Choosing your Starter Pokemon has always been a very important and difficult task for novice trainers as they try to figure out which Pokemon will be best suited for their journey and playstyle. This guide aims to help you choose The Best Starter Pokemon in Pokemon BDSP as you journey once again through the Sinnoh region.
Pokemon BDSP Best Starter Pokemon
With the release of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl players and fans of the series are once wondering which Starter Pokemon should they choose as there are 3 options available which are:
- Piplup (Water Type)
- Turtwig (Grass Type)
- Chimchar (Fire Type)
We will be talking about all 3 of these Pokemon in detail and explain all of their abilities, nature, advantages, and disadvantages. You should also know that the difficulty of your first few gym encounters will not change drastically regardless of which nature type you choose.
Piplup
Piplup is the Water-type starter Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl that takes double damage from Electric and Grass-type Pokemon.
In its unevolved form but once its evolution reaches Empoleon, then it becomes resistant to pretty much any kind of attacks except Electric and Ground types.
Piplup evolves into Prinplup at Level 16 and Empoleon at Level 36. Prinplup looks like an overgrown Piplup while Empoleon’s design resembles a very aggressive bird with sharp wings and Steel as its dual type.
As you roam around the world of Sinnoh in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, you will encounter plenty of other water-type Pokemon. Picking Piplup as your starter Pokemon becomes a slightly less attractive choice.
Base Stats
- HP: 53
- Attack: 51
- Defense: 53
- Special Attack: 61
- Special Defense: 56
- Speed: 40
Turtwig
Turtwig is the Grass-type starter Pokemon in Pokemon BDSP and he is probably our favorite one out of all 3 given the nature of his attacks and evolutions.
The grass-type Turtwig is weak against flying types and ice-type Pokemon and takes 2x and 4x damage from them respectively. But once you evolve him into Torterra, he becomes even more deadly.
You can evolve your Turtwig into a Grotle at Level 18 and then it reaches its final form; Torterra at Level 32 which is the lowest max evolution level requirement out of all the other starter Pokemon.
Overall, he is a very strong choice as a starter because of his STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) ability. The early gym leaders you encounter will all have Pokemon that are weak against Turtwig.
His weakness against Flying types can be covered by your own flying type Pokemon.
Base Stats
- HP: 55
- Attack: 68
- Defense: 64
- Special Attack: 45
- Special Defense: 55
- Speed: 31
Chimchar
Chimchar is a Fire-type starter Pokemon in BDSP that is weak against Water, Rock, and Ground-type Pokemon and takes 2x damage against them.
It is one of the two Fire-type Pokemon you can have in Pokemon BDSP so picking him can be a wise choice as well.
The fiery Chimchar evolves into a Monferno at Level 14 and becomes taller and as it finally evolves into an Infernape at Level 36, its mane grows out and it becomes even more fierce.
It also becomes a Fire and Fighting-type pokemon. Infernape has excellent offensive capabilities and can be very helpful during the later gym battles.
Base Stats
- HP: 44
- Attack: 58
- Defense: 44
- Special Attack: 58
- Special Defense: 44
- Speed: 61
Which Starter Pokemon is the Best in Brilliant Diamon and Shining Pearl
We recommend using Chimchar as your Starter Pokemon as fire-type Pokemon are rare in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Additionally, Chimchar has exceptional offensive abilities and will easily deal with Pokemon later on as he evolves and faces gym leaders.
If fire types are not your style, then our second pick would be Turtwig as it can also serve you well against a wide range of Pokemon.
Turtwig’s evolved form has an excellent defense as well so it can hold its ground against some pretty tough enemies.
Lastly, you can look at Piplup but we won’t be recommending it as you’ll encounter plenty of other better water-type Pokemon during your adventure. Piplup has a weak defense as well so, fighting gym leaders with it can prove to be quite challenging for a new player.
How to Get the Best Nature for Starter Pokemon
To get the best nature for a starter, start off with playing the story mode and continue till you’re advised to choose a starter. Once done, disable the Autosave feature within the game and save the game manually before even selecting a starter Pokemon.
Verify your Pokemon’s stats and nature after fighting the wild Pidgeys (retry by pressing the home button on the Nintendo Switch) and press X to close the game to restart from your already saved file.
Nature Recommended for Each Starter
Nature is a feature in Pokemon BDSP that allows you to alter a Pokemon’s stats as it behaves according to the nature it’s assigned to. This feature has been a part of the Pokemon franchise for a while now and has made its way to Pokemon BDSP.
As mentioned before, as of now, there are three Pokemon recommended being your starter, namely: Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup.
With each started having its nature, it’s a bit confusing to select a particular one. Therefore, the best and the most recommended nature for Turtwig is Adamant, for Chimchar is Adamant and lastly, for Piplup is Modest.
Out of the many natures, there are a few that should remain as untouched as they decrease the Pokemon’s speed. Natures to avoid such as Brave, Relaxed, Quiet, and Sassy
Starter Pokemon Gym Leader Matchups
Turtwig
| Trainer | Matchup |
| Roark | Advantage |
| Gardenia | Neutral |
| Maylene | Neutral |
| Crasher Wake | Advantage |
| Fantina | Neutral |
| Byron | Advantage |
| Candice | Disadvantage |
| Cyrus | Neutral |
| Volkner | Advantage |
| Aaron | Disadvantage |
| Bertha | Neutral |
| Flint | Advantage |
| Lucian | Neutral |
| Cynthia | Strong against 3 Pokemon |
Chimchar
| Trainer | Matchup |
| Roark | Disadvantage |
| Gardenia | Advantage |
| Maylene | Neutral |
| Crasher Wake | Disadvantage |
| Fantina | Neutral |
| Byron | Advantage |
| Candice | Advantage |
| Cyrus | Neutral |
| Volkner | Neutral |
| Aaron | Advantage |
| Bertha | Disadvantage |
| Flint | Neutral |
| Lucian | Disadvantage |
| Cynthia | Strong against 2 Pokemon Weak against 3 Pokemon |
Piplup
| Trainer | Matchup |
| Roark | Advantage |
| Gardenia | Disadvantage |
| Maylene | Neutral |
| Crasher Wake | Neutral |
| Fantina | Neutral |
| Byron | Neutral |
| Candice | Advantage |
| Cyrus | Neutral |
| Volkner | Disadvantage |
| Aaron | Neutral |
| Bertha | Advantage |
| Flint | Advantage |
| Lucian | Neutral |
| Cynthia | Strong against None Weak against 4 Pokemon |
