Pokémon Sun and Moon Rowlet, Litten, Popplio starters - what starter is best and what should you choose?

Perhaps the most important choice in any new Pokémon game - aside from which version you choose initially, of course - is what your starter Pokémon in Pokémon Sun and Moon should be.

As is tradition, Pokémon Sun and Moon starters Rowlet, Litten and Popplio offer a choice between Grass, Fire and Water types, and you can only pick one - the only way to get the others is to trade with friends.

It's a big decision, then, and there's no wrong answer - so here's what you need to know about all three starters, their evolutions and moves to help you make an informed decision.

Here are the Starter Pokémon for Pokémon Sun/Moon

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Rowlet, Litten and Popplio - which is the best starter in Pokémon Sun and Moon starter?

Whilst base stats are of course important, with your start Pokémon their strength will generally come from typing and movesets far more than it will raw power - they rarely see use on the competitive scene, but competition-grade Pokémon simply aren't necessary for a main quest playthrough.

As has been true right back to the days of Red and Blue, certain starters will give you an easier or more challenging time than others. Which you choose, if you're thinking purely in terms of utility rather than cuteness factor (of course that's crucial too) is most important in light of who you'll be battling first.

Your first trials are against Normal and Water-types, which would make Rowlet your best bet. Likewise, there are actually a pretty huge number of Bug-type Pokémon, and Bug / Water-type Pokémon, on the Alolan Islands, which means Rowlet again, thanks to it's Flying-type attacks, the strongest choice in the early game. Litten, with high speed and super-effective attacks agains Bugs, is your next-easiest bet, whilst Popplio, who's fairly weak across the board, will be the most challenging option.

In the late game, Popplio's full evolution, Primarina, will have an easier time against some of the more frequent Poison-type Pokémon which appear, but Bug is again the most prevailant type, particularly in battles against Team Skull, and so again both Primarina and the Fire / Dark-type Litten evolution, Inceneroar, will struggle.

As said, starters are rarely competitive-grade, so you don't be passing over a creature you'll regret later. So while each one has pros and cons based on their strength at certain points during the game, the choice is ultimately one of personal preference. Take a scroll through the below stats of their evolutions to help you decide how each one could fit into your ideal party.

Starter base stats:

Fully evolved base stats:

Starter Rowlet, and Dartix and Decidueye stats in Pokémon Sun and Moon

Evolutions:
Rowlet (starts at level 5)
Dartix (evolves at level 17)
Decidueye (evolves at level 34)

Types:
Rowlet - Grass / Flying
Dartrix - Grass / Flying
Decidueye - Grass / Ghost

Decidueye Weaknesses:
Fire
Flying
Ghost
Ice
Dark

Rowlet, Dartrix and Decidueye move list

Some notes on the below list - any Pokémon with a cross means they cannot learn that move, an E means it'll learn it upon evolving, and a dash means it can only be learnt by visiting a Pokémon Move Reminder. Meanwhile, the Z-Effect is the strength of that Type's Z-Move.

Starter Litten, and Torracat and Incineroar stats in Pokémon Sun and Moon

Evolutions:
Litten (starts at level 5)
Torracat (evolves at level 17)
Incineroar (evolves at level 34)

Types:
Litten - Fire
Torracat - Fire
Incineroar - Fire / Dark

Incineroar Weaknesses:
Fight
Ground
Rock

Litten, Torracat and Incineroar move list

Some notes on the below list - any Pokémon with a cross means they cannot learn that move, an E means it'll learn it upon evolving, and a dash means it can only be learnt by visiting a Pokémon Move Reminder. Meanwhile, the Z-Effect is the strength of that Type's Z-Move.

Starter Popplio, and Popplio, Brionne and Primarina stats in Pokémon Sun and Moon

Evolutions:
Popplio (starting level 5)
Brionne (evolves at level 17)
Primarina (evolves at level 34)

Types:
Popplio - Water
Brionne - Water
Primarina - Water Fairy

Primarina Weaknesses:
Electric
Grass
Poison

Need more tips? Use our Pokémon Sun and Moon Walkthrough and guide for the main story, our competitive training guide for info on IVs, EV training, Hyper Training and bottle cap farming, and breeding explained, our choice of the best Pokémon Sun and Moon starter from Rowlet, Litten and Popplio, as well as an in-progress list of where to find Zygarde Cells and Cores and our guide to the Battle Tree and both Battling and Trading in the Festival Plaza. We also have a list of QR codes list, Z Crystal locations, Mega Stone locations, Eevium Z Eevee User locations for Extreme Evoboost, evolutions for Alolan Forms and other new Sun and Moon Pokémon and fast way to increase a Pokémon's Happiness, plus how to transfer across Ash-Greninja from the Sun and Moon Demo, where to catch the Tapu Guardians, how to catch the Ultra Beasts, and how to download the Munchlax Mystery Gift.

Popplio, Brionne and Primarina move list

Some notes on the below list - any Pokémon with a cross means they cannot learn that move, an E means it'll learn it upon evolving, and a dash means it can only be learnt by visiting a Pokémon Move Reminder. Meanwhile, the Z-Effect is the strength of that Type's Z-Move.