Ranking Fire Pokemon Starters

I thought it would be interesting to rank Pokemon starters, as it seems to be an upcoming trend within the community to rank the starters. Please remember that the only mainline game I have played is a brief introduction to Scarlet/Violet. Other than that, I mostly play Pokemon Go, as it’s really the only game I have time to play. I will rank them 1-9, with 9 being my least favorite, and 1 being my most favorite. Additionally, these will mostly be ranked on how much I enjoy the design and possibly the way they have impacted my gameplay in Pokemon Go. 

9. Scorbunny | Generation 8 ~ Galar

Scorbunny is pretty cute, I will admit, and when it comes to its stats, it’s pretty fast overall. However, I hate the design it has, even as a starter, and I think that it’s one of the more useless starters. I think most of my distaste for this starter comes from my distaste for its later evolutions. 

8. Torchic | Generation 3 ~ Hoenn

Torchic is a cutie. I love how much power this little guy can truly exhibit. I love the final evolution as well. However, I believe that Torchic is just hard to use, and hard for me to prefer over Mudkip, personally. Just a sort-of underwhelming Pokemon. 

7. Fennekin | Generation 6 ~ Kalos 

I think Fennekin is a pretty cute Pokemon. But, that might possibly be the only thing I like about it. I definitely enjoy its evolutions more. It is somewhat balanced in stats, but is lackluster when it comes to the other Pokemon in its generation’s starter line-up. Its later typing has a huge advantage against a handful of other types, which is good, but I think that they may have made it too oversaturated when it came out.

6. Chimchar | Generation 4 ~ Sinnoh 

Chimchar is a decent start. I think that its base stats are solid, and it takes place as one of the best fire pokemon in the Sinnoh region. However, I just think that there are Pokemon that can do the same stuff better. Chimchar, to me, is just decent, and isn’t too cute, at least in comparison to other starters. 

5. Tepig | Generation 5 ~ Unova 

Tepig is in the middle for a reason. I think that even though it has pretty bad stats later on, and doesn’t learn very good moves, I think that the sheer cuteness and reliability of the first stage is what makes it good enough for me to put it at number 5. I know it often ranks at the bottom for people when it comes to fighting and battling, but I am heavily focused on design, and Tepig is a cute little piggy!

4. Fuecoco | Generation 9 ~ Paldea 

I adore Fuecoco! This might be influenced by the way Fuecoco behaves in the Pokemon Horizons anime on Netflix, but he’s such a goofy little guy I can’t help it. The goofy looking little guys are some of my favorite Pokemon, and Fuecoco is no exception. Additionally, I think that Skelidirge, the final evolution, is awesome. Fire and ghost type, hello? It kicks butt! 

3. Charmander | Generation 1 ~ Kanto 

I know what you’re thinking. “GASP! Charmander isn’t number one?!” You would be correct! I am aware of how strong and effective Charizard is, and how it has not one, but TWO mega evolutions. It ranks high on a lot of lists, even if you aren’t ranking fire starters. But, I do not care. I think Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard are heavily overrated, and get overhyped. I understand that this will happen, ESPECIALLY because it was the first generation, the first fire starter, and one of the most popular Pokemon of all time. I just personally think that there are other Pokemon that rank higher, not just from stats, but other areas as well. 

2. Cyndaquil | Generation 2 ~ Johto

Cyndaquil was one of the first Pokemon I ever came to know, because I would watch whatever Pokemon episode was on TV. I distinctly remember Cyndaquil’s introduction in the cartoon, and I have grown to love it even more over time. I think the hate for Cyndaquil is unnecessary, though I know a lot of it was due to the initial debut of the Pokemon, and the subsequent appearance of Cyndaquil in games that followed. I think that Typhlosion is one of the coolest final starter evolutions, and it was made even cooler once it got a Hisuian form. Adding ghost typing onto fire is one of my favorite things. 

1. Litten | Generation 7 ~ Alola

HEAR ME OUT. Litten is an ultra-awesome Pokemon. Not only is it an adorable kitty, with perfected coloration, it also is pretty strong. Inceneroar, though ugly to me, is a ruthless wrestler, and even was made a Super Smash Bro character due to its popularity. I think that Litten receives underserved hate because it is from Generation 7, a less than desirable generation, but I think it’s personally one of the best starters, and it is the best fire starter. Litten’s later fire and dark typing also makes it incredibly effective in a lot of battles, and I can’t help but rank it as number one. 

That is the end of my ranking for the first stage fire starts. Please remember that this is only my opinion, and should not be taken seriously. Soon, I will get to the grass and water starts, and rank them in the same fashion!

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