Lazy Writer's Best Starter for Pixelmon

Pixelmon allows the player to choose any starter Pokémon from any generation.

This was partially inspired by MysticUmbreon's Best Team series but does not follow the same rules. :p

This is based on Pixelmon 8.0.2. Future updates may affect the accuracy of some of the content of this post.

Fan games are exciting, but they can also be...daunting. Though I've so far only played Pokémon and Fire Emblem fan games, I've noticed they have a general trend of not only being harder than the official games they're based on, but also assuming the player has already played through a solid chunk of the official games. While an experienced player like me wouldn't need an explanation on basic mechanics like type matchups or the weapon triangle unless the developer changed them, a new player looking for a cool story or wanting to be edgy by not playing an official game first might not be as lucky.

Yes, I'm looking at you, Pokémon Insurgence. I enjoyed the story, but dang, even in "Normal" difficulty, a player like MandJTV who's done well in competitive battling before doesn't stand a chance with the early-game competition-ready movesets and high enemy levels. Like, dude, the third Gym Leader's Normal difficulty team has Lv. 46+ Pokémon!

Pixelmon is one of the most popular Minecraft mods because it literally adds a fully playable Pokémon experience into an already popular sandbox game. I think many people roughly my age have grown up with Pokémon in one way or another, whether it's through the Generations I-III games, the anime, or even just Pokémon GO.

Though Pixelmon doesn't have an in-game tutorial, the official Pixelmon wiki has guides that I think can help even players who have never played a main series Pokémon game.

Problem is, unlike the main series Pokémon games and most fan games (yes, including Insurgence), the wild Pokémon are mostly tough as nails from the beginning. Even with the config option "Spawn closer to player's level" turned on, wild Pokémon can often still be found at Lv. 10 (assuming the starter Pokémon is set to start at Lv. 5), so they're extra difficult to run from and hit very hard, especially if they have a same-type attack bonus (STAB) move. Pokémon spawn quite fast, in large numbers, are spread out throughout the world, and most species have a 20% chance to be aggressive, i.e. they start battles against nearby players. The only reliable option for healing Pokémon is through a bed which only works at night and requires the player to catch or defeat Pokémon like Mareep (which knows Thunder Wave) or Wooloo (which spawns at Lv. 7 at a minimum regardless of config options).

Speaking of moves (no, I'm not Professor Kukui), regrettably, The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard in Pixelmon. If the aforementioned "Spawn closer to player's level" config option is turned on, wild Pokémon know moves that they normally learn at a later level; for example, a Lv. 10 Magikarp can know Tackle which it normally learns at Lv. 15. Lv. 10 is where many starter Pokémon only have 40-power STAB moves like Leafage, Ember, or Water Gun.

(Technical stuff here) I think it's because the order in which Pokémon data are generated is screwed up. I'm guessing Pixelmon generates the Pokémon species first, then randomizes its level based on a set level range, then assigns the moves it knows based on its level, then scales the level down to something roughly the same as the player's highest-leveled Pokémon. Magikarp normally spawns between levels 5 and 19, so there's a 1/3 (~33.3%) chance that a seemingly low-level Magikarp knows Tackle.

Even if you're not playing something like a Nuzlocke or my Hytale practice regimen, it still gets boring when your Pokémon gets destroyed in the first 3 or so battles of your world.

As such, my Best Starter for Pixelmon focuses on surviving the lower levels.

Let's begin because I suck at introductions.

Rules

• All config options are set to their defaults, though I may consider different config options sometimes.
• A Pokémon's viability in early-game Pixelmon is heavily dependent on its Speed, its survivability, and how early it learns useful moves, especially high-power STAB moves that use its higher attacking stat.
• Only moves from a Pokémon's level-up learnset are considered. TMs, HMs, Move Tutor moves, and Egg moves are not considered because they take much more time and luck to obtain.
• This assumes the player does not spawn near a Pokémon Center or village. As such, the player can only fully heal their Pokémon using vanilla Minecraft beds, and items must be found or crafted.
• This assumes the player will only use their starter for a large portion of the playthrough.
• I may throw in personal stories and side comments because this is my blog and I follow my own rules 'cause I'm chaotic neutral. lololol

Grass, Fire, or Water?

In short, unlike most official Pokémon games, I think the Grass type is the best starter type for early-game Pixelmon.

First and most importantly, it has a type advantage over the Water-type Magikarp, the notoriously weak Splash-using fish Pokémon. It's really the only Pokémon the starters can reliably fight at lower levels because most other wild Pokémon start with at least one damage-dealing move. Though also found in rivers, Magikarp come in huge numbers in oceans so they're extra easy to grind. Not all Magikarp know Tackle but aim for lower-level Magikarp just to be safe.

Second, some Grass-type Pokémon can learn HP-restoring moves like Absorb, Leech Seed, or Synthesis. Low-level Pokémon have very low HP, so 1 HP can mean the difference between life and...fainting (because death isn't a thing unless you have a Self-Imposed Challenge).

(Unfortunately, HP restoration for real-life humans isn't as easy. Fuck you, Chinese Communist Party for allowing the Wuhan coronavirus to spread outside of China.)

Third, Grass-type Pokémon resist Mareep's Thunder Shock, allowing the player to safely get wool.

The other two types are a bit more situational.

Fire-types are generally the best attackers because Fire is super effective against 4 types (vs. Grass and Water's 3) and some are notorious for the "repetitive" Fire/Fighting type combination, allowing them to hit 7 types super effectively with STAB moves alone. Forests are common biomes that have a lot of Grass- and Bug-type Pokémon so, upon learning Ember, Fire-types can start sweeping through the competition.

However, many Fire-types are Fragile Speedster Glass Cannons, so if they don't take down their foe in the first turn, they'll likely get destroyed. Because mining is a core mechanic in Minecraft and Diglett spawns underground, Fire-types will be in big trouble because of Diglett's Arena Trap ability which prevents fleeing and because of Diglett's super effective STAB moves.

Water-types are great at battling underground and in the Extreme Hills biome because many Pokémon there are Rock- or Ground-type and are very slow.

However, they are weak to Mareep's Thunder Shock.

Now that we've got the types in general out of the way, let's look at the individual starter Pokémon:

Bulbasaur

Bulbasaur is challenging to raise at the early levels because it learns Vine Whip at Lv. 9, which is quite late considering many starters gain STAB moves at much lower levels.

It does learn Leech Seed at Lv. 7, which, with some patience, allows Bulbasaur to passively chip away at Magikarp that only know Splash.

It sucks though that the Bulbasaur line doesn't learn any damage-dealing Poison-type moves (besides the status move Poison Powder) by leveling up.

Charmander

This was one of my favorite Pokémon as a kid and young teen and was the starter I chose the most when I first played Pixelmon because its final evolution, Charizard, can fly.

Charmander at first doesn't feel unique because it learns Ember and Smokescreen at levels 7 and 10, respectively, but when it learns Dragon Rage at level 16, it starts wrecking low-level non-Fairy-type Pokémon with ease. Dragon Rage always deals 40 damage and many unevolved Pokémon have less than 40 HP.

As Professor Oak said about Charmander in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, "You should raise it patiently." Because man, oh man, you'll be rewarded so much when your starter grows wings. If you allow vanilla Minecraft mobs to spawn, you can completely avoid fights because the vast majority of mobs can't fly.

Squirtle

I actually like Squirtle more than Charmander because Squirtle is blue and I used Blastoise back in Pokémon Blue. Plus, Squirtle from Pokémon Talk is funny as heck.

While Squirtle doesn't hit as hard as many other starters, its Water Gun is still more than enough to OHKO (one-hit KO) Pokémon it hits super effectively. It makes up for lack of attack power in solid defenses, allowing it to last longer in battles against Magikarp that know Tackle.

It's unfortunately slow, so if you get caught by a high-level aggressive Pokémon, Squirtle will get vaporized despite its high defenses.

Chikorita

My very first starter Pokémon when I played Pokémon Crystal as a 4-year-old. Like any kid ignorantly mashing the A button, I named my Chikorita "AAAAAAAAAA".

Unlike Squirtle, Chikorita has both power and toughness. Chikorita learns Razor Leaf, a 55-power move, at level 6. 55 power is very strong at low levels. It also has an increased critical hit rate, making it useful for foes that like to increase their Defense or lower Chikorita's Attack.

However, Razor Leaf only has 95% accuracy, and if there's one thing that competitive Pokémon battlers know (as well as those playing Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 or earlier), it's that anything below 100% accuracy is unreliable. If Tackle simply doesn't cut it and Razor Leaf is the only option but it misses, Chikorita gets run dry.

And Chikorita is also slow.

Cyndaquil

Cyndaquil, despite having the same stats as Charmander, doesn't do as well. It learns Ember at a late Lv. 10, meaning it takes a lot of patience and luck to get Cyndaquil to put in some solid work.

Its final form, Typhlosion, can't fly, while Charizard can and can hit more types super effectively. Plus, Charizard has two Mega Evolutions and, if Gigantamax is added, a Gigantamax form.

Overall, Cyndaquil in Pixelmon doesn't live up to its status as the best starter in Johto.

Sorry, HoopsandHipHop.

Totodile

Totodile seems alright at first because it learns Water Gun at Lv. 6, but it soon gets very weak because of its subpar Sp. Atk and Speed and the fact that the next Water-type move it learns by level-up is Aqua Tail...at Lv. 43 (or Lv. 63 as a Feraligatr).

The only way Totodile can ever get viable is if the player gets lucky and finds a Move Tutor that teaches Aqua Tail or an HM for Waterfall or Dive, but I don't like relying on luck, especially because PokéLoot is rare.

Treecko

MandJTV and Truegreen7, you have one more reason to love this Pokémon: Treecko is the best starter for Pixelmon.

Unlike other Pokémon which learn their STAB moves after a few levels past Lv. 5, Treecko knows Absorb immediately, allowing Treecko to deal super effective STAB damage to Magikarp while compensating for Treecko's subpar defenses by restoring HP.

Treecko is very fast thanks to its base Speed of 70, allowing Treecko to run from some Pokémon that are a few levels higher than Treecko.

Just don't pick a fight against Rattata, Pikachu, or Meowth because they're faster.

Quick Attack lets Treecko finish off Pokémon that are Speed-tied with it or also know Quick Attack but have less Speed. I enjoy using Quick Attack as a "panic button" of sorts.

Treecko gets OP at later levels because it learns Mega Drain at Lv. 13...then Giga Drain at Lv. 21. Combined with the Treecko line's high Sp. Atk, Giga Drain makes the Treecko line nearly unstoppable versus Pokémon that don't resist Grass.

Just delay your Treecko's evolution because Grovyle and Sceptile can't learn Giga Drain by level up.

The only not-so-good thing about the Treecko line is that, as a Grovyle, the moves it learns before reaching Lv. 36 (when it can evolve into Sceptile) are mostly subpar. Pursuit and Fury Cutter only have 40 power and are physical. Leaf Blade is pretty good, but I just have more fun spamming Giga Drain.

Still, in my latest Pixelmon playthrough, Grovyle has carried me really far. Giga Drain KOes many Pokémon in 1 or 2 hits. Pursuit is decent coverage against the Gastly line which would otherwise wreck slower Pokémon while mining.

Mega Sceptile boasts a whopping 145 base Sp. Atk and Speed, ensuring it will strike fast and hard.

Torchic

The first of a soon-to-be-notorious member of a Fire/Fighting evolutionary line past Generation III, Torchic is a solid attacker with its 70 Sp. Atk and immediate access to Ember.

Problem is, Torchic and Combusken are quite slow for other starters of its type at only 45 and 55 Speed, respectively. They'll have trouble running away even from Rattata which Combusken has a type advantage against.

Mudkip

Mudkip memes are the reason why, when I use intentional bad spelling, I say "liek".

It learns Water Gun immediately, so that's kinda good. Mudkip's 50 base Sp. Atk is workable but can become weak in later levels.

Mud-Slap is basically a damage-dealing version of Sand Attack--it lowers the foe's accuracy per hit.

It's learned at Lv. 9, though, so it requires some patience. Also, accuracy between 0% and 100% still has luck involved, so I wouldn't risk picking fights with stronger Pokémon unless my Pokémon is low on HP.

40 Speed can outspeed some Pokémon that Mudkip deals super effective damage to but is very inadequate for running from foes.

Turtwig

Turtwig also learns Absorb and Razor Leaf, albeit at higher levels than Treecko and Chikorita, respectively.

Actually, it learns useful moves slowly in general. Bite is decent, but it comes at Lv. 21. Mega Drain comes at Lv. 25 which is not ideal because of Turtwig's low Sp. Atk. 

Did I mention the Turtwig line is the slowest of all the starter evolutionary lines?

Chimchar

Chimchar's evenly-spread base Attack and Sp. Atk ensure that its offensive power doesn't get screwed as much by Natures as other Pokémon. It's decently fast as well.

It evolves into Monferno at Lv. 14, a little earlier than Torchic's evolution. Monferno also learns Mach Punch at Lv. 14, so it can blow up Rattata which would otherwise hit surprisingly hard with their STAB Quick Attack.

Taunt is kinda useless since the aim of this guide is to take as little damage as possible, but if you're feeling edgy or wanting to build a competitive team right off the bat, go for it.

Piplup

Piplup is in a slightly worse case than Mudkip. Piplup learns Bubble at a kinda late Lv. 8, then at Lv. 11, Water Sport, a close-to-irrelevant move that gives Piplup overkill resistance to Fire. (Kinda like how Armored Knights in Fire Emblem have overkill Defense while Cavaliers can tank hits just as well while remaining fast and strong.)

Piplup has 40 Speed just like Mudkip so it also has trouble running from many threats.

Unlike Swampert which is an offensive powerhouse with its high Attack and Ground-type STAB, Empoleon is a strong tank with its solid defenses and Steel type, but the choice is up to you whether you prefer offense or defense.

Snivy

Snivy is in an awkward situation. Like Chimchar, Snivy's Attack and Sp. Atk are equal, but they both sit at a subpar 45 while many starters have 55 or higher in at least one attacking stat.

It learns Vine Whip at Lv. 7 which, combined with its 63 base Speed, allows Snivy to take down many early-game Water-types (except Magikarp, unfortunately, thanks to Magikarp's 80 Speed and 55 Defense) before Snivy gets hit.

Snivy learns Wrap afterward, which is not ideal because, in wild Pokémon battles, offense is generally better than defense. Why deal chip damage when you can just KO the opposing Pokémon in 3 hits or less? Besides, Wrap is really only useful in competitive battles if you want to prevent the opponent from switching out.

Tepig

Tepig is...the worst of the starters with a Fire/Fighting final evolution. It is slow compared to Charmander and Cyndaquil and doesn't deal as much damage with Ember as Torchic and Chimchar thanks to Tepig's mediocre 45 Sp. Atk.

Then again, I'd say Emboar is a decent investment. It learns moves like Arm Thrust for scoring one-round knockouts (ORKOs, a Fire Emblem fan term) against Pokémon with Sturdy, Rollout for coverage against Flying-types, and Heat Crash for obvious STAB.

I'd still rather use Infernape because it's much faster and learns the awesomely powerful Close Combat, a 120-power Fighting-type move, at Lv. 36.

Oshawott

Ah, Shinx--here we go again. Another slow Water-type starter with a subpar level-up moveset.

It learns Water Gun at Lv. 7. That's OK. And then it learns Water Sport and Focus Energy before reaching its evolution level of 17. Focus Energy is kinda cool for wrecking stat-manipulating foes, but it's reliant on luck.

Once it reaches Lv. 17, though, Oshawott/Dewott is rewarded with Razor Shell, a 75-power Water-type move. That's crazy high power even for this level.

Chespin

Chespin is unfortunately slow just like Turtwig, but it has a better learnset. It starts with Vine Whip then learns Rollout at Lv. 8 and Bite at Lv. 11.

Rollout gives Chespin coverage against Fire- and Flying-types which would otherwise hit Chespin super effectively, but many Pokémon of those two types are Fragile Speedsters.

Bite can OHKO the Gastly that randomly spawn underground.

Fennekin

Putting an end to the Fire/Fighting type combo is Fennekin, whose final evolution is the Fire/Psychic-type Delphox.

Fennekin boasts good offenses with its 62 Sp. Atk, 60 Speed, and immediate access to Ember.

Unfortunately, that's where Fennekin's offensive power stops for a kinda long time because it learns Howl and Flame Charge next, both of which have something to do with Fennekin's subpar Attack.

But when Fennekin/Braixen learns Psybeam at Lv. 17/18 respectively, it starts wrecking things again. Ekans is common in Plains biomes and has a higher chance to be aggressive at 30%, while Machop is common in Extreme Hills biomes.

Psychic has good neutral coverage too, being only resisted by Psychic and Steel and having no effect on Dark. Whatever Psychic can't hit very well can be hit by Fennekin's Fire-type attacks.

Froakie

The unevolved form of Greninja, the winner of 2020 Pokémon of the Year. Greninja skyrocketed in popularity thanks to the Ash-Greninja form which debuted in the anime and later appeared in Pokémon Sun and Moon, and with that came a significant boost in power akin to a Mega Evolution.

But we're here to talk about Froakie, the fastest of all the unevolved starters...by 1 point ahead of Treecko, Litten, and Sobble. Pretty funny, if you ask me, but a Speed difference of 1 can mean the difference between...y'know, life and fainting.

Froakie boasts great offense right off the bat with 56 Attack, 62 Sp. Atk, immediate access to Bubble, and access to Quick Attack at Lv. 8. Lick provides coverage against Gastly at Lv. 10. Finally, right before evolving into Frogadier, Froakie learns the 60-power Water Pulse which packs a 20% confusion chance.

Frogadier's moveset past Water Pulse is kinda subpar, even upon evolving into Greninja. As a Greninja, you either need to grind to Lv. 68 to teach Hydro Pump or find a Move Relearner to teach Night Slash early if you don't have access to TMs/HMs.

Rowlet

My second personal pick for a Pixelmon playthrough based on battle effectiveness. It starts immediately with Leafage then learns Peck at Lv. 8. These two moves allow Rowlet to hit the common Machop, Magikarp, Phanpy, and Surskit super effectively.

Astonish once again provides coverage against Gastly, though it's risky because Rowlet's 42 Speed is horribly low compared to Gastly's blistering 80.

Rowlet then learns Razor Leaf at Lv. 14, allowing Rowlet to more easily demolish physical tanks that would survive a super effective Leafage.

Once again, Rowlet suffers from a subpar learnset between levels 17 and 34, but thankfully, as a Decidueye, its moveset gets good again. Leaf Blade, Spirit Shackle, Brave Bird, and Sucker Punch all hit crazy hard, though if the player wants to run Brave Bird, I suggest running Synthesis instead of Sucker Punch if the player has no access to a Pokémon Center then fighting weak Pokémon so Decidueye can safely restore its own HP.

Too bad Decidueye can't fly. -_-

Litten

Litten is a similar case to Chimchar prior to evolution. Litten has slightly higher Attack at 65 than Sp. Atk at 60, though Litten packs much higher Speed at 70.

Ember and Lick are OK early-game moves, though once it learns Fire Fang and Double Kick, Litten starts wrecking things. Torracat learns Bite at Lv. 24 for even more type coverage.

Popplio

I think Popplio is the best of the slow Water-type starters in battle. Unlike Mudkip which learns the underpowered Mud-Slap, Popplio gets Disarming Voice, a 40-power Fairy-type move that uses Popplio's 66 base Sp. Atk, at Lv. 8.

Aqua Jet at Lv. 14 and Icy Wind at Lv. 16 compensate for Popplio's slow base Speed of 40 with the latter providing coverage against those nasty Grass-types.

Bubble Beam (65 power) at Lv. 22 (Popplio)/24 (Brionne) is no joke, either.

At Lv. 28, Brionne learns Sing, which can come in clutch against annoying foes that you simply want to stop from moving.

Grookey

Grookey boasts a solid 65 Attack and 60 Speed, but I feel like there's not much going on in terms of its early-game moveset.

It gets Branch Poke (40 power) at Lv. 6 and Razor Leaf at Lv. 12, so that's kind of cool.

Screech can be a game-changer though. It lowers the foe's Defense by two stages, and it's extra fun if the Defense drop is stacked with a critical hit from Razor Leaf.

Knock Off at Lv. 20 (Grookey)/Lv. 24 (Thwackey) is pretty good against Gastly and any Pokémon in general that spawn with annoying held items like, if I'm not mistaken, Sentret which holds Oran Berries.

Scorbunny

The best starter for Galar according to MandJTV, Scorbunny packs 71 Attack, 69 Speed, and access to Ember (Lv. 6), Quick Attack (Lv. 8), Double Kick (Lv. 12), and Flame Charge (Lv. 17), making Scorbunny a powerful striker (soccer reference intended).

I can't believe I'm saying this again, but Scorbunny and Raboot suffer from weak middle-level learnset syndrome. Headbutt (70 power, Lv. 24 (Scorbunny)/Lv. 30 (Raboot)) is pretty solid, but Agility and Counter are hardly any useful. Agility is unnecessary because Scorbunny/Raboot is already fast and Counter sucks because the Scorbunny line has mediocre defenses.

Sobble

Out of personal preference, I like Sobble the most because of its high Sp. Atk and Speed of 70 each, its blue color, and its final evolution's awesome British spy and sniper inspirations. If Inteleon was a Fire Emblem character, its Skill would be insanely high, I bet.

Problem is...I think Sobble has the worst early- and mid-game moveset among the Galar starters. Why use Bind (15 power, Lv. 8) when you can just blow up the foe with Water Pulse (Lv. 12)? Sucker Punch would've been cool if not for Drizzile's subpar 60 Attack which may prevent Drizzile from scoring a clutch KO. U-turn is a great move in competitive battling, but with only your starter, it's really just a regular 70-power physical Bug-type move. To top it all off, Sobble and Drizzile don't learn any more special Water-type moves until they evolve into Inteleon which learns Snipe Shot (80 power).

Personal Side Notes

Because I don't think a conclusion is necessary and I'm tired as heck.

• My Pixelmon playthroughs are much harder than standard playthroughs because, in addition to my Hytale practice regimen's rules, I only defeat Pokémon that give the effort values (EVs) I want. I'm too lazy to find EV-reducing Berries and I think having a competition-ready Pokémon is extra rewarding.
  One reason why I think Treecko is the best is, since competitive battlers often max out Speed EVs for speedy Pokémon, it's safe for me to commit Magikarp genocide. (I didn't include this in the main section because not every player may be interested in EV training or competitive battling.)
  I think Fire Emblem YouTuber Mekkah would consider this a pitfall, but I simply find EV grinding in the early levels more fun...just like how I don't use Jagens/Oifeys like Marcus and Frederick because I want a challenge.
• My Hytale practice regimen partially influenced why I don't want the player to lose their starter Pokémon, though other than that, I tried not to assume the player will go through the same regimen. It's quite frankly brutal, even for me.
• I think this seed is good for an easy start for Pixelmon:
  CloseCounter
  It spawns the player in a Plains biome that's very close to Extreme Hills, a Swampland, and a Desert that has a village and a Fire-type Gym located at x = -137, z = 86. Increase your render distance to something like 10 chunks to see the Gym from the spawn point.
• Speaking of Close Counter, I foddered off the starter Takumi in Fire Emblem Heroes and gave Close Counter to my male Robin 'cause I like Robin so much. Along with Vantage, he carried me through many of my early months of playing Fire Emblem Heroes.