Starters Untamed: Kalos

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Wow. . .it’s been quite a while, folks! I’ve been keeping up with the site, but I haven’t posted anything in some time. I’ve been posting more on Retry Level, so you can always look for me there. It’s been a tough balance between the two sites!

I’ve been wanting to do a new Starters Untamed for some time now. Pokémon X and Y released some of the most interesting changes to Pokémon games that we’ve seen in a very long time, so I’ve been eager to write about my thoughts and experience in the competitive play realm as they have changed drastically. With the introduction of the new fairy typing, negated resistances of the powerful steel typing, and mega evolutions have brought in so many new strategies into the mix that at first it was quite overwhelming. Because of the huge influx of new concepts brought to competitive play, there are still pieces that have yet to be fully analyzed and tested out. The analysis of this generation of starters will be purely opinionated and, as always, up for (constructive) debate.

 

chesnaught[1]

 

This generation’s starters are probably the most interesting that we’ve ever seen. Each contain their complementing dual type that helps counter their opposing foe. Not only that, each starter has their own hidden ability and attacks unique to their own species (aside from Klefki). First up we have Chesnaught, the spiny armor Pokémon. This is the first time we’ve had a non-reptilian grass starter, which has received some mixed feedback (especially from its’ deceptive transition to an awkward looking final evolution). This beefy, intimidating rodent (?) is dawned with the grass/fighting typing, an interesting match up only seen in Breloom and Virizion. It’s stats cater primarily towards a physically strong Pokémon that excels in tanking and physical offense. It’s HP/ATK/DEF clock in at 88/107/122 respectively, which is nothing to take lightly. However, the remaining SpATK, SpDef, and SPD stats are relatively low, only reaching 74/75/64, which leaves Chesnaught vulnerable to the numerous special sweepers that plague competitively play. Its typing, however, acts as a double edged sword. It has plenty of resistances and types that its strong against, but it also comes with six common weaknesses, which include the new fairy typing.

What I love most about Chesnaught is its movepool. It comes with all of the best physical grass type moves like Seed Bomb and Wood Hammer, and it can also learn plenty of useful TMs like Dragon Claw, Stone Edge, Swords Dance, and Earthquake. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Chesnaught is its access to its signature move, Spiky Shield. This moves acts exactly like protect, but damages the opponent if physical contact is made. If playing a more defensive Chesnaught, this combined with Leech Seed can really throw off your opponent by maintaining health and consistent chip damage.

Overall, Chesnaught is a decent addition to the grass type starters and works well up there with the likes of Torterra as far as being a physical tank. Its typing doesn’t really do it any favors, but access to Spiky Shield and other great attacks make it a worthy addition to any team.

 

delphox[1]

 

Next up we have Delphox, the magical fox Pokémon. Fennekin was easily the fan favorite when the starters were released. We awaited eagerly to see what its final evolution would look like, and Delphox came to us as quite a surprise. Its probably one of the most human-like Pokémon that we’ve seen, and the addition to its magical wand gives it loads of character (not to mention its cry is absolutely horrific). Unfortunately, what Delphox has in aesthetics, it lacks in its abilities as a solid Pokémon.  It has the stats of a decent special sweeper, clocking in at 114/100/104 SpAtk, SpDef, and SPD respectively. Its defensive stats aren’t doing it any favors, which make Delphox quite frail if up against a strong, quick opponent. Its typing, fire/psychic, is not the greatest as it leaves it open to the common ghost and dark types, which often out-speed it. Its movepool is a bit of a mixed bag and seems to have lost its identity somewhere in its creation. Should Delphox play its role as a special sweeper? Is it more of a support attacker? It doesn’t have the speed to function well in the sweeping department, and its not defensive enough to remain a support teammate.

I’d have to say that Delphox is sadly the worst of the three starters. It doesn’t excel in any one role in competitive play, which leaves it open to plenty of counters and switch ins. It’s unfortunate as it’s such a cool Pokémon with great concepts and a great design, but it falls short in being anything offensive or anything supportive. There are simply more Pokémon out there to fill this role that can do the job much better than Delphox.

 

greninja[1]

 

This leaves us with Greninja, the ninja Pokémon. Greninja was probably the biggest surprise for all of us; not many of us were expecting a ninja with its tongue used as a scarf. Greninja not only excels in the coolness factor, but its also a fantastic Pokémon to use. The best of the three starters, really. These are the stats that Delphox should have had; 103/122 in SpAtk and SPD, which allow Greninja to outspeed most of the standard metagame. Its attack also clocks in at 95, which make it a formidable candidate as a physical sweeper, too. Its typing, water and dark, provide far more benefits than counters, however it does leave it open to the new fairy type that plagues the battlefield. Better yet, its movepool is everything we could have hoped and dreamed for in a sweeper. Access to moves like Dark Pulse, Ice Beam, Surf, Grass Knot, U-Turn, Toxic Spikes, and Acrobatics make it difficult to see what Greninja is going to throw out at you.

What makes Greninja so amazing is not just its diverse movepool and useful typing. Its ability, Protean, is arguably one of the most useful Pokémon abilities out there. Protean changes Greninjas type to whatever move it uses. For example, using Ice Beam will change you to a pure ice type. Next, use Grass Knot to change yourself into a pure grass type. This makes Greninja essentially impossible to counter, and it also makes every single move a stab move. This ability alone makes Greninja one of the most versatile Pokémon you can use in a competitive team.

However, Greninja is far from being in the uber tiers. Thankfully, GameFreak balanced out its stats by making it extremely frail, with its HP, Def, and SpDef clocking in at a mere 72/67/71.  Also, Greninja isn’t exactly the most powerful attacker out there. It can be a bit difficult for it to 1HKO opponents that are specially defensive or physically defensive, leaving Greninja open to counter measures. Tanks like Blissey and Ferrothorn can take whatever Greninja throws at them (save for attacks not specialized in their defensive stat).

What do you guys think of this generations starters? Do you have a particular favorite? Agree or disagree with my analysis? I’m curious to see how the future generations of starters will compare to this generation. We saw a ton of changes in Pokémon X and Y, most of them necessary to keep the series alive. Hopefully we’ll continue to see more positive changes in the future!

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7,662 thoughts on “Starters Untamed: Kalos”

  1. So, GF now has a new music-making company or something I forgot what it was ._.

    Maybe this new music company will be EVEN BETTER than the other one, since this one is newer and probably has more advanced technology.

    I can’t wait to hear their music in ORAS!!! 😀
    I wonder when music will start to get leaked…

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  2. If Game Freak ever added new Pokéballs again, what kind of Pokéballs would you like to see them make?

    If one of my theories come true, and we can catch pokémon in the Distortion World (in the Sinnoh Remakes/Sequels of course), then I’d like a blue and black Distortion Ball the increases the chances of catching Pokémon in the Distortion World.

    Reply

  8. That awkward moment when the Devon Corporation hasn’t completed Pokémon Dream Cloud Technology, and you whistle and hide your Dream Radar Pokémon from Mr. Stone.

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  14. IK this is not Pokemon related. But Grezzo the creators of Ocarina of Time 3D are seeking new staff members. They said “Would you like to make a ‘legend’ with us?”. Majora’s Mask plz. 😉

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  16. So far, Ash has met at least one Elite Four Member in each new series. If he was to meet a Kalos E4 member, who would it be?

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      • Thank you :3 I realized today that Pyram looked a bit simplistic in my original design and it was missing a snout 😮 The horns are on fire btw. As for Atlagoo, I made the headpiece thingy, Armor i guess you could call it appear a bit less flat by connecting it to the shell thing on the back :3

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        • Well i thought Atlagoo was a Sea Slug with Sea Butterfly tributes
          I see it going into a Slug cuttlefish then a loch ness slug dragon

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          • That would be pretty awesome. Not sure what to evolve it into seeing as i planned for it to be Water/Poison for a type effectiveness thing but realized that Poison effects aren’t super effective on Grass/Rock. So, i might need to change that to Water/Ice o_o

            Water-Poison : Poisonous ooze drips out from the shell thing on it’s back as a defense mechanism and the bumps become spikes.

            Water-Ice: The shell over takes more of the body to provide warmth and the backbumps turn into ice crystals :3

          • Lets stick with the water/poison
            what if the back dripped poison that hardened into a defensive shell

          • That would be pretty interesting.

            I’ll see which type would make more sense design wise and effectively 😮 we could also hold a poll for it.

          • Because i reminds me on how mollusks calcify intruding matter into pears
            what if its Poison could calcify/solidify into a special armor made out of pure poison
            but how to make it work in a way it looks and feels good is the true test

  18. So let me get this straight with you people, as I triple-check my upcoming games list. For 2014 on the Wii U, we have Hyrule Warriors, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Smash Wii U, and the games I won’t be getting, Bayonetta 2 and Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. For 2014 on the 3DS, we have only Smash 3DS and Pokemon ORAS, along with Sonic Boom whatever? Is all this correct?

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    • You might want to reconsider Bayonetta. It looks pretty cool 😮 I had the chance to get the original on gamecube for like $5 but i passed on it, knowing pretty much nothing about it. Also what about splatoon and codename S.T.E.A.M ? 😮

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          • Well I know me and my lists 😛 And about Bayonetta 2, I’m not even of age for M-rated games yet, nor would I be allowed to at my home. As much as it interests me, I can’t.

          • That’s quite interesting. Most parents let their kids play M for mature games. *Cough* Call of Duty. >.> I remember going into gamestop at the age of twelve with my dad to buy Devil May Cry (Which is a hack and slash game that is rated M) xD

          • I think your parents are just lenient. I have a childhood friend who played Halo since he was 10 or 11, because his parents were.

        • True. It seems interesting but the graphical style doesn’t really catch my attention. I loved the illustrations in Fire Emblem Awakening :3

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          • Same here! If they went of an anime art-style with the “Steampunk” setting it would have worked out better! I dislike the comic book art-style!

      • Gamecube? I think you mean for PS3/Xbox 360 bc the original Beyonetta did not come out for the Gamecube good sir lol

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  19. I know this is probably too late but can we please have a favorite region poll soon?
    We have not had one since before X and Y, i really like to see the results 😀

    Reply

  25. I was reading Bulbapedia and noticed the Frontier Brains’ names derived from word that symbolize their characters.
    Anabel from Ability
    Spencer from Spirit
    Noland from Knowledge
    Brandon from Brave
    Tucker from Tactic
    Greta from Gut/Great
    Lucy from Luck

    Reply

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