Almost three and a half years after the release of “Pokémon Scarlet and Violet,” Game Freak has officially revealed the starter Pokémon for their next game: “Pokémon Winds and Waves.” As always, the announcement has sparked plenty of discussion surrounding the three starters, and fans are left to argue over which starter is best. In honor of the reveal, the Life section has gathered to discuss their thoughts on the newest Pokémon!
Samantha Brody, she/her/hers, Life Editor
The Pokémon starters are always controversial — there is simply no world in which a newly released set of starters won’t draw criticism from the masses. In this case, I think the Gecqua hatred is frankly undeserved. This little dude has a fun and interesting design, and in my opinion, is the best-looking among the bunch. There’s nothing wrong with a weird-looking Pokémon!
That being said, I do enjoy Browt’s design, but I’ll have to wait to choose my favorite between Browt and Gecqua until after the full evolution line is released. Pombon unfortunately just doesn’t hit the mark for me. It’scute, yes, but it’s also just a dog, and I think it’s a bit overhyped. It has some potential to be a great starter if the evolution line can make up for this dog’s simplistic design. And come on, do we really need more dog Pokémon?
Connor Lafferty, he/him/his, Managing Editor
Generation 10 brings one of the strongest trios the world of Pokémon has seen — as strong as a triangle with two edges. Who in the world approved Gecqua as a headliner alongside Pombon and Browt? It’s like putting Lebron James, Michael Jordan and Tyler Herro on the same court. The only thing that could bail out that creature is strong stage one and two evolutions.
On that note, I’d like to see a new approach to starter evolutions with the tenth generation. Keep them small, even at stage two. This is the cutest set (duo) of starters we’ve had since the greatest grass Pokémon, Grookey, was introduced. When they are announced, stage two Pombon better just be a tiny lil’ guy, because if Zacian isn’t getting a fiery buddy out of this generation, I’m considering it a massive flop. I hope Browt stays grumpyand mean-looking and Gecqua stops looking so… odd?
Pierce Colfer, he/they, Associate News Editor
There’s one thing that is undeniable about Pokémon: The team that designs them has been on fire since 1996, and the Generation 10 starters continue their streak. Browt, Gecqua and Pombon’s designs are simple, elegantand adorable. They’re everything you could want in a trio of starters.
Browt’s design is my personal favorite. The little baby bird conveys such a deep annoyance despite its tiny size, as if the annoyance is essential to its existence. Browt is young, but I can already tell that it’s sick ofwhatever is going on. Do not get in this guy’s way or he will give you a crazy amount of side eye.
For Pombon, its brilliance comes in its eyes, which are completely devoid of any semblance of thought. It’s clear that Pombon has no clue what is going on; all it knows is that it is happy to be here. Pombon’s dopiness is perfect for a starter and it’ll be interesting to see if its evolutions will maintain that demeanor or evolve into a fiercer beast.
And one cannot forget about Gecqua, who seems like they would act super friendly and charming before slyly pickpocketing your wallet. Gecqua has a beguiling aura that makes me think they’ll evolve into a water-psychic type who is a bit of a scoundrel.
It’ll be exciting to follow the announcements of the Generation 10 Pokémon to see if the rest of them match the quality of our three newest starters.
Colbi Loranger, she/her/hers, Associate Managing Editor
There will always be people who complain that whatever the new Pokémon game is has terrible graphics, a forgettable story and “fake-looking” starters. While I have my problems with the most recent games, I am a major fan of all things Pokémon and haven’t seen a lot of issues with the more recent starters (aside from the bipedal trend). Truthfully, when I first saw the starters for “Pokémon Winds and Waves,” I was underwhelmed, thinking they didn’t feel like Pokémon and that the trio looked disjointed. Now that I’ve had some time to sit with them, there is one design I have become very fond of: Browt.
I may be biased since I have chickens living in my backyard, but I find this little creature to be extremely adorable and I want it to become a mighty warrior chicken that is nothing like the Torchic line. We still don’t know the starters’ final and middle stage evolutions, so it’s hard to really judge them as they are now, but I still don’t find them to look very cohesive. I only hope that they don’t all end up bipedal (Browt is the exception, of course, because chickens happen to have only two legs, but it would be interesting if they gave it more).
Sean Aitken, he/him/his, Contributor, sean.aitken@uconn.edu
The newly announced Generation 10 Pokémon starters have seen a lot of mixed feelings from fans to the general public. I find at least one of them intriguing. Starting with the grass type Browt — a chicken with a mean brow, as the name implies. I’m indifferent on this Pokémon as long as its evolution doesn’t copy the Torchic line and if it has a cool eyebrow razor move.
The water type Gecqua is a water gecko. This starter has seen the most backlash with people calling it a “Littlest Pet Shop” character. I feel like both Browt and Gecqua in a vacuum are fine but putting them together on a starter line just feels stale and like Game Freak is rehashing Hoenn. The fire type Pombon is my favorite and who I’d pick as of right now. It’s an adorable Pomeranian puppy and even fits with the Southeast Asian archipelago region that this game is themed around. Pombon in relation to the others feels fresher and newer. Let’s hope Pombon stays on all fours during its evolution.