Why Pokémon Starters Are Always Only Three Choices

One of the biggest decisions Pokémon fans have to make is which Starter Pokémon to choose. Whether it’s in Red and Blue, or Sword and Shield, a player’s Starter Pokémon choice is crucial to the game’s experience, and often times determines the difficulty.

With 18 types in the Pokémon franchise, it’s interesting to wonder why there are only three choices when players start out on their Pokémon adventures. Game Freak carefully selected the Grass, Water and Fire-type Starter Pokémon for very specific reasons that even the most-seasoned Pokémon player may not know.

After 25 years, why isn’t there a fourth Starter Pokémon choice? Why do the Starter Pokémon have to always be Grass, Fire, and Water-type? The reasons for this have to do with a particular three-sided geometrical shape.

The Three Starter Pokémon Choices, Explained

Starter Pokémon choices are a result of game balance and nothing to do with the in-game universe of Pokémon. Looking back at the original Pokémon games released in Japan, Green and Red, the Starter Pokémon choices were the Grass-type Bulbasaur, the Fire-type Charmander, and the Water-type Squirtle. Back in 1996, there was a very specific reason for the type selections and it’s because Fire, Water and Grass are what the Pokémon Community calls a “perfect triangle.” Seasoned Pokémon fans know that Fire-type attacks are good against Grass types, Water is good against Fire, and Grass is super effective against Water.

However, the inverse is true as well. Grass types resist Water-type attacks, Fire types resist Grass-type attacks, and Water types resist Fire-type attacks. This perfect triangle not only teaches the most basic type matchups to new trainers but also instructs players how super effective and not effective moves work in-game.

Why Pokémon Probably Won’t Add A 4th Starter Choice

So why not add a fourth Pokémon starter type to the choices? Adding a fourth type to the Starter Pokémon selection would just muddy the dynamic between the choices, and there isn’t a “perfect square” type match up the way the types are currently presented. Game Freak is going for simplicity, especially considering the franchise is aimed toward a younger audience.

The three Starter Pokémon type choices also inform trainers on the relationship between Grass, Fire and Water-type Pokémon and other types through the first game’s Gym Leader choices. Pewter City Gym Leader Brock uses Rock-type Pokémon, a type that trainers would not have encountered that early in the Kanto region games. Trainers quickly learn that their Starter Pokémon choice will make the early portions of the game easier or harder.

Selecting Charmander, for instance, will make the first parts of the game very difficult. Fire-type Pokémon are weak to Brock’s Rock types and Misty’s Water types, and Charmander’s Fire-type moves are resisted by both. Squirtle’s Water-type attacks can help players with Brock, but won’t help much with Misty’s Water types. Bulbasaur’s Grass-type attacks will help take down Brock and Misty relatively easily. Why doesn’t Game Freak change the Starter Pokémon types? The only other perfect triangle is the matchup between Flying, Fighting and Rock-type Pokémon.

In Pokémon Green and Red, the above three types had significance in the story. Rock types were used for Brock’s Gym to help elaborate on the type matchups for the Starters. If they changed one of the Starters to a Rock-type, the first Gym would have to be changed as well. The Fighting-type was a very rare type in the Kanto region games and added to the story of Saffron City. The Fighting Dojo of Saffron City was the original Gym and specialized in Fighting types. Once Sabrina and her Psychic types moved in they took over and became the new Gym. Again, this teaches trainers how that particular type matchup works before they go on to challenge Sabrina.

Flying-type Pokémon, early on, were not utilized the way they would be in later generations. The Flying-type was often just a secondary typing for some of the stronger Pokémon of the region like Dragonite and Gyarados, and there were plenty of early-game options for Flying types like Pidgey and Spearow in Gen 1. For more than two decades Pokémon has continued to use Gen 1 as the foundation for its game mechanics, and its Starter Pokémon choices worked then and continue to work today because they offer both simplicity and balance.

About The Author

Phillip Martinez
(29 Articles Published)

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Phillip is a Game Features editor/writer for Screen Rant. His past lives include writing gaming and culture news for Newsweek, IBT and Player.One. A Bronx native, Phillip graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from St. John’s University. He’s an avid Nintendo fan and wrestling mark who is always looking to become a Pokémon Master while fantasy booking this year’s WrestleMania.

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