Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl: Ranking Each Starter And Their Evolutions

The three Pokémon starters, and their eventual evolutions, all have strengths and weaknesses. Some are better than others.

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Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl feature some of the most iconic starting Pokémon, but it is often argued which are the best. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and none of them are certainly a bad choice. However, depending on one’s playing style, some might offer better options than others.

Selecting which one to use is no easy task, and the final evolutions do offer more advantages and disadvantages than the base starters. Yet, how easy those first few gyms are does depend on which type is chosen and how well players do in head-to-head battles.

9 Chimchar

The first gym might be rough, but the next two gyms should fair better. Chimchar has the second-highest special attack which can help clean house on some of the tougher gyms. Once past the first gym, anyone who starts out with Chimchar will at least be able to breathe before Pastoria City which is home to the water gym.

On top of that, a tough starting gym might be worth it to gain a lot of experience early on. They do have the lowest amount of starting health out of the three but are very fast. Once leveled up though, Chimchar can quickly become the best starter to have in the long run.

8 Turtwig

In terms of a starter, Turtwig is not a bad choice. The first gym is a bit of a breeze as its a Rock-type, but the next two gyms are against grass and fighting. While not a terrible beginning, these two gyms will not be a total cakewalk either.

However, this is just Turtwig on the base level. The right trainer can level them up and beef them up so that they can have little to no issues at all. Turtwig has the best health and attack stats out of all three starting Pokémon. Still, they also have the least amount of special attack points, but also have a great defense. For trainers that end up taking a lot of damage, Turtwig might not be a bad start. Amongst all the Grass-type starters, Turtwig is often among the best to use.

7 Piplup

On the base level, Piplup is arguably the best starting Pokémon. With the ability to learn steel and flying moves, the first two gyms are easy as pie and lead to lots of levels and quick evolution. Piplup has just two fewer points on health, but the best special attack stats from the starting three.

To add, the first few gyms do not pose too much of a challenge with the right team and level for Piplup as well. Given the abilities, the second gym is not scary at all. For trainers looking for a quick dive, Piplup might be the way to go with a perfect mix of Pokémon behind them.

6 Grotle

Although Grotle contains the best health, attack, and defense stats, it is probably the least-best out of three evolutions. However, what makes Grotle not the best is the fact that is can not learn any other type of attacks besides Dark-type.

Even with the nitpick, Grotle is nothing to scoff at though. It is a beast and can take a lot of damage. Despite that, it is basically a tank but this can cause issues if trainers do not have a good lineup behind it. Even though it may not be the overall best, it is certainly not bad to have a Grotle as well.

5 Prinplup

What makes Piplup great also goes into what makes Prinplup great. Steel and flying attacks can tear apart the usually tough grass and bug types for water types. What makes Prinplup so good is the special attack and special defense stats. Specials really benefit this Pokémon and it does not have too shabby of health stat, which is tied with Monferno.

On top of that, the gyms that would await a trainer with Prinplup as the main would have little to no issues for the most part. There are no real weaknesses for Prinplup especially with the mix of special attacks it can learn. Prinplup is a good jack-of-all-trades for novice and experienced players to use effectively in the game.

4 Monferno

However, arguably the most balanced and the best to have at this evolution stage is Monferno. Chimchar might not be the best to start out with, but that long game is worth it. Monferno has the second-best attack and special attack stats. While defense is not its strong suit, the speed is once again increased.

For more offensive trainers, Monferno is what they would want to end up with. However, they do have to contend with Crasher Wake, but that is to just balance how good Monferno is.

3 Torterra

The final evolution for Turtwig is an absolute unit. It has the largest health, attack, and defense of the main three. The only gym leader to watch for at the later stages is Candice with ice. Despite that, Torterra should tank most of the competition. Once again the weakest amongst the final evolutions, but certainly not terrible to have. It is also arguably the best Pokémon to use against Cynthia.

To make matters worse, Torterra is essentially weaker to Ice-type Pokémon than any other types. So, that ice gym could pose significant problems. Still, it has an absolute arsenal of attacks to learn and can eat up plenty of damage.

2 Empoleon

The water starter returns as the special attack and defense king. Empoleon does some serious damage with special attacks and can take a lot of punishment as well. The only gym to truly watch for is Volkner as Electric-types can be pretty lethal for water. Still, that does make Empoleon’s increased special defense stats necessary.

If trainers level it up perfectly, Empoleon can be a serious competitor even against Pokémon it is weak against. It is arguably one of the most underrated starting Pokémon in the long game.

1 Infernape

Although with the least amount of health, Infernape’s attack stats rival Torterra’s, and its special attack stats are not too far off from Empoleon’s. On top of that, Infernape can or at this stage has learned numerous different types of moves including, fire, fighting, and flying. Plus, all trainers have had to do is make it past the fourth gym and all others pose little threat to Infernape.

The damage on a lot of the attacks is insane and can really mess up other trainers. While still arguable, there are a lot more positives to having Infernape than there are negatives.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/pokemon-brilliant-diamond-and-shining-pearl-ranking-each-starter-and-their-evolutions/