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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Starter Guide: Which Pokémon To Choose

Updated: October 4, 2023 by Amber Frost | Leave a comment

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are the most current Pokémon games on the market. These games are the first Pokémon releases that feature the 9th Generation Pokémon. Like every Pokémon generation, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet feature three starter Pokémon for trainers to choose from. Like classic Pokémon, trainers can choose from the grass-type Sprigatito (National Pokédex entry #0906), the fire-type Fuecoco (National Pokédex entry #0909), or the water-type Quaxly (National Pokédex entry #0912).

Each of these Pokémon have their own strengths and weaknesses. Each starter is designed to help players conquer early portions of the game. They’re also meant to be consistently played with and leveled up, so the starter can remain with the trainer all the way to the end-game content. Which starter is the best choice to make though? That entirely depends on what the player wants to achieve with their starter, and what kind of team they want to build around it.

The short answer: If a trainer is looking for a high damage dealing Pokémon, they should probably choose Sprigatito. Sprigatito has low HP, but high mobility and attack. With its damage output and its ability to react quickly, Sprigatito is an aggressive Pokémon. Fuecoco is a tank that’s best used for defense. Thanks to its high HP and defense, Fuecoco can take more damage than the other two starters. Quaxly is a happy medium between the two because it can deal decent damage, but it also has the HP to take some hits. Quaxly is the most balanced of the three starters. If the trainer wants to play it safe but still do damage, Quaxly is the best choice for them.

The long answer: In order to better understand which starter is the best choice for their Pokémon Violet or Pokémon Scarlet journey, trainers should take a look at their stats, moves, and evolutions. This guide will deep dive into each Pokémon’s strengths and weaknesses to help aid new trainers in making this big decision.

Sprigatito: Base Stats and Evolutionary Line

Sprigatito in Pokémon Violet — ©SmithPlays Pokémon / The Pokémon Company / Nintendo

Sprigatito is a “Grass Cat Pokémon” whose base stats total 310. This Pokémon has high attack and speed stats, with decently high defense. Where it suffers most is its HP, with a meager 40 as a base stat. Sprigatito also suffers with its special attack and special defense. With its base stats, Sprigatito is a high-risk, high-reward damage dealer. It’ll be easy for Sprigatito to be knocked unconscious if its trainer isn’t careful, but it’ll hit enemies hard.

Strong Against: Water, Electric, Grass, and Ground

Weak Against: Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug

Abilities: Overgrow, Protean (hidden ability)

Sprigatito’s Base Stats:

STAT TYPE:	STARTING STAT:	MIN STAT (at higher levels):	MAX STAT (at higher levels):
HP	40	190	284
Attack	61	114	243
Defense	54	101	227
Sp. Atk	45	85	207
Sp. Def	45	85	207
Speed	65	121	251

Where to Find Sprigatito:

GAME:	HOW TO GET SPRIGATITO:
Scarlet	Cabo Poco
Violet	Cabo Poco

Sprigatito’s Evolutions:

Sprigatito has two evolutions. Its first evolution is Floragato (National Pokédex entry #0907). In order for trainers to evolve Spirgatito into Floragato, they’ll have to play and battle with Spirgatito enough to get it to level 16. Once level 16 is achieved, it will automatically evolve into Floragato without using a special item. Floragato will evolve into the chain’s final evolution, Meowscarada (National Pokédex entry #0908), at level 36.

Meowscarada is a grass and dark-type “Magician Pokémon.” This final evolution still has all the advantages and disadvantages of Sprigatito, making it an agile and hard-hitting Pokémon with relatively low HP and defense. When deciding which starter is best, it’s important to consider the final evolution. Once the starter reaches level 36, this will be the form that it takes for the rest of the game, so its final evolution abilities are the most important features.

Strong Against: Water, Electric, Grass, Ground, Ghost, and Dark

Weak Against: Fire, Ice, Fighting, Poison, Flying, and Fairy

Extremely Weak Against: Bug

Types That Have 0 Effect on Meowscarada: Psychic

Abilities: Overgrow, Protean (hidden ability)

Meowscarada’s Base Stats:

STAT TYPE:	STARTING STAT:	MIN STAT (at level 100):	MAX STAT (at level 100):
HP	76	262	356
Attack	110	202	350
Defense	70	130	262
Sp. Atk	81	150	287
Sp. Def	70	130	262
Speed	123	225	379

Meowscarada’s Moves Learned Through Leveling Up:

Level	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
1	Leafage	GRASS	Physical	40	100
1	Scratch	NORMAL	Physical	40	100
1	Tail Whip	NORMAL	Status	—	100
7	Bite	DARK	Physical	60	100
10	Hone Claws	DARK	Status	—	—
13	Magical Leaf	GRASS	Special	60	∞
15	Quick Attack	NORMAL	Physical	40	100
20	Seed Bomb	GRASS	Physical	80	100
24	U-turn	BUG	Physical	70	100
29	Worry Seed	GRASS	Status	—	100
33	Slash	NORMAL	Physical	70	100
38	Night Slash	DARK	Physical	70	100
42	Energy Ball	GRASS	Special	90	100
47	Play Rough	FAIRY	Physical	90	90
52	Knock Off	DARK	Physical	65	100
58	Grassy Terrain	GRASS	Status	—	—
64	Leaf Storm	GRASS	Special	130	90

Meowscarada’s Moves Learned Through Technical Machines (TMs):

TM	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
01	Take Down	NORMAL	Physical	90	85
02	Charm	FAIRY	Status	—	100
03	Fake Tears	DARK	Status	—	100
04	Agility	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
05	Mud-Slap	GROUND	Special	20	100
07	Protect	NORMAL	Status	—	—
12	Low Kick	FIGHTING	Physical	—	100
14	Acrobatics	FLYING	Physical	55	100
18	Thief	DARK	Physical	60	100
19	Disarming Voice	FAIRY	Special	40	∞
20	Trailblaze	GRASS	Physical	50	100
22	Chilling Water	WATER	Special	50	100
25	Facade	NORMAL	Physical	70	100
27	Aerial Ace	FLYING	Physical	60	∞
32	Swift	NORMAL	Special	60	∞
33	Magical Leaf	GRASS	Special	60	∞
39	Low Sweep	FIGHTING	Physical	65	100
43	Fling	DARK	Physical	—	100
47	Endure	NORMAL	Status	—	—
56	Bullet Seed	GRASS	Physical	25	100
58	Brick Break	FIGHTING	Physical	75	100
60	U-turn	BUG	Physical	70	100
61	Shadow Claw	GHOST	Physical	70	100
62	Foul Play	DARK	Physical	95	100
68	Thunder Punch	ELECTRIC	Physical	75	100
70	Sleep Talk	NORMAL	Status	—	—
71	Seed Bomb	GRASS	Physical	80	100
81	Grass Knot	GRASS	Special	—	100
85	Rest	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
87	Taunt	DARK	Status	—	100
90	Spikes	GROUND	Status	—	—
91	Toxic Spikes	POISON	Status	—	—
94	Dark Pulse	DARK	Special	80	100
98	Skill Swap	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
101	Power Gem	ROCK	Special	80	100
103	Substitute	NORMAL	Status	—	—
109	Trick	PSYCHIC	Status	—	100
111	Giga Drain	GRASS	Special	75	100
112	Aura Sphere	FIGHTING	Special	80	∞
114	Shadow Ball	GHOST	Special	80	100
119	Energy Ball	GRASS	Special	90	100
127	Play Rough	FAIRY	Physical	90	90
130	Helping Hand	NORMAL	Status	—	—
131	Pollen Puff	BUG	Special	90	100
137	Grassy Terrain	GRASS	Status	—	—
140	Nasty Plot	DARK	Status	—	—
146	Grass Pledge	GRASS	Special	80	100
152	Giga Impact	NORMAL	Physical	150	90
155	Frenzy Plant	GRASS	Special	150	90
159	Leaf Storm	GRASS	Special	130	90
161	Trick Room	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
163	Hyper Beam	NORMAL	Special	150	90
168	Solar Beam	GRASS	Special	120	100
171	Tera Blast	NORMAL	Special	80	100

Meowscarada’s Moves Learned From Evolution:

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Flower Trick	GRASS	Physical	70	∞

Meowscarada’s Moves Learned by Reminder (Remember Moves feature):

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Double Team	NORMAL	Status	—	—
Trick	PSYCHIC	Status	—	100

Meowscarada’s Moves Learned from Breeding (aka Egg Moves):

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Ally Switch	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
Copycat	NORMAL	Status	—	—
Leech Seed	GRASS	Status	—	90
Petal Blizzard	GRASS	Physical	90	100
Sucker Punch	DARK	Physical	70	100

Fuecoco: Base Stats and Evolutionary Line

Fuecoco in Pokémon Violet — ©SmithPlays Pokémon / The Pokémon Company / Nintendo

Fuecoco is a “Fire Croc Pokémon” whose base stats equal 310. This Pokémon has high HP, defense, and special attack, making it the starter that can tank damage. Feucoco suffers in its attack stat, but its speed stat takes the hardest hit. This Pokémon is designed to take incoming damage, but it won’t dish out high damage, and it also won’t be able to move quickly. That said, Fuecoco has fewer weaknesses than Sprigatito, making it a bit more beginner-friendly. It’s also strong against steel and fairy-type Pokémon, which are both incredibly powerful.

Strong Against: Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel, and Fairy

Weak Against: Water, Ground, and Rock

Abilities: Blaze and Unaware (hidden ability)

Fuecoco’s Base Stats:

STAT TYPE:	STARTING STAT:	MIN STAT (at higher levels):	MAX STAT (at higher levels):
HP	67	244	338
Attack	45	85	207
Defense	59	110	238
Sp. Atk	63	117	247
Sp. Def	40	76	196
Speed	36	69	188

Where to Find Fuecoco:

GAME:	HOW TO GET FUECOCO:
Scarlet	Cabo Poco
Violet	Cabo Poco

Fuecoco‘s Evolutions:

Like every starter Pokémon, Fuecoco has two evolutions. The first evolution is Crocalor (National Pokédex entry #0910), a “Fire Croc Pokémon” with base stats of 411. In order to evolve Fuecoco into Crocalor, players will need to play with Fuecoco enough to reach level 16. Upon leveling up to 16, Fuecoco automatically evolves into Crocalor. From there, players need to continue playing and battling with Crocalor to reach level 36, where it will automatically evolve into its final evolution, Skeledirge (National Pokédex entry #0911). This evolution chain doesn’t require a special item, meaning players only need to use the Pokémon to level them up.

Naturally, when deciding which starter to choose, the most important thing to do is to look at the final evolution. Skeledirge is classified as a “Singe Pokémon” and it’s a fire and ghost-type. Skeledirge has exceptionally high HP, defense, and special attack, but like its earlier evolutions, Skeledirge’s speed stat is particularly low. Fuecoco is designed to tank incoming damage in earlier portions of the game and Skeledirge fills that same role in harder sections.

Strong Against: Grass, Ice, Poison, Steel, and Fairy

Extremely Strong Against: Bug

Weak Against: Water, Ground, Rock, Ghost, and Dark

Types That Have 0 Effect on Skeledirge: Normal, Fighting

Abilities: Blaze and Unaware (hidden ability)

Skeledirge’s Base Stats:

STAT TYPE:	STARTING STAT:	MIN STAT (at level 100):	MAX STAT (at level 100):
HP	104	318	412
Attack	75	139	273
Defense	100	184	328
Sp. Atk	110	202	350
Sp. Def	75	139	273
Speed	66	123	254

Skeledirge’s Moves Learned Through Leveling Up:

Level	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
1	Ember	FIRE	Special	40	100
1	Leer	NORMAL	Status	—	100
1	Tackle	NORMAL	Physical	40	100
7	Lick	GHOST	Physical	30	100
10	Round	NORMAL	Special	60	100
12	Scary Face	NORMAL	Status	—	100
15	Bite	DARK	Physical	60	100
17	Incinerate	FIRE	Special	60	100
24	Snarl	DARK	Special	55	95
28	Roar	NORMAL	Status	—	—
32	Flamethrower	FIRE	Special	90	100
38	Shadow Ball	GHOST	Special	80	100
42	Hyper Voice	NORMAL	Special	90	100
47	Hex	GHOST	Special	65	100
47	Will-O-Wisp	FIRE	Status	—	85
58	Fire Blast	FIRE	Special	110	85
64	Overheat	FIRE	Special	130	90

Skeledirge’s Moves Learned Through Technical Machines (TMs):

TM	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
01	Take Down	NORMAL	Physical	90	85
05	Mud-Slap	GROUND	Special	20	100
06	Scary Face	NORMAL	Status	—	100
07	Protect	NORMAL	Status	—	—
08	Fire Fang	FIRE	Physical	65	95
09	Thunder Fang	ELECTRIC	Physical	65	95
19	Disarming Voice	FAIRY	Special	40	∞
24	Fire Spin	FIRE	Special	35	85
25	Facade	NORMAL	Physical	70	100
29	Hex	GHOST	Special	65	100
30	Snarl	DARK	Special	55	95
38	Flame Charge	FIRE	Physical	50	100
42	Night Shade	GHOST	Special	—	100
47	Endure	NORMAL	Status	—	—
49	Sunny Day	FIRE	Status	—	—
55	Dig	GROUND	Physical	80	100
59	Zen Headbutt	PSYCHIC	Physical	80	90
61	Shadow Claw	GHOST	Physical	70	100
66	Body Slam	NORMAL	Physical	85	100
70	Sleep Talk	NORMAL	Status	—	—
71	Seed Bomb	GRASS	Physical	80	100
84	Stomping Tantrum	GROUND	Physical	75	100
85	Rest	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
92	Imprison	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
103	Substitute	NORMAL	Status	—	—
107	Will-O-Wisp	FIRE	Status	—	85
108	Crunch	DARK	Physical	80	100
114	Shadow Ball	GHOST	Special	80	100
117	Hyper Voice	NORMAL	Special	90	100
118	Heat Wave	FIRE	Special	95	90
122	Encore	NORMAL	Status	—	100
125	Flamethrower	FIRE	Special	90	100
130	Helping Hand	NORMAL	Status	—	—
133	Earth Power	GROUND	Special	90	100
141	Fire Blast	FIRE	Special	110	85
144	Fire Pledge	FIRE	Special	80	100
149	Earthquake	GROUND	Physical	100	100
152	Giga Impact	NORMAL	Physical	150	90
153	Blast Burn	FIRE	Special	150	90
156	Outrage	DRAGON	Physical	120	100
157	Overheat	FIRE	Special	130	90
163	Hyper Beam	NORMAL	Special	150	90
165	Flare Blitz	FIRE	Physical	120	100
168	Solar Beam	GRASS	Special	120	100
171	Tera Blast	NORMAL	Special	80	100

Skeledirge’s Moves Learned From Evolution:

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Torch Song	FIRE	Special	80	100

Skeledirge’s Moves Learned by Reminder (Remember Moves feature):

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Sing	NORMAL	Status	—	55

Skeledirge’s Moves Learned from Breeding (aka Egg Moves):

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Belch	POISON	Special	120	90
Curse	GHOST	Status	—	—
Encore	NORMAL	Status	—	100
Slack Off	NORMAL	Status	—	—

Quaxly: Base Stats and Evolutionary Line

Quaxly in Pokémon Violet — ©SmithPlays Pokémon / The Pokémon Company / Nintendo

Quaxly is a water-type “Duckling Pokémon” with base stats of 310. This puts it on par with the other starters. Each has the same stat potential, the stats are just distributed differently to make each Pokémon’s kit unique. As far as Quaxly is concerned, it has relatively high HP and attack. This means that Quaxly can hit hard and take decent damage before fainting.

In terms of what it’s strong against, however, Quaxly falls a bit flat. The other starters all have more Pokémon types they’re effective against. Quaxly does, however, benefit from only being weak to two element types. All in all, Quaxly is sort of a happy medium Pokémon. It can be considered a sort of jack-of-all-trades type Pokémon that exists somewhere in between the other two starters.

Strong Against: Fire, Ice, and Steel

Weak Against: Electric and Grass

Abilities: Torrent and Moxie (hidden ability)

Quaxly’s Base Stats:

STAT TYPE:	STARTING STAT:	MIN STAT (at higher levels):	MAX STAT (at higher levels):
HP	55	220	314
Attack	65	121	251
Defense	45	85	207
Sp. Atk	50	94	218
Sp. Def	45	85	207
Speed	50	94	218

Where to Find Quaxly:

GAME:	HOW TO GET QUAXLY:
Scarlet	Cabo Poco
Violet	Cabo Poco

Quaxly’s Evolutions:

Just like the other two starters, Quaxly has two evolutions. Once Quaxly hits level 16, it will automatically evolve into its first evolution, Quaxwell (National Pokédex entry #0912), a “Practicing Pokémon.” Once players train Quaxwell up to level 36, it will evolve into its final form, Quaquaval (National Pokédex entry #0913), a “Dancer Pokémon.” Once again, this evolution line only requires that the trainer play and battle with the Pokémon to level it up and evolve it. It requires no special item.

Once the final evolution is reached, Quaquaval’s stats even out pretty well. Quaquaval is a water and fighting-type Pokémon that has an extremely high attack, meaning this Pokémon can dish out some serious damage, but the rest of its stats are about the same. This makes the Pokémon somewhat well-rounded and balanced, though that also means that the rest of its stats are just okay. It doesn’t take a severe hit to any category, but it doesn’t shine in much aside from its attack stat either.

Strong Against: Fire, Ice, Bug, Rock, Dark, and Steel

Weak Against: Electric, Grass, Flying, Psychic, and Fairy

Abilities: Torrent and Moxie (hidden ability)

Quaquaval’s Base Stats:

STAT TYPE:	STARTING STAT:	MIN STAT (at level 100):	MAX STAT (at level 100):
HP	85	280	374
Attack	120	220	372
Defense	80	148	284
Sp. Atk	85	157	295
Sp. Def	75	139	273
Speed	85	157	295

Quaquaval’s Moves Learned Through Leveling Up:

Level	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
1	Double Hit	NORMAL	Physical	35	90
1	Growl	NORMAL	Status	—	100
1	Pound	NORMAL	Physical	40	100
1	Water Gun	WATER	Special	40	100
7	Work Up	NORMAL	Status	—	—
10	Wing Attack	FLYING	Physical	60	100
13	Aqua Jet	WATER	Physical	40	100
17	Low Sweep	FIGHTING	Physical	65	100
17	Water Pulse	WATER	Special	60	100
21	Aqua Cutter	WATER	Physical	70	100
27	Air Slash	FLYING	Special	75	95
32	Focus Energy	NORMAL	Status	—	—
38	Mega Kick	NORMAL	Physical	120	75
43	Acrobatics	FLYING	Physical	55	100
47	Liquidation	WATER	Physical	85	100
52	Feather Dance	FLYING	Status	—	100
58	Close Combat	FIGHTING	Physical	120	100
64	Wave Crash	WATER	Physical	120	100

Quaquaval’s Moves Learned Through Technical Machines (TMs):

TM	Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
01	Take Down	NORMAL	Physical	90	85
04	Agility	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
07	Protect	NORMAL	Status	—	—
11	Water Pulse	WATER	Special	60	100
12	Low Kick	FIGHTING	Physical	—	100
14	Acrobatics	FLYING	Physical	55	100
19	Disarming Voice	FAIRY	Special	40	∞
22	Chilling Water	WATER	Special	50	100
25	Facade	NORMAL	Physical	70	100
27	Aerial Ace	FLYING	Physical	60	∞
32	Swift	NORMAL	Special	60	∞
34	Icy Wind	ICE	Special	55	95
39	Low Sweep	FIGHTING	Physical	65	100
40	Air Cutter	FLYING	Special	60	95
43	Fling	DARK	Physical	—	100
47	Endure	NORMAL	Status	—	—
50	Rain Dance	WATER	Status	—	—
58	Brick Break	FIGHTING	Physical	75	100
60	U-turn	BUG	Physical	70	100
64	Bulk Up	FIGHTING	Status	—	—
65	Air Slash	FLYING	Special	75	95
70	Sleep Talk	NORMAL	Status	—	—
85	Rest	PSYCHIC	Status	—	—
87	Taunt	DARK	Status	—	100
88	Swords Dance	NORMAL	Status	—	—
103	Substitute	NORMAL	Status	—	—
110	Liquidation	WATER	Physical	85	100
122	Encore	NORMAL	Status	—	100
123	Surf	WATER	Special	90	100
124	Ice Spinner	ICE	Physical	80	100
130	Helping Hand	NORMAL	Status	—	—
132	Baton Pass	NORMAL	Status	—	—
134	Reversal	FIGHTING	Physical	—	100
139	Misty Terrain	FAIRY	Status	—	—
142	Hydro Pump	WATER	Special	110	80
145	Water Pledge	WATER	Special	80	100
152	Giga Impact	NORMAL	Physical	150	90
154	Hydro Cannon	WATER	Special	150	90
160	Hurricane	FLYING	Special	110	70
163	Hyper Beam	NORMAL	Special	150	90
164	Brave Bird	FLYING	Physical	120	100
167	Close Combat	FIGHTING	Physical	120	100
171	Tera Blast	NORMAL	Special	80	100

Quaquaval’s Moves Learned From Evolution:

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Aqua Step	WATER	Physical	80	100

Quaquaval’s Moves Learned by Reminder (Remember Moves feature):

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Counter	FIGHTING	Physical	—	100

Quaquaval’s Moves Learned from Breeding (aka Egg Moves):

Move	Type	Category	Power	Accuracy
Detect	FIGHTING	Status	—	—
Last Resort	NORMAL	Physical	140	100
Rapid Spin	NORMAL	Physical	50	100
Roost	FLYING	Status	—	—

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