Ranking All 151 Original Pokémon From Worst To Best

20. Squirtle

007 Squirtle
Nintendo

Well, here's the moment you've been waiting for - how would the starters all rank. Now, given that a lot of the previous high-placed entires have had their position settled by their in game strength and power, it's obviously anomalous to have any first-stage evolutions this prominent. But honestly, can you imagine the Pokémon franchise without Bulbsaur, Charmander and Squirtle?

Of course you can't. Lagging just behind You-Know-Chu, the three starters became the adorable front the Pokémon mass marketing juggernaut way back in the 90s. All of them still remain immediately recognisable to this day. Without them, it's unlikely the game would have enjoyed the same levels of success and their perfectly distinctive trinity became as much of a talking point as the games themselves.

19. Bulbasaur

001 Bulbasaur
Nintendo

But what about their order here? Well, it's long been acknowledged that Bulbasaur was (statically speaking) the least popular starter. As in, fewer players chose it than chose either of the other two. Maybe that's down to water and fire types just being cooler, or its rivals being featured more prominently on the box art. Either way, it's a slight injustice.

For a first-stage Pokémon, Bulbasaur was excellent, and had stats significantly tougher than its two counterparts. It's moveset was also excellent, incorporating Leech Seed and Poison Powder to compliment strong STAB-boosted attacking moves. Also look at that face man, adorable.

18. Charmander

004 Charmander
Nintendo

Which, of course, leaves us with Charmander. King amongst the starters. Why? Well it's not merely because it goes on to be one of the most iconic Pokémon in the entire franchise, but rather because it presents players a genuine challenge when playing. As mentioned previously, picking Bulbasaur gives the player type advantage at the first two gyms, picking Charmander has the opposite effect.

In a game predominantly aimed at kids, having an option to really test yourself as a trainer from the get-go is brilliant, and makes for a better overall experience. As the game goes on, your Charmander becomes critical precisely because you weren't over dependant on it early on. It also had a great character arc in the anime, so it's important whatever medium you chose.

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Managing Editor

WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine