Decisions, decisions...

[Shushup]

So.....few of you guys know I am starting a new save file, and can't choose a starter... It has come down to
1. Torchic
2. Piplup
3. Turtwig
So please choose one of them with a explanation! Thank you for helping me choose, and thanks for reading~

[Lars180]

I'd go for piplup,

My reasons are kinda personal and game related. Starting with Turtwig, i just don't like Torterra... For Torchic, a pokemon i love, it's more of a game related choice.

There are plenty of opportunities to catch a good and strong fire type (Arcanine, Rapidash, Magmar, Ninetails), while a good water type is harder to find, even more in the beginning.

I have played Reborn only once untill the end of ep. 9 and only know of some events, so i am definiately not the Reborn master you might need, but my opinion wont change.

[The Radiant Aeon]

That's.. a pretty tough decision for me. It really comes down to what team you want. For me though, I'd choose Turtwig. It gets EQ early on, there are A LOT more options for water types than Piplup (Ex: Sharpedo, Golduck, Gyarados), not saying it's a bad choice. It also has access to leech seed to recover any lost health from Wood hammer recoil.

If your more of a speed lover, go for Blaziken.

[Soysauce]

Torchic, especially with Speed Boost, makes the game easier imo, it's very powerful as it can set up on weaker Pokemon. Piplup has nice resistances but doesn't have a moveset that good, but it can definitely have a place in your team. Tutwig is very well rounded and offers more possibilities.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Soysauce

[TeamAlfred]

torchic is bad in the rain

pipplup is weak

turtwig is a boss with EQ at a very early age + weather doesn't really effect it, (offensively) defensively ehhh ... everyone gets effected

[Khayoz]

Speed Boost Torchic literally craps on all the other starters, even in the rain.

[Shushup]

Wow, such great explanations for each opinion QQ so hard to decide

[Twist]

I would (and I did) pick Empoleon. He has good resistances due to his Water/Steel dualtype which will help you a lot against Aya, Serra and Noel. Once you get your hands on a Heart Scale you can get Swagger which will complement his/her defensive-ness really well. You can also use Bide to get rid of the nasty pokemon some bosses have, or just use him/her to heal up your other Pokemon. In the end Empoleon is great mainly as a supportive Pokemon. Having at least one bulky Pokemon is a good idea, in my opinion.

Leveling it up will also be easy once you get to the Volcano. The Macargo there will help you keep your Empoleon at a good level even if you use it only minimally outside of boss battles.

Its not that great offensive-wise because even though it has good Sp.A. it doesn't learn any strong Sp.A. moves until Hydro Pump and unfortunately you don't have access to good TMs like Ice Beam YET. However it does have a nice diversity when it comes to moves, including Drill Peck which makes it reliable against Fighting Types even if it has a x2 weakness to them (although obviously it would be more of a last resort scenario.) You're also probably thinking that Aqua Jet and Drill Peck are pretty useless since they're Physical and Empoleon has shit Physical Attack damage, but you can make it re-learn Swords Dance if you want to have a mixed build.

Everyone and their mothers go for Torchick, so I hate it 'cause I'm a hipster trainer.

Turtwig is a good alternative, though.

[Shushup]

Thanks guys for the wonderful explanations about the choices, and I think I'm going to have to go with Lunar081's opinion, getting EQ very early, I can get a Gyrados for my water, since he is really strong as well , and a strong fire type like Magmar(hopefully Episode 10 comes out with a Magmetizer! same with Electrilizer!) Thank you again

[Jase]

Well I personally picked Torchic despite there being many useful Fire types because after a few bulk ups and speed boost, it can kill kill pretty much anything with Blaze Kick, Hi Jump Kick, and Brave Bird.