The release date for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl is right around the corner, and as such, it's time to discuss which start evolution line best sets up players for success on their Sinnoh region journeys. Shortly after starting the game(s), players meet their rival, Barry, who takes them to Lake Verity. Here, trouble ensues, and players inevitably find themselves faced with a hard question: which of Sinnoh's three starter Pokémon will they choose to accompany them across the region, help them face Team Galactic, and help them win eight badges in hopes of conquering the Sinnoh League?
Choosing a starter Pokémon in each game is the first step in designing any team no matter if trainers choose to have a set team of six monsters or a rotating party. Like in 2006's Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, players will choose from the Grass-type Turtwig, the Fire-type Chimchar, and the Water-type Piplup. Seeing these three will be nostalgic not only because of the games but also because of the Pokémon anime - players may remember Ash battling Paul with his Blaze-empowered Infernape and his Torterra or Dawn's Piplup being simultaneously feisty and adorable - and it's perfectly valid to let nostalgia fuel one's starter decision. After all, at the root of Pokémon's charm is friendship, love, and positive memories. However, choosing a starter Pokémon this way won't lead you to the straightest path forward in-game.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will likely see the return of the same eight Pokémon gym leaders that players faced in the original games, along with the same Elite Four and champion. With these Pokémon type specialists in mind, it's easy to deduce that Piplup is the best starter Pokémon to choose in Sinnoh, while Turtwig is a close runner-up and Chimchar lands firmly in last place. Ranking these starter Pokémon by cuteness is fun in theory, but all starters are cute, so it's impossible. Instead, this decision takes into account their final evolutions' respective secondary types (steel for Empoleon, Ground for Torterra, and Fighting for Infernape), and their move-sets from the original games. The ability to learn moves of many types can save a Pokémon from being defeated if used properly, and moves like Peck help Piplup early on in the game with its type coverage.
Piplup & Empoleon Dominate Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's Gyms
Sinnoh's eight gyms are fought in the following order: Roark's Rock-type gym, Gardenia' Grass-type gym, Fantina's Ghost-type gym, Maylene's Fighting-type gym, Crasher Wake's Water-type gym, Byron's Steel-type gym, Candice's Ice-type gym, and Volkner's Electric-type gym. The Elite Four then sees players battle the Bug-type specialist, Aaron; the Ground-type specialist, Bertha; the Fire-type specialist, Flint; and the Psychic-type specialist, Lucian. As the champion, Cynthia doesn't restrict herself to one type. Instead, her original Diamond and Pearl team consists of Spiritomb, Roserade, Milotic, Gastrodon, Lucario, and Garchomp. Worth noting is that a few of Sinnoh's bosses in the original Diamond and Pearl games use Pokémon outside of their respective type specialities, albeit with moves of their speciality types. Examples include Candice's Medicham, Volkner's Octillery and Ambipom, and Flint's Lopunny, Drifblim, and Steelix. Some of these teams make these gym battles some of Pokémon's toughest!
Piplup is one of the cutest Water-type Pokémon, and it also learns Peck fairly early on, meaning it has a super effective attack against Gardenia and Maylene. Furthermore, Maylene's Fighting-type moves won't be super effective on Piplup because it should only be a Prinplup at that time and therefore not have the Steel-type yet. Other diverse moves for Piplup include Ice Beam, which will help it greatly in the Elite Four. Even if Ice Beam is obtained late in the game like in the originals, Piplup can use it against Bertha to great effect, and a lot of Bug-types also contain the Flying-type, so using it against Aaron will help, too. Perhaps the best part of Ice Beam, though, is that it's a check for Cynthia's Garchomp. Torterra and Infernape would only be able to hit this final boss Pokémon for neutral damage, while Ice Beam is 4x effective against the Mach Pokémon.
Torterra And Infernape's Secondary Types Can Hinder Them In BDSP
If players want to opt for Chimchar or Turtwig, they should be aware of their weaknesses. When fully evolved, Torterra is 4x weak to Ice-type attacks, but it's also weak to Fire, Flying, and Bug-type attacks. Its advantage against Water-type attacks is even neutralized due to Torterra's additional Ground-type, which means it may not rank high among other Grass-type Pokémon starters. However, Torterra will still prove helpful against Roark, Crasher Wake, Volkner, and Bertha. If taught Crunch, it could also land super effective hits on Lucian's Pokémon, too. Against Cynthia, Torterra could dominate Gastrodon and battle firmly against Milotic and perhaps even Garchomp, but Roserade, Spiritomb, and Lucario might prove more difficult. A solid Earthquake could rattle Lucario, though.
Unfortunately, Chimchar might be the worst starter evolution line to use in-game, though it's one of the cutest Fire type Pokémon and can often fare nicely in the lower ranks of competitive play. Chimchar is weak to the first gym, and even though it's excellent against the second gym, it likely won't star again until it battles Maylene's Lucario, since its Fire-type moves would deal ample damage to its Steel-type. However, Crasher Wake is right after this, and Infernape's added Fighting-type won't necessarily help against him. This type combination will fare well against Candice and Byron, however. At the Elite Four, Infernape will mostly be helpful against Aaron and perhaps Flint's Steelix and Lopunny and Lucian's Bronzong. It would also do well against Cynthia's Roserade and Lucario, but the rest of her team would decimate it.
Chimchar being the worst starter to use in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's main story is unfortunate, especially because the original games only offered one other Fighting-type evolution line, Ponyta and Rapidash, before the postgame. These remakes will likely fix this imbalance, and players can feel less guilty about not picking Chimchar if they opt for Piplup, the best starter 'mon in the region. After all, the Grand Underground's Pokémon Hideaways are sure to spice up everyone's teams this time around.