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3rd Gen Which starters were better and why?

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  • For me, probably Hoenn's starters since I felt they were the first that were no slouch. Sceptile's speed, Blaziken's raw power and Swampert's tanking capabilities made them one of the most balanced groups of starters yet.
     

    Palmer-Granate

    The Champion Jester
    167
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    10
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  • Whichever starters had Mega Stones. Kidding, I know all six of em do. (Thx, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby.) Before my answer, I've got a list of the pros (maybe cons) of each partner.

    1) Venusaur - We're going by Dex Order, so there's no bias in the listing. Now that we're talking two generations spacing, you can actually get away with the Sunny Day/Solarbeam combo. Leech Seed, Poison Powder and Sleep Powder are great for defense. Synthesis does Venusaur justice. Not as defensive as Blastoise, ot as offensive as Charizard, but at least it can drain/heal.

    2) Charizard - Charizard can use Fly, unlike Gen1. GF had the common courtesy to do what they conveniently forgot to do in Gen1; adding Wing Attack upon evolution. Aside from its awesome attacks, such as Slash and Flamethrower, there's nothing left to note about the beloved dragon, despite the fact that it's a Fire/Flying.

    3) Blastoise - Decent in defense, what with Withdraw and Skull Bash. Among the few changes from Gen1 would be the notable type change in Bite.

    4) Sceptile - It looks like a tradition in Grass types to have decent defense. It learns Fury Cutter and Leaf Blade, and was the only Pokemon to have Leaf Blade to date at the time. I'm fairly sure Sceptile has more defense than Blaziken and more physical offense than Swampert.

    5) Blaziken - Congratulations, GF, for having revived the dual-type starters. (Although not all my favourite starters have two types.) Blaze Kick AND Sky Uppercut!? Are you kidding me? We really went to the age of endless devastating moves by the Third Generation? Both moves have 85 Power and 90% Accuracy. An excellent contender, despite the fact that it has the lowest Defense out of Hoenn's starters.

    6) Swampert - Move over, Quagsire. Swampert has Muddy Water and Earthquake, which makes it quite sturdy. It may be 50% useless in damaging Charizard, but that's just Mud Bomb and Earthquake. Muddy Water'll put it in its place. (Wing Attack and Fly, tough as they are, don't expose any weakness in Swampert. Thanks, GF, for not making Ground weak against Flying.

    I think both sets of staters are equally effective. Tie game, folks. Venusaur would beat Swampert, but lose against Blaziken. Blastoise would beat Blaziken, but lose against Sceptile. Charizard would beat Sceptile, but lose against Swampert.
     

    Flowerchild

    fleeting assembly
    8,709
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  • They definitely improved the Kanto starters a lot in Firered/Leafgreen, for example making Bulbasaur not be awful. Also it's always nice that in Gen III Charizard can actually use its wings for their intended purpose. I definitely think they're more exciting than Hoenn's starters, but I don't really know how to compare them from a competitive standpoint.
     
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    • they/them
    • Seen Apr 19, 2024
    I really liked that two starters in Hoenn got useful secondary typings. Charizard and Venusaur always seemed like they got their secondary typings as a parenthesis, while Swampert and Blaziken made good use of theirs - at least for me in-game c:

    In general, I like the designs and nostalgia of Kanto's starters more. But Hoenn's are undeniably more useful haha.
     
    11
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    • Seen Nov 22, 2016
    I loved the starters in Hoenn and how they were so balanced, it was really hard for me to pick but i will stick with my trusty tank Swampert.
     
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  • Hoenn starters are nice and equal, whereas the Kanto starters were not. For example: the Bulbasaur line was weak compared to the Charmander or Squirtle one. The Treeco, Mudkip and Torchic lines however were pretty equal in terms of each of them having an some sort of advantage.
     
    9,642
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  • They definitely improved the Kanto starters a lot in Firered/Leafgreen, for example making Bulbasaur not be awful. Also it's always nice that in Gen III Charizard can actually use its wings for their intended purpose. I definitely think they're more exciting than Hoenn's starters, but I don't really know how to compare them from a competitive standpoint.

    Was bulbasaur really awful in gen 1? The mechanics were so broken that his razor leaf would crit hit all over the place. He had status and healing moves. You could also teach him sword dance and body slam/ hyper beam. Plus he more often has the advantage for the gyms in-games than squirtle or charmander. I'm not saying he's necessarily better than the others, but I do think bulbasaur is underrated.
     

    Desert Stream~

    Holy Kipper!
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    • She/Her
    • Seen Aug 20, 2023
    Hoenn, because Mudkip. also Torchic. Torchic was actually my second favorite for a while, before Cutiefly and a few others took it's place.
     
    8,571
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  • While I would put Treecko and family right near the top of my favorite starter Pokemon of all time, as a whole, I much prefer the original trio of Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. They might not be as balanced as the other 3, but sometimes its hard to vote against the originals.
     
    6,302
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  • I really like both sets, but am going to go with Gen 1, mainly for nostalgia but also because I've used them more and are good in battle.
     

    camthesaxman

    reverse engineer of teh pokeymanz
    23
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    • Seen Feb 16, 2018
    I think Swampert was the best. It works well as both a special and physical attacker with Earthquake and Surf. It's speed is not all that great, but its typing is excellent and has decent defensive stats.
     
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