What can you do as a free member?

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and unlock all our premium features and tools to enhance your gaming experience.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save articles to your watchlist and get notified when they're updated with new information.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save your favorite games for quick access later, synced across all your devices.

Member benefits illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you'll receive instant notifications when someone replies to your posts.

Comment rating feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can make use of convenient features in the comments section, such as rating and sorting comments.

Premium archive feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can access Premium articles that are exclusively available to members.

Site Interface

Guest
Free Member
Article Watchlist
Game Bookmarks
Cross-device Sync
Light/Dark Theme Toggle
User Profiles
Direct Feedback
Comment Rating
Premium Articles

Game Tools

Guest
Free Member
Interactive Map Access
Interactive Map Pins
Interactive Map Comments
Interactive Map Pins Cross-Device
Check List
Event Choice Checker
Deck Builder Cross-Device
Message Board Notification
Message Board Cross-Device
Build Planner
Stat Calculator
Diagnostic Tool
Weapon/Armor Wishlist

Want more information?Learn more

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG)

Best Starter Pokemon to Choose in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG)

Add to Watchlist

★ Best Teams to Beat the Story
☆ Celadon Game Corner Guide
★ Mail Glitch Guide: How to Duplicate Items
☆ Learn How to Get All TMs and HMs
★ Farming Guides for EXP and Money
☆ Shiny Hunting Guide and Shiny Odds

Pokemon FRLG - Which Starter Should You Choose

Bulbasaur is our recommendation as the best starter Pokemon for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG). Check out which starter to choose, what's affected by your starter, other starter Pokemon matchups, and advantages and disadvantages for each!

List of Contents

Best Starter: Which Starter to Choose?

Bulbasaur

Pokemon FRLG - Best Starter to Choose is Bulbasaur

Bulbasaur is the best starter to choose in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen if you want an easier time going through most of the main story battles. Its Grass moves give you a stark advantage in the first two Gyms, which can be a bit difficult due to the limited Pokemon available in the early game.

Although Bulbasaur's efficacy can fall off a bit during the mid game due to Sabrina and Blaine's type advantage, you'd likely have an expanded Pokemon roster by this point and a well-rounded team that can make up for its weaknesses.

Otherwise, Bulbasaur is a great option that still offers great survivability thanks to its high HP stat and self-sustaining moves, while also having decent offensive power.

Other Starters Offer More of a Challenge

If you're an experienced player that seeks a challenge and enjoys seeing the payoff of your Pokemon's training, then Charmander or Squirtle are also good options. Squirtle can offer a more balanced experience compared to Charmander thanks to its mix of offensive and defensive moves.

Both of them can be quite difficult to work with in the early game due to their type disadvantage, but they can become much stronger later on if trained well and put in the right teams!

Which Starter Are You Choosing?

Bulbasaur 116
Votes
Squirtle 61
Votes
Charmander 115
Votes

Things Affected by Your Starter Choice

Rival's Starter and Team Throughout the Story

Your Choice Rival's Choice
Pokemon FRLG - Charmander Charmander Pokemon FRLG - Squirtle Squirtle
Pokemon FRLG - Squirtle Squirtle Pokemon FRLG - Bulbasaur Bulbasaur
Pokemon FRLG - Bulbasaur Bulbasaur Pokemon FRLG - Charmander Charmander

Your Rival's starter Pokemon will change depending on the starter that you pick. It will always be the Pokemon that has a type advantage over yours.

As the story progresses, your Rival's starter Pokemon will evolve and they'll expand their team based on their choice. These additional Pokemon will also evolve and become stronger in the latter parts of the game.

Rival's Team in the Champion Battle

If Your Starter is Charmander
Pokemon FRLG - Pidgeot Pidgeot Pokemon FRLG - Alakazam Alakazam Pokemon FRLG - Rhydon Rhydon
Pokemon FRLG - Arcanine Arcanine Pokemon FRLG - Exeggutor Exeggutor Pokemon FRLG - Blastoise Blastoise
If Your Starter is Squirtle
Pokemon FRLG - Pidgeot Pidgeot Pokemon FRLG - Alakazam Alakazam Pokemon FRLG - Rhydon Rhydon
Pokemon FRLG - Gyarados Gyarados Pokemon FRLG - Arcanine Arcanine Pokemon FRLG - Venusaur Venusaur
If Your Starter is Bulbasaur
Pokemon FRLG - Pidgeot Pidgeot Pokemon FRLG - Alakazam Alakazam Pokemon FRLG - Rhydon Rhydon
Pokemon FRLG - Exeggutor Exeggutor Pokemon FRLG - Gyarados Gyarados Pokemon FRLG - Charizard Charizard

Roaming Pokemon

Your Choice Roaming Pokemon
Pokemon FRLG - Charmander Charmander Pokemon FRLG - Suicune Suicune
Pokemon FRLG - Squirtle Squirtle Pokemon FRLG - Raikou Raikou
Pokemon FRLG - Bulbasaur Bulbasaur Pokemon FRLG - Entei Entei

The Roaming Pokemon that you can encounter after clearing Team Rocket out of the Sevii Islands is also dependent on the starter you chose. Only one of the three will appear, and it will always have a type advantage over your chosen starter.

If you're planning to catch a certain roaming Pokemon, then you'll have to keep them in mind when choosing your starter! The bug that causes Entei and Raikou to disappear completely from the game after using Roar has been fixed in the Nintendo Switch port, so players don't have to be wary when encountering them anymore.

Starter Pokemon Matchups

Gym Leader Matchups

Gym Charmander Squirtle Bulbasaur
Brock Pokemon FRLG - Rock Disadvantage Neutral Neutral
Misty Pokemon FRLG - Water Disadvantage Resists Advantage
Lt. Surge Pokemon FRLG - Electric Neutral Disadvantage Advantage
Erika Pokemon FRLG - Grass Advantage Disadvantage Resists
Koga Pokemon FRLG - Poison Neutral Neutral Neutral
Sabrina Pokemon FRLG - Psychic Neutral Neutral Disadvantage
Blaine Pokemon FRLG - Fire Resists Advantage Disadvantage
Giovanni Pokemon FRLG - Ground Disadvantage Advantage Neutral

Elite Four Matchups

Elite Charmander Squirtle Bulbasaur
Lorelei Pokemon FRLG - Ice Neutral Advantage Disadvantage
Bruno Pokemon FRLG - Fighting Advantage Neutral Advantage
Agatha Pokemon FRLG - Ghost Neutral Neutral Neutral
Lance Pokemon FRLG - Dragon Neutral Neutral Neutral

Starter Pokemon Evolution and Stats

Evolution Chart

Charmander Evolution Chart
Pokemon FRLG - Charmander Charmander Lv. 16
➤		 Pokemon FRLG - Charmeleon Charmeleon Lv. 36
➤		 Pokemon FRLG - Charizard Charizard
Squirtle Evolution Chart
Pokemon FRLG - Squirtle Squirtle Lv. 16
➤		 Pokemon FRLG - Wartortle Wartortle Lv. 36
➤		 Pokemon FRLG - Blastoise Blastoise
Bulbasaur Evolution Chart
Pokemon FRLG - Bulbasaur Bulbasaur Lv. 16
➤		 Pokemon FRLG - Ivysaur Ivysaur Lv. 32
➤		 Pokemon FRLG - Venusaur Venusaur

All three starters reach their second evolution at Lv. 16. However, Bulbasaur can reach its final evolution the fastest as it only needs to reach Lv. 32. Charmander and Squirtle both need to be Lv. 36 to get their final evolutions.

If you have Wartortle and are struggling with Misty's fight, you should focus on using Bite. This is a Dark-type attack that's especially effective against Misty's Starmie.

Final Evolution Base Stats Comparison

Pokemon HP Atk Def Sp Atk Sp Def Speed
Pokemon FRLG - Charizard Charizard 78 84 78 109 85 100
Pokemon FRLG - Blastoise Blastoise 79 83 100 85 105 78
Pokemon FRLG - Venusaur Venusaur 80 82 83 100 100 80

Charizard is the fastest among all the starter final evolutions, and it also has the best offensive power with the highest Atk and Sp. Atk. However, it can be vulnerable to attacks since it has the lowest HP, Def, and Sp. Def stats.

In comparison, Blastoise can tank powerful attacks since it boasts the highest Def and Sp. Def stats compared to the other starter final evolutions. However, it's not much of a powerhouse as both its Atk and Sp. Atk are not as high.

Venusaur's stats are more balanced, but have a notable edge in terms of Sp. Atk and Sp. Def. While Venusaur can handle Special moves well, its lower Atk and Def means it would need to stray away from Physical moves.

Starter Pokemon Advantages and Disadvantages

Pokemon Advantages Disadvantages
Pokemon FRLG - Charmander Charmander ・Becomes more effective in the late game.
・Has access to moves with great offensive power and can also learn Flying, Steel, and Dragon-type moves.
・Has the highest Speed stat out of all the starters. 		・Struggles in the early game and doesn't have a lot of type advantage in main story matches. Other Pokemon would need to cover its weaknesses.
・Takes longer to reach its final evolution.
・You can obtain other Fire Pokemon replacements that work just as well.
Pokemon FRLG - Squirtle Squirtle ・Becomes more effective in the mid game.
・Has high Def and Sp. Def stats.
・Its moveset has a balanced mix of offensive and defensive moves.
・Struggles a bit in the early game, especially against Lt. Surge and Erika.
・Also takes longer to reach its final evolution.
・You can also find other Water Pokemon replacements that work just as well.
Pokemon FRLG - Bulbasaur Bulbasaur ・Very effective in the early game when there are limited options to stand well against Brock and Misty.
・Can reach its final evolution much faster.
・Has high HP, Sp. Attack, and Sp. Def stats.
・Has good survivability thanks to self-sustaining moves like Leech Seed.
・Not as effective during the mid game. Other Pokemon would need to cover its weaknesses.
・Its dual-typing can make it weak to other Pokemon types.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Related Guides

Pokemon FRLG - FireRed and LeafGreen Wiki
Return to Wiki Top

Guides by Category

Pokemon FRLG - Pokedex Pokemon Pokemon FRLG - Walkthrough Partial BannerWalkthrough
Pokemon FRLG - TnT Slim Tips and Tricks Moves PartialMoves
Pokemon FRLG - HMs HMs Pokemon FRLG - TMs TMs
Pokemon FRLG - NaturesNatures Pokemon FRLG - ItemsItems
Pokemon FRLG - LocationsLocations Pokemon FRLG - NewsLatest News

Recommended Guides

Guides for Starting Out
Pokemon FRLG - Which Starter Should You ChooseWhich Starter Should You Choose? Pokemon FRLG - Weakness and Type ChartWeakness and Type Chart
Best Guides
Pokemon FRLG - Best Teams to Beat the StoryBest Teams to Beat the Story Pokemon FRLG - Best HM PokemonBest HM Pokemon
Farming Guides
Pokemon FRLG - EXP Farming Guide: How to Level Up FastEXP Farming Guide Pokemon FRLG - Money Farming Guide Gold Nugget Bridge GlitchMoney Farming Guide
Recommended Guides
Pokemon FRLG - Missable ContentList of Missable Content Pokemon FRLG - Post Game ContentPost Game Guide
Pokemon FRLG - Legendary PokemonList of All Legendary Pokemon Pokemon FRLG - NPC TradeAll In-Game NPC Trades and Locations
Pokemon FRLG - Fishing Guide List of Rods and Fishing LocationsFishing Guide Pokemon FRLG - Fame Checker Guide TextlessFame Checker Guide
Pokemon FRLG - Celadon Game Corner Casino GuideGame Corner Guide and Rewards All Evolution Stone Pokemon PartialAll Stone Evolution Pokemon
Pokemon FRLG - Duplicate ItemsMail Glitch Guide: How to Duplicate Items -

Comment

Post (0 Comments)

Author

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG) Walkthrough Team
This article was created by Game8's elite team of writers and gamers.
    Leave feedback(Login required)
    Please participate in our site
    improvement survey
    03/2026
    Would you assist in
    improving Game8's site?
    ×
    This survey will take about 1 minute.
    Your answers will help us to improve our website.
    We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
    The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
    Begin Survey
    Not Now
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.
    Amount of Ads
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Placement of Ads
    Timing of Ad Display
    Ad Loading Speed
    Safeness of Ads
    Content of Ads
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.
    Amount of information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Frequency of updates
    Speed of new information
    Accuracy of articles
    Understandibility of articles
    Readability of sentences
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.
    Ease of finding information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Loading Speed
    Use of Color
    Font Size
    Visibility of Images
    Easy to Understand Layout
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.
    Ease of Writing
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Readability
    Ease in Finding Information
    Comment Quality
    Comment Quantity
    Admin Response
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.
    Please rate our site's new design
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?
    Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?
    Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?
    How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?
    ×
    How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?
    Very Unlikely
    0
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    Very Likely
    If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.
    Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
    Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
    ×
    Thank You
    ×
    Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
    We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
    Close
    For other opinions or comments, go here.

    Rankings

    Popular Articles
    Message Board
    • We could not find the message board you were looking for.

    Gaming News

    Popular Games

    Recommended Games

    All rights reserved

    ©2004 Pokémon. ©1995-2004 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. Pokémon and Nintendo Switch are trademarks of Nintendo.

    The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
    The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
    We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.

    Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG) Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

    Quick Access
    Guide Index

    Recommended Guides

    Pokemon

    Walkthrough

    Gym Leader Guides

    Elite Four Guides

    Tips and Tricks

    All TMs

    All HMs

    Moves

    Natures

    Items

    Locations

    Latest News

    Related Games

    Japanese Wiki (日本語版)