SoulGold starters: which of the 9 to pick for Normal and Hard

The nine starters at a glance

Take Cyndaquil if you’re on Hard. Take Torchic if you’re on Normal and want to have fun. I’ve done both, and I’d still start with Cyndaquil.

Elm’s case has nine starters, all level 5: the three Johto starters, the three Kalos starters, and Sprigatito, Torchic and Popplio. All nine get a Mega through the Bondstone, so what really matters is the first seven gyms.

Starter	Final form	Final types	Evolves at	Abilities (regular / hidden)	Mega
Chikorita	Meganium	Grass	16 / 32	Overgrow / Leaf Guard	Grass/Fairy, Mega Sol
Cyndaquil	Typhlosion	Fire	14 / 36	Blaze / Flash Fire	Fire/Ground, Drought (new)
Totodile	Feraligatr	Water	18 / 30	Torrent / Sheer Force	Water/Dragon, Dragonize
Chespin	Chesnaught	Grass/Fighting	16 / 36	Overgrow / Bulletproof	Grass/Fighting, Bulletproof
Fennekin	Delphox	Fire/Psychic	16 / 36	Blaze / Magician	Fire/Psychic, Levitate
Froakie	Greninja	Water/Dark	16 / 36	Torrent / Protean	Water/Dark, Protean
Sprigatito	Meowscarada	Grass/Dark	16 / 36	Overgrow / Protean	Grass/Dark, Protean (new)
Torchic	Blaziken	Fire/Fighting	16 / 36	Blaze / Speed Boost	Fire/Fighting, Speed Boost
Popplio	Primarina	Water/Fairy	17 / 34	Torrent / Liquid Voice	Water/Fairy, Valkyrie (new)

Two things change the math compared to vanilla Johto:

• Level caps are strict. 12 for Falkner, 19 for Bugsy, 26 for Whitney. Nobody hits their middle stage before Falkner, and Totodile is the only one still unevolved at Bugsy.
• Hard gyms are doubles with bigger, better teams. A starter that hits two targets or survives two attackers beats one that wins one-on-one.

Shiny hunting? Save in front of the case before you open it. A shiny starter has a gold ball in the case and shows its shiny sprite when you hover it. I reset for one longer than I’ll say.

What the first three gyms ask of your starter

Falkner

Normal is Pidgey 11, Gligar 11 and Pidgeotto 12 with an Oran Berry. Hard is Rufflet (Hustle, Tailwind, Helping Hand), Noibat, Gligar and Pidgeotto, all at 12 or 13.

Nobody is evolved at cap 12, so it’s all typing. The Grass starters and Chespin take double from Flying. The Water starters hit Gligar for double. The Fire starters are neutral into everything.

I lost to Hard Falkner once with Cyndaquil leading alone. Putting a Route 46 Geodude with Rock Throw next to it fixed the fight.

Bugsy

Fire pulls ahead here. Normal is Scyther 20, Whirlipede 19 and Cutiefly 19. Hard is Scizor 20, Beedrill 20, Pinsir 20 and a Flame Body Larvesta 20.

Scizor takes four times from Fire and resists Grass. Pinsir and Beedrill take double from Fire and Flying. Quilava (evolves at 14) and Combusken (16) are already evolved under the cap of 19.

If you took Chikorita, Chespin or Sprigatito, win this one with catches, not your starter. Quilava made this the easiest badge of my run.

Whitney

Normal is Audino 25 (Regenerator), Girafarig 26 and Miltank 27 with Rollout, Attract, Stomp and Heal Bell. Hard is all level 27:

• Maushold with Friend Guard and Tidy Up
• Audino with Reflect and Light Screen
• Cinccino with Skill Link Tail Slap and Helping Hand
• Scrappy Miltank with a Rocky Helmet, Body Slam and Milk Drink

Fighting is the only thing that’s super effective, and Combusken is the only starter that has it by cap 26. Chesnaught doesn’t show up until 36. Everyone else, catch a Fighting partner. I didn’t the first time and Miltank rolled right over me. Makuhita is 30% on Route 34 and Machop is 30% on Route 33.

My ranking for Hard

1. Cyndaquil. Fire hits three of Bugsy’s four Hard Pokémon, four of Jasmine’s five (Steelix is neutral) and five of Pryce’s six (Thick Fat Mamoswine is the exception) for double. Typhlosion at 36 has 109 Special Attack and 100 Speed and learns Mud Shot and Earth Power. Mega Typhlosion is Fire/Ground with Drought, 149 Special Attack and 120 Speed. Clair is its bad fight, because Kingdra in the rain and Mega Gyarados both hit it for double. Bring a Fairy or Electric type to Blackthorn.
2. Torchic. Combusken at 16 gives you Fighting for Whitney and Fire for Bugsy, Jasmine and Pryce. Blaziken at 36 and Mega Blaziken (Speed Boost, 160 Attack) close the game out well. It’s second because it’s frailer than Typhlosion (70 and 70 defenses), and Hard doubles punish anything that can’t take two hits.
3. Froakie. Frogadier at 16 and Greninja at 36 are the fastest line in the case. Water/Dark covers Falkner’s Gligar, Morty’s whole Hard team and Will’s Psychic room. Protean is its hidden ability, so you need an Ability Patch or Capsule, but Torrent Greninja is still fine. Its 72/67/71 bulk folds to Tinkaton’s Gigaton Hammer and Mienshao’s Knock Off.
4. Totodile. Feraligatr at 30 is the earliest final evolution and the bulkiest Water type here (85/105/100). It learns Fishious Rend, has Sheer Force as its hidden ability, and Mega Feraligatr is Water/Dragon with 160 Attack. It handles Falkner, Jasmine’s Steelix and Chuck. It has nothing for Bugsy’s Scizor or Whitney, and Water/Dragon hurts you against Clair.
5. Popplio. Primarina is the best late-game starter on Hard. Water/Fairy with 126 Special Attack and 116 Special Defense is exactly what Clair, Bruno’s Kommo-o and Lance’s five Dragons don’t want to see. The catch is the start. Popplio does little for three badges, and Primarina doesn’t show up until 34, past Morty’s cap. Pick it if you can live with that.
6. Fennekin. Delphox at 36 gives you Fire for the Steel and Ice gyms, plus Psychic for Chuck, Koga and Bruno. Mega Delphox gets Levitate and 159 Special Attack. It’s mid-pack because Braixen spends badges two to four as a plain Fire type with 59 HP, and Typhlosion does the same job faster.
7. Chespin. Quilladin at 16 is a decent wall, and Grass/Fighting is right for Whitney, Karen and Lance’s Archaludon. But Chesnaught is four times weak to Flying, the line struggles with Falkner and Bugsy, and Mega Chesnaught trades its Speed (44) for 172 Defense. That’s a Trick Room ‘mon in a game where only Will uses Trick Room.
8. Sprigatito. Floragato is plain Grass until 36, so it’s weak to Falkner, Bugsy and Pryce and does nothing for Whitney. Meowscarada (Grass/Dark, 123 Speed) and Mega Meowscarada (140 Attack, 140 Speed, Protean) are strong once you have them. Until then it’s along for the ride for four badges.
9. Chikorita. Meganium is a mono-Grass tank that doesn’t win any fight outright before Clair. You pick it for Mega Meganium, a Grass/Fairy form with 143 Special Attack and the Mega Sol ability. That’s a real Lance answer, and Grassy Surge unlocks as an innate at 75 for the postgame. On Hard it’s the hardest road. I’d only pick it on a second run.

My ranking for a relaxed Normal run

On Normal the gyms are singles with smaller teams. Pick whichever one you’ll enjoy. My Normal run with Torchic was the most fun I had in this game.

Rank	Starter	Why
1	Torchic	Combusken at 16 solos Normal Whitney, and Blaziken’s Fire/Fighting is super effective on something in five of the eight gyms.
2	Cyndaquil	Same reasons as Hard, with less need for the Mega.
3	Totodile	Evolves earliest and is bulky; Silver’s own Feraligatr runs Crunch, Ice Punch, Liquidation and Aqua Jet, which is a fair template.
4	Froakie	Fast and fun; Normal’s smaller teams forgive its bulk.
5	Fennekin	Two useful attacking types by 36.
6	Popplio	Great from Chuck onward; Normal makes the early slog shorter.
7	Sprigatito	Fine once Meowscarada exists at 36.
8	Chespin	Playable on Normal, Falkner still hurts.
9	Chikorita	Only if you want the Mega Meganium payoff for the Elite Four.

The three new Megas and when you get them

1. Get your seventh badge. That kicks off the Team Rocket takeover of Goldenrod.
2. Clear the takeover. Oak gives you the Mega Ring.
3. Get your eighth badge. Elm gives you the Bondstone later in the story.

That gets your starter’s Mega online for the Elite Four run-up and the League. Silver’s Victory Road team has a Bondstone too.

Mega	Types	HP/Atk/Def/SpA/SpD/Spe	Ability
Mega Typhlosion	Fire/Ground	78/94/98/149/95/120	Drought
Mega Meowscarada	Grass/Dark	76/140/93/91/90/140	Protean
Mega Primarina	Water/Fairy	80/74/134/124/128/90	Valkyrie

• Mega Typhlosion: Drought powers up its own Fire moves. In doubles, pair it with a Flash Fire Houndoom.
• Mega Meowscarada: keeps Protean, so every move it uses gets STAB.
• Mega Primarina: loses 2 Special Attack but gains 60 Defense, 12 Special Defense and 30 Speed. Valkyrie gives it Steel’s resistances and a Poison immunity without Steel’s weaknesses. Mold Breaker ignores it.

The rest of the stone system, including where every stone is, is in the Mega Evolution guide.

Which starter does Silver take?

Silver takes the Johto starter that beats your starter’s type. Only the type matters, not the region.

You pick	Silver takes
Chespin, Chikorita or Sprigatito (Grass)	Cyndaquil
Fennekin, Cyndaquil or Torchic (Fire)	Totodile
Froakie, Totodile or Popplio (Water)	Chikorita

He never uses a Kalos, Paldea or Hoenn starter.

His team grows like this:

1. Cherrygrove: just his level 5 starter.
2. Azalea (around 20): adds Haunter, Pawniard and Pidgeotto.
3. Burned Tower (around 31): Staravia plus one more based on his starter. Clodsire with Quilava, Lampent and Floatzel with Bayleef, Weepinbell with Croconaw.
4. Goldenrod Underground (48 to 51): five Pokémon. Hard adds a Focus Sash Gengar and a Choice Specs Typhlosion.
5. Victory Road (65 to 67): a full six. His starter holds the Bondstone, and the sixth is Haxorus, Eelektross or Armarouge.

Every Silver team and gym leader team is in the gym leader reference. The team I built around Cyndaquil is in the Hard mode team guide.