4th Gen Sinnoh starters!

[Alfieri]

I liked Piplup at first because penguins but Empoleon in terms of battle performance was meh. Its design was boss though.

However I went with Chimchar/Infernape because I love fast sweeping Pokemon.

 

[Astinus]

On my very first playthrough of Pearl, I picked Chimchar because it was always my favorite of the three. Also, Infernape was a better-looking final evolution than the other two, and I knew that I'd be seeing that stage more than the others.

While I have started games with Turtwig and Piplup (Turtwig more than Piplup), playing through Sinnoh doesn't feel right unless I start with Chimchar.

 

[Janp]

I chose Turtwig on my first playthrough of Diamond. During next runs I picked Piplup and Chimchar and I must say that they all are my least favourite starters.
But if I have to choose one, I would probably go with Turtwig...

 

[outchea oliver]

piplup

 

[XtinaIsMeLuvinWWE]

I picked Piplup the first time in Diamond and then Turtwig the second time through. I think overall I preferred Turtwig a little more, mainly cause there were other water types I wanted to use on my team and not many grass types so I stuck with Turtwig for longer and got to see more of its moveset etc.

 

[Sun]

Back in DP we're lacking of Fire-type Pokémon, so Chimchar's good. While Piplup, obviously is my favorite among its Sinnoh starter peers. I chose the penguin on my initial Japanese Pearl game play.

 

[Lord Cloud]

Chimchar because he looked better then the other starters

 

[Urugamosu]

Well, I've always chosen Piplup

in all of my Sinnoh games, I liked how the cute little penguin evolved into a beast like Empoleon

and becoming half steel.

 

[PKMDfan]

I chose Piplup because of its cute design and its water/steel type combo later on

 

[Ashes to Ashes]

Picked Turtwig first, Torterras line ended up being my favorite of the three. For typing my preference is always Grass over Fire and both way above Water. Secondary typings Fighting was my favorite, but Dirt is fine and even Steel woulda been okay.

Like all the starters in all the regions I liked all of Sinnohs, but Torterra like most other Grass starters is my favorite design of the trio. I like Infernape a lot as well, more than Blaziken. Empoleon is alright. A bit overdesigned, not a fan of Water type.

 

[Bgoldwax]

I started my adventure on Pearl the same day that my friend started his on Diamond (he bought both Diamon and Pearl). He chose Piplup becasue he thought it looked cute and would hopefully evolve into something awesome looking. I chose Turtwig since I chose Treecko in Sapphire and decided to continue with that streak. When it evolved into Torterra, I fell in love with the whole turtle as a landmass design. My team for the majority of my Pearl run until I Pal Park'd my Pokemon over from Fire Red and Sapphire consisted of:
Torterra, Staraptor, Palkia, Medicham, Rapidash(for when I needed a Fire type) / Pachirisu, Drifblim

 

[PokeManiacs]

I always chose Turtwig or Piplup when I was younger, however I choose Chimchar now as I like a bit of a challenge from Oreburgh gym.

 

[Gandhi Savage]

Let me start off by saying I love Gen 4's starters to bits and it's probably my favourite starter trio, despite there being a LOT of competition! I'll talk about them each individually as I just have plenty of memories from them all! Bonding with them was a real experience and this generation was probably when my interest for the Pokémon games was at it's peak so I played through D/P/Pt constantly... hard to think they were released 8 years ago.

Starting things off we have Turtwig, the tiny leaf Pokémon. Even just that makes it seem like the perfect starter for the hero, hailing from Twinleaf! It's such a cute little guy and at first I actually didn't like it much! That all changed when I used it for the first time though. It's bulk throughout the game paired with it's hard-hitting moveset helped me enjoy the playthrough probably more than any of my others! It's bulky enough to take a hit from Infernape/Empoleon (except Ice Beam) and retaliate by one-hitting them with a trusty Earthquake! It's design is sooooo good, I love Torterra so much. That tree is just really cool honestly!​

Coming in next is the Chimchar line. This family always really suited Barry in my opinion, no real reason why but just kinda think the pair meshed well. I think I only used this Pokémon in one playthrough my aforementioned boom and it was my least used starter! Surprisingly, in the past year it has definitely grown into my favourite starter overall along with Blastoise and Swampert! It's just such a powerful Pokémon and it's dual-STAB really allows it to shine. I know it has Blaziken and Emboar for Fire/Fighting Starter competition (and I love them both too), but it doesn't matter! Infernape comes out trumps. It also reminds me of one of my friends who I lost contact with, he solo'd his copy of Diamond with Infernape and the Pokémon has come synonymous with the person for me!​

Piplup is the last, but certainly not least, starter rounding up this post! The little penguin is just so cute and appealed to me so much I couldn't help but pick it for my first playthrough of Diamond version! I wasn't disappointed and paired it with a Staraptor and Luxray throughout my journey and man was it tough, exciting and fun! I was racing with my little brother to see who could finish first and I couldn't finish it at all over the summer while my brother gave up after like maybe 4 badges! My Level 50 trio didn't stand a ghost of a chance against Cynthia's Garchomp. Earthquake. Dragon Rush. Earthquake. I was constantly bodybagged! Eventually my friend traded me his Level 100 Hitmontop and I was able to beat the game, it's still looked back on fondly by me! Empoleon helped me so much through my journey! I just wish it learned Roost so it could have dependable recovery in competitive battling!!!!


TL;DR CHIMCHAR FTW​

​

 

[R2J]

Piplup, choose the water type every gen.

 

[Itcheeee]

Planing on using all 3 once I start Pearl. Chose Piplup and Turtwig, as favorites. Saving my least favored starter for last, for some reason :P
Never cared for the evolutions much though.

 

[SparklingMistral]

I went Piplup in Platinum, but I chose Chimchar in Pearl. I liked Piplup a lot more than Chimchar. ;3

 

[Sylphiel]

I ended up choosing Chimchar for this gen.
I honestly do not remember the reasoning behind doing so, especially since none of the first-stage starters really stand out that much to me. Maybe I thought the fire/fighting typing of Infernape would do me the most good later on in the game. Or maybe I just ended up choosing Chimchar since I always think it's easier to just grab the fire type at the beginning of the game, so I don't have to go looking for one later (maybe that's why I keep choosing fire types).

But I think if I had to choose again, maybe I would go for Turtwig, just because Torterra's pretty neat and I've come to like it a bit more than when I first started playing. Or maybe Piplup, but then again I don't know because that line's always been a bit "meh" to me.

 

[Otamajakushi]

Chimchar was my selection!

Continuing with the theme of fire starters, I really liked Chimchar. I have played with a Piplup too.

 

[tokyodrift]

Piplup was my choice. When the anime aired, my sister and I were obsessed with it. We both got Piplup plushies. It really is too cute, plus it's unique typing of Water/Steel when evolving was pretty nice as well.

 

[KetsuekiR]

I went with Chimchar (and hence, Monferno and Infernape) because back then, I favoured fire types and since I didn't use Blaziken in Hoenn, I wanted to go with the whole Fire/Fighting combo xD