In Pokémon Sword & Shield, your starter Pokémon is your life. Whichever Pokémon you first pick — Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble — is going to be your partner for a very long time, and if you take care of them, they’ll become one of your most reliable damage-dealing Pokémon.
And all three of the starters in Pokémon Sword & Shield are cute critters that eventually become burly, powerful battlers. All of them can work as you play, so there’s no reason not to pick your personal favorite. But, if you don’t have a preference, there is a good reason to pick one particular Pokémon.
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Which Starter Pokémon To Pick
At the beginning of Pokémon: Sword & Shield, you’re given a choice between three starter Pokémon — they’re all valid choices, and they’re all going to help you win in the long-run, but there’s one choice that’ll make the very first gym a cinch.
- Scorbunny: Fire Type – Hot-blooded bunny.
- Grookey: Grass Type – Muscular monkey.
- Sobble: Water Type – Aggressive amphibian.
It’s tough to choose! All of these Pokémon eventually evolve into incredible Tier 3 creatures, and I have a hard time choosing which is best. All three evolve at Lv. 16 and Lv. 35 — so no difference there. Each one is a different type, but these types are equally useful in the early stages of the game… generally.
The first three Gyms are Turrfield (Grass-type Gym), Hulbury (Water-type Gym) and Motostoke (Fire-type Gym). That means your Fire-type Scorbunny has the advantage in the first gym. Of course, all three Pokemon eventually have an advantage — and a disadvantage.
- NOTE: Fire is also super-effective against Gym 6, which happens to be an Ice-type Gym.
If you’re looking for a big-picture choice, Grass-type Pokémon have the most weaknesses — Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug types are all super-effective against Grass-type. Water-type only have two weaknesses — Electric and Grass. Fire-types are the most balanced, with three weaknesses and four strengths — weak against Water, Ground, and Rock, but super-effective against Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel.
Steel Pokémon are especially annoying, even if they’re uncommon. Right now, Scorbunny has the early advantage in Pokémon Sword & Shield, but until I’ve played deep into the post-game, I can’t say if he’s the best pick overall. Basically, I’ve got a lot more of this game to play.
