Pokémon 5 Reasons To Choose Scorbunny & 5 Reasons Not To

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Pokémon 5 Reasons To Choose Scorbunny & 5 Reasons Not To

The starter Pokémon in Sword & Shield are all certainly unique. Here are 5 reasons you might want to choose Scorbunny (& 5 to stay away). Whenever a new generation of arrives, fans face a huge decision: which starter Pokémon do I bring along on my journey through this region? (unless you’ve just insta-picked the one you feel is the cutest, which is completely valid too). The starters of ’s Galar region but they’ve each (as always) attracted quite a fan following. Which is the best? That’s a matter of opinion. Today, we’re discussing Scorbunny in particular, and some reasons why you should (and shouldn’t) choose it as your companion. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

CHOOSE SCORBUNNY It ll Burn Through The First Gym

Oh, poor old Milo. It’s never easy to be the first Gym Leader in a Pokémon game, as you tend to be a bit of a pushover. The Grass master’s League Cards explain that he tends to take it easy on new trainers, which only makes him easier to defeat. If you’ve picked Scorbunny, though, you’ll have even less of an issue with him. Now that starter Pokémon are actually given STAB moves from the get-go, you can go right ahead and sweep through Milo with a powerful (well, for this point in the game) Fire move that’s guaranteed to ruin his day. That's not always a good thing, though, as we'll see later.

DON T CHOOSE SCORBUNNY It ll Make Sobble Even Sadder

When a new Pokémon generation has been announced and information is being steadily drip-fed to fans, the reveal of the starters (and their evolutions) is one of the biggest moments. One of them tends to become immediately meme-worthy, and this time around, that Pokémon was Sobble. Why does the adorable little soul look so sad? Where’s the Nintendo Switch peripheral that will allow us to reach right through our Switch screens and hug it? All the sad Sobble wants is to be loved, which was probably reason enough for many new Galar trainers to choose it over Scorbunny or Grookey.

CHOOSE SCORBUNNY Pyro Ball Is Very Very Strong

Galar’s starter Pokémon each have a signature STAB move, which they learn on evolving into their final forms. Rillaboom learns Drum Beating, a base 80 power Grass move that reduces the target’s Speed by one stage. Inteleon gets Snipe Shot, an equally strong special Water move that is more likely to crit and can’t be redirected by Follow Me or similar effects. As for Cinderace, it learns the formidable Pyro Ball. Other than a slim chance to burn, this move has no additional effects, but it boasts 120 base power (and 90% accuracy). Its PP is also lacking, but it’s a super-strong move that the player can indiscriminately fire off on a wide range of opponents.

DON T CHOOSE SCORBUNNY It s Yet Another Speedy Fire-Type Starter

So, yes. By and large, Cinderace is a simple Pokémon with simple tastes. It wants to fire off Pyro Balls and melt its opponents into sad, smoldering hunks, and that’s (almost) all. With its base 119 Speed, it’s quite the speedster too, making hitting hard and fast its ultimate goal. The trouble is, there’s nothing particularly interesting about that. This has been the case for most Fire-type starters (barring Incineroar, which isn’t remotely fast) over the years, meaning that Scorbunny may not be the most innovative pick. After all, it functions very similarly to Lopunny.

CHOOSE SCORBUNNY It Has A Surprising Amount Of Utility

Now, we can’t confirm whether there was any favoritism for Scorbunny over at Game Freak, but the energetic little critter certainly has a couple of advantages over its fellow Generation VIII starters. Not only is Pyro Ball that much more powerful than Snipe Shot or Drum Beating, but Cinderace is also the only member of the trio to learn a second signature move: Court Change. This intriguing status move flips the conditions on both sides of the battlefield (if your opponent has set up Reflect and Stealth Rock, for instance, the Reflect will come to your side of the field and the rocks will be set on theirs instead). As such, it’s an offensively-oriented Pokémon with a handy sideline in unique utility moves, which its fellows don’t really offer.

DON T CHOOSE SCORBUNNY Sobble Gets Super Super Serious Later

So, yes. It’s clear from Cinderace’s base stats that this Pokémon is supposed to be a speedy sweeper. As with just about every critter that fills this role, it’s got to be used carefully as it really can’t take a hit at all. With this in mind, it’s an unfortunate fact that Inteleon really beats it out in the glass cannon arena. The Water-type starter’s fully-evolved form boasts 125 base Special Attack to Cinderace’s 116 Attack, and 120 Speed to Cinderace’s 119. It’s both faster and more powerful, then.

CHOOSE SCORBUNNY Its Movepool Is A Little Better

Inteleon may have a little more power (in terms of raw stats) and just the teensiest bit more Speed, but that’s not all there is to the equation. In truth, all three of Galar’s starters suffer from the same drawback: they’re pure Fire, Water, and Grass Pokémon, meaning that the lack of a second STAB really affects their movepools. Cinderace’s Hidden Ability will be a tremendous boon in this area, as we’ll see a little later. For now, though, all you need to know is that the battling bunny also learns some very powerful moves like High Jump Kick and Gunk Shot, meaning it brings more to the table than Inteleon or Rillaboom in that area.

DON T CHOOSE SCORBUNNY Grookey Doesn t Have Much Competition As A Grass-Type

The other thing about a new roster of Pokémon is that you can never quite be sure which ones you’ll take into your heart and into your team. You might have a team of six all picked out before you start, but a Pokémon you never thought you’d like grows on you so much that you don’t want to part with it. Even for a casual run through the main game itself, a balanced party can be quite important. You don’t usually want to double up on types, really, and there are some interesting new Fire and Water Pokémon in Galar that you may well prefer to Scorbunny or Sobble. Arguably, though, the Grass-type roster is a little less varied and appealing than these two, meaning that Grookey is a fantastic starter pick.

CHOOSE SCORBUNNY It s Getting A Fantastic Hidden Ability

We don’t yet know when or how the Galar starters’ Hidden Abilities are going to be released, but we know what they’re going to be. The Sobble line will be given access to Sniper, which further boosts the damage multiplier of critical hits. The Grookey line is getting Grassy Surge, which sets Grassy Terrain when the Pokémon enters battle. Both of these are fitting, but they’re also very uninspired. The Scorbunny family, however, gets Libero. This Ability will work identically to Protean, effectively giving Cinderace STAB on every attack. Couple this with the very high base power moves in its arsenal, and

DON T CHOOSE SCORBUNNY It s Potentially Overpowered

Here's the flipside to our very first point. The Pokémon series attracts legions of new fans with each new entry. For some, the Switch will be their very first games console, and Sword and Shield their very first Pokémon game. Despite this, it’s also true that a significant portion of the fanbase are old hands who have been playing for years. For these veterans, Scorbunny may not be the way to go. There’s a case to be made for it making the game too easy (and Pokémon is hardly the most difficult series around to begin with). With the power of its signature move, its advantage over the first gym and its dominance of the Pokémon on Hop’s team (and even Chairman Rose’s later, which consists of Steel types), it’s tough to question that Scorbunny and its evolution line can give you an easy ride through the game. For many players, this is a huge downside.