Pokemon Sword and Shield starters and what their evolutions are

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Knowing about the Pokemon Sword and Shield starter choices and their evolutions is really important as, despite the fact that they're all adorable, you can only choose one starter. Don't fret though, budding Galarian trainer, as we're here to help. Although you could argue that there technically is no 'best' starter Pokemon as they're all wonderful, knowing how they might turn out after a couple of evolutions might affect who you choose, and its important to think about their stats and not just about how cool they'll look either.

But first, a brief rundown of the three Pokemon Sword and Shield starters, their type and the official description straight from Champion Leon who actually offers you your very first Pokemon in the new games, and the pros and cons of choosing each.

Grookey

Type: Grass

Best nature for Grookey: Adamant

Official description: "It's soothing - like a nice, long walk in the woods."

Grookey is all about using his stick to beat the music into and pulp out of his foes, adorably of course. But, it's worth considering that the first Gym Challenge is leader Milo in Tuffield, and he's also a Grass Type user. So you'll need to arm yourself with a Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison, and Bug Type Pokemon alongside Grookey, as your Grass Type starter isn't going to make waves in this gym.

However, the second Gym Challenge is against the Water Gym Leader Nessa, who you can use Grookey to take down single-handedly.

Scorbunny

Type: Fire

Best nature for Scorbunny: Jolly

Official description: "It's filled to bursting with fiery passion!"

Scorbunny is focused on highlighting us Brits' love of sports, and is wanting to be active all the time. Because it's a Fire Type though, it's actually a great Pokemon Sword and Shield starter to choose because your first gym is the Grass Type, which Scorbunny will be super effective against. Not so much for Nessa and the Water Type Gym though, which is the second on your Challenge list, but as long as you have a good Grass or Electric Type Pokemon in your party, you'll be golden.

Sobble

Type: Water

Best nature for Sobble: Timid

Official description: "It adapts to anything, as surely as water flows."

Seemingly in keeping with its personality, Sobble's actually going to be the one that struggles in the first two hurdles in your Gym Challenge. It's not until the third gym - Kabu's Fire Type Gym in Motostoke - that it'll really be an asset to your party. However, because it can learn moves from other Types, Sobble is still a fantastic Pokemon Sword and Shield starter.

Pokemon Sword and Shield starter evolutions

The other big consideration when picking your very first Galarian friend is the Pokemon Sword and Shield starter evolutions. Here's what Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble evolve into aka their final evolutions:

Pokemon Sword and Shield Grookey evolutions

Pokemon Sword and Shield Scorbunny evolutions

Pokemon Sword and Shield Sobble evolutions

Sam Loveridge is the Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar, and joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.

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