Which starter should YOU pick for your playthrough of SM/USUM? (Part 2)

Post #2: Everything you need to know about Litten

Alola, Everyone!

Today’s post is part 2 of my Which Starter? post on Rowlet last week. I will give you some tips of which starter pokémon you should choose for your playthrough(s) of Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon!

As a reminder, yes, I think that the best starter is the right choice for ALL four games, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, which can all be played on a Nintendo 3ds. Read my post on my favorite generation of pokémon to learn more about why you should play this fantastic gen!

As a recap, the three starters of the Alola region in all four games are the grass-type Rowlet, the fire-type Litten, and the water-type Popplio. They’re final evolutions all have a secondary typing, being Ghost, Dark, and Fairy respectively.

I’m going to break down each starter pick in terms of its typing, type matchups against the boss-battles, z-moves, and coverage across three posts (I’ve tried to make the analysis as spoiler-free as possible!). I will then name the best one at the end post. Remember, if one starter is your favorite, choose that! No starter is “unpickable”, and all are made for you to have the best playthrough of the game. Enjoy!

Litten

At its face value, Litten has been the first choice for many. The fire typing is one of the best in the game and comes in handy against the numerous Team Skull battles, who all use bug-types.

Litten is a Fire type Pokémon introduced in Generation 7. It is known as the Fire Cat Pokémon. Similar to Rowlet & Popplio, Litten has a base stat total of 320. Litten is a physical attacker, and you should try to teach it moves it can utilize well with its final form, Incineroar which has a high attack stat.. After it evolves from Torracat, Incineroar gains the Dark type, increasing move coverage and STAB for moves like Darkest Lariat.

Litten evolves into Torracat at level 17, and then into Incineroar at level 34.

The hard part about this is that three major trials have all three base typings, water, fire, and grass respectievely. But I’ve tried my best to balance it out!

Now lets see its effectivenes against every major battle in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. (I’ve tried to make the analysis as spoiler-free as possible!)

Melemele Island:

Trial

Notes: All starters fare well in this trial, making it a pretty neutral matchup. The totem pokémon (in both games) don’t have any super effective/not effective hits, so this one shouldn’t be too much of a worry for you.

Kahuna

Notes: The final fight you must beat is the grand trial of the kahuna of Melemele island, who uses mainly fighting-type pokémon. Litten, with its high speed and attack stats early on should be able to dish out good damage and wall off this battle. Overall a neutral matchup.

Akala Island:

Trials

Water Trial

Notes: After arriving on the second island, you’ll be sent to complete the water trial and eventually battle a Totem water-type pokémon (This will slightly differ based on which game you are playing, but both totems have the primary water typing). This is the trial that Litten struggles against, and you should let your little cat sit this one out. Powerful STAB water moves from totems can OHKO this pokémon, due to its average bulk.

Fire Trial

Notes: Similar to the water trial, you will be encountering two different pokémon based on your version. Although they both have the fire typing, their secondary typing is completely different from one another. However, it doesn’t really matter as your Litten, (now probably a decently-level Torracat) fares neutrally against both pokémon. However, Torracat can learn some good moves which will actually be supereffective against the multiple weaknesses of the opposing totems.

Grass Trial

Notes: For one ff the hardest gyms aka trials in the franchise, Torracat will demolish this tryhad totem pokémon. Healing and support from ally will be almost nonexistant. The one thing to be careful here is the rock-type coverage from the partner if playing USUM. Otherwise, you should be able to 2-shot the totem. A huge score for Litten!

Kahuna

Notes: To progress, you must defeat the rock-type user, the kahuna of Akala island. Although a little difficult if you still have a Torracat, the great fighting coverage on Incineroar should be able to sweep. Just be careful and try to pivot out onto your grass and water types when you can!

ULA'ULA ISLAND

Trials

Electric Trial

Notes: After arriving on the third island, you’ll be sent to the Hokulani observatory to help a young scientist with his powering device, but then when the machine goes haywire a totem pokémon steps in and quells it before challenging you to the electric trial. Although the totem pokémon in SM and USUM are different, their secondary typing make them weak to fire type moves! An easy sweep where other pokémon will have decent difficulty. Double points for effectiveness in both versions!

Ghost Trial

Notes: The only difference being the helper pokémon across the games, the trial in the abandoned supermarket is probably the most difficult one that is a major junction for serious rethought on the player’s end. However, with Incineroar’s dark typing, you can deal with them pretty easily. The problem is the totem pokémon has a secondary typing that covers for your dark moves and can alternatively dish out huge damage with supereffective attacks. Let your steel and fairy pokémon handle this one, but Incineroar isn’t at all useless in this one.

Kahuna
Notes: The kahuna of the third island is a user of Dark-type pokémon, and Incineroar should just stick with neutral fire-type damage. The good thing is you resist most of their moves and it’s easy to wall off their team.

Poni Island

Trials

Dragon Trial

Notes: On your way to save the world, you must take the trial in the cave leading up to the altar. Although not a manned trial, the game considers this as one and it should be, the dragon type being one of the strongest the game. Unfortunately, the typing of this totem makes it so that all of your STAB moves will be resisted. Clean up with fairy and ice types.

Fairy Trial

Notes: Your rift-venture complete, the fairy trial awaits. After completitng the rather repetitive trial mission, the totem pokémon will appear. Try not to expose Incineroar too much as the fairy moves will dish out huge amounts of damage, however the totem’s original typing makes it weak to fire, so a Flare Blitz to the face will cleanly knock it out. An easy one overall for Incineroar. One point!

Kahuna
Notes: The final grand trial against the ground-type kahuna is rough for Incienroar, but if you manage to land a few neutral fire-type hits and then clean up with your water/grass types, you should be fine.

Elite Four

Notes: Unfortunately, one of the elite four members depends on the version, so I won’t be able to break down each fight without spoilers, so I’m just going to rate Incineroar generally. (But to be honest, you should just be sweeping with Ultra Necrozma at this point)

Notes: Incineroar has an advantage to most, except if playing SM try to not take much damage from the one that is replaced is USUM as it has supereffective coverage against you. You sweep two of the elite four members if playing USUM, and in SM, goes neutral but with good spread STAB damage for all.

Champion

Notes: Similar to the Elite Four, the champion depends on your version, but their teams don’t differ much in terms of coverage. The champion in SM has the starter strong to yours, however in USUM the starter weak to yours. Incineroar will have a strong typing against noth champions’ teams, and you should be able to easily combat both teams with your strong team of 6.

And that concludes Litten’s analysis for a full playthrough of pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. Remember, this is all opinion and if a starter you like better than the other based on pure cosmetics, pick that one! All starters are around the same strength level and Gamefreak did a good job trying to balance them! Tune in next week for Popplio’s full analysis, remember to subscribe, share, and like! Sayonara, from KidLokSe!!!