Generation 8 gave players a choice of Grookey (Grass), Scorbunny (Fire) and Sobble (Water). On our early-game matchup score Scorbunny comes first, Sobble second and Grookey third.
Each starter below has its full evolution line with the level of every evolution. The score is explained near the end.
Scorbunny stays a Fire type through its whole line
!Scorbunny official artwork !Raboot official artwork !Cinderace official artwork
Scorbunny becomes Raboot at level 16 and Raboot becomes Cinderace at level 35.
Cinderace has 530 base stats in total. Its best stat is speed at 119.
Scorbunny's first damaging moves are Tackle at level 1 and Ember at level 6.
Sobble stays a Water type through its whole line
!Sobble official artwork !Drizzile official artwork !Inteleon official artwork
Sobble becomes Drizzile at level 16 and Drizzile becomes Inteleon at level 35.
Inteleon has 530 base stats in total. Its best stat is special attack at 125.
Sobble's first damaging moves are Pound at level 1 and Water Gun at level 6.
Grookey stays a Grass type through its whole line
!Grookey official artwork !Thwackey official artwork !Rillaboom official artwork
Grookey becomes Thwackey at level 16 and Thwackey becomes Rillaboom at level 35.
Rillaboom has 530 base stats in total. Its best stat is attack at 125.
Grookey's first damaging moves are Scratch at level 1 and Branch Poke at level 6.
How we ranked them
We gave each starter points for every Pokemon in the first three Gyms of each game, plus your rival's first battle where the game ties the rival's starter to yours. Games without Gyms use their first early fights instead. A starter gets one point when a damaging move it has learned by then is super effective on that Pokemon, and loses one point when all its moves are not very effective or have no effect. It gets one point when none of the opposing Pokemon's types is super effective on the starter, and loses one when one of them is. The type chart is the current one.
| Starter | Matchup score | Opposing Pokemon | Score per Pokemon | |---|---|---|---| | Scorbunny | 6 | 10 | 0.6 | | Sobble | 6 | 10 | 0.6 | | Grookey | 5 | 10 | 0.5 |
The totals add up the games that use these starters: Sword and Shield.
Where to get them
- Sword and Shield: which one to pick in Sword and Shield
Gen 8 starters FAQ
Which is the best Gen 8 starter?
Scorbunny. It has the highest matchup score of the three.
Which Gen 8 starter has the strongest final form?
Rillaboom has the highest base stat total at 530.
