Best Fire Type Starters in Pokémon Ranked

Which is the best Fire Starter Pokemon?

A big question indeed! Whether or not you consider yourself a serious or casual Pokémon fan, you can probably recognize a few of these iconic starters. While the debate between who’s the best within generations is already harsh enough, fights between generations is something else.  Starting fights, not fires! (Dad jokes 101) Preferences generally range from memories, stats, and of course, cuteness. Just checking it against the Best Fire Starter Pokemon Thread here, we're not too far off from others suggestions!

8. Tepig

Poor Tepig often found itself overshadowed by the other options from Unova and came into the picture when people started really hating on the fire-fighting combo, but there is a lot to say for this sweet but fiery little creature. A Fire Type Pokemon from Generation 5, it is appropriately known as the Fire Pig Pokemon and goes on to evolve in to Pignite with its final form as Emboar. Its stats may be a little safe for a Fire Type and it's fair to say it does find it hard to compete with the rest of the Pokemon on this list. It’s not even that great combat wise compared to all starters, but is certainly is one of the cutest Pokemon starters of all time! Who wouldn't want to have a Tepig running about their back yard?

7. Chimchar

Chimchar as a Fire Starter Pokemon, is a solid Pokémon. Strong, aesthetically cool, with a very cool evolution and again, is pretty adorable, a Fire type Pokémon from Generation 4, known as the Chimp Pokémon. That being said, it often seems to get overshadowed by certain other Fire Type Pokemon on this list and is not as popular. This fiery monkey has good enough stats to stand up to a lot of fan favorites and he was a popular choice in the Sinnoh era but didn’t perhaps get the same love or treatment as some of the other contenders and never stayed in the limelight. With no mega evolution either, this is a Pokemon who has slinked off to the side to let others steal the limelight. While he did have a role in Pokémon Conquest, he never had any more notable role in other titles, which is a shame because its final evolution is the powerful Infernape, a super versatile Pokemon in combat.

6. Scorbunny

The newest member of the fire starters, Scorbunny is a Fire Type from Generation 8, appropriately known as the Rabbit Pokemon. Its final evolved form is Cinderace and, while significantly less versatile than Infernape, it is faster, stronger and bulkier and if we talk abilities, Pyro Ball is its main STAB attack and is able to hit many Stealth Rock setters like Celebi and Ferrothorn hard, whereas Court Change is especially useful for Fire teams, as they are weak to Stealth Rock. High Jump Kick is to hit Dark- and Rock-type Pokemon such as Hydreigon and Tyranitar. Sucker Punch allows Cinderace to target faster threats such as Dragapult while also being able to pick off weakened threats and that's just for 'starters'! Apparently I haven't left the dad jokes at home today. There is a LOT you can do with this Pokemon, making it one of the best dependable starter Pokemon evolutionary lines, even if it isn't one of the more popular Pokemon. Scorbunny/Cinderace can always be moved around this list, but for me it's pretty darn close to the middle.

5. Fennekin

Foxes hold a great significance in Japanese culture and are one of the more treasured animals in a lot of countries. They are no stranger to the Pokémon franchise as elegant and adorable favourites. This adorable fox starter is a Fire Type Pokemon from Generation 6, known as the Fox Pokemon. As fire-psychic it grew up from an adorable fox to an awesome and mature looking Delphox. It became one of three fire-psychic types(including Victini, Darmanitan, and itself). It also became a fast fan favourite – not only because of its cool look, but it has got great stats too. It boasts the highest special attack of any fire starter (second highest overall, just bested by the Empoleon chain) and its second form even made an appearance in Pokken Tournament!

4. Litten

If there’s one thing that nerdy shut-ins love more than video games and anime, it’s cute cats (if this is you definitely check out these best cat characters in anime!) One of the cutest Fire Type Pokemon ever, Litten grows to become the fearsome and powerful Incineroar (an angry version of the Frosties advert tiger to me!) and to the surprise of many, Incineroar, boasts a dual Fire/Dark Typing instead of being a dual Fire/Fighting starter. It's an extremely good fighter with some formidable moves due to its typing. Thanks to Incineroar's great Attack, incredibly wide movepool containing many support and coverage options, and ability Intimidate, it is a very flexible Pokemon but its low speed keeps it from realising its true potential. According to the Pikalytics from the competitive Pokémon world at the Video Game Championships (VGC), it’s been the most used Pokémon competitively the last few years!

3. Cyndaquil

I swear any of these top three could bag the top spot, it's all a matter of opinion! Introduced rather early on in the Pokémon universe, a lot of people would agree when I say that he is a personal favourite fire starter of the bunch. If we are talking about purely aesthetics, this guy is easily the cutest in my book among the other contenders. Whether we are talking about its behavior in the anime or its appearance in the game, it is absolutely adorable. German translations even call the thing Feurigel, roughly translating to fire hedgehog. This little rodent isn’t just precious, its final evolved form is none other than the incredible Typhlosion, a pure fire type known for its ability to tear through its opponents in battle, you'll never forget this fiery porcupine. It possesses amazing Sp. Attack and Speed that mean it pretty much always get the first (and last) laugh.

2. Torchic

Like a kernel of very fluffy popcorn, this little chick like Pokemon packs a huge punch within its little golden feathered form. Don't underestimate this little guy as its final evolved form is none other than Blaziken! Not only how we can’t ignore the amazing transformation from little chick, to anthropomorphized chicken, to confident totem God (the makeover of a century even Queer Eye couldn’t pull off). Competitive wise, comparing the two fiery beasts, Typhlosion is faster but Blaziken is stronger. With epic Attack and Sp.Attack to boot, it only continues to get cooler with its mega evolution, boosting those amazing stats and making it one of the best sweeper Pokemon in combat! With a huge movepool too, this best Fire Type sweeper Pokemon is actually formidable!

1. Charmander

Easily one of the most famous Pokémon in existence, Charmander had to come in at number one! It’s cute, classic, strong, and recognizable by pretty much anyone… fans of the franchise or not. A lizard that’s also a fire breathing dragon, which is pretty much one of the coolest creatures ever, the only thing that could make Charmander even more metal would be if he could come in black… oh wait, he does, TWICE (with both the shiny variant and a mega evolution).

Charizard has been the only starter to get two evolutions (Mewtwo being the only other Pokémon to receive a second additional form)! Looking at the numbers, Charmander also comes on top when it comes to starter stats and remains a competitive member of any team after several generations. With well balanced stats, it is considered one of the strongest starters overall. It's fair to say that being an original starter has cemented a special place in fans hearts to this day.

What are your thoughts - what is the best Fire Starter Pokemon in your opinion? Will the dad jokes ever end? (I'm not actually a dad, I'm a 20 something girl) Is Cinderace better than Infernape? Is Infernape better than Cinderace? Let me know below in the comments! If you enjoyed this definitely check out Best Fire Type Pokemon Ranked, Best Nicknames for Fire Type Pokemon, Best Fire Type Pokemon Moves, Best Grass Type Pokemon Starters and Best Water Type Pokemon Starter critters!