Old habits die hard, as they say, and the Pokémon series is hardly an exception. Honestly, hand any gamer any Pokémon game and they’ll know exactly what their mission is: catch and train the strongest team of Pokémon and run train on the local Pokémon league, it’s associated elite four, and perhaps the region🦩’s resident villainous organization as well.

In our quest to be the very best, however, it’s import♑ant to stop and think back to the first few hours of the game and remember those early members of our team; whether they stuck with you through the whole of your journey, were only spared the Pokéballs to try and fill up your Pokédex, or even if you just needed👍 something to teach an HM to, one thing is for sure about this bunch of Pokémon: catching them was anything but a challenge.

Every Pokémon has an associated catch rate, a value used in a complex equation that determines whether or not the Pokémon gets captured and everyone on this list has a base capture rate of 255 which is the highest catch rate possible in the game. While there are more than just the twenty listed here with that same catch rate, the Pokémon listed he𒁃re are typically the earliest encountered and can reasonably be considered the smallest of small fries. Rest easy, trainers; you won't be wasting that Master Ball on any of these Pokémon.

20 Lillipup

Lillipup is a Pokémon whose name is pretty indicative of just about what you can expect from it in battle: not much. Its offensive moveset is limited to three moves before it evolves and its normal typing doesn’t make for a very imposing or challenging Pokémon. Good news for you though, because catching one will be a walk in the park, which seems a fitting metaphor for a Pokémon based on a dog. You can probably spare the few seconds it will take to catch it. Whether or not it’d be worth training is♛ completely up to you, though. I’m going t𝕴o be honest, this one has always been a Pokémon that has just been a “Catch it to evolve it and put it in the PC” situation. I mean, look at the little thing. How can I possibly make that little pup fight? It’s just too cute!

19 Lotad

Lotad is a Sapphire version exclusi♍ve that makes itself available just outside of Hoenn’s Oldale Town on Route 102. These little guys don’t put up too much of a fight, but getting one on your team could prove useful towards the middle of the game once you can get it to its final evolved form (which is only doable with a Water Stone), Ludicolo. Evolved form aside, Lotad is something of an investment considering you can find them as early as level three and it may take quite a bit of work helping it reach its full potential. If you don’t figure it out from fighting it, Lotad doesn’t pack very much of a punch and with the way they level up, you might be feeling like that for at least a little bit.

18 Seedot

The Ruby version equivalent to Lotad and the story is exactly the same. Once you can pass through Oldale Town and onto Route 102, you’ll find Seedots ripe for the picking. At the tender level of three, however, they may end up being nothing but training fodder for your 🥀starter if you aren’t careful. Still, managing to catch one may yield some worthwhile results if you’re willing to take the time and train it right, because just like it’s cousin Lotad, Seedot has some fun potential and its evolved form is one badass Pokémon (Shiftry), a fact that can be surprising if you consider tha🤡t the Pokémon literally looks like an acorn. I mean, really. How strong can one little nut be? Rhetorical question, the answer is “When you first find them, not very.”

17 Wurmple

Wurmple is the third generation’s token early game bug Pokémon; found early on, and fully evolved into one of two forms by level ten. If you come across one of these navigating through Petalburg Woods, don’t sweat it. I🦩ts moveset is hardly anything to stress over and this little guy just doesn’t hit hard enough anyway. Catching a Wurmple should be a walk in the park (or should I say stroll in the woods?), but if it’s ‘Dex completion you’re going for, you may have to end up snagging multiple just to be on the safe side. Thankfully, Wurmples are weak enough that the main chore of the process won’t be the actual fight itself, it will probably just be walking around to find them.

16 Grubbin

The Alola region has its place on this list as well! Meet Grubbin, the tiny little🧜 bug type that can be found as early as Route 1. While Grubbin’s potential is a lot more promising than early game bug types of past generations, it doesn’t start as some must capture powerhouse. Even with a much more versatile moveset than most bug types, this Pokémon is only found between levels three and five, and suffers the same fragility that we’ve come to know and love from bug Pokémon. Grubbins are an easy catch and end up being pretty worth it if you’re able to stick to training the Pokémon. Definitely grab it when you can; it’s not going to put up 💫much of a fight.

15 Hoppip

Hoppip may not exactly be one of those straight out the gate Pokémon, but it still comes in with a catch rate of 255 just like every other Pokémon this list and that’s all we really need. It’s a bit of an odd Pokémon with an appeal that has always seemed to go over my head, but Hoppips are undeniably a very easy catch very early on. Usually found at level six or seven on Johto’s Route 32, by the time you start finding them you’re guaranteed to be more than equipped enough to take one of these on and catch it, even 🐼if you do just end up throwing it in the box. I know that’s exactly what I did. No offense, Hoppip…

14 Hoothoot

Hoothoot is an owl Pokémon that you can find at the start of your Johto journey as early as route 29, so as you can imagine you won’t exactly be stressing yourself out catching yourself one of theseꦯ. They start off pretty weak, so even just walking out of Professor Elm’s lab you’re bound to be equipped to take them on. The early game flying types are almost always some kind of useful though and with Hoothoot only evolving once instead of the usual twice, you could have a pretty decent Pokémon rounding off your team as you work your way through the Johto League. But remember, that pretty decent Pokémon does come from humble beginnings, so if you do catch yourself a Hoothoot, know that you’re doing it a favor leveling it up.

13 Poochyena

Once you catch a glimpse of this Pokémonཧ harassing the bumbling Professor Birch, if you’re anything like me you knew you wanted one. Fortunately, you’re not as helpless as Professor Birch🍰 and it’s incredibly easy to grab a Poochyena very early on. They may be feisty, but not to the point of making catching them a chore and, even if the usefulness of the Pokémon can be debated, there’s an undeniable “cool” factor to it that even the baddies of the Hoenn region seem to appreciate. I mean, you’d think that they’d probably have made him a little bit more intimidating and that’s not an allusion to its evolved forms ability. Regardless, who knew such a weak little Pokémon could be so prominent in one region?

12 Bidoof

In stark contrast to Poochyena’s cool-ness, Bidoof is honestly pretty goofy; 🦂an opinion that is starkly contrasted by its Diamond Version Pokédex entry citing it as a Pokémon with nerves of steel. I guess that's something of an underdog story, but nerves of steel probably translate better in the anime than they would in the game because let's face it; Bidoof i🍎s weak. Regardless of its nerves though, hanging out right outside of Twinleaf isn’t exactly the activity of choice for Pokémon that make gym leaders quake in their boots.

Bidoof is an easy addition if you’re looking for the ‘Mon-power to get your Sinnoh journey up and running. Why you’d want this particular Pokémon on your team I personally don’t know, but to each their own. At the very 🌊least, it may be weak, but it defin💟itely looks friendly.

11 Starly

Starly’s Pearl Pokédex entry cites it as being barely noticeable unless it’s in a group and if that’s not something that speaks to its weakness, I don’t know what is. You can find these guys in droves beginning on Sinnoh's Route 201 where they're easy pickings. Now don’t get me wrong, Starly is Diamond and Pearl’s token bird Pokémon; an early on eﷺncounter with three stages of evolution that could easily fit your team as a staple from your first gym through the elite four if you so choose. The good thing, though? You guessed it; they’re a breeze to catch. Considering what it evolves into, the investment may very well be worth your time – and it’ll only take a few seconds to catch one and get ♈started.