Pokemon teams: Do you always use starters?

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scarecrow350

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Apr 4, 2010
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I always keep my starter, but its not generally the most powerful, i generally have two powerful pokemon and then a team of less powerful 'support' pokemon. It's seen me through every game since leaf green
 

tumultuoustibia

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Dec 16, 2011
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I usually keep my starter, but that's mostly because I always choose fire and there aren't too many fire types that I enjoy (at least up to Gen. III). Plus I like to maintain a two level lead with my starter compared to the rest of my team.
 

Lev The Red

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Aug 5, 2011
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i power-lever my starter to the point where by the 4th gym, i'm at least 10 levels higher than the trainers/leaders in the area.
but i also catch a normal-type pokemon and train it along side my starter. i use that one for any grass trainers, which are the only ones that are ever a pain (i always use the water starter).
 

scorptatious

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May 14, 2009
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I always kept my starters. They were with me from the very start, and I feel it to be a disservice to them if I just got rid of them.
 

Atmos Duality

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Mar 3, 2010
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Eh, depends.
Usually the Fire or Grass types are the best, with quality Fire Types being generally more difficult to come by anyway. Grass types are not uncommon, but the starters are generally *very* useful.

The Water Starters have been mostly bland, or otherwise rendered superfluous by the over-abundance of Water Types in each game (cue the retard spouting memes in 3..2..1..).
I mean, why bother with a Blastoise when you can eventually use a Gyarados, Milotic, or Suicune instead?
 

370999

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May 17, 2010
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Yes. I dunno they always seem to be the Cyclops to my Proffesor X, you know my my loyal and faithful guy. For online battles and stuff, no but in game, yes.
 

renegade7

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Feb 9, 2011
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I usually keep the starter in my team. From my experience they're the first pokemon readily attainable that can learn good type-related moves. Also they are pretty powerful compared to most of the stuff available up to around level 25 or so.
 

Joshimodo

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Sep 13, 2008
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Yes, for any story-sections and some end-game content (Legendary hunting etc.), but not for competitive stuff like Battle Subway. Only a few starters are viable for real battles.


Atmos Duality said:
The Water Starters have been mostly bland, or otherwise rendered superfluous by the over-abundance of Water Types in each game (cue the retard spouting memes in 3..2..1..).
I mean, why bother with a Blastoise when you can eventually use a Gyarados, Milotic, or Suicune instead?
Empoleon and Swampert are pretty good. Up there with the other great Water types for sure. Only 3 of the Fire starters have been worthwhile (Typhlosion, Infernape and Blaziken), and only 2 Grass starters have been viable, and even then only when backed up quite a bit.
 

GroovyV

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Feb 23, 2011
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Considering how huge the selection has gotten, i tend to have a long list of pokemon that i enjoy having on my team, and will usually borrow a friend of family member's (or stranger's) DS to trade the ones i want to start the game off as much as i can with them. The Starter tends to get kinda left behind on the roster, though i always come back to them.

Sometimes i get a hankering for a previous generation Starter though, like wanting to bust heads with Wartortle instead of my oshawott or something. I'm hoping that when they introduce the next series of these adorably dangerous creatures (and you know they probably will) that we finally get a something/dark starter. Emboar would've been perfect. oh well...
 

Malty Milk Whistle

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Oct 29, 2011
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No matter the game, my team is usually
1) Scizor because he is a total badass.
2)Gengar(in every game. I WILL get one.)
3) Dragonite,or any other powerhouse that can learn multiple elemental moves.
4)Snorlax. 'Nuff said.
5)a ground or rock type, like cammerupt or mamoswine.
6)Toxicroak or Gallade
So yea, i tend to get rid of my starter pokemon as soon as i can catch one of these bad boys.
 

Berenzen

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Jul 9, 2011
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By the end of the game, typically not. I'll usually keep them to their final evolution, then dump them into a box and set up a better team. Particularly in my Pokemon White game- I got a Larvitar from the Entralink early on, along with an early-on Drillbur(had sand rush and high IVs in attack and speed on first catch). By the time they were a Tyrannitar and Exadrill, I could wipe out any trainer out there. Didn't really need too many other pokemon after that, though I traded up my Forretress, Lugia and Ho-oh from SS, once I got the Legend Badge. My sixth is typically just a HM slave.
 

zehydra

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Oct 25, 2009
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Yes, because they're usually a higher level and more developed than any other pokemon I get at that point.

Recall peoples, that a pokemon trained from level 1 (to level 30) (or 5 in this case) will have better stats than a pokemon caught at, say level 30.
 

New Frontiersman

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Feb 2, 2010
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I almost always do. The only time I didn't was in HeartGold, where I left out my Feraligatr because my Red Gyarados and Lapras made it seems somewhat redundant (My team is heavily skewed towards water in that game). Otherwise yeah, I've always kept my starter with me.
 

Launcelot111

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Jan 19, 2012
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I generally keep my starter, except for in Black/White, with my worthless Serperior. Boring design+weak moves+worse stats than underleveled teammates=you're going into the computer
 

wintercoat

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Nov 26, 2011
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Berenzen said:
By the end of the game, typically not. I'll usually keep them to their final evolution, then dump them into a box and set up a better team. Particularly in my Pokemon White game- I got a Larvitar from the Entralink early on, along with an early-on Drillbur(had sand rush and high IVs in attack and speed on first catch). By the time they were a Tyrannitar and Exadrill, I could wipe out any trainer out there. Didn't really need too many other pokemon after that, though I traded up my Forretress, Lugia and Ho-oh from SS, once I got the Legend Badge. My sixth is typically just a HM slave.
I feel sorry for HM slaves. I mean, it's not their fault they can learn 4 HMs and most HMs are underpowered.

OT: Yeah, usually. I usually choose the fire type because it's hard to get a good fire pokemon early on in most of the games. Then, by the time I can get one, I'm all attached to the little bugger and don't wanna throw it into the pc where it'll be forgotten.
 

Soulfoodman

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Dec 20, 2009
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Depends on the generation. I love the first gen starters, hate the second, third is alright, fourth is a little lackluster, and fifth is a disappointment.
I used to exclusively pick the fire starters, but now Arcanine is my go to fire Pokemon because there is none cooler.
I rarely feel the need for a grass Pokemon since their type effectiveness can usually be covered by other members of my team.
The water starters are useful for surf until I pick up a Lapras.
 

Strain42

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Mar 2, 2009
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No, in fact I hardly ever use my starter Pokemon. Of course I used one in Generation 1 when I was young and bright eyed, and I used on in Gen 2 because I love Totodile.

But since Gen 3, starters became less and less important to me, to the point where now I don't even see them as "My" Pokemon. To me a starter is no different than the Zigzagoon that Norman let Wally borrow to catch his Ralts. A starter is just a Pokemon you use until you catch the first Pokemon you actually want (imo anyway, nothing against people who do use starters)

I recently replayed a lot of my games, and set up my teams in all of my games.

There are only 2 versions where I'm using my starter Pokemon

Yellow because it's basically Pikachu version and if I'm not gonna use Pikachu, why play Yellow? (even though they aren't starter Pokemon in Yellow, I'm still not using Charmander, Squirtle or Bulbasaur)

and Diamond because Gen 4 sucked ass when it came to introducing new fire types. I was already using Magmortar in Platinum, and if I wanted a fire type I'd have to either break my no starters rule or my no legendaries rule, and I opted for the one I've already broken before, so I have Infernape.

If a time ever comes when I actually do feel a strong connection to a starter Pokemon, like it's one I really do want to use, I will. No questions asked. The Totodile family is the only one I really like enough to do this with, but I use Totodile in Mystery Dungeon, so that's good enough for me.
 

LazyGuy55

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Nov 9, 2010
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I usually keep my starters. The only games I didn't were Gold/Heartgold. For some reason I could never get into those starting pokemon... Always ending up packing them in for something better (Typhlosion for Arcanine, Feraligator for Gyrados, etc.). Other than those versions, I usually pick up and keep the Fire starter.

Infernape for life.
 

Right Hook

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May 29, 2011
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Not only do I keep my starter, on some of the games I've traded them out as soon as I can to an alternate DS, started over, picked up two crappy Pokemon and then trade the other two starters back in, that way I can play the game with all 3 starters! It is kinda cheap but I hate having to choose one, especially when I can have them all!



I refuse to let this happen.