Which Starter Pokemon Should You Choose?
When starting Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (Pokemon BDSP), you will be asked to choose which starter Pokemon to take with you on your journey across the Sinnoh region. Detailed below are the best Starter Pokemon to pick based on their advantages and disadvantages in battle.
Best Pokemon for Clearing the Game
Best Starter Pokemon in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
1st Place – Piplup
| Type | Water |
|---|---|
| Weaknesses | Electric, Grass |
Piplup is the best starter Pokemon to choose because of some notable advantages over the other two. First, Piplup boasts the fewest weaknesses owing to it being a Water type Pokemon. It becomes a Water-Steel type Pokemon upon evolving to Empoleon, significantly increasing its endurance. Because of these qualities, Piplup is an excellent choice for players going through the game’s main story and even those who intend to battle against other trainers online.
Evolution Stages
| Piplup (evolves at Lv. 14) → |
Prinplup (evolves at Lv. 36) → |
Empoleon (Final) |
Piplup Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 51 | 53 | 61 | 56 | 40 |
| Type | |||||
| Water | |||||
Prinplup Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 66 | 68 | 81 | 76 | 50 |
| Type | |||||
| Water | |||||
Empoleon Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84 | 86 | 88 | 111 | 101 | 60 |
| Type | |||||
| Water-Steel | |||||
2nd Place – Chimchar
| Type | Fire |
|---|---|
| Weaknesses | Water, Ground, Rock |
Coming in at second place is Chimchar. While not enjoying as less type weaknesses as Piplup, Chimchar has impressive speed, allowing you to take the initiative, especially in online battles. Once Chimchar evolves into the Fire-Fighting type Pokemon Infernape, it gains access to several high-damage moves and can execute one-hit KOs because of its excellent attack power.
Evolution Stages
| Chimchar (evolves at Lv. 14) → |
Monferno (evolves at Lv. 36) → |
Infernape (Final) |
Chimchar Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 58 | 44 | 58 | 44 | 61 |
| Type | |||||
| Fire | |||||
Monferno Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 78 | 52 | 78 | 52 | 81 |
| Type | |||||
| Fire-Fighting | |||||
Infernape Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 104 | 71 | 104 | 71 | 108 |
| Type | |||||
| Fire-Fighting | |||||
3rd Place – Turtwig
| Type | Grass |
|---|---|
| Weaknesses | Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, Bug |
Turtwig takes the third and last spot, mainly for having the most type weaknesses of the three. Despite this, Turtwig enjoys high HP and good endurance to compensate for this disadvantage. Once Turtwig evolves into the Grass-Ground type Pokemon Torterra, it can learn powerful offensive moves like Stealth Rock and Earthquake, though those using Torterra should still be wary of its various weaknesses and subpar speed.
Evolution Stages
| Turtwig (evolves at Lv. 18) → |
Grotle (evolves at Lv. 32) → |
Torterra (Final) |
Turtwig Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 68 | 64 | 45 | 55 | 31 |
| Type | |||||
| Grass | |||||
Grotle Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 89 | 85 | 55 | 65 | 36 |
| Type | |||||
| Grass | |||||
Torterra Stats
| HP | ATK | DEF | SP. ATK | SP. DEF | AGI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 109 | 105 | 75 | 85 | 56 |
| Type | |||||
| Grass-Ground | |||||
Leave a Reply