Pokémon The 15 Starters With The Best Base HP Ranked

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Pokémon The 15 Starters With The Best Base HP Ranked

The starter Pokémon are all meant to be pretty even but some of them have better base HP stats than others! As the old saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. The thing is, this just isn't the case in some situations, because it can really give the wrong impression. Take battles, for instance. Newer players often find themselves stuck in the mindset of simply going for all-out power. Filling a team with just and strongest moves won’t cut it if you don’t have anything that can take a hit in return. Walls, tanks, and more supportive Pokémon with are also crucial elements in a team. To illustrate the importance of the more ‘passive’ stats, let’s take a look at the highest base HP stats among all the starter Pokémon. Update by Chris Littlechild, October 25th 2020: Fans will always debate and compare the merits of their favorite Pokémon. This is even more important in the case of starter Pokémon, the first critters fans often see from a new Generation and immediately become attached to (or not, in some cases). Which are the best starters? That's a very loaded question. One objective way of comparing them, however, is in terms of base stats. As everybody has their favorites and many starters weren't originally represented in this article, its scope has now been expanded to include five more, along with a few details from 's now-complete expansion pass, consisting of The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. Here are the 15 fully-evolved starter Pokémon with the highest base HP stats, in ascending order. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

Greninja Base 72 HP

The first fully-evolved starter Pokémon to make this list is one of the deadliest Water-type starters ever introduced to the game. Armed with Greninja can fire off moves with tremendous base power (such as Gunk Shot) and a STAB bonus to boot. Needless to say, Greninja is far better known for its offensive prowess (and blistering base 122 Speed) than for its defenses, which are very low overall. As a glass cannon, its HP is modest at best, but it still beats out other starters like Inteleon (which has 70 base HP to its name).

Delphox And Serperior Base 75 HP

A small step up from Greninja HP-wise, Generation VI’s Delphox and Generation V’s Serperior both have 75 base HP. Outside of this, however, their stats and roles tend to be very different. Delphox is very lacking on the physical side, unable to deal or take much physical damage with Attack and Defense base stats of 69 and 72 respectively. 114 Special Attack and 100 Special Defense, combined with 104 base Speed, let it take and deal respectable special damage. Meanwhile, Serperior is more inclined towards Speed () and taking any type of hit relatively well, though its offenses are very lacking outside of Contrary Leaf Storm boosts.

Infernape Base 76 HP

Topping Delphox and Serperior by a meager one base stat point, it’s another Fire-type starter: Infernape. In the grand scheme of things, base 76 is still on the below-average end of the base stat scale, but this is really no surprise when it comes to Infernape. This fully evolved start is known for three main traits: its mixed offensive prowess, its versatile movepool, and its frailty. With everything from priority to strong physical and special STAB and a lot of utility options (it made a great lead back in the day), Infernape has equal offensive stats, very nice Speed, and the move options to make use of all these traits.

Charizard Decidueye And Typhlosion Base 78 HP

Two more Fire starters and a Grass-type make up the next entry, with Charizard, Decidueye, and Typhlosion all boasting base 78 HP. This is still very much in ‘average for an offensive Pokémon’ territory, which suits this trio nicely. While they may lack the typical Speed of a glass cannon, these Pokémon have a bit more bulk to them. Typhlosion tends to specialize in Choice Scarf Eruptions, while Charizard and Decidueye ( being the faster of the two) have a little more versatility when it comes to sets, both being quite potent with physical and special damage.

Blastoise Base 79 HP

Many Pokémon fans may be surprised that Blastoise, being the tanky threat it is, has only one base HP point more than fellow Generation I starter Charizard. While it’s more than capable of solid utility/defensive sets, Blastoise has a greater variety of options now. As of Pokémon Sword & Shield and its Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra DLC packs, Blastoise has access to a Gigantamax form and the deadly setup move Shell Smash, both of which are huge boons for more offensive Blastoise sets. It has the solid defensive stats (base 100 Defense and base 105 Special Defense) to shore up its slightly limited HP, too.

Blaziken Cinderace Meganium Primarina And Venusaur Base 80 HP

When it comes to individual base stats in Pokémon, the 80-100 range tends to be seen as totally average. Usable, workable, but far from the best around. As a result, lots of base stats from across the board are in this sort of range. It’s probably not that surprising, then, to see a five-way tie for the bottom spot on our list. At least one fully-evolved has a base HP of 80, though they’re all very different depending on how the rest of their stats are distributed.

Empoleon Base 84 HP

Generation IV’s just managed to break out of the base 80 HP society. The Water/Steel Empoleon is a sold pick all around, boasting stats that tend to favor a special tank. It has a whopping 10 resistances and only three weaknesses, meaning it can switch in on all sorts of threats with its decent HP and defensive. Whether it’s built as more of a tank or an offensive threat, Empoleon has a lot of potential.

Feraligatr Base 85 HP

Just besting its fellow Water-type starter by a single base stat point, Feraligatr is next up. Though it has more HP than Empoleon by the narrowest of squeaks, it doesn’t tend to take a tanky role at all. It can certainly take physical hits (base 100 Defense is solid too), but an aggressive role is much more Feraligatr’s style. It doesn’t take any damage from a Life Orb, thanks to its Sheer Force Ability, and is usually seen getting off a Dragon Dance or two before chewing its opponents into a sad, squishy mess. When it gets the chance, of course.

Chesnaught Base 88 HP

Now, nobody would expect an alligator and a freakish, angry, 5’03” anthropomorphic chestnut to have much in common, but here's Chesnaught nonetheless. The world of Pokémon is an interesting place, isn’t it? Pokémon X and Y’s Chespin grows into quite the physical tank. It has very similar stats to Feraligatr, exchanging a little damage for a bit more HP and Defense. It’s not able to really boost up and sweep in the same way, but Chesnaught can potentially put that HP to much better use. Its secondary Fighting typing makes it a little more unique too.

Torterra Base 95 HP

Next up, we have another three-way tie, beginning with a Grass-type starter that’s often completely forgotten. Poor old adorable Turtwig just doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves, and seems to become steadily more underrated as it evolves. Its final form, Torterra, is yet another Pokémon inclined towards the physically tanky side. with base 109 Attack and base 105 Defense, it’s not the sturdiest Pokémon around, but it has reliable recovery and can hang around like a musty smell if it wants to. Its Grass/Ground typing is still exclusive to it, though it does make one heck of a problem.

Samurott Base 95 HP

One generation after Turtwig, Oshawott arrived on the scene. It, too, would evolve into an underrated Pokémon with 95 base HP and all-around solid stats: the Water-type Samurott. Where Torterra leans more towards the tanky side of things, Samurott is more of a mixed attacker that doesn’t offer very much in the way of survivability. It has priority and some nice Water STAB moves to hit on both sides of the spectrum, but it has awkward low Speed and very little in the way of coverage.

Incineroar Base 95 HP

Well, we’ve had a Grass and Water starter with base 95 HP. Why not throw in a Fire one to complete the trio? Watch out, it’s the fierce and furious feline Incineroar. Needless to say, Litten was a fan favorite from the moment it was announced, and many wondered which direction its final evolution would take. Incineroar’s design was a but of a u-turn from that of Litten and Torracat (actually losing base Speed as it hit its final form, which no starter has done before), but it fits nicely with the whole heel wrestler motif and its Dark typing. Incineroar can take a hit or two and strike back super hard, as anyone who’s been crushed into sad hunks of spam by it in will tell you.

Swampert Base 100HP

The first Pokémon on our list to break 100 base HP, Swampert (or rather, Mudkip) is one of the most popular and meme-worthy starter Pokémon the series has ever seen. Not only that, but it’s proved its worth as a viable pick too. Swampert has nice defenses and a more than worthy Attack stat, making it (yep, you guessed it) a top tank. Its excellent typing is its main asset in that respect, leaving it weak to only Grass. Offensive sets are a possibility too (though the seeming demise of was a big blow in that respect).

Rillaboom Base 100 HP

In a way, you could say that Rillaboom is the Grass type’s answer to Incineroar. It’s a big, bold, brash physical attacker with somewhat lacking Speed but all the chutzpah it needs to make up for that. Grookey looked harmless enough, but on evolving for the second time, it unleashed its inner and changed all the rules. It suffers from a lack of coverage (being pure Grass), but it’s not a Pokemon to underestimate.

Emboar Base 110 HP

Finally, it's the starter Pokémon with the most HP to date: Generation V’s Emboar. Judging by this porcine pugilist’s hefty body, you’d probably guess at a glance that it would be quite resilient, but that’s not exactly the case here. The issue with Emboar is that it has very low defenses, and the HP just doesn’t go far enough to compensate for that. Especially considering the fact that Emboar has a tendency to rip through its own HP using super-powerful recoil moves like the Flare Blitz and Rock-type move Head Smash.