Starter Pokémon have always been seen as iconic, dependable companions. Ever since the days of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon Red and Blue (and Green), they’ve been by players’ sides, the Pokémon that we tend to form the closest bonds with (just ask the dedi⛎cat🌞ed Mudkip meme brigade).
At the same time, though, starters don’t tend to be Pokémon that set t൩he competitive world alight. There are exce💜ptions, though, and some of these critters are real powerhouses. To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at the top 10 fully-evolved starters with the highest Special Attack (in ascending order).
10 Greninja (Base 103 S♛pecial Attack) 𝔉
Coming in first, you might think that Greninja would be the weakest special attacker on our list. While the numbers would (very narrowly) suggest that’s ✅the case, there’s much more than meets the eye when it comes to Greninja.
The Water-type starter of the Kalos region has a secret weapon up its froggy sleeve: Protean. With its Hidden Ability, Greninja will automatically switch typing to match whichever move it’s using. A STAB boost on every attack in its repertoire means that Froakie’s fully evolved form will be hitting much harder than you might think. As fragile as it is, it’s also very speedy, making it 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:one of the best Pokémon around 𒅌at cleaning up weakened teams. Let’s not even mention the whole Ash-Greninja bu𒁃siness.
9 Infernape (B💛ase 104 Special Attack)
Chimchar was introduced in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Its final form, Infernape, soon established itself as a potent mixed attacker with a grꦕeat range of supportive and utility moves to boot.
Its base 104 Special Attack is the same as its base Attack, allowing it to vary its sets and hit just as 🅘strongly from either side of the spectrum. These stats aren’t anything to write home about, but in conjunction with its high Speed and access to a range of moves (including the very rare special Fighting priority attack Vacuum Wave), Infernape has always been a solid Pokémon.
8 🦄 Samurott (Base 108 Special Attack)
A lot of starter Pokémon have solid enough all around stats, but nothing that quite sets them apart. That’s just not good enough in the world of competitive Pokémon, where only the very best for the job get picked 𒐪and everything else is left behind.
Samurott is ju🌊st one example of a starter that tends to fall by the wayside. Its Special Attack is its highest stat, and certainly packs a punch, but it’s quite average everywhere else. Not a bad Pokémon by any means, but there’s usually another that can perform its role better.
7 ඣ 𒊎 Typhlosion (Base 109 Special Attack)
Generation II’s Cyndaquil family, granted, aren’t exac🌄tly tꦡhe most feared special attacking threats in Pokémon history. Typhlosion is not a pure Fire-type you want to underestimate, however, as so many players have been burned by it.
Typhlosion is a bit of a one-trick pony, but that trick can still be utterly deadly if you aren’t prepared for it. Ideally, it manages to get a boost f꧋rom its Flash Fire Hidden Ability while harsh sunlight is on the field. From there, it proceeds to scorch opponents’ hopes and dreams into sad, ashy cinders with Choice Scarf Eruption spam. Base 109 isn’t close to the highest Special Attack stat on our list, but the damage output Typhosion can reach in optimal situations is just terrifying.
6 ღ 💛 Charizard (Base 109 Special Attack)
We have a tie, f♔riends. Charizard, that irrepressible fan favorite, also has 109 base Special Attack. This franchise icon has ꦉalways had a tough time of it in the metagame (Stealth Rock is a real party pooper, instantly stripping away half of its HP), but it’s got some solid power behind it.
Charizaꦫrd doesn’t have access to the Eruption shenanigans Typhlosion is famous for, but it does have a choice of two Mega Evolutions: the mixed Mega Charizard X (base 130 offenses apiece) and the special powerhouse that is Mega Charizard Y. The latter boasts an absurd base 159 Special Attack and the Drought Abilit🐬y, which sets up the sun and gives its a further boost.
5 🍃 Blaziken (Base 110 Special Attack)
Starter Pokémon may not be the most competitively viable as a rule, but 🦩that isn’t always the case. Who would have thought that Generation III’s adorable little Chikorita would eventually evolve into such a monster?
With base 120 Attack and base 110 Special Attack, Blaziken is among the all-around strongest starter Pokémon ever. When the Speed Boost Ability was thrown into the mix, its only real flaw was address and it just became overpowering (even without throwing 🌌its Mega Evolution into the mix). Blaziken tends to be geared more towards the physical side, where its real power lies.
4 ꩵ ཧ Empoleon (Base 111 Special Attack)
Blaziken may be an overwhelming feathery force to be reckoned with, but in exchange, it really can’t take a hit in response. Our next Pokémon, Generation IV’s Piplup, don’t reall꧑y have that problem. This steely-hided penguin fears nothing and nobody.
With its solid HP and high base Special Defense, n🌳ot to mention its plethora of resistances, this Water/Steel Pokémon can be a tough opponent to deal with. It’s certainly not lacking in the retaliation department either, and can take a more defensive or offensive role depending on the team.
3 🀅 Delphox (Base 114 Special Attack)
Delphox split opinion somewhat when it arrived with Pokémon X and Y. Some appreciat💛ed the whole magical vibe Game Freak were going for here, while others felt that Fennekin and Braixen’s designs were solid but things got a little uglier when it evolved for the final time.
Aesthetics aside, though, Delphox is a solid if unspectacular special attacker. It’s got th𓆏e stats to make an all-out offensive set work, and the addition of the secondary Psychic typing sets it apart from other similar Pokémon (particularly with regards to the tricky support moves it has access to).
2 Inteleon (Base 125 Special Attack) ♍ 🌜
As you’ve probably noticed, there have only been a few measly stat points betwee𓆉n most of the entries in this rundown so far. Interestingly, though, there’s quite a jump from Delphox to our next entry: Inteleon, which sports 125 base Special Attack).
You wouldn’♉t have thought it to look at the sad, lovable little Sobble, but it evolves into a powerful special sweeper. Inteleon’s base 120 Speed isn’t the best for this metagame, but it will be outpacing all kinds of threats (it’ll need to, as well, because its defenses are abysmal). The issue is, as a pure Water-type, it doesn’t have a lot of useful coverage besides Ice Beam.
1 ꧋ Primarina (Base 126 Special Attack) ♛
It might come as a bit of a surprise, but Primarina actually has the highest Special𝓀 Attack stat of all fully-evolved ꧂starter Pokémon (being bested by a single base stat point, Inteleon is probably all kinds of bitter about this whole situation). It’s got much more going for it than simple raw power, too.
Similarly to Empoleon, it has low Speed, but nice sp🃏ecial stats (it’s a bit lacking physically) and a handy secondary typing (Fairy, in this case). As of Generation VIII, it also gets more useful status moves, like Perish Song, if you want to be a little൲ tricky with it.