Every Fire Type Pokemon Starter Ranked

Every new generation of "Pokémon" comes with its own set of starters, typically including Fire, Water, and Grass types. These three Pokémon provide players with the options on how to build their team, and also determines what sort of Pokémon their rival will pick. And for some gamers, there's a certain kind of Pokémon that calls to them each and every game: Fire type.

Even though it's sometimes difficult to pinpoint the best starter in each generation, Fire types offer a number of advantages. Grass types are almost always weak to Fire, as are Bug types. Additionally, Fire types are strong against Steel and Ice types, which makes sense logically – fire heats metal and melts ice, after all. Perhaps more importantly, players think that Fire types look cool. In a poll on Reddit asking players to select Water or Fire types, one gamer pointed out that Fire types overall tend to have more desirable moves, are more powerful, and look the most exciting. Water types may get to learn moves like Surf, but they'll never be able to shoot a beam of fire and burn through their opponents.

For those looking to pick the best Fire type starter Pokémon of all time, look no further. Here's every Fire starter, ranked from worst to best.

Depending on how players feel about monkeys, Chimchar might be hit or miss. That said, many have other, more legitimate reasons for disliking the apish Fire Pokémon. Chimchar has four main weaknesses – Ground, Water, Flying, and Psychic type moves – and doesn't make up for this fact with more desirable traits. Chimchar's stats are fine, but they don't stand out against many of the other Fire starters.

The biggest problem with the hot-blooded monkey? Well, according to a number of commenters online, it all comes down to the Pokémon's design. Gamers all around the internet have bemoaned Chimchar's aesthetics when compared to cuter starters. On Reddit, one commenter wrote, "I just don't like simian Pokémon ... I think they're all pretty ugly, but Chimchar & its evolution line are the worst offenders." Another Redditor argued that while Chimchar might look adorable in its infancy, it soon grows into Infernape, which is terrifying to behold (and arguably, not in a good way). 

Because so many gamers are divided over Chimchar's cuteness factor, and because its stats don't seem markedly different than any other Fire/Fighting type, Chimchar ranks relatively low on the list.

Make no mistake: Tepig is incredibly adorable. There's something so charming about the little pig's curly tail and round body. However, it's certainly not the best Fire starter, as it comes from what some Redditors deem a particularly bad set of starting options in the Unova region. Being the best of three weak options doesn't count for much, though, and for all its cuteness, Tepig just can't rank any higher than in the middle.

Some players remember Tepig as the only time they've ever felt betrayed by a Fire starter. Tepig has all of the same weaknesses as Chimchar, but it's tankier, boasting a high HP from the beginning. Tepig is heartier than fellow starters Snivy and Oshawott, boasting more HP than its cohorts, but it's ultimately not as useful or aesthetically pleasing as some of the other Fire starters throughout "Pokémon" history. Because so many of its base stat points are dedicated to HP, Tepig's other categories, including attack levels and defense stats, are middling. And even though Snivy and Oshawott have the same number of base stat points as Tepig, they're distributed in a more balanced way.  

Some gamers simply felt disappointed that Tepig evolves into – like so many Fire starters – a Fire/Fighting type. The frequency of Fire/Fighting types has led some gamers to feel that the combination is played out or predictable, and they hope for something more inventive with each new generation.

A first glance at Torchic might not inspire visions of greatness or overtaking the Elite Four. However, Torchic is not a Fire starter to be messed with. First introduced in the third generation of "Pokémon," Torchic is a solid choice for an aspiring Pokémon Trainer's roster. The tiny bird's base stats scream power. It has a base attack of 60 and a Special attack of 70, making it a heavy offensive hitter right from the start. Although Torchic is slightly less skilled at defense, it's not too shabby in any one area.

Redditors have long complimented Torchic's cute appearance, specifically noting its round, soulful eyes and tiny wings. Looks surely aren't everything when it comes to the best Fire starter, of course, but they do account for something. Torchic also eventually evolves into a Fire/Fighting type, but it's important to note that this was the series' first Fire/Fighting type starter evolution. When Torchic arrived in the third generation of games, before wave after wave of starters had seared themselves into gamers' brains, the Fire/Fighting combination felt new, and Torchic seemed like the right bird to evolve into a kung fu master. Blaziken doesn't resemble the humble orange chick it evolves from, but the spark of its potential is evident in the small bird from the beginning of the game.

Litten starts off as an adorable kitten, but it soon enough it evolves into a terrifying anthropomorphic professional wrestler/fire cat. If that sounds wild, it might be surprising to learn that Litten's evolution, Incineroar, is actually known to a wider audience of gamers because of its status as a playable character in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate." But before that, every Incineroar was once a Litten. Introduced in the seventh generation of "Pokémon," "Sun" and "Moon," Litten is a small Fire type cat that looks strikingly similar to an ordinary kitten.

Of its generation, Litten is easily the most powerful starter early on. It's pretty fast, with a Speed of 70, and it packs a punch with its 65 Attack stat. And as mentioned previously, it eventually evolve into a real powerhouse Pokémon. That said, Litten's evolutionary line doesn't end up at the expected Fire/Fighting type. Instead, despite Incineroar's athletic tendencies, it remains purely Fire.

Even more interesting are the little details baked into Litten's Pokédex entires. The "Sun" entry reveals, for example, that Litten shoots out its fire projectiles in the form of hairballs — a great example of art imitating life.