Pokemon teams: Do you always use starters?

[Atmos Duality]

Fire: Ninetails, Arcanine, Magmar, Moltres.
Grass: Tropius... not really any other awesome grass types barring starters... fair enough.

I didn't say that they didn't exist; just that they're difficult to come by.
Arcanine is the biggest exception out there, but for the longest time it was a mediocre poke. Great Stats, but an incredibly limited movepool further crippled by Fire typing being based on Special Attack (which has been fixed since the Move-Stat split in Pearl/Diamond, I admit).

Hell, Ninetails is a regular on my teams as a core disabler.

Even then, we see unique and powerful combos in the Fire Starters: Charizard and KFC Blaziken are All-Star starters. They'd be really damn good even if you didn't start with them.

(Oh, Breloom and Eggsecutor are very solid grass types, though you had to suffer through over 40 levels of Shroomish to get there...Spore is amazing).

 

[ArchBlade]

I always use my starter in my teams. Hell, when I was but a lad, my starter was my crutch. Back in Crystal, I power leveled my Feraligator until it could solo the elite four. And then it did.

I've got a more even team in Pokemon's current generation though. My Serperior sticks with me as my highest level, then we have Tyranitar, Metagross, Hydreigon, Dragonite and Volcarona to back him up.

 

[Lawnmooer]

In pokemon blue and red I did keep my Charizard throughout the game (Though it often took a back seat to other pokemon I prefered, such as Scyther and Haunter)

In pokemon Diamond though, I caught the first Shinx I saw and used that the entire game (It's now a really powerful Luxray which is a complete badass) sure I kept my Infernape around to deal with troublesome Steel and Rock types (Which are resistant or immune to the damage my Luxray can do) but I'd have swapped it out by now if I had any clue about the new pokemon or could be bothered leveling up a new pokemon. The rest of my team are actually just there for HMs... Again I couldn't be bothered trying to find pokemon that could learn multiple HMs (Except my Onix which I grabbed just 'cause I knew about it's capabilities)

Luckily I just play single player so I don't really care about the best teams instead I tend to focus on having a pokemon or 2 that are 15-25 levels above everything else as exp is not being shared around multiple pokemon.

 

[Teejonis Rahl]

Oh yeah, I always got my starter, at least until I beat the campaign. Especially helpful to have my Samurott against the Elite Four and Champion in Black and White. It seemed like they didn't have too much against a basic water/grass/fire type... Oh and I totally wanted to be a ghost trainer, so he's in my PC now. Since I give into peer pressure:

1. Gengar (got one in every gen)
2. Chandelure
3. Cofagrigus
4. Golurk
5. Drifblim
6. Jellicent

 

[Zhadramekel]

At one point I tried to do a Luxray Pokemon Diamond run which failed at gym 3
And in Pokemon platinum I used a team of Luxray, Lucario, Floatzel, Absol, Togekiss and Glaceon. I did have Chimchar / Monferno on my team up til the end of Cycling Road though.

 

[Vault Citizen]

For me pokemon is a single player game. That being said, i like to imagine (as childish as this will sound) that i am adventuring with these pokemon. What will they think of my actions?

When playing pokemon heartgold i caught a mareep. In olivine city when it was an ampharos, i released it to make way for other pokemon on my team, but created a little story about how it wanted to be in the lighthouse to comfot myself.

I always bond with my starters so much that i can never let them go.

Why didn't you put it in your box?

 

[Ddgafd]

Yeah, always. To me it's just fitting. The first Pokemon you get sticks with you the entire game, through thick and thin. There might be better Pokemon, but I don't care. Though one time I replaced my Swampert with a Wailord, because Wailord is badass.

And if anyone cares, here's my team in Pokemon White:

Lv.60 Samurott
Lv.60 Haxorus
Lv.60 Galvantula
Lv.60 Krookodile
Lv.48 Reuniclus(still grinding)
Lv.29 Larvesta(planning to use it)

I haven't finished the game yet, that's why I'm grinding.

Spoiler

That damn Hydreigon swept my entire team when I fought Ghetsis for the first time.

 

[Azaradel]

I rarely stick with my starter.

Though I do still keep my Typhlosion in HG around because Typhlosion is awesome.

 

[Solo-Wing]

I had this one playthrough of Crystal where I caught a Pidgy and completely forgot about my Todadile. So I had a level 50 Pidgeot, 50 Suicune, and 50 raikou but a level 16 Todadile or something like that.

 

[Solo-Wing]

And that why everyone who skipped Bulbasaur is a nooblet!

I recently played through Blaze Black and it is the first one that I didn't use my starter til the end. That is primarily because I went with a "classic" team of Charmander, Squirtel, Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Gengar, and Machop.

In every gen I always chose the Grass type. Except for 4... I seriously hated the starters in that game. And Turtwig was the most stupid looking one. At least Gen 5 came back with an awesome grass starter.

 

[Reggie Rock]

For me pokemon is a single player game. That being said, i like to imagine (as childish as this will sound) that i am adventuring with these pokemon. What will they think of my actions?

When playing pokemon heartgold i caught a mareep. In olivine city when it was an ampharos, i released it to make way for other pokemon on my team, but created a little story about how it wanted to be in the lighthouse to comfot myself.

I always bond with my starters so much that i can never let them go.

Why didn't you put it in your box?

God damn i hate the box. It feels wrong to me. I don't like the idea that a pokemon i bonded with is just sitting in the box waiting for me to come and get it...

but i never do...

 

[LilithSlave]

I tend to. They're usually pretty solid and continue to be valid endgame.

Also, Pokemon the TV series brainwashed me into 'never letting go of your first'. And instilled in me the idea that if you so much as put your starter Pokemon in Bill's PC, you're a terrible person. And clearly being the brainwashed, Templar moralist that I am, I hold onto my starter Pokemon in my party.

Well, almost always.

 

[Vault Citizen]

For me pokemon is a single player game. That being said, i like to imagine (as childish as this will sound) that i am adventuring with these pokemon. What will they think of my actions?

When playing pokemon heartgold i caught a mareep. In olivine city when it was an ampharos, i released it to make way for other pokemon on my team, but created a little story about how it wanted to be in the lighthouse to comfot myself.

I always bond with my starters so much that i can never let them go.

Why didn't you put it in your box?

God damn i hate the box. It feels wrong to me. I don't like the idea that a pokemon i bonded with is just sitting in the box waiting for me to come and get it...

but i never do...

If nothing else I have to give you credit for your skills as a roleplayer.

 

[The_Lost_King]

always, even when I got raquaza

 

[Reggie Rock]

For me pokemon is a single player game. That being said, i like to imagine (as childish as this will sound) that i am adventuring with these pokemon. What will they think of my actions?

When playing pokemon heartgold i caught a mareep. In olivine city when it was an ampharos, i released it to make way for other pokemon on my team, but created a little story about how it wanted to be in the lighthouse to comfot myself.

I always bond with my starters so much that i can never let them go.

Why didn't you put it in your box?

God damn i hate the box. It feels wrong to me. I don't like the idea that a pokemon i bonded with is just sitting in the box waiting for me to come and get it...

but i never do...

If nothing else I have to give you credit for your skills as a roleplayer.

No other games draw me in as much as the Pokemon series. I just get so connected to my Pokemanz. The TV series was a huge part of my childhood and it shaped who i am as a person.

jesus, when you think about it their is so much wrong with that isn't there?

 

[Vault Citizen]

For me pokemon is a single player game. That being said, i like to imagine (as childish as this will sound) that i am adventuring with these pokemon. What will they think of my actions?

When playing pokemon heartgold i caught a mareep. In olivine city when it was an ampharos, i released it to make way for other pokemon on my team, but created a little story about how it wanted to be in the lighthouse to comfot myself.

I always bond with my starters so much that i can never let them go.

Why didn't you put it in your box?

God damn i hate the box. It feels wrong to me. I don't like the idea that a pokemon i bonded with is just sitting in the box waiting for me to come and get it...

but i never do...

If nothing else I have to give you credit for your skills as a roleplayer.

No other games draw me in as much as the Pokemon series. I just get so connected to my Pokemanz. The TV series was a huge part of my childhood and it shaped who i am as a person.

jesus, when you think about it their is so much wrong with that isn't there?

Considering how popular reality tv has become it could have been so much worse.