Best Pokémon water starters

897 duels later, Squirtle is still #1 in the Pokémon ranking, with Totodile close behind at 1289 ELO points.

Squirtle's 49-point lead over Totodile marks the sharpest divide in this ranking of water starters. The gap underscores the enduring appeal of the original Generation I starter, which wins 62% of its duels. Mudkip claims third place with 1285 ELO points, trailing Totodile by just 4 points. Piplup and Froakie round out the top 5, while the bottom reveals a harsher reality: Sobble and Quaxly languish at 8th and 9th with 1054 and 1052 ELO points respectively. The community's verdict on these newer starters is clear, with Sobble winning only 34% of its matchups.

This ranking draws on 897 duels cast by 46 players across 9 contenders, updated on 12 October 2026. Each duel pits two water starters head-to-head, and every choice reshapes the leaderboard. VAINKEURZ builds its rankings from these direct comparisons, letting the community's preferences surface through repeated matchups. Whether you champion the classic appeal of Squirtle or believe Sobble deserves better, your vote counts. Jump into the duels and make your case for your favorite water starter.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →