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Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG)

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

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★ Best Pokemon Tier List
☆ Best Teams to Beat the Story
★ Celadon Game Corner Guide
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★ Shiny Hunting Guide and Shiny Odds
☆ How to Get Lugia, Ho-Oh, and Deoxys

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.

Bulbasaur Location, Evolution, and Stats

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!

Type Chart and Weaknesses

Which Starter Are You Choosing?

Bulbasaur 198
Votes
Squirtle 121
Votes
Charmander 197
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.

All Rival Fights and Teams

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

How to Beat The Champion

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.

How to Get the Legendary Dogs

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

All Gym Leaders

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

Elite Four and Champion Walkthrough Guide

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.

Evolution Chart: How to Evolve All Pokemon

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
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Pokemon FRLG - TnT Slim Tips and Tricks Pokemon FRLG - Moves PartialMoves
Pokemon FRLG - HMs HMs Pokemon FRLG - TMs TMs
Pokemon FRLG - AbilitiesAbilities Pokemon FRLG - NaturesNatures
Pokemon FRLG - ItemsItems Pokemon FRLG - LocationsLocations
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