Ultimate Guide to Starter Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet

Following the footsteps of the previous generation, the new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet starters include a grass type, a fire type, and a water type Pokémon. Ever since the announcement in February 2022, the starter Pokémon has been creating a huge buzz. 

Starter Pokémon will be your primary partner throughout the journey, hence choosing the right one becomes an important step. You need to consider your objectives, the starter stats, and evolutions before you choose one. 

This might get a little confusing but fret not! We have put together a guide on everything you should be knowing about these starters to make your job easier. Let’s get into it!

Starter Pokémon- Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly can be chosen after taking a short walk. To obtain all the three Pokémon, you can either trade with other players or Breed the Pokémon. All starter Pokémon are great and you can choose one based on your requirements. 

1. Starter Pokémon: A Background

Starter pokemons will act as your primary partners and hence become very important as you advance through the game. The three starter Pokémon are Sprigatito: A Grass type, Fuecoco: A Fire type, and Quaxly: A Water-type Pokémon. 

Most trainers choose their starter Pokemon based on how they will look, later in the game. Hence, understanding the evolutions of these Pokémon also becomes pivotal.

2. How do players get their starters?

The players will be introduced to the pokemon by the professor during the game. Unlike the previous titles, players cannot explore the world without having a partner.

The professor will arrive at the player’s home with 3 different options. The players would need to take a short walk before selecting their first companion. 

3. Ways to Obtain all the Starter Pokémon

All three starter Pokémon, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly can be obtained by 2 methods- Trading and Breeding. Note that these Pokémon do not appear in the wild which makes them extremely rare.

I. Trading- The Straightforward Method

The easiest way to get other starter Pokémon than what you primarily choose is to trade. To do this you need to find another trainer who has the desired starter pokemon.

The old-school way of trading would be to exchange your Pokémon with your friends. If you do not find any friends who have your desired starter, you can find a trade partner on Discord.

II. Breeding is a Time-Consuming Process 

Pokémon starters can be bred using the pokemon picnic. This is not an impossible task, however, it is a very tedious and time-consuming process.

If you still want to go ahead with the process, you first need to unlock the picnic feature in the game. After unlocking, players can breed two Pokémon by selecting the same egg type.

After putting them on the same picnic, this will eventually result in egg spawning an egg basket. You need to remember that the pokemon that hatches from the egg will be the same species as the mother.

Because of this, you need to find a female Fuecoco, Quaxly, or Sprigatito to breed the starters. However, you can also get Ditto to make your job easier.You can use a Ditto to Breed with most Pokemon.

III. Convenient but not Currently Available Method

The most convenient method for getting all three starter Pokémon js Pokémon Home. However this won’t be available till Pokémon- Scarlet and Violet is updated in 2023.

Using this feature, it is possible to store the first starter Pokémon that players choose and then start a new game allowing the player to get another starter.

You can continue the process until you have all the three Pokémon stored in Pokémon Home. You will then be able to transfer them into player’s save file.

4. Starter Pokémon Evolutions

You can evolve Pokémon Starters by the usual methods. The fastest method is to use Exp. Candies, which can be found scattered throughout the open areas of the game. You can also earn the candies as prizes by clearing Tera Raids. 

I. Sprigatito

Sprigatito evolves into Floragato at level 16 which evolves into Meowscarada at level 36. Meowscarada is a dark and grass-type pokemon.

In Scarlet, this pokemon uses its fur lining to camouflage the stem of its flower creating an illusion. In Violet, it uses misdirection to bomb its opponents before they realize what’s going on. 

Its signature move is Flower Trick which is a grass-type attack that never misses and always delivers a critical hit. 

Out of the 3 starters, Sprigatito is the one with the highest speed stats and it also has good physical attack stats. The major disadvantage comes from its weakness in fire, flying, ice, poison, and bug-type Pokémon. 

As it is very weak to multiple types of Pokémon, it cannot really be used for a gym battle. However, Meowscarada does really well against Titan Pokémon and would be your best choice.

HP	Atk	Def	Sp.Atk	Sp.Def	Speed
76	110	70	81	70	123

II. Fuecoco

Fuecoco goes through 2 evolutions similar to the other starters to get to the final stage, Skeledirge. Fuecoco evolves into Crocalor at Level 16 and Skeledirge at Level 36.

Skeledirge is a fire and ghost-type pokemon and is mainly a defensive type. Fuecoco has been the most popular starter among the players.

This has been mainly due to Fuecoco’s stats being spread pretty evenly due to its high defensive abilities; you can always use it for longer battles. It is very effective against both Katy and Brassius’ Pokémon teams. 

Skeledirge is weak to Dark and Ghost-type Pokémon. It is the most effective Pokemon for the gyms, however, it is not a great Pokémon to go against the Titans.

HP	Atk	Def	Sp.Atk	Sp.Def	Speed
67	45	56	63	40	36

III. Quaxly

Quaxly evolves into Quaxwell at level 16 and turns Quaquaval at level 36. Quaquaval is a water and fighting type pokemon. It has access to swords dance which is a great move to improve the attack stats. It makes up for Tritsch of speed by water-type moves. It has the highest physical attack stats out of all the 3 starters. It doesn’t have great defense moves like skelidirge but has higher speed stats. 

Compared to Meowscarada it has better defense but has a lower speed. 

Basically, it is an all-rounder which doesn’t stand out in one particular stat but can be a great bet. 

HP	Atk	Def	Sp.Atk	Sp.Def	Speed
55	65	45	50	45	50

5. Which Starter Pokémon should I choose?

All three Pokémon starters are great and you cannot really go wrong with any of them as it is an open world. it is best to choose your companion based on your objective.

If you want to take down the titans,  Sprigatito is a very good choice, it is the fastest pokemon with decent attack stats. However, remember that it is weak against multiple types of Pokémon. 

If you want to start with Victory Road, Fuecoco’s defensive stats will do you good. It also has great special attack abilities.

If you want to take down Team Star, all-rounder Quaxly would be your best bet. It has great strength and defense. It also makes up for its lack of speed with its water moves.

So choose your pokemon based on your objective and none of the starters would be a wrong option.

6. About Pokemon Scarlet and Violet – Game

Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company. The game released on November 18, 2022, and marks the beginning of the ninth generation in the Pokemon Franchise.

Introducing 107 new pokemon and an open-world landscape, the game takes place in the Paldea region. Players can choose from three separate stories. The game also introduces a new feature – Terastal phenomenon, which allows players to change the type of pokemon and transform them into their Tera Type.

The game has sold over 10 million units in the first three days of its release.