Starter Type Poll 3: Dragon

[Greninja The Mario Karter]

If you haven't seen my post involving choosing a starter for every type, I would like to refresh you with some criteria I made, and the first criterion is mandatory. Here is the mandatory criterion. I'll be doing each of the eighteen types in poll form to see what everyone thinks.

• The Pokemon in question has to evolve twice (meaning it has to have a three stage evolutionary line), and it has to maintain its specified type throughout its entire line.

Here are the general targets that I hope to aim for.

1. I want Pokemon to get within or as close to starter base stat total ranges as possible. The ranges are 307-320 for base forms, 405-420 for middle forms, and 525-535 for final forms.
2. The Pokemon should ideally evolve via level up all the way through, and even more ideal, its first evolution should occur in the teens (level 10-19) while its second evolution should occur in the thirties (level 30 to 39). I will allow for non-level up evolutions, but I will try to avoid trade evolutions whenever possible.
3. I want to pick the Pokemon that looks and feels the most like a starter to me. I will allow for dual typed base forms if necessary, but I would prefer to avoid them if possible.

Going in alphabetical order, third is Dragon. There are ten options in this poll, but the problem is that most of them are Pseudo-Legends, which tends to mean bad evolution levels and final forms that are way stronger than regular starters.

If you want to see my doc on this ordeal, click this link here.

Picking a Starter for Every Type Using Existing Pokemon

Picking a Starter for Every Type Using Existing Pokemon Criteria for Starter Pokemon Mandatory Criterion The Pokemon must evolve twice, meaning it has to have a three stage evolutionary line, and it must maintain its specified type throughout its entire line. General Targets I want Pokemon to get...

docs.google.com

 

[Greninja The Mario Karter]

I have narrowed it down to three Pseudos (Bagon, Gible, and Jangmo-o) and one Semi-Pseudo (Axew).

Axew is a pretty solid starter fit because its base stat totals are great. Axew (320) and Fraxure (410) are both within the range for base and middle forms, and Haxorus (540) is only five points above the range for final forms. It's absolutely perfect... until you look at its evolution levels.
Axew doesn't evolve until 38 and then Fraxure at 48 (average level 43). These are disgustingly high, and there are still a few Pseudos with better overall evolution levels than Axew.

Jangmo-o evolves at 35 then 45 (average level 40), Bagon evolves at 30 then 50 (average level 40), and Gible evolves at 24 then 48 (average level 36). All three of these Pseudos have evolution levels that are closer to the target evolution levels. At first, you may still think that Axew would be the best fit for the Dragon starter because you may be thinking, "Oh, if Axew doesn't get as strong in its final form, it must level up faster, right?" No. It's still in the Slow experience group.

Of the three Pseudos mentioned, Bagon makes the most sense to me as a starter. It has its first evolution earlier than Jangmo-o and is pure Dragon unlike Gible. Like the others, its base stat total of 300 is close to the range for base forms, Shelgon's base stat total of 420 is within the range for middle forms, and Salamence's base stat total of 600 is way above the range for final forms.

I would have a dilemma about whether to choose evolution levels that are closer to the target (Bagon evolving at 30 then 50 for an average evolution level of 40) or a final form whose base stat total is closer to the target (Haxorus with a BST of 540). I would need to consider not just what would be closer to the target, but also what would be more fair to use in a playthrough. Therefore, I would choose Bagon as my Dragon starter over Axew.

I feel that if you're going to deal with slower leveling and higher evolution levels, you should be rewarded handsomely with a stronger final form, not one that's just as strong as all of the others. It'll be work to get your Bagon up to a Shelgon up to a Salamence, but when you get there, you'll have a Salamence. Meanwhile, if Axew were the starter, you would do a similar amount of work (if not worse) for Haxorus, which has a noticeably lower base stat total, and I don't think that would be fair.