While they’ve yet to get a reboot of their own, Pokemon Black and White are still widely regarded as some of the best Pokemon games. And while the initial release did have limited P💃okemon on offer, it was the first Pokemon game to ever get a direct sequel.

And like with all new Pokemon games, Black and White offered us three new starters to 💮choose from: Tepig the Fire-starter, Snivy the Grass-type, and Oshawott the Water Poke🍸mon. Choosing a starter in any region can be tough, but we’ve weighed the pros and cons and found the best Unova starter below.

Updated on August 7, 2024, by Andrew Scariati: The best Unovan starter is always a hotly contested debate, even as we look back with hindsight from t168澳洲幸运5开奖网:he Scarlet and Violet era. Let's take a look at each Pokemon's best qualities to help determine the best starter Pokemon Black & White has to offer.

12 Tepig

Best Early On

Tepig is the Fire-type starter of the Fifth Generation of Pokemon, and, as luck would have it, Fire is very effective against the early Gym Leaders. By the time you get to the second gym in Black & White (which specializes in Normal Types), Tepig will likely be evolved into Pignite, meaning it will know a Fighting Type move in Arm Thrust.

Its usefulness will carry into the third gym as well, which uses Bug-type Pokemon. Due to its double typing once it begins to evolve, Tepig can practically blow through early👍 gyms all on its own.

11 Snivy

Best Defensive Utility

Snivy, the Grass Starter for Unova, has the best Defense stats compared to the other Unova starters, with the downside of having less overall HP. Despite this, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Snivy can hold its own in t💃he competitiv💮e scene thanks to just how good its Defense stats are.

Once evolved, Serperior won't go down easily and can dish out damage with shocking efficiency. Mix this with its already good defenseꦆs, this Pokemon b💧ecomes a defensive wall that your opponents will struggle to defeat.

10 Oshawott

Best Final Stat Spread

What's incredible about Oshawott, the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Water-type starter in Pokemon Black and White, is that it doesn't have a stat that stands above the others. This is because all of its stats are pretty good – there's no particular great stat, but all of them are still above average.

By the time Oshawott is finished evolving, even its two weakest stats (Speed and Special Defense) outclass the other starters, and these can be boosted if desired with the help of IV and EV training. There's no glaring downside to Oshawott, making it the most balanced overall.

9 Tepig

Two STAB Moves

After evolving into Pignite, this Pokemon gets a dual typing as a Fire and Fighting Type, continuing the "Fire-Fighting" 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:type combination trend that started in Generation Three. Thanks to this, Tepig gets two STAB (Sameꦅ Type Attack Bonus) moves since it learns both Fire and Fighting-type moves in𒐪nately as you level it.

This adds an extra layer of type coverage that Tepig gets that the other two Unova starters don't. While this does mean Tepig winds up with more type weakness, it also means he gets more resistances while being able to whip out its Super Effective STAB moves on opposing Pokemon.

8 Snivy

The Fastest

Snivy has the fastest Speed stat compared to Tepig and Oshawott, and this can be seen before any of them evolve, even when most of their stats are nearly identical. The gap becomes even greater by the time they reach their final evolutions, so much so that Serperior's Speed is almost double that of Emboar's.

Thanks to this, it's easy to get Snivy to incredibly high Speed when combined with EVs and IVs, allowing it to attack before any other opposing Pokemon. This allows you to get the jump on opposing trainers, and while its attacking stats are somewhat subpar, Sn꧟ivy can still be quick enough to handle the fight.

7 Oshawott

Fewest Weaknesses

Oshawott is a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:pure Water-type Pokemon, and that means it has limited type weaknesses – while Snivy shares this trait, Grass has five type weaknesses, while Water types only have two weaknesses. The two types that can damage them most effectively are only the Grass and Electric types.

These ty𒉰pes both do a colossal amount of damage to your poor little sea otter, but they're both fairly under-represented in Pokemon, especially during this generation, so your limitations will be fewer and further between than any of the other Unova starters.

6 Tepig

Most Competitively Viable

In the competitive scene of Black and White, there are multiple tiers in which Pokemon lie. Both Serperior and Samurott belong to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a tier below Embo🌌ar, making Emboar the best in the competitive scene of Pokemon.

When it comes to competitive Pokemon, power is king, and thanks to Emboar's devastatingly high Attack stat mixed with a great HP stat, this makes it a solid pick for competitive teams. With Fire-Type moves having some of the highest damage outputs in the game, it's♛ not uncommon for Emboar to knock out opposing Pokemon in just one hit.

5 Snivy

Best In Later Generations

Snivy has an incredibly powerful Hidden Ability in Contrary, which will raise its stats when they're meant to lower and vice versa - anytime a move is meant to hurt the user, Snivy will be boosted instead. This allows it to use moves like Leaf Storm, which has a devastating 130 base damage.

This normally drops a 🍎Pokemon's Special Attack, but Snivy's will be boosted on top of all that damage.

The only downside is that the Contrary ability was unobtainable in Black and White when the game originally launched; this wouldn't come until Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. As such, while it has fair competition in its debut Generation,ꦜ it leads the pack in later Pokemon installments.

4 Tepig

Best For Single Battles

Whether in the competitive scene or as a fun Pokemon to use in , Tepig stands out as the best Unovan starter for neutralizing threats on its own. While Samurott and Serperior can both enable their teammates to be the focal point of the attack, Tepig/Emboar prefers to be the primary attacker.

This ferocious Fire-type is the best Black and White starter if you don't like to switch Pokemon꧟ or strategically arrange your team.

Emboar can outspeed most other foes and will likely one-shot knockout (OHKO) most Pokemon once it gains a significant 🤪level advantage in your playthrough.

3 Oshawott

Most Versatile

By the time Oshawott becomes Samurott, its stats are all balanced, with no one stat rising clearly above the rest, which plays into how versatile Samurott can be. It can be played as either an offensive or defensive Pokemon♑, thanks to its rather large move pool.

Samurott can learn a wide variety of moves, making for great type coverage and, using that pure Water typing it retains, limited defensive weak spots. It can learn decent support moves, or, if you're more of an offensive player, has priority with Aqua Je🍰t and colossal damage with Hydro Pump.