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Natures and Characteristics have been a part of thePokemonfranchise since Generation 3/4. These would determine a Pokemon’s stat growth, which is important for those who play competitively. Rookie trainers who want a good starter inPokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violetshould try for a Nature befitting Sprigatito, Fuecoco, or Quaxly.
For casualPokemon Scarlet & Violetplayers, Nature won’t be nearly as important, and they can stick with whichever Nature they want. However, like all Pokemon, the Paldean Starters have their strengths and weaknesses, which is something trainers will want to remember. The following guide analyzes the Gen 9 Starters' best and worst stats, as well as their Typing and evolutions.
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Natures for Sprigatito, Floragato, and Meowscarada
Players that chose the Grass-type Sprigatito may already know which Types it has an advantage and disadvantage over. Like any Grass-type, Sprigatito will learn moves that are strong against Water, Ground, and Rock-type Pokemon.Once it reaches its final evolution, Meowscarada, it becomes a dual-type Grass/Dark-type Pokemon.
Attack
Special Defense
Sprigatito’s final evolutionwill learn the signature move:Flower Trick. This is a Grass-type Physical move thatalwayslands a critical hit and never misses, as long as the opposing Pokemon doesn’t use Dig or Fly.
Except forthree moves, Meowscarada’s entire learnset is mostly Physical attacks. This pairs well with its base Attack stat of 110, and coupled with a base Speed of 123, Meowscarada is guaranteed to move before most Pokemon and attack hard.
Worst Natures
Unfortunately, Defense and Special Defense are tied at 70 base stat, making Sprigatito and its evolutions relatively weak to faster-hitting Pokemon. As Meowscarada, players would do well to keep it away from Bug-type Pokemon since Meowscarada has a4x weakness to Bug-type movesthanks to its dual Grass/Dark-Typing.
In short, players will want a Nature thatincreasesthe Sprigatito-line’sAttackorSpeedstat while taking abaneinDefenseorSpecial Defense.
Speed
Meowscarada’s Special Attack is its second-worst stat behind Defense/Special Defense. As stated, Meowscarada only has three moves in its learnset that are Special, so it’s one stat that Sprigatito trainers can “sacrifice.” It’s very important toavoidNatures that lower Meowscarada’s Speed more than Attack. Generally, getting any of the above Natures is worth a soft reset.
Natures likeBraveorTimidthat increase Attack/decrease Speed and increase Speed/decrease Attack, respectively, are not recommended either. While Meowscarada could use the boots to its Attack or Speed, it shouldn’t come at the cost of its Speed or Attack.
Alternatively, players that are fine with Natures that give neither an increase nor decrease in stats can settle for Natures like Serious, Hardy, Docile, Bashful, or Quirky.
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Natures for Fuecoco, Crocalor, and Skeledirge
The Fire-type Fuecoco will evolve into Skeledirge at level 36, making it a Fire/Ghost-type. As most trainers may know, Fuecoco will learn moves that are strong against Grass, Ice, Bug, and Steel-type Pokemon.Once it becomes Skeledirge, it also gains an advantage over most Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon, too.
Stat-wise, Fuecoco-line’s strengths come in its Defense and Special Attack. Unlike Sprigatito and Quaxly, Fuecoco is a fairly slow-moving Pokemon, with a base stat Speed of 66 as a Skeledirge.
Fuecoco and its evolutions benefit from the following Natures:
Defense
Despite the Fuecoco-line’s worst stat being their Speed, players will want to avoid having a Nature that decreases their Speed growth. Instead, try for a Nature that will decrease its Attack, Defense, or Special Defense growth. The best Natures for Fuecoco are ones that will raise its Special Attack, but Defense is a solid choice too.
Skeledirge’s learnset consists of mainly Special movessuch as Shadow Ball andTorch Song, its signature move. Torch Song is a Fire-type Special offense move that will increase Skeledirge’s Special Attack stat by one stage. Thus, it’s important that Skeledirge doesn’t take a hit to its Special Attack stat growth.
Special Attack
Despite its low base stat, the Fuecoco-line can fair well with a Nature that increases its Speed growth, butonlyat the cost of its Attack, Defense, or Special Defense. Since Special Attack is Skeledirge’s best strength, Natures likeJolly,which increases its Speed but lowers its Special Attack growth, is not recommended. The opposite Nature of Jolly,Quiet, will raise Special Attack at the cost of Speed growth. However, it’s not worth lowering Skeledirge’s Speed just for some extra firepower.
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Natures for Quaxly, Quaxwell, and Quaquaval
The Water-type Quaxly and its evolutions have all-around stats, with their best strength being their Attack stat. However, this shouldn’t prevent beginning trainers from choosing Quaxly as their starter. Quaxly and its evolutions having an all-around stat spread means that players can be less finicky when it comes to their ideal Nature.
As a Water-type Pokemon, Quaxly will have coverage against the more-common Type Pokemon like Ground or Rock-type.Once Quaxly evolves into Quaquaval, it’ll become a Water/Fighting-type. The Fighting typing grants more coverage to Quaxly at the cost of a few more Type weaknesses.
Best Natures
The Quaxly-line is the most flexible as far as Natures go, but competitiveScarlet/Violettrainers will still want a Nature that capitalizes on its strengths:
Once Quaxly evolves into Quaquaval, its learnset will consist mostly of Physical moves such as Low Sweep andits Water-type signature move,Aqua Step. Aqua Step deals 80 damage and will increase Quaquaval’s Speed stat by one stage in battle. Combine this with a Nature that gives Quaquaval a faster Speed growth, and it can easily move first in battle.
As mentioned, the Quaxly-line’s flexibility means it can make do with a wider range of Natures. The best growths should go towards its Speed or Attack, but trainers that prefer to play it safe can go with a Serious/Docile/Bashful/Hardy/Quirky Nature Quaxly.
These Natures are not recommended for Quaquaval or its pre-evolutions:
Avoid a Quaxly that has an Attack/Speed-lowering Nature. Even Natures that increase one of Quaxly’s better stats (i.e: Attack) at the cost of a useful Stat (i.e: Speed) aren’t recommended. Also, while Quaquaval’sSpecial Attack is better than Meowscarada, it’s not worth the extra boost at the cost of its Attack or Speed (i.e: Timid and Quiet Nature).
The Quaxly-line needs to be able to move fast and hit hard in battle. While it may not be as speedy as the Sprigatito-line or as sturdy as the Fuecoco-line, Quaquaval’s all-around stats means it can normally withstand moves that target its weaknesses (unlike Meowscarada) and move faster than most Pokemon (unlike Skeledirge).
