On This Page Show
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is finally out, and despite it having a rough start due to the “bad graphics” controversy with several bug reports, it’s still a pretty fun game. It has a compelling story where the Pokémon god Arceus sends you back in time to an island called Hisui.
There, you’ll find yourself recruited into the Galaxy Expedition Team, tasked to catch all the creatures you can find in the region.
Naturally, before you even start playing the game, you’ll be given the heavy task of choosing your starter Pokemon. The Pokemon series isn’t known for offering many options, but the good thing about Pokémon Legends: Arceus is that each starter comes from different generations and regions.
Ranking Pokémon Legends: Arceus Starters
In this guide, we’ve ranked all three starters in Pokémon Legends: Arceus from worst to best.
3. Rowlet
- Type: Grass/Flying
- Evolves into: Hisuian Decidueye (Grass/Fighting).
Rowlet is a Grass/Flying type that first appeared in the Alola games and Gen Six. It’s unquestionably a good pick for this game, especially given that it’s a mixed attacker with respectable numbers in both attack and special attack, thanks to its stats. You will have choices for any tanky opponents if you keep its moveset diverse.
Rowlet’s typing makes it a fantastic pick in the early stages. In the first few hours, you’ll encounter a ton of Bug-type and Grass-type enemies; eliminating them with a skillfully placed Gust is a terrific method to grind levels and finish your Pokedex entries.
While Rowlet learns Roost at Level 11, and resists the urge to use it. Stall tactics won’t assist you much because the fighting in this game centers around hitting hard and hitting quickly.
Its physical assaults, such Aerial Ace and Leaf Blade, are far more advantageous. These will be fantastic until it picks up some stronger skills from Zisu in the Training Hall, such as the superb threat-type matchup coverage techniques Psycho Cut and Shadow Claw.
2. Cyndaquil
- Type: Fire
- Evolves into: Hisuian Typhlosion (Ghost/Fire).
Cyndaquil, the group’s Fire-type member, has been a part of Pokemon since Gold and Silver. Rowlet uses a balanced strategy for fighting, whereas Cyndaquil and its evolutions focus on special attacks.
You’ll probably be better off retaining Ember and Swift in the early game and augmenting them with cool techniques from Zisu, like Wild Charge and Iron Tail, for coverage, even if it will learn skills like Rollout and Flame Wheel.
When you start to experience those mid-game difficulty spikes, Cyndaquil is able to develop into its second phase quicker than the other starters, which is very helpful. Given that its ultimate form has a greater stat pool than that of the final forms of the other early Pokémon, it scales well late game.
It’s also important to note that although wild fire-type Pokémon are a touch more prevalent in Arceus than they are in earlier Pokémon games, you might still justifiably choose Cyndaquil because he’ll be your best fire-type choice for a while.
You should start teaching Cyndaquil how to use Flamethrower as soon as Zisu permits it because it is a fantastic move. It’s definitely the Pokemon’s finest move for doing constant damage for a large period of the game, not to mention it looks really awesome in this game.
The reason why Cyndaquil’s not ranked higher is that they’re not the best at taking damage.
1. Oshawott
- Type: Water
- Evolves into: Hisuian Samurott (Water/Dark).
Oshawott is a smart choice that shines in the early going thanks to a deluge of rock-type Pokémon foes. Their evolution is perhaps one of the most aesthetically pleasing in the game.
Oshawott’s evolutions may appear to be slightly weaker than those of its rivals in terms of stats, but they are frequently more potent than they appear because of their strong water/dark skillset and range of boost and debuff abilities.
Despite that, Oshawott is a Water-type, which makes it initially difficult to play with, and has mediocre defensive numbers.
Although all the strongest Water attacks are Special Attacks, it makes up for them with a strong and high Special Attack. Its HP is strong despite its average Speed. Oshawott eventually evolves into the powerful Hisuian Samurott if you persist with it; this Dark/Water Pokémon often has a highly wide range of abilities that can handle a variety of scenarios thanks to its changeable type.
Oshawott is effective against two out of three of the Noble Pokemon bosses – Kleavor, Lilligant, and Hisuian Arcanine. Cyndaquil is effective against one of them, while Rowlet isn’t effective against any of them.
Oshawott is a great choice if you want to get off to a smooth start in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. But if you’re up for a challenge, then go for Rowlet. That being said, you should choose the Pokemon that works best for you!
