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”

  2. Fairy Pokemon are quickly displacing Dragon-type Pokemon as one of the most powerful and annoying Pokemon out there. I do think Dragon-type Pokemon need a way to deal with Fairies, in not such a way that they’ll be instantly converted back to uber status but at least be able to go head on with the Clan…

    Joking, lol!

    Reply

  3. Speculation time! (Thanks Heavy I owe you!)

    So, you know how no pokemon that evolve with evolutionary stones got a mega evolution in X and Y?
    What if that plays a role in Z somehow?
    Zygardes pokedex entry in X and It’s entry and Y state:

    X When the Kalos region’s ecosystem falls into disarray, it appears and reveals its secret power.
    Y It’s hypothesized that it’s monitoring those who destroy the ecosystem from deep in the cave where it lives.

    What if, in order to help the ecosystem of the Kalos Region, it draws in the power of the evolutionary stones to create a secret energy that (Neo) Team Flare wants to steal to create the Zygardenite?

    And then all of the excess energy could flow back into the Kalos Region, entering multiple evolutionary stones, causing a reaction of the stone to split into two; the stone and a mega stone?

    This could reveal multiple mega evolutions for stone-evolution pokemon, such as Raichu (which should be Electric/Fairy!)!

    Another speculation could be that (Neo) Team Flare is trying to take energy from Zygarde to form new mega stones from evolutionary stones!

    But hey that’s just a theory.
    A GAME THEORY.

    Reply

  4. Logical Weaknesses for Fairy-type:
    Steel, steel burns fairies in ancient lore
    Poison, although most fairies do have the ability to purify a polluted atmosphere, it is with no means that many fairies in today’s tales are weak to pollution, just look at Storm (sorry, I just had to poke at her as the anime adaptation converted her into an E-Class hero)
    Fairy, many fairies are competitive, evil, and sly creatures who can muster pleasure in one’s struggles

    Reply

  5. Sometime in the future I want a Mega Rapidash that’s

    Fire/Flying with Aerilate (based on pegasus).

    Quick Attack & Double-Edge turned Flying Type with an added 30% boost would make Rapidash extremely great.

    Reply

  6. Game Freak is so sneaky. Not giving SEP (Stone Evolution Pokémon) Megas, thus causing great speculation among fans.

    Reply

  7. ???, Fairy/Ghost

    שד (Shed) Pokemon

    “Such an evil Pokemon, this Pokemon is known as the Original Evil. Many believe it stemmed from Arceus’ shadow.”

    Reply

  9. I read an article that says the development team of Splatoon is taken from the core Animal Crossing team. That means us Nintendo fans must take it seriously, at least I know I will. Also, why didn’t they include her in Smash Bros. if they were able to get Greninja before it was even finalized in design? That would have made for a better announcement trailer than it already was.

    Reply

  10. To traverse the Hoenn region once again… boy I hope there’s some Emerald-like post game content, because I loved the Battle Frontier! Battle Pike and that Pyramid were my favorite attractions!

    Reply

  11. ???, Dark/Normal
    Lullaby Pokemon

    “The Lullaby this Pokemon plays lulls Pokemon and humans alike into an eternal slumber.”

    Reply

  13. I wonder how Relic Song is a damaging attack that can cause the target to sleep. You’d think that being hurt would keep you awake.

    Reply

  14. I wanted to make a Dary aye aye with very large eyes
    They’re going to be similar to Absol’s fate as Aye Ayes are said to bring bad luck

    Reply

  15. ???, Psychic/Normal
    Seeking Pokemon

    “Forever this Pokemon wanders, seeking ‘something’ it is bound to never find again.”

    Reply

  17. I fear that PJN will have an article with a List of Shame with the names of PJN members who have never played Hoenn. Heck, we had such a list earlier this morning!

    Reply

  19. ???, Psychic
    Psychic Pokemon

    “Legend tells of a Pokemon who first taught Pokemon the power of Psychic and how to manipulate such a power. The power, however, of this Pokemon remains a mystery.”

    What if we had Origin Masters in the Pokemon World? They were created from Arceus’ plates to teach Pokemon the power to utilize different types of Plate Powers. Fire Pokemon mated with Grass and thus etc., began the Duel-type Pokemon rise.

    Reply

  20. Celestial, for that pokemon you spoke of, the one that came from arceus’s shadow
    how about instead of fairy/ghost
    its ONLY dark type.
    and instead of saying “Shed pokemon”
    it just says
    “malo”
    which is latin for evil.

    Reply

  21. Not sure if anybody knows this or not, but @rocketclauncher:disqus made my new avatar. He made it for a while ago, and I’ve been using it at Mt. Moon a lot, but I felt it wasn’t getting the proper use there. So I decided to use it as my avatar here 😀

    Reply

  23. Okay, so I’ve been re watching a couple videos where people talk about their opinions on the news. I just watched Marriland’s again and noticed something when he was showing the map. Lilycove City not only has its Department store, but also a separate pokemart. My question is, Why is this needed, when in the original games, we could buy everything we needed from a regular pokemart in there. Then i got to thinking, what if the department store now sells different things? For example, Lilycove IS known for that large contest hall, whether it be Ruby and Sapphire, or Emerald. Maybe it’s for different things that can improve your performance in contests? OR Maybe it sells more of a variety of items for secret bases? What do you guys think? Sorry if the comment was too long, had a lot to write about…

    Reply

  24. Blaq, you should totally draw Mega Zekrom. I’d appreciate that. 🙂
    I can’t find any decent artwork of it on the webz.

    Reply

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