an ice gym
which is obviously bad for grass and
then a dragon one which resists grass
black two and white two are more
favorable replacing the ice gym with a
water one but it's for the very last gym
of the game which is a late Boon this
means in black and white Snivy struggles
against five gyms and in black two and
white two it's three but two of them are
the first three Superior is by no means
a bad Pokemon and in fact in a recent
playthrough on my plays Channel I had a
lot of success in the Pokémon League
with it by combining leech seed in gigar
drain and coil with Leaf blade but for
much of the game before that Snivy just
gets stomped on number four Chespin I
like Chespin I think it's cute and it
has a fun personality and then Chestnut
I think is decently cool I really like
its shiny and then
quillin not so much uh fun fact
apparently it was one of the five least
visited Bulbapedia Pages for Pokemon in
all of last year unfortunately for this
small cute thing uh it is the worst of
the six starters in X and Y when
analyzing the best starter pair in X and
Y my two finalists were fenin and
Bulbasaur or froy and Charmander notice
how Chespin and Squirtle are missing
from those options I already talked
about Squirtle but Chespin just gets
absolutely crapped on by Kos first it's
immediately weak to the first gym which
is huge points against it okay
technically cers skit doesn't have a bug
type move so that's not like as big of a
problem it's basically a neutral matchup
but like vivon Chespin ain't doing
anything to vivon then the Rock Gym
should be where it shines but Tyrant
isn't weak to grass and while Amara is
Amara also has ice moves that quilladin
does not appreciate then you have the
fighting gym featuring a Hawlucha and
then the grass gym features two Pokemon
with super effective stab against it the
Electric Gym is mixed since ulga screws
it up but chestnut's fighting is good
against the other two but then you have
fairy psychic and Ice all in a row all
of which Chestnut is weak to yes its
fighting type is strong against ice but
it's a risky matchup because its grass
type is weak to it in short this means
the Chespin line is weak to at least
half of the Pokemon in six of the eight
gyms and the last two Karina and Clement
still have one Pokemon with super
effective stab it's good against half of
the Elite 4 but that's really late to
see benefits Kos just in general isn't
that kind to Grass types the fire
starters tend to do the best but Mega
Venusaur can get get around that with
its thick fat ability deleting its Fire
and Ice weakness and also just having
incredible stats and its poison type is
great for fairies meanwhile chestnuts
fighting type while it would have been
great in other regions is a liability in
Kalos number three Charmander in Kanto
Charizard fans please forgive me while
Charizard kicks butt in Kalos it is the
hard mode choice in Kanto immediately
Charmander is weak to the first two gyms
and that is horrific as I've said Team
options much more limited early in the
game so if your starter your Ace is not
useful in the first two Gym Battles
that's really bad it's neutral against
Lieutenant surge a battle thankfully
before Charmeleon evolves and gains the
flying type and then it's fantastic
against Erica and that is the last time
it is helpful until the Pokémon League
and even then it's just for Bruno
because lauraliz ice types are all water
type except for Jinx but like four of
her five Pokémon are water type oh and I
almost forgot uh it's not even good
against Bruno in red and blue because it
learns no flying type moves it doesn't
get the ability to learn fly until
Yellow Version another reason for these
issues is that fire flying is absolutely
a cool type combo but offensively it's
just not Stellar in Kanto fire and
flying overlap with offensive coverage
for bug and grass so adding the flying
type only adds offensive coverage for
fighting that means together the two
cover grass bugs steel ice and fighting
there's a grass gym leader and a
fighting Elite 4 but there's no major
bug specialist all the Kanto ice types
except Jinx are water type 2 and there's
one fully evolved Steel type in the
whole region for being game freak's
Golden Child they really made its life
difficult in its home region number two
Chikorita I mean you had to know this
one was coming the Chikorita line is
Infamous for being just awful even
ignoring its region Meganium is just a
bad Pokémon compared to most other
starters it's St spread is one for a
bulky support Pokémon but its pure grass
type means it has five weaknesses it has
a relatively shallow move pool and not
very useful abilities and worst of all
they removed Bay Leaf's sick head Leaf
thing to give it just two little lame
antenna what the hell that's one of the
cruestv design decisions that I've
encountered and I understand you could
say the same thing about grov to
septile I do think septile might look a
little cooler if it still had grov is's
Le but you know I'm just very fond of
septile and lizards in general whereas
Meganium like like it's just
like when bay leaf had what and then of
course in its home region the Chikorita
line is almost completely useless like
Charmander it's weak to the first two
gyms but it never gets any usefulness
after that because Rock ground and water
got major specialists in Kanto there's
no Specialists for those types in jotto
instead after Bugsy there's Whitney and
then Morty whose entire team is poison
typ type they don't have poison moves
but like bay leaf can't really touch
them then there's Chuck whose Poliwrath
is one of the few major battle Pokémon
Meganium is actually good against and
then there's Jasmine who just walls
Meganium completely then you have price
who's a mixed bag since he has ice types
obviously bad but they are technically
weak to grass so it's a risky matchup
finally there's Claire's dragons which
resist grass outside of KRA then is some
extra salt in the wound your rival
silver you know who you battle several
times basically his entire team just
spis his grass types of the Pokémon on
his victory road final main story battle
team five of them either resist grass
have super effective stab against it or
both if Meganium were in another region
it would not be this bad like if it were
to switch places with Bulbasaur then
it's good against two of the first two
gyms and that's really significant but
since it's not it's stuck in jotto where
they gave all the love to grass and
Kanto it's just screwed quick side note
if it ever becomes a starter in a
Legends game I really hope they give its
variant a secondary typing Meganium
needs some love cuz it's just it's like
not an ugly Pokemon it's just like its
life has been terrible but despite that
despite all of these issues Chikorita is
still not the worst starter it's the
worst one to choose but the worst
starter is one where you don't get a
choice at all number one Pikachu in
Yellow Version yellow has you start with
a Pikachu that cannot evolve a Pik
Pikachu a Pikachu that can't evolve the
gym matchups barely matter at this point
if you keep it the whole run you're
bringing a Pokemon as weak as a base
form starter a BST of only 320 under the
modern system to the freaking Pokemon
League and this is its level up move set
even if it could evolve pure electric
typing is just still not that great it
is useless in the Brock battle the first
of the game where your starter is