POKE SURVIVOR / FIELD GUIDE

Poke Survivor Best Starter Pokémon

The best first partner is one whose attack and movement you can use comfortably. Compare all 29 initial choices before investing in permanent upgrades.

Three useful starting points

Try	Why compare it	Trade-off
Squirtle or Mudkip	Both start with Water Gun. Mudkip has 92 HP and 1.08× base attack; Squirtle has 90 HP and 0.97×.	Their base speeds are 95 and 96. A range-focused opening does not remove the need to make space.
Scorbunny or Froakie	Scorbunny starts with Ember at speed 107; Froakie starts with Water Gun at speed 108.	They have 92 and 88 HP respectively. More movement speed is not the same as protection from a bad route.
Slowpoke	110 base HP is the largest buffer among the listed starters; its opening move is Confusion.	Speed 84 is also the lowest among the starters. More HP comes with a movement trade-off.

These are comparison suggestions drawn from the published opening moves and base stats, not results of controlled survival-time trials. Your existing upgrades can change the practical comparison. If you already enjoy another partner, keep using it while you learn the controls.

All 29 starter Pokémon

Initial partner data checked October 16, 2026. Stats are unupgraded game values; ATK is a multiplier.
Partner	Type	Opening move	HP	Speed	ATK
Bulbasaur	grass / poison	Vine Whip	90	97	1.06×
Charmander	fire	Ember	88	105	1.03×
Squirtle	water	Water Gun	90	96	0.97×
Psyduck	water	Confusion	92	101	1.06×
Slowpoke	water / psychic	Confusion	110	84	1.06×
Chikorita	grass	Vine Whip	90	97	0.97×
Cyndaquil	fire	Ember	88	105	1.03×
Totodile	water	Water Gun	92	96	1.06×
Treecko	grass	Razor Leaf	88	107	1.06×
Torchic	fire	Ember	90	97	1.08×
Mudkip	water	Water Gun	92	95	1.08×
Turtwig	grass	Vine Whip	95	91	1.07×
Chimchar	fire	Ember	90	104	1.02×
Piplup	water	Bubble	94	95	1.04×
Snivy	grass	Razor Leaf	90	104	0.95×
Tepig	fire	Ember	99	97	1.05×
Oshawott	water	Water Gun	95	97	1.05×
Chespin	grass	Vine Whip	95	94	1.04×
Fennekin	fire	Ember	88	103	1.04×
Froakie	water	Water Gun	88	108	1.04×
Rowlet	grass / flying	Razor Leaf	101	96	1.00×
Litten	fire	Ember	90	107	1.06×
Popplio	water	Bubble	92	95	1.06×
Grookey	grass	Vine Whip	92	105	1.06×
Scorbunny	fire	Ember	92	107	1.09×
Sobble	water	Water Gun	92	107	1.08×
Sprigatito	grass	Razor Leaf	88	105	1.04×
Fuecoco	fire	Ember	100	93	1.05×
Quaxly	water	Water Gun	95	99	1.06×

Pick by the first problem you want to solve

If you struggle to read the screen, start with an opening attack whose path is easy to follow. Use a little open space to observe how it reaches an enemy, then return to moving. If you struggle to escape, compare speed while holding the rest of your approach steady. If you repeatedly survive with very little health, compare HP without assuming that a slower partner will be equally easy to steer.

The table gives you an honest starting point for those experiments. It does not combine every partner into a single claim of the best starter. Attack multiplier alone omits the move’s shape and timing; HP alone omits incoming damage; speed alone omits the route you choose.

Plan the opening move’s evolution

Look up the attack rather than the species name in the move evolution table. An Ember starter and a Water Gun starter both look for Power in the checked recipes, while Bubble looks for Sprint. A preferred upgrade route can therefore be another reason to choose a partner.

Before a run, choose just one recipe to understand. During play, respond to the actual card choices instead of ignoring every useful option until the desired one appears. If you cannot reach the evolution, use the next attempt to improve the earlier part of the run.

Before you switch to a newly unlocked partner

Inspect the new partner’s own upgrade panel. Do not assume that coins spent on its earlier form carry over. Compare equal investment when judging base stats, or explicitly account for the permanent improvements you would be leaving behind.

Our full Poke Survivor tier list includes non-starters and can be filtered back to initial partners. For a first-session routine, use the beginner’s guide; for the original game, return to the play page.

Sources & last checked

Source check: October 16, 2026. These are dated observations, not live availability promises. Little Fun Games writes this independent guide; JPTER78 operates the linked fan project. Neither site is an official Pokémon release or affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company.

Before you play

How many starter Pokémon are there?

The published starter list checked on October 16, 2026 contains 29 initial partners.

Which starter has the most HP?

Slowpoke has 110 base HP in the checked starter data, with a base speed of 84. That is a health-versus-mobility trade-off, not a guaranteed best choice.

Can I reject the personality-test result?

The published starter flow lets you choose another partner rather than accepting the suggested one.

Is the best starter also the best late-game Pokémon?

Not necessarily. Availability, upgrades, move combinations and the current game version change the comparison. The starter table is a first-run reference.

Guide by Little Fun Games · Updated 2026-10-16. Dates in UTC. External games have their own operators and policies.