Starter Pokémon

Starter Pokémon are selectable Pokémon that players will start off with as their initial Pokémon when embarking on a region.

Each starter-Pokémon subset comprises a traditional tri-elemental paradigm: one Grass-type option, one Fire-type option, and one Water-type option. The only extension is Kanto‘s subset wherein the Electric-type Pikachu can be selected as a quaternary option.

Starter Pokémon selected from the lab do not have a shiny chance; the only way to obtain a shiny counterpart of one is by an adventitious encounter of one in the wild, as all starter Pokémon are wild-huntable—predominantly at a tier-9 rarity.

Regional Subsets

Due to the regional linearity of storyline progression, players will start afresh each time they visit a new region while their previous-region Pokémon are temporarily PC-locked; as such, those who advance through all the currently available regions will obtain a Pokémon from each regional subset in regional succession, as they will need to start off with a new Pokémon thereupon landing in the region.

Kanto

Kanto comprises the only regional starter-Pokémon subset with more than three optional selectees—the fourth one being Pikachu.

In order for Pikachu to be selectable, you must first interact with and decline all-three starter-Pokémon options on the table; thereafter, the lightning-bolt Pokéball—a nod to the same next Pokéball that Ash’s Pikachu was cooped-up in during Professor Oak’s possessorship of it in the anime—that is next to the Pokédex-claimable desk will be selectable.

Should one select Pikachu, they’ll unlock access to a plot line of Team Rocket Trio encounters throughout Kanto, in addition to tuteeship for the Surf move. Victor on Route 19 will teach Surf to any Pikachu under your OT registry if you chose Pikachu; it is not limited to the starter-selected Pikachu itself, but the Pikachu must have been originatively acquired by you for it to be a teachable tutee.

Kanto’s Starter Pokémon
Bulbasaur Type GrassPoison Rarity Rare Held Item	Charmander Type Fire Rarity Rare Held Item
Squirtle Type Water Rarity Rare Held Item	Pikachu Type Electric Rarity Uncommon Held Item

Johto

Johto’s Starter Pokémon
Chikorita Type Grass Rarity Rare	Cyndaquil Type Fire Rarity Rare	Totodile Type Water Rarity Rare

Hoenn

By antecedence of Hoenn’s introductory plot, it technically is possible to obtain a Poochyena as your first Pokémon; you can do so while battling the Pokémon during its assault on Professor Birch in Littleroot Town‘s lab, since it is catchable.

Regardless of whether or not you obtain Poochyena as your first Pokémon, however, Hoenn’s starter-Pokémon subset will still remain compulsory selectable, as you’ll need to obtain one of them before you can advance out of Littleroot Town.

Hoenn’s Starter Pokémon
Treecko Type Grass Rarity Rare Held Item	Torchic Type Fire Rarity Rare Held Item	Mudkip Type Water Rarity Rare Held Item

Sinnoh

Sinnoh’s Starter Pokémon
Turtwig Type Grass Rarity Rare	Chimchar Type Fire Rarity Rare	Piplup Type Water Rarity Rare

Extraneous Obtainability

Since many of these tend to be highly coveted Pokémon, they have been made obtainable beyond the one-off starter-Pokémon selection; read below for more information.

NPCs

Professor Oak

Main article: Professor Oak (boss)

The Professor Oak-boss NPC randomly rewards a multitude of prizes upon defeating him, including Kanto’s starter Pokémon as eventualities—Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.

Professor Elm

Main article: Professor Elm (boss)

Akin to Professor Oak, the Professor Elm-boss NPC randomly rewards a multitude of prizes upon defeating him, including Johto’s starter-Pokémon subset as eventualities—Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil.

Professor Birch

Main article: Professor Birch (boss)

Homologous to the other professorial bosses, the Professor Birch-boss NPC randomly rewards a multitude of prizes upon defeating him, including Hoenn’s starter-Pokémon subset as eventualities—Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip.

Naero

Main article: Naero (boss)

Pichu—Pikachu‘s baby-stage pre-evolution—is one of out 10 potential baby-stage Pokémon that are rewardable for defeating Naero, thereby allowing a more roundabout avenue of obtaining the Electric-type starter Pokémon should one choose to evolve it.

Wild Pokémon

Kanto

Land

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Bulbasaur	Howling Woods	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Bulbasaur	Safari Area 2	10-14	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Charmander	Cinnabar Mansion 3	15-19	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Charmander	Unison Mountain 2F	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Charmander	Vulcan Cavern	35-39	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Charmander	Vulcan Lava Pit	35-39	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Pikachu	Angel Hill	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Dragons Neck	30-35	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Evergreen Island Frozen Path	25-31	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Flake Wood	25-31	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Galeras Island East	27-33	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Hoenn Safari Zone Area 1	28-32	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Matsuki Courtyard	25-31	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Nido Isle	30-35	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Power Plant	21-24	Morning			Uncommon
	Pikachu	Uncanny Path	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Unison Mountain East Summit	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Unison Mountain South Summit	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Viridian Forest	4-8	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon
	Pikachu	Whitmore Residence Frontyard	35-40	Morning	Day	Night	Uncommon

Water

Old

Pokémon	Area	Location	Level Range	Time	Rod required	Rarity Tier

Johto

Land

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Chikorita	Ghoul Swamp	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Chikorita	Pinkan Island Forest	60-65			Night	Rare
	Chikorita	Route 226	51-55	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Chikorita	Safari Johto Grass and Swamp Zone	17-21	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Cyndaquil	Mt. Ember	30-38	Morning			Rare
	Cyndaquil	Safari Johto Mountain Zone	17-21	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Cyndaquil	Uncanny Path	20-24	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Totodile	Route 49	35-39	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Water

Old

Pokémon	Area	Location	Level Range	Time	Rod required	Rarity Tier

Hoenn

Land

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Treecko	Alto Mare National Park	10-15	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Treecko	Eumi Island Theme Park 1	25-30	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Treecko	Evergreen Island Frozen Cave	25-31	Morning	Day		Rare
	Treecko	Hoenn Safari Zone Area 1	10-14	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Treecko	Petalburg Woods	5-7	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Torchic	Alto Mare Secret Garden	10-15	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Torchic	Eumi Island Burned Tower	25-30	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Torchic	Evergreen Island Valley	25-31	Morning	Day		Rare
	Torchic	Hoenn Safari Zone Area 6	28-32	Morning	Day		Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Mudkip	Eumi Island Theme Park 2	25-30	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Water

Old

Pokémon	Area	Location	Level Range	Time	Rod required	Rarity Tier

Sinnoh

Land

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Turtwig	Kalijodo Path	36-40	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Turtwig	Sinnoh Safari Area Zone 3	24-28	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Chimchar	Monkey Path	50-55		Day		Rare
	Chimchar	Mt. Summer Exterior 2	36-40	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Chimchar	Sinnoh Safari Area Zone 1	24-28	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Pokémon	Area	Level Range	Time	Rarity Tier
	Piplup	Mt. Summer Exterior	36-40	Morning	Day	Night	Rare
	Piplup	Sinnoh Safari Area Zone 5	24-28	Morning	Day	Night	Rare

Water

Old

Pokémon	Area	Location	Level Range	Time	Rod required	Rarity Tier