Pokemon Scarlet Best Starters - Which To Choose?

Updated:

11 Oct 2023

Pokemon Scarlet lets you choose between Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. But you can only choose one as a starter Pokemon.

Do you want to explore the vast, open reaches of Paldea, but don’t know which starter you want to bring? All three of Paldea’s starters have their strengths and weaknesses, so I’ve made a guide to help you choose the best starter for your journey! This guide below will tell you about each starter’s best and worst stats, some of the best moves they can learn, their type matchups, and their hidden abilities, so take a look and find out which starter is the best to bring. Before your many battles against tough trainers, giant titans, and fancy flaming cars, here’s what Paldea’s starters have to offer!

The Grass Cat Pokemon: Sprigatito

"Sprigatito is the Grass type starter of Pokemon Scarlet. For the many weaknesses it has, the Grass Cat has many strengths."

Because Sprigatito is a Grass type Pokemon, it has the most type weaknesses of the three starters. Those type weaknesses are Fire, Ice, Bug, Flying, and Poison.

When it becomes Meowscarada, those weaknesses add up with Fighting and Fairy type moves. Meowscarada also has the lowest defensive stats of the three, so you have to be careful when using it.

Meowscarada’s hidden ability, Protean, sort of helps with this, but only a little. Protean changes Meowscarada’s type to the same one as the move it's using, but only for the first move it uses in a battle. How useful this ability is for covering Meowscarada’s type weaknesses depends on the situation. But even with all these weaknesses, Sprigatito and its evolutions have many strengths that’ll let this Grass Cat bloom on the battlefield.

Sprigatito can grow to learn some powerful Grass type moves such as Seed Bomb and Energy Ball, and physical moves like U-Turn and Play Rough. These moves are great when Sprigatito evolves into Meowscarada. And that’s because of Meowscarada’s incredible Attack and Speed stat!

Meowscarada puts on a show with its fantastic Speed and Attack. It learns plenty of strong physical moves like Thunder Punch, Night Slash, Brick Break, Shadow Claw, and its signature move Flower Gift. Flower Gift has 70 base power, gets powered up with STAB (same-type attack bonus), and always lands a critical hit, making it a very hard-hitting move!

Sprigatito, especially when it evolves into Meowscarada, is a rose with thorns. While its low defensive stats and several type weaknesses leave a lot to be desired, Meowscarada’s high Speed, strong Attack, and movepool will leave its opponents dazed by its battle performance.

Sprigatito Pros

A good choice for taking on Titan Klawf.
Has incredible Speed and Attack as Meowscarada.
Meowscarada Dark typing gives it immunity to Psychic type moves
Learns several powerful physical moves

Sprigatito Cons

Low defenses.
Has more elemental weaknesses than Quaquaval and Skeledirge, though Protean can help deal with this.
Not many options for countering its Fire, Ice, Poison, and Fairy type weaknesses.

Sprigatito’s Stats

HP: 40
Attack: 61
Defense: 54
Special Attack: 45
Special Defense: 45
Speed: 65
Overall Stats: 310

Floragato’s Stats

HP: 61
Attack: 80
Defense: 63
Special Attack: 60
Special Defense: 63
Speed: 83
Overall Stats: 410

Meowscarada’s Stats

HP: 76
Attack: 110
Defense: 70
Special Attack: 81
Special Defense: 70
Speed:
Overall Stats: 530

The Fire Croc Pokemon: Fuecoco

"Fuecoco is Paldea's Fire type starter. While it does have its flaws, if you're looking for a bulky, Special attacker, Fuecoco can deliver."

Fuecoco has more type weaknesses than Quaxly (those being Water, Ground, and Rock types), but not nearly as many as Sprigatito. Because Fuecoco is a Fire type, it’s a solid choice for taking on Bug Gym Leader Katy and Grass Gym Leader Brassius.

As Skeledirge, the Fire/Ghost type croc is immune to Normal and Fighting types moves, gets a nice boost in its HP stat, and a big increase in its Defense stat, making it hard to take down with physical moves. Skeledirge can also learn lots of good Special moves for its high Special Attack, like Shadow Ball, Seed Bomb, Earth Power, and its signature move Torch Song.

Torch Song has a base power of 80 and raises Skeledirge's Special Attack further by 1 stage with each use. With this move, the next song your opponents will hear is the Pokemon Center theme. This move is even more helpful if you can get Skeledirge’s hidden ability Unaware.

With Unaware, Skeledirge’s moves ignore any stat changes the opponent made on itself, like boosting their defensive stats or boosting their evasiveness. Used well, Torch Song with Unaware will bring you a scorching symphony of victory!

That said, Fuecoco and its evolutions do have their downsides. While Skeledirge has a great Defense stat, its Special Defense isn't as good, making it a bit easy to take down with Special Attack moves that Skeledirge’s type doesn’t resist. Skeledirge also has the lowest Speed stat of the three starters, so it often won’t outspeed its opponents. It also gains a weakness to Dark and Ghost type moves.

Fuecoco, as Skeledirge, suffers a bit from low Special Defense and Speed. But if you can look past those weaknesses, Fuecoco will be a tanky ally whose music will melt even the toughest opponents.

Fuecoco Pros

Good for taking on one the first two gym leaders, Katy and Brassius
Has less weaknesses than Sprigatito
Skeledirge is immune to Normal and Fighting type moves
Learns many strong Special attacks, including Torch Song
Unaware”makes good use of Skeledirge’s power

Fuecoco Cons

Somewhat low Special Defense
Has the lowest speed of all the Paldea starters
Gains a weakness to Dark and Ghost type moves when it evolves into Skeledirge

Fuecoco’s Stats

HP: 67
Attack: 45
Defense: 59
Special Attack: 63
Special Defense: 40
Speed: 36
Overall Stats: 310

Crocalor’s Stats

HP: 81
Attack: 55
Defense: 78
Special Attack: 90
Special Defense: 58
Speed: 49
Overall Stats: 411

Skeledirge’s Stats

HP: 104
Attack: 75
Defense: 100
Special Attack: 110
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 66
Overall Stats: 530

The Duckling Pokemon: Quaxly

"Quaxly is the Water type starter of Paldea. Not the best with Speed or Defense, but its evolution boasts strong Physical strength."

Quaxly boasts the least number of type weaknesses compared to Fuecoco and Sprigatito, being only weak to Grass and Electric type moves. Since it’s able to learn the Flying type move Wing Attack while being able to learn Water type moves, Quaxly is a great option for taking on Gym Leader Katy, Team Star Boss Mela and Titan Klawf early on in the game.

As Quaquaval, it has two fantastic additions: Becoming a Water/Fighting type and a boost in its Attack power! Quaquaval’s high Attack power syncs well with the many physical moves it can learn. Some of these moves are Acrobatics, Liquidation, Close Combat, and the Ice type move Ice Spinner, which covers its Grass and Flying type weakness while also destroying Terrain effects.

Quaquaval’s signature move, Aqua Step, has 80 base power while boosting speed. This move is even better if you can get Moxie, Quaquaval’s hidden ability.

With Moxie, each time Quaquaval knocks out an opponent, its Attack power is raised by 1 stage! Combined with Aqua Step, Quaquaval will leave its opponents stunned by more than just its dance moves.

Without Aqua Step, Quaquaval is faster than Skeledirge but not nearly as fast as Meowscarada. Its HP and Defense stat is weaker than Skeledirge’s but only a bit higher than Meowscarada’s, while its Special Defense is about the same as the two. Thankfully, Quaquaval can also learn good supporting moves such as Feather Dance, Roost, Baton Pass, Encore and Taunt, though this would mean missing out on some of Quaquaval’s best and most powerful moves.

As a Quaquaval, Quaxly's other stats besides Attack power aren't terrible, but aren't amazing either. But it more than makes up for that by learning strong physical moves, increasing its Speed with “Aqua Step”, and boosting its already high Attack with Moxie or its Water type moves with Torrent. If you believe Quaxly is right for you, this suave duck will dance through any danger that stands in its way.

Quaxly Pros

Good for taking on one of the first gyms, first Titan, and Mela
Has the least number of weaknesses, even when fully evolved
Able to learn a huge number of physical moves that complement its high Attack stat
Moxie helps rise Quaqauval’s Attack stat even more
Learn several good supporting moves

Quaxly Cons

Not nearly as slow as Skeledirge, but not as fast as Meowscarda. Though Aqua Step can somewhat help with this
Doesn't learn any moves to counter its Electric, Psychic, and Fairy type weaknesses
Has somewhat low defenses that, while knowing moves that can help with this, would mean missing out on some of Quaquaval’s other powerful physical moves

Quaxly’s Stats

HP: 55
Attack: 65
Defense: 45
Special Attack: 50
Special Defense: 45
Speed: 50
Overall Stats: 310

Quaxwell’s Stats

HP: 70
Attack: 85
Defense: 65
Special Attack: 65
Special Defense: 60
Speed: 65
Overall Stats: 410

Quaquaval’s Stats

HP: 85
Attack: 120
Defense: 80
Special Attack: 85
Special Defense: 75
Speed: 85
Overall Stats: 530

And those are the strengths and weaknesses of Paldea’s starters! Do you want a lightning bruiser, a tanky special attacker, or an all-around physical fighter? All three have their goods and bads, so pick the one you believe is the best for you and set out for your many adventures in the Paldea region!

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Pokemon Scarlet Best Starters - Which To Choose?

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