Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX: Best Starter Pokemon
We talk about which starting Pokemon you should choose and explain the quiz at the beginning of the game.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX, like practically every Pokemon game before it, has you choose your starting Pokemon when the game begins. We'll show you which starter you should pick and what their different strengths are.
On this page:
- Best Starter Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon
- Full List of Starter Pokemon
- Which Starter to Choose
- Charmander
- Pikachu
- Totodile
- Best Partner to Choose
- How to Pick Starters in Mystery Dungeon
Best Starter Pokemon in Mystery Dungeon
After playing the game and recruiting all the starters, we studied their moves and stats to see which came out looking best. It's not an easy choice, and below we've outlined the full list to choose from.
Full List of Starter Pokemon
- Cyndiquil
- Totodile
- Pikachu
- Mudkip
- Treecko
- Psyduck
- Chikorita
- Charmander
- Bulbasaur
- Torchic
- Cubone
- Machop
- Eevee
- Squirtle
- Skitty
- Meowth
Which Starter to Choose
For one thing, it's important to remember that unlike starters in other Pokemon games, you'll be stuck with this choice for a while. In Mystery Dungeon you're not just choosing a minion, but what you are going to play as for the majority of the game. We've outlined a few good options below.
Charmander
Charmander is probably our first pick. Aside from looking good in the scarf, it has good stats and a very high damage output. Though it loses something in defense, it also has a lot of long-range moves that can keep dangers at bay or defeat them before they come within striking distance. It also starts knowing Dragon Rage, which does a guaranteed 30hp damage (devastating in the early game), and can eventually learn Heat Wave, which does damage to every enemy in the room while leaving allies unscathed. It's also able to cross lava safely - not something to be sniffed at.
Pikachu
Pikachu works for a lot of the same reasons that Charmander does: high offensive stats that make it a good damage-dealer. Pikachu also has slightly better defense and health, but also doesn't really have the same range when you start the game. It also doesn't have any particular ability to cross difficult terrain, but look on the bright side: Pikachu's Electric typing is very good against the game's earliest Dungeons, and eventually it'll learn Discharge, which does the same thing as Heat Wave, but with Electric damage.
Totodile
It might not be the most famous starter, but Totodile is a good choice regardless. Its stats are fairly good, in a jack-of-all-trades sort of way, but it also has a wide pool of moves to pick from the moment the game starts, including rarer move types like Ice and Steel. Combined with the fact that it can cross over water tiles - a common obstacle - and Totodile cements a reputation as a kind of Pokemon Swiss Army knife, with a solution for every problem.
Best Partner to Choose
This is a little harder to choose, because whatever you pick, you'll want a partner who complements and negates many of the weaknesses that you have. For example, if you pick Pikachu to play as, you'll be weak to Ground-type attacks, so you'll want to pick either a Grass or Water-type, both of whom will be able to take out Ground-types easily. It'd be a bad idea, on the other hand, to pick a Fire-type, as then you're both weak to Ground and run the risk of getting stomped on by any random Cubone.
How to Pick Starters
As the game begins for the first time, you'll be given a personality test to determine which Pokemon is right for you, giving you eight hypothetical questions and deciding what kind of person/Pokemon you are as a result. Don't worry if you don't like the final result, as the game allows you to choose for yourself after revealing its own suggestion. Still, you need to be very sure that you won't both these two Pokemon - they'll be your team for the majority of the game.
If that was helpful to you, why not take a look at this guide here, where we outline everything that's changed about Mystery Dungeon since the original? Or you can go here to find out more about the game's announcement and see all the details for yourself.