First major choice of any Pokemon The playthrough is what starter you should start your journey with. As a veteran Pokemon A player of nearly 30 years, I've picked up my fair share of starters over the years and used them all at least once. when it comes Pokemon Gen 4, I've invested hundreds of hours into dozens of playthroughs Pokemon Diamond, the pearl, platinum, And their remakes, and only one starter has consistently benefited me.
There are various factors that I consider when choosing a starter for a given Pokemon Playthrough. The most important of these is how well the starter's typing and stats match up with the key battles I'll face, such as Gym Leaders, Evil Team Leaders, and the Elite Four. Additionally, it is important to consider when a starter develops and at what level it learns the specific moves needed to gain an advantage against opponents.
Best Pokemon to Use in Gen 4 Playthroughs Explained
For players looking to complete the Gen 4 Pokemon games as smoothly as possible, there are a few monsters they'll want to make sure they have on their team.
Pros and cons of each Pokemon Gen 4 starter
Pokemon Gen 4 is an important entry in the franchise due to the introduction of the physical/special split which separated the physical or special status of a move from its type. This change made almost every Pokemon viable because they could invest in learning STAB moves that matched their strong offensive status. As such, there are many pros and cons to each of the starters including how freely available their ideal STAB moves are in the game.
Pros and cons of Turtwig
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Prof
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Grass-typing is strong against the first gym
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A well-rounded stat spread
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Good offensive-type coverage when fully developed
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Evolves into its final stages sooner than other starters
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Opposition
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Torterra's grass/ground typing is 4x ice weak
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Until Razor Leaf is fully developed its strongest physical grass is the STAB move
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Team Galactic Boss Cyrus' team is weak
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The grass-type starter Turtwig was the first option I chose for my first playthrough Pokemon Diamond It was originally released back in 2007. As a Grass type, Turtwig is in a great position for the early game with a type advantage over Roark's Rock types. It will also be very effective against Crusher Wake's water types, and Torterra's ground type is perfect for Volkner's electric types. While I have fond memories of using Turtwig on that original team, I've come to know that it has flaws that I can't notice with my rose-tinted glasses on.
Despite a good early-game setup, Turtwig can struggle later in the Sinnoh region playthrough. It doesn't evolve into Grottle until level 18, the newest of the three starters, and as a physical attacker, only has access to Razor Leaf as a physical STAB move until it evolves into Torterra. The real killer for Turtwig is Candice's Ice types, as well as its late-game weaknesses to Cyrus' Flying and Ice types, which prevent Torterra from really excelling in Gen 4.
To counter its slow first-stage evolution, Grottle evolves into Torterra at level 32, the earliest of the three starters.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Chimchar
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Prof
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Good variety of match-ups against multiple gyms
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Great move pool with STAB options like Close Combat and Flare Blitz
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It develops in its first phase before any other startups
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Opposition
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Weak against half of the Elite Four
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Balanced stats mean it doesn't excel in any area
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The first gym needs to be developed to be useful against
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Historically, I've been a fan of fire types PokemonBut I've only liked fire-type starters over the years. Chimchar is one of these starters, and my love for this Chimp Pokemon largely stems from its excellent move pool in Gen 4. While other starters are stuck with suboptimal STAB moves, Infernape has access to attacks like Close Combat and Flare Blitz, both brand new to the Gen 4 games. Also, Chimchar stacks well against several important gym leaders, such as Roark's Rock types (if it evolves into Monferno and Mach Punch), Gardenia's Grass type, Byron's Steel type, and Candice's Ice types.
However, Infernape struggles against half of the Elite Four, including Bertha's Ground types and Lucian's Psychic types. In order for Chimchar to be useful against the first gym, it needs to evolve into Monferno, meaning I had to grind it to level 14 before facing that gym, as there aren't many water or grass-type options. While some players may like the fact that Infernape is a combo attacker, I prefer mon to go all-in on physical attacks to get the most out of close combat and flare blitz, but it's not the end of the world.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Piplup
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Prof
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Strong against the first gym
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Empoleon has many resistances to water/steel typing
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Solid special attack and special defense
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Excellent against the Elite Four
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Opposition
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The move pool is limited without TM
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Doesn't match up well against other gyms after the first one
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Low speed position
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Piplup is arguably the most iconic Gen 4 starter, but that doesn't make it the best choice for playthrough. Despite being strong against Roark's Rock types, Piplup doesn't really shine until late in the game, after it evolves into Empoleon. Once it reaches its final stage, Empoleon's Water/Steel typing makes it a strong defensive mon, with a lot of resistance against trainers like Aaron's Bug types and Lucian's Psychic types. Additionally, Empoleon can deal super effective damage to Bertha's Ground types and Flint's Fire types, making it a great party member for the Elite Four.
Unfortunately, outside of this late-game surge, Sinnoh is hampered for the rest of the playthrough due to poor match-ups against Piplup Gardenia's Grass types and Volkner's Electric types, with no real advantage over any of the other gyms after the first game. Empoleon's move pool is also limited by its special attack-oriented stats, with the best move learning it before being a level 59 brine, and requiring TM for the Flash Cannon to access its excellent Steel Stab move.
The Flash Cannon is obtained via TM after defeating Byron in Canaleve City.
Pokemon Pokopia hasn't given me a reason to pre-order, but it's nothing new for the series.
Pokemon Pokopia sadly continues one of the most disappointing traditions of the entire series, giving me no reason to pre-order it.
After dozens of playthroughs, it's clear that Chimchar is the best Pokemon Gen 4 starter
Considering all these factors, the starter I've had the most success with in each of my Gen 4 playthroughs is the Chimchar. Although leveling Chimchar to 14 so it evolves into Monferno before it's first gym is kind of a grind, having access to Mach Punch as a STAB Fighting-type move makes Monferno invaluable against Roark's Rock types, and largely removes Chimchar's biggest early-game obstacle. After this point, Monferno becomes a big help against the next few gyms, dispatching Gardenia's grass-types with ease and taking down Maylen's Lucario. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl quickly.
Close Combat is also my favorite new move introduced in Gen 4, and Infernape is the perfect Pokemon to take full advantage of its base 120 attack power. Although Infernape's usefulness has largely diminished since defeating Candice in Snowpoint City, my team is generally well-rounded enough at that point in the game that Infernape's weakness against the Elite Four is negligible. I am rarely disappointed when choosing Chimchar as my starter Pokemon Gen 4 playthrough.
- issued
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November 19, 2021
- ESRB
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e
- developer(s)
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ILCA
- publisher(s)
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Nintendo
