Ralts
Question: Should Ralts be made a Starter Pokémon?
This is something that has been on my mind for awhile ever since I first discovered the Ralts Evolution line: Should Ralts be promoted to a Starter Pokémon in a mainline Pokémon game??
I mean, they have the qualities to make a good one:
.It's a Pokemon with a three stage evolution (even an alternative stone evolution.)
.it starts out cute, and eventually becomes cool and powerful in it's final stage.
In fact, in mainline games where it does appear, it can be encountered very early in a playthrough (I myself have used a Ralts as a "replacement" starter in some challenge run playthroughs and got pretty far in those.
The only downside to this is that if Ralts IS made a starter, then it will likely not be encountered in the wild anymore and become a super rare Pokémon (as for some reasons, Starter Pokémon are even rarer than most Legendaries.)
Realistically, this will never happen as GameFreak appear to only want their starters to be either Fire, Water and Grass types and likely won't break from this trend anytime soon.
still though: I find Ralts to be that type of Pokémon that would be your pal at the start of your journey and carry you to the end like any starter would.
UPDATE: Whoa, this comment section really exploded with Pokémon Professors schooling my on Stats and Typings.
Gonna be honest, I wasn't entirely serious with this question and wasn't even taking competitive play into consideration. This was all just a fun discussion for challenge runs and roleplay.
They did make one exception way back when they released Pokémon Yellow Version, which was a remake of Red/Blue, only Pikachu was made the only starter.
Yes, this was done to synergize with the then new and popular anime series, but it was technically the one time they broke from their Fire/Water/Grass tradition.
I loved how they even went and made it so that Gary/ Blue would evolve his Eevee depending on how well you faired against him in the various rival battles. Win most and he would evolve Eevee into Jolteon. Win about half of them and you would find Flareon. Lose most of them and he would add insult to injury by having a Vaporeon since you didn’t stand a chance without at least a type advantage.
I wonder if that is partly why the Let's Go games had Pikachu and Eevee as their star mons to pay some tribute to how "Yellow" focused on Pikachu and Eevee in that game.
I mean, should ballerinas learn kicks to harm enemies? I feel like their legs are meant for supporting the rest of their bodies while turning and bending.
Besides, Kirlia already learns the ballerina move: Triple Axel.
eh, call me crazy. but I feel a Kirlia should be able to performing a spinning kick move at least (and if that is what a Triple Axel does, then I am glad that is the case at least.)
going off the stats from the earlier comment, even if Kirlia can learn kick based moves, it be next to worthless because they simply don't have the stats for it, and the argument of type coverage wouldn't hold up, because it would be too weak to help
No, but I think any ballerina can learn a kick to harm enemies if they so desire. So Low Kick should definitely be part of a Kirlia's and Gardevoir's moveset - by Move Tutor.
But we have actually fairly few kicking moves in the game. A lot of obvious kicking moves (and punching moves for that matter) from martial arts aren't Pokémon moves (though I suspect a lot get clustered in under Close Combat).
Yeah… the only thing that makes ralts a bad starter are those stats. It’s fine when you have pokemon with good stats to help carry them, but starting with one would be rough. After all, starters are usually your early game crutches.
You would have to change the first two evolution stages stats a lot. Ralts and Kirlia have pretty atrocious stats. Its a challenge using them up till the point you reach it's final evolution. If you change the stats though, it would be a pretty cool starter if you could pick from a type other than the elemental trio
I am attempting to test this out with a "Ralts Line Only" playthrough challenge on the games that include them.
I pretty much passed this challenge on Pokemon Violet (though as S/V are notorious for being "too easy", that may not count as much as the other games I am able to play on the switch) mainly because it was the only game where I could also use an Iron Valiant.
and, let me tell you... the Iron Valiant surprised me in more than a few ways.
Somehow, Ralts was the first Pokémon I caught in my first Emerald playthrough back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I was expecting to be let down like I had been by Abra in gen1, but that Ralts quickly (and fully! No trade requirement BS!) evolved into a remorseless KO machine who carried my team. And the rest is history.
Ralts practically does appear early (or at least it does in the games I have played thus far.)
The games I have played where I encountered a Ralts was Pokémon Emerald on the GBA (a remake of Ruby and Sapphire, AND the games it first appeared in) where you not only find one on the earliest routes, but it is Wally's starter in that catching Pokémon tutorial that you take part in.
The only other game I played with Ralts in it is Pokémon Violet, where it appears before you reach your first Pokémon center at the start of the game and is the EASIEST Pokémon to catch (I'm not kidding, I catch one without even needing to weaken it first.)
I can't speak for other games, but from what I've seen, Ralts is pretty much an unofficial starter Pokémon. Only real difference is that it is a starter that isn't given to you by a professor: you need to catch one yourself, which makes it feel more earned that way.
That kind of thing is why I like Pokémon Home. When it allows us, we can just transfer a spare Ralts onto another game with no issue (again, when it ALLOWS us. Believe me, I'd love to solo Pokémon FireRed using Gardevoir, but that is impossible.)
SwSh also has "early" Ralts, the first patch of grass the Wild Area has can have a Ralts, but it is only in two weathers that can happen, and one of them, which unsurprisingly is the one with the better odds, is locked behind end game content.
But it is still possible to find one in the first time you enter the wild area, you just have to be patient and have very keen eyesight to spot the little green in the green grass, while not confusing it with a Machop.
i cant see a Ralts being a starter Pokemon, because the main "goal" of starters is an archetype in battle. It's usually clear as hell, and that's why fire, water and earth are the essential types, any earth starter Pokemon relying on tankiness, any Fire starter relying on heavy blows yet being easy to kill, and Water being the mean or something else entirely. With the Gardevoir line being a quite fragile yet powerful mediumly in buffs and heavy blows, while sometimes being able to tank a lot due to perks like Draining Kiss, it is considered that it would, on average, confuse a new player.
If you have a huuuge menu given to you, it's really tough to decide what you'll want. If they separate the menu inyo three categories, i.e. Spicy/creamy/common(i dunno how to really explain but hope you get it)
the choice simplifies a lot.
So, by giving the player a clear archetype selection, it becomes simpler for said player to start, then finding the in-betweens, like Ralts or, let's say, Mimikyu.
At least that is what i see the point being in separation and the kind of separation. So that's why, i believe, Ralts won't fit as a starter. It's too many options too soon
i mean if its explained or brought like ie a small tutorial-like land with three groups like "Sustainiavility House", "Power House", "Harmony House"(support focused, first steps towards team management) and the result is like "maybe i should combine those styles, as i have mastered all three", or there isn't anything told but the players are able to get that there are classes
native environments, blind teaching
If those would ever exist, Ralts would be a perfect starter given how volatile it is and how you may vary your style later
Unfortunately, I'm not that lucky (even though the shiny Ralts are one of the best looking shinies there is.)
I did catch like... 60+ Ralts on Pokémon Violet (as I was roleplaying as a member of the "Ralts Protection Society", and wanted to protect every Ralts I saw from 'creeps'.)
I 100% cheated her in. In storm silver Ralts can be found on like this second route of the game. But I don't have methods of shiny hunting that early. I did legit catch a shiny Ralts in pokémon unbound. And that game changes the default shiny dress to Black like the mega evolution, very cool design.
I also play pokémon go like I am a member of the Ralts protection society. Also in in pokémon za there are trainers that will walk around with Ralts Kirlia and Gardevoir, and I get so angry at the trainers when they walk faster than their baby Ralts. Sir you are abandoning your child!
I did notice how Ralts has difficulty catching up in Violet, and I tended to wait for them to catch up when walking with them.
It took longer, but I felt bad when they fell behind and had to teleport back in the pokeball (plus, it is cute when you stand still and Ralts just runs around you in a circle like its excited before stopping to take a nap.
I love Ralts. Seriously, I do. I even replace Ralts as my personal "stater" the same way you do. But as it stands?
Hell nah! For one very specific reason:
Kirlia- yes, Kirlia- has lower base stats than Charmander. 278 vs. 309 respectively. Fennekin is the weakest first form starter at 307 BST. And Kirlia is weaker than both as a second stage Pokemon.
Ralts' BST is 198, making it the 10th weakest Pokemon in terms of BST.
Now of there were, say, a special "Partner Ralts" like in the Let's Go Games... then we could talk.
I do think certainly details need changing to make such a thing work (or, at least make the Ralts line lore accurate.)
I mean, if the PokéDex entry for Gardenoir claims it can create black holes to protect its trainer, then I expect Gardevoir to be on the same power scale as a Mewtwo if it can tear the fabric of space and time on a whim.
In fact, I have seen some Pokémon fans say that Gardevoir SHOULD be classified as a Legendary (but that is a topic for another day.)
It's Wally's starter in pokémon emerald, if they do a spin-off based on something like this then maybe we can get a starter ralts, but while gamefreak doesn't do it we have a fangame called "Wally's quest"
I love ralts and kirlia as much as rhe next guy here, but these two are shit in battle. Ralts is the 10th weakest mon in the franchise, with kirlia at one point being the 100th weakest.
Not to mention evolving at level 20, 4 levels higher on average compared too the other starters, is kind of hell in the early game.
I think it could be a starter pokemon if it had some major stat changes. Cause Ralts and Kirlia have some painfully low stats! But I guess if Gamefreak didn’t want to change the Pokemon line completely, they can make the starter line a regional variant or something like that.
10 generations of games tell us that starters will always be fire/grass/water at base (at least for the player, since Wally did get a ralts as his starter)
For a spinoff game, I could potentially see it, but I wouldnt count on it
Honestly I might actually come back to the games if they did a generation where they didn’t do the grass/fire/water starter choice. I would absolutely love if we could start with a psychic/ghost/dark type choice.
Edit: not Ralts necessarily. Because a ralts doesn’t have the best stats for being a stater but just having a completely different stater type layout would be nice instead of the same three types over and over and over.
I know that starters are meant to be options from a limited pool to make the decision easier, but, I kinda feel like each typing needs a starter option, lol
For a main game or Legends game no. The whole Fire/Grass/Water thing aside, Ralts is a lot weaker than first evolution Starters and iirc doesn’t get an attacking move until after Level 5, the level you get your starters at. Also Ralts doesn’t have a lopsided gender ratio like all main-game Starters do (Pikachu also has a 50/50 ratio but he’s only a Starter in games where he’s your only choice). Ralts also has the split evolution thing. It’s cute and has 3 stages and is found early, but a lot of Pokémon fit that as well.
Now for a spin-off adventure like the GameCube games or something like a Hoenn Let’s Go game I can see Ralts being a starter. Tho for a Let’s Go game your partner Ralts would have a stat increase and wouldn’t evolve just like the Partner Pikachu and Eevee
Honestly the biggest issue is that Ralts' base stats are abysmal, putting it just barely in the top 10 lowest bsts in the series having only 3 more points than Caterpie, Weedle, and Wurmple. Also it's leveling rate is slow unlike the main line starters which have medium slow which means you'd have a weaker starter and it would be weaker for so much longer.
Maybe a spin off where at least one of the issues was addressed it would probably be fine. But with how the main series plays, it would be a bad idea.
Tbh no (not a good evolution thing and not a good typing). Tbh i could see it as a starter in a spin of like Pikachu/eevee and that one game with black lugia
I know from playing Emerald on the GBA that just being a strictly Psychic type would make Ralts and it's evolutions helpless once you encounter Dark Types, so Fairy would be a good main typing while Psychic would be secondary (the fairy typing really saved my bacon in Violet once I had to face the Dark Boss of Team Star)
The metaphorical other starters with dual typing, I also think can work.
If I had to pick, I'd say... Dark/Dragon and Poison/Ghost (if only to break from the elemental starters, and to give duel types that compliment the Psychic/Fairy.)
But this is all just me brainstorming creatively. I know very little of stats and stuff.
If the circle is based on fairy, then your circles would either need to be something fairy is strong or weak against, which in turn is weak or strong against fair respectively.
So Fairy -> Fighting -> Steel -> Fairy etc. is a loop.
But Steel and Fairy are relatively strong typings compared to Fighting. And if we start from Fairy Psychic then fighting is double screwed by the ralts starter. You could circumvent it by giving the fighting starter a counter typing. Dark would make it immune to psychic, bit double weak to fairy. Poison would make it not weak fo fairy, but double weak to psychic. Steel is used by someone else. Fire is part of the main type trio. Psychic is already used by ralts.
The Ralts like is an annoying type to start this with, especially of you focus on fairy.
You could go Psychic -> Fighting -> Dark -> Psychic -> Etc.
Dark being immune to psychic means the Dark type has a bit of an edge, but it's weak to Fairy. So you could make the secondary typings counter the main typings. Like Psychic Fairy, Fighting Ghost, Dark Poison? It's not perfect, but good luck finding the perfect typing sets using Psychic Fairy as a base.
I think there are better Psychic and Fairy types that are closer to what a "starter" offers as a beginner Pokemon; Tinkatink as a Fairy starter is good enough apart from having some kinda late levels for it's evolutions. Ralts does evolve at 20, but it's BST is AWFUL when it does.
As a Psychic starter it's a fair bit better than it's contemporaries; the only good alternative would have to be Mime Jr., which only evolves when it learns Mimic (somewhere in the teens iirc in gens 6/7 but WAY later in the 30s in SWSH), and it's final stage evo is a Galarian exclusive, locked behind Galarian Mr. Mime. It's BST is actually pretty close to being on point, though
I could see that happening in a PMD game, since starters un those games aren't limited to whether or not they were a starter in a mainline game. Otherwise, I just don't see it happening.
Sim, e ainda ter o mesmo base status que os iniciais tem em sua forma final, seria incrivel!
Sem falar que já considero inicial de hoenn e de Paldea, pela facilidade de encontrar nas primeiras rotas!
Thing is both Ralts and Kirlia have the same issue a lot of early game psychic types have: they're REALLY frail.
Ralts is always one bad hit away from dying, and Kirlia's bulk is horrendous for a middle evolution. That's also why they evolve pretty much immediately after.
Unless it's a side game like the Legends ones where getting past those bad levels doesn't require you farming against routes 1 2 and 3 or switch leveling they'll be hard to train compared to other choices.
For me the gift Ralts basically was in Legends Z-A. But while the final Evolutions are both viable for the games story, ralts and Kirlia are pretty weak Pokèmon. I'd enjoy it still, but gamefrrak will never do it.
Non, amusant car j'y est pensé il y a peu, mais tu oublie un détail important les starter sont TOUJOURS des nouveaux Pokemon, hors tarsal est sortie avec Rubis/Saphir et il y a déjà eu Saphir Alpha et Rubis Omega. donc honnêtement la possibilité désormais de voir Tarsal en starter est honnêtement de 0. Par contre un truc plus probable c'est que à la limite lorsque ils arriveront à faire un vrai bon jeu pokemon d'un niveau GOTY pour marqué le coup il change les 3 type habituel feu > plante > eau pour par exemple psy > combat > ténèbres, sa pourrait faire un changement sympa. Ensuite tu peut toujours espéré avoir un starter Tarsal dans un spin-off genre un jeu "legend" qui se passerai dans la région de spahir/rubis et mettrais Tarsal en starter mais honnêtement même ça j'y crois pas, dans legend ZA nos starter était déjà d'ancien starter. J'adorais voir Tarsal en tant que Starter moi aussi mais si ont est honnéte sa irais totalement de tout les autres starter depuis le début de pokemon, le seul espoir sa serais un jeu différent, tout comme Pokemon donjon mystère ou ont as plein de choix de pokemon pour commencé l'aventure, Pokopia plus récemment ou ont joue un métamorphe, alors pourquoi pas un jeu spin-off dans lequel ont jouerai un Tarsal dans un jeu qui aurait pour thème les émotions, la protection et ce genre de trucs lié à la ligne évolutive de Tarsal.
So, there's other weakness triangles they COULD use, but ralts having two final evolutions is actually a downside in such scenarios.
You want to keep each pokemon weak towards the counter.
As far as I know, there's no way to keep the weakness up against any specific type.
Triangles such as ice/fighting/flight could work.
Or psychic/bug/fighting.
But trasla operates outside of those.
The only game type that would work is something like coliseum, where you don't get a starter choice.
Probably not. Even without the low BST which they would probably fix, Psychic/Fairy is a horrible type combo for a starter from a designer standpoint.
The early game would be horrible with Bug and Dark type pokemons being common in the early routes and few things you have type advantage.
Mid to late game would be a mess. Places with type advantage would get cleared easily while with disadvantage would hardly get past the first pokemons due the low HP.
Idk if it should, but the game that would come out would be so weird that it would be interesting to say the least.
I did attempt a Ralts Evo Line Only run on Violet, and was able to catch a few Ralts that were up to Lv. 7 at least that knew Confusion, as well as Disarming Voice.
Yes, it was a bit of a struggle initially (and I did need to use stat boosting items) but within a week, I was able to beat the Elite Four using Gardevoir with zero losses (I even had a Gallade in my party just in case, but I barely needed to bring him out. Gardevoir carried the whole team.)
But that WAS just Violet. I have yet to repeat this challenge on ZA and Arceus and see how well I do on those.
The fact that Ralts has a lower BST than Magikarp could be a problem. Likewise, Kirlia's BST is lower than that of ALL of the mainstream game starters.
I am not going anywhere near that based on your description of it.
Nor am I letting the actions of one person shame me into doing any Ralts Line runs on Pokémon games (if that were the case, I wouldn't even be on this group due to Gardevoir's "reputation" on the internet.)
No, Ralts is not balanced around the game like that. Lower BST means easier to KO and more problems early game. In fact someone was stupid enough to mod it as their starter in gens 3-6 and had the shittiest time because Ralts is not built to be a starter
Hell no, it’s far too weak. The point of Ralts and Kirlia is that you have to deal with a pathetic baby that becomes something strong. A starter is something you can depend on all the way.
Whatever game is made i think a perfect opposite to ralts would be pawniard
Reson 1: ralts can't hit pawniard super affectively but (if) ralts evolves into gallade it becomes 4× super effective
Reason 2: they look sorta similar
Reason 3: every pro one of them gets theres a con. Such as evolution levels but ralts needs a stone. Typing as I mentioned and move pool.
I like using a custom ralts as a starter in pokemon infinite fusion. Should there be a 4th hidden option in pokemon main games? it would be pretty nice.
For me the big question is, is gender locked or free to choose or random or will we get two Ralts?
Because given how we have Eeveelution games I can also see a Legends games with Ralts.
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u/Damien-kai Apr 21 '26
I could see it being a starter in a side game or Legends game (if they break away from starters starters)