The Starter Pokémon of choice of Starter Pokémon has remained unchanged for all that time. Each Generation's Starters all typically go on to become beloved Pokémon, but Sun and Moon themselves have a clear best option among them.

Generation 7 brought Pokémon Sun and Moon to the Nintendo 3DS, and introduced over 80 new Pokémon for players to catch, in addition to the extradimensional creatures known as Ultra Beasts. In keeping with tradition, the game offers three starter Pokémon for people to pick from. In this case, they can choose between Grass-type Pokémon Rowlet, Water-type Popplio, or Fire-type Litten. Of course, every new Generation triggers fierce discussion over which Starter Pokémon is best, and the Gen 7 games are no different in this regard.

Choosing Rowlet Gives People An All-Rounder Partner

The Grass-Type Starter Offers A Smooth Beginning To Any Playthrough

Rowlet is often seen as the easiest Pokémon for Sun and Moon players to start out with, especially when considering the amount of Bug- and Water-type Pokémon found in the early-game. As a partial Flying-type, Rowlet also has a notable advantage in being the only Starter Pokémon in the franchise to have a type immunity in its first Stage – specifically, an immunity to Ground-type moves. The downsides of choosing the Grass Quill Pokémon only become more apparent as the game progresses, however.

Rowlet is only the second Starter in the entire franchise to be a dual-type Pokémon. It follows in the footsteps of its fellow Grass-type Starter Bulbasaur, which has a secondary Poison typing.

When it is fully evolved, Decidueye has the most immunities of any Gen 7 Starter evolution, specifically two against Normal- and Fighting-type moves. However, it also has the most weaknesses, with five types (Flying, Ghost, Fire, Ice, and Dark) dealing double damage to it. These weaknesses in turn can strongly limit its effectiveness in battle across a wide range of situations, with notable examples including the battles against Acerola and Kahili at the Pokémon League.

It is also worth noting that the base stats of both Rowlet and its evolution can leave something to be desired. Rowlet does have the highest HP stat (68) among its fellow Gen 7 Starters, but after all three have evolved, Decidueye’s base 78 HP stat is comparatively the lowest. In fact, although Decidueye can be considered a decent all-rounder, nearly all of its base stats are lower than one or both of its rival starters, except for its Speed stat (70, compared to Primarina and Incineroar’s shared 60).

Choosing Popplio Gives Players More Of A Challenge

The Water-Type Can Find Some Early-Game Situations Difficult

As a Water-type, Popplio can provide a small increase in difficulty in the earlier stages of Pokémon Sun and Moon when compared to Rowlet. While Rowlet resists Fighting-type Moves, Popplio takes the normal amount of damage, which can make the Grand Trial battle against Hala more challenging. Similarly, Popplio and the Water-type Pokémon of Brooklet Hill (including the Totem Wishiwashi at the center of Lana’s Trial) may tend towards drawn-out battles with their mutually-ineffective Water-type moves, especially as Popplio is unable to learn Ice-type moves in the original Pokémon Sun and Moon through leveling up.

Popplio’s learnset has changed over the generations, with its use of Icy Wind being one of the more notable changes. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Popplio learns this move at level 16, and later generations have adjusted this requirement to level 15. However, Popplio can only learn Ice-type moves via TM in Pokémon Sun and Moon, and the same applies to its evolutions. Furthermore, although Popplio’s evolutionary line can prove very effective against the later Fire- and Dragon-type trials, reaching that point does take patience.

In of base Stats, Popplio is clearly specialized for non-physical battle. The vast majority of its natural learnset consists of Special attacks, ed by the best Special Attack and Special Defense stats of the three Alolan Starters. This trend continues throughout its evolutionary chain, with Primarina’s base stats ultimately becoming 126 and 116 respectively; beating not only the other evolved Starters’ own Special Attack and Special Defense, but their comparative Attack and Defense base stats as well. Combined with its immunity to Dragon-types and weaknesses to Poison-, Grass-, and Electric-types, it offers a well-balanced challenge as a first partner.

Litten Offers A Difficult Beginning To A Player’s Journey

The Fire-Type Grows Into Its True Strength Over Time

Players choosing based on looks often opt for the cute Fire-type Starter Litten, but since plenty of the early opponents in Pokémon Sun and Moon are Water-types, Litten can struggle at the beginning of the game. With that being said, the abilities of Litten's evolved forms, Torracat and Incineroar, do ultimately make Litten a very strong battler in the long run. Not only does the later addition of a Dark secondary typing give Incineroar an immunity to Psychic-type moves, but its own stats and learnset have proven to be incredibly potent.

Specialized in Physical moves like Popplio’s evolutionary family is for Special attacks, Incineroar has a base Attack stat of 115. Combined with its Fire-type STAB, this gives Incineroar’s 120-Power Flare Blitz move serious damage potential. Moreover, access to moves like U-Turn and Snarl via TM have allowed Incineroar to remain a valuable and versatile Pokémon in competitive play, especially when combined with its hidden Ability Intimidate (although Starter Litten from Sun and Moon will themselves not be able to gain access to their Hidden Ability without being transferred to a more recent game where Ability Patches are available to use).

Why Litten Is The Best Starter In Pokémon Sun And Moon

The Fire Cat Pokémon's True Potential Is Undeniably Powerful

Litten’s undeniable strength as it grows and evolves outweighs any early difficulties it may encounter, especially with the of a team behind it to tackle Sun and Moon’s many challenges. From starting out as a cute Pokémon to becoming a powerful partner for any Trainer, Litten has plenty to offer at any stage of Pokémon Sun and Moon, as well as beyone the game’s confines in competitive settings. Incineroar itself has maintained its own popularity not just in tournaments but as a character as well, having even gone on to be a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Of course, the position of best Starter Pokémon does include a strong element of personal preference. But on paper, although Rowlet is a cute Pokémon with good qualities, in the long run it doesn't quite cut it as a battler in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Similarly, Popplio has a cheerful adorableness to accompany its good mixture of strengths and weaknesses, but it still just isn't as strong of a contender in the late-game as Litten. And while Litten itself has a relatively tough time starting out, it is arguably the best option in the long run considering Incineroar's capabilities.

Source: The Official Pokémon YouTube channel