Temtem: Which Starter Should I Pick? | Best Starter Guide

Just like in the Pokémon series, you’ll have to select one of three creatures at the start of Temtem. Your first pick is an important one, but it isn’t quite as permanent as the Pokémon games — you can actually capture all the Starter Temtems on your own without trading with a friend. It’s a nice feature, and one of the many ways Temtem takes the Pokémon formula and subtly twists it.

Just like in Pokémon, you’ll have to contend with Gyms — in Temtem, they’re called Dojos. Each Dojo is focused on specific types, so some starters will have a harder time than others. There’s really no wrong choice! You can beef up your Temtem team with other useful creatures to make those early fights easier, but I’ll still provide all the information you (might!) need to make your first choice in Temtem.

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More Temtem guides:

Simple Type Chart | All Type Strengths & Weaknesses

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At the start of the game, after creating your trainer, you’ll be able to choose from one of three Temtems. Each one has a different type, and different strengths / weaknesses.

• Crystle (Crystal Type | Tank | Emerald Turtle)
• Smazee (Melee Type | Physical Damage | Orange Monkey)
• Houchic (Mental Type | Special Damage | Purple Imp)

Let’s delve a little deeper into why you’ll want to pick each one of these little guys.

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Crystle [Evolves into Sherald at Lvl. 35]

• Crystal Type:
  • Strong Vs: Electric, Toxic and Mental
  • Weak Vs: Fire, Melee and Earth.

Crystle has extremely high defense, but can also fight back with balanced attack powers. It has low speed, so it won’t usually attack first. There’s nothing it is weak or strong against in the first Dojo.

You can catch Crystle in Tucma, Amethyst Barrens.

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Smazee [Evolves into Baboong at Lvl. 34]

• Melee Type:
  • Strong Vs: Nature and Crystal
  • Weak Vs: Mental and Digital

Smazee is the most balanced of the three starter Temtems — it is strong, uses basic attacks that are pretty effective against most anything, and it is resistant to melee attacks. He has lots of stamina for longer fights, and he’s pretty fast. You’ll encounter some Melee type Temtems at the Dojo, but none when you encounter the Dojo Leader.

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Houchic [Evolves into Tental at Lvl. 34]

• Mental Type:
  • Strong Vs: Neutral and Melee
  • Weak Vs: Digital, Electric and Crystal

Houchic is considered the best of the three Temtem starters because of its speed and super-powerful Special Attacks. Instead of hitting with lots of low-stamina attacks, it goes all-out. It also has high Special Defense. Think of Houchi as a glass cannon. Put it away until you want to unleash some damage on enemies. And you’ll need to beware an Electric Type in the first Dojo — capture a Melee Temtem to take care of it.

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Still can’t decide which Temtem to pick? Nobody knows what the final, third evolution for these three Temtems is yet — so you won’t be able to plan for the end-game just yet. Temtem is still in Early-Access, so some of these details might change before the full release.