Explorers of Sky: In Depth Official Starter Tier List

Hey! Thanks for stopping by to read the description! I know this video is a bit longer than other normal tier lists, but I really wanted to get my thoughts out there :D
Hope you guys enjoy!
If you guys liked this video, be sure to check out my IQ Skills tier list video as well!: • Explorers of Sky: IQ S...
Please Like and Subscribe if you guys enjoyed and I will see y'all next vid!
#PokémonMysteryDungeon #ExplorersofSky #TierList #PMD2 #PMD #Explorers #Pokemon #Pokémon #StarterTierList

[@PL4YT1M3]

I didn't choose my starter, I let the personality test do it for me. It told me that I was a Shinx, and I had no complaints because my favorite type is electric. The difficult thing was choosing a partner: I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl, but... which type should I choose? I finally settled on Mudkip. It wasn't because it was water type, for his moves or anything like that, I didn't know about those things at the time. I chose it for its face. In case y'all don't remember, every time you selected a partner it smiled, and that was what made me choose Mudkip, his smile.

[@Carnidoom]

in time i was mudkip woth turtwig psrtner Md in sky riolu and partner shinx dialga was very eady

[@basketbomberslackingson4417]

@@Carnidoom I understand absolutely nothing you just said mate.

[@RaincloudsInSpring]

"In Time I was Mudkip with Turtwig as my partner. In sky, I was Riolu and my partner was Shinx. Dialga was very easy."

[@MetaGiga]

That smile That damn smile

[@graylee945]

Thank you!!

[@sprinklesandtrumpettoots7151]

I literally only picked Skitty as my starter and Vulpix as my partner because I wanted to have a cute team of all girls. I had absolutely no idea they were straight up fucking ridiculous. Since Skitty is just a throwaway with a cute design in the main games, I really assumed it would be the same story here.

[@19spacecats]

Eeyyy that’s my team! I was trying for Vulpix, but I got Skitty and decided just to have Vulpix as the partner instead.

[@progressxyzdrodrex6236]

What to choose to get skitty?

[@ryanclemons1]

I wish you could be a guy and be a vulpix. But nope game says you got to be female to be one

[@sprinklesandtrumpettoots7151]

@@ryanclemons1Yeah, and if they gave us Riolu as a girl too

[@ryanclemons1]

@@sprinklesandtrumpettoots7151 yup

[@sparklingemolga5169]

as a one that had skitty as his partner... i can confirm she is broken. normallize, ang getting zen headbutt as an egg move. she even one shoted drowzee.... skitty was kind of doing most of the work while i was a chikorita in my opinion, some pokemon's tier depends if the pokemon is you or the partner. for example, eevee. eevee has run away as one of her abilities, if you are the eevee, the ability won't affect you. however, if the eevee is your partner, she will start running away and fleeing if her HP is under the half, leaving you behind.

[@serafeather4507]

I liked using Eevee as partner. Her fleeing when in danger seemed like something that she would do with her personality. I usually am a Riolu with an Eevee partner

[@TheReptain]

My eevee never runs away i think its a setting but idk excatly

[@sparklingemolga5169]

@@TheReptain was the eevee your partner?

[@TheReptain]

@@sparklingemolga5169 yes i have played all starters xD

[@sparklingemolga5169]

@@TheReptain oh, weird

[@alphastronghold715]

I like how he said Riolu was A+ to S- and then proceeds to put him in the middle of B tier.

[@sovietdoge1554]

this reminds me about how I spammed agility and discharge with luxray

[@thegoldengrunt3414]

I didnt know luxray could learn agility in pmd2, could you tell me how to get it?

[@tilmanschmid1130]

@@thegoldengrunt3414 he just doesnt, maybe he was playing with treecko partner who gets it (or hacking)

[@solidzack]

Linking charge and discharge together to destroy monster houses...man Shinx didn't have the greatest moveset but that combo was great for farming exp

[@sovietdoge1554]

@@solidzack thank for reminding me that it was charge not agility

[@Kyara7]

If you had yellow rat bitch he gets Agility and discharge

[@Diamondminer49r]

Who else is here in 2021... the fact that this game still has so much interest this many years after release proves that it is one of the truly great titles. Thanks for the video legend.

[@spinnyboi9951]

im here in 2022, looking at this since im planning to play the pmd skies hackrom lol

[@oodogla]

Yes

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

It is so iconic.

[@dvp1694]

2023 here, it’s timeless and priceless

[@rakai9844]

2024✌️

[@CatNyan30]

When I played as skitty I thought normalize would make things so much harder because I couldn't take advantage of type coverage and hit steel/ghost types hard. Then I got all the ginseng I could find in the game and made the monstrosity that is tackle+11. Darkrai wept that day.

[@stpeepy]

Tackle oh my god I get em with water pulse personally. Common enough TM, long range

[@Kyara7]

How to you get that much ginseng before Darkrai

[@CatNyan30]

@@Kyara7 Jobs and the sentry minigame mostly, and sometimes from certain dungeons like zero isle south

[@cond.oriano8210]

Even the sky gifts. If you give some to guild members through the delivery ship, they'll give you various items including ginseng, very commonly. I once had Riolu's Focus Punch at +13 and Treecko's Dig at +8.

[@MYS_JS]

@@Kyara7 sky gifts also once you get a grinsing you can save go into an easy dungeon and use it grinsigs have a chance to give you +3 instead of the normal +1 so I just reset if I don't get +3

[@spiritbaki108]

How to win at every boss battle: - Have a fire type starter - Use smokescreen - Now the boss cant attack you until smokescreen wears off

[@p1nnysk3n1s]

+agility to completely break the game

[@monke12354]

Or just have a few utility seeds to throw at the bosses. Felt like the game was on easy mode whenever I had like 2 to 3 Totter/Sleep/Stun/X-Eye Seeds

[@arandomguy299]

Or just spam agility+discharge

[@spiritbaki108]

@@arandomguy299 I had a pikachu buddy so I used that

[@MotoMoto-fg3lr]

i used the same strat, but with the mud slap that mudkip have

[@baconsir1159]

Low-key upset Eevee is female only. Like, it’s Eevee. Everyone likes Eevee.

[@judgementbird2248]

Yeah, I didn’t like that in Red/Blue Rescue team either. Like, it doesn’t make sense, only way I can think is that they thought it was a predominantly ‘feminine’’ Pokemon, as it was a bit more popular amongst girls.

[@KazShiro]

What makes it stupider is that its gender ratio leans to male more

[@richardkirkland6805]

What's strange is that despite Eevee being female only in Mystery Dungeon, the gender ratio means that's it's most likely to be male.

[@eschatos03]

@@richardkirkland6805 y'all buggin bro eevee is great female

[@MutedAndReported3032]

I had her as my partner

[@joegreen3802]

I know they are partner exclusive, but I feel that Meowth and Munchlax shouldn’t be forgotten

[@729MendicantTide]

No mention of the fact that Riolu starts with Bite (normally an Egg move) for Ghost coverage?

[@royplatt455]

Also the fact that it's the only unevolved starter that gets STAB Focus Punch. That may seem like a fairly insignificant thing, but one important thing of note is that Focus Punch, in Sky, DOES NOT FAIL IF YOU ARE HIT. This means that Riolu has a fairly safely spammable way to murder individual foes. It's possible, and even EASY, to strike for 999 damage, even on foes that are only neutral against it. Sure, it doesn't quite have Monster house clearing, but it can also just use Wide Slash and bottle at a chokepoint. Riolu has so much going for it that I could argue it deserves high A Tier, Low S tier

[@729MendicantTide]

@@royplatt455 I never tried Focus Punch Riolu in a playthrough of the game, but I think that advertisement might end up causing me to try it out. But the most glaring thing that would at least cause me to rate Riolu in A or possibly even S is because of how Fighting is just a well-rounded attacking type. Hell, both story final bosses are weak to fighting that I could argue that Palkia was harder than Darkrai (though if you are unlucky to get Ominous Wind drawn into Darkrai's moveset, then that might cause other problems).

[@silverthehero1295]

@@royplatt455 Very true. I once one shot Darkrai with Riolu’s Focus Punch.

[@mufflebuns6322]

@@royplatt455 Amen. Focus Punch is soooooo damn good. I even managed to do ~700 damage to Dialga...as a level 5 Riolu. Really solid.

[@mudkip_btw]

@@729MendicantTide I just played through the game with Riolu and focus punch DESTROYS this game. It's really good

[@danielpuche5270]

Post-game Skitty: skitty: *sing* partner: *leer* skitty: *Double Slap* *1 hit, 300dmg* *2 hit, 300 dmg* *3 hit, 300 dmg* *the boss is dead*

[@mitchellmcivor7509]

Monster House: Who are you to my army? Pikachu w/Discharge:

[@9bladesofice]

Though it's crazy when one pokemon has lightningrod since you get lots of "the lightningrod absorbed the discharge"x however many pokemon. I'd have pikachu as a partner so I turn off discharge until that pokemon is defeated then back on then yeah it's amazing once more.

[@heem6116]

So broken

[@dragoe7441]

@@heem6116 ikr hahahahaha pikachu is a god

[@mtvproductioning9811]

@Mitchell Mclver And Shinx.

[@BluesGold.]

It makes me so happy that these games touched so many people and left an impact. The popularity of PMD videos on KZbin is a testament to it’s influence.

[@NoktarYoutube]

And its not overrated so we dont have cringe communities like the main Pokemon games have, its PERFECTION.

[@squilliams7124]

Timestamps: Pikachu: 1:18 Eevee: 5:05 Bulbasaur: 7:45 Squirtle: 10:54 Charmander: 12:11 Chikorita: 14:17 Totodile: 16:33 Cyndaquil: 18:19 Treecko: 20:08 Mudkip: 21:31 Torchic: 22:34 Turtwig: 24:32 Piplup: 25:32 Chimchar: 26:43 Vulpix: 27:39 Phanpy: 29:05 Skitty: 31:16 Riolu: 32:42 Shinx: 33:30

[@freshlycannedwater]

Thank you Squilliams

[@xavierlehew6746]

Thanks a bunch.

[@alucard4344]

Thank

[@All-OutBroncos]

Thanks

[@J0eMega]

Late to the party, but the electric type moves pikachu can learn, Thunder shock and thunder bolt, are also super useful in dungeons with ghosts types. I have no idea why those moves are some of the few that can hit ghosts that are currently inside walls, but it’s an under appreciated plus.

[@Feral174]

Munchy boy might not be able to be a starter but he makes a dummy THICC tank partner

[@jorgeddls]

Whit the iq abilities with bodyguard its just the best tank, he saved my shinxs ass a lot, and metronome its busted in early

[@videorelaxant2780]

I hate how sky took Meowth and Munchlax away from the player starters.😭😭😭😭

[@zapperil]

You know if you think about it IQ group is basically like a class Type A is Scavenger , exclusively foraging items in the map Type B is Chemist , specialized on using items Type C is Soldier , almost purely offensive IQ skill ( There's a lot of it in starters , but mostly a fire-type ) Type D is Assassin , focusing on agility and avoidance ( Pikachu and Treecko is Assassin , i think ) Type E is Paladin , the reverse of Type C , supporting tank ( Many water starter are this type except for Piplup ) Type F is Hero , the well-balanced one ( Piplup is one of them ) Type G are Excavators Type H is Cleric , Chikorita is a Cleric I and J is well , Dialga and Palkia

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Ah, Palkia, my favorite class.

[@MHMistol]

I love the fact that piplup is the balanced IQ type, and also that you dubbed it the hero archetype

[@pandathug6806]

Palkia and dialga is more like space and time class since palkia can go wherever he wants and dialgia gets 2x movement

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Chikorita is legit a pretty solid partner choice. Razor Leaf and Bullet Seed are really all it needs for offense as a partner; it'll gun down enemies effectively enough, and Bullet Seed shreds even resists. It has solid defensive stats that you can rely on to tank damage, even its weaknesses, moreso if it keeps Synthesis to buy time. From there you get pure advantage from its support movepool and IQ skills. It has major shortcomings as a starter, but it's probably one of the best partners in the game.

[@babubacon8977]

Wow. The first time I played the game Phanpy was my partner, no wonder it felt so hard.

[@inkylynx2777]

Hey, you've forgotten about the glorious move Eevee has that is Helping Hand! I've used that to buff my allies' power when I wouldn't be able to do a lot of damage to certain bosses on my own! I first played with a Vulpix partner and then with a Shinx partner, and they both have dark-type moves to help deal with ghosts (Faint Attack and Crunch respectively) and can both learn Dig to deal with Primal Dialga and other rock and steel types. So I just spam Helping Hand to make my allies hit harder and this works wonders in battles with a lot of allies (Team Charm and Sky Peak) or even battles where you're getting ganged up on (Dusknoir, Darkrai, The Guild). Eevee *is* garbage as a partner, but way better as a player since Run Away can't activate. She works well as a support with Flail as a good taser.

[@ducklord4126]

Yo! Sick tier list, I'm glad to see people still love this game. Two of my main complaints are Totodile and Charmander, though. Someone else actually told you more or less the same reasons I would move Totodile higher, so I'll just hone in on lizard boy. I honestly believe that he should be A tier, at least. My reasoning is him learning scary face and smokescreen, which trivialize all non-monster house encounters, and gets metal claw for dealing with rock types early on. When he evolves, though... Heat Wave just turns everything into a joke, and since it's a level 1 Charizard move, it's excellent for running level reset dungeons. In adition, it works like a charm with pokemon that have earthquake, due to inmunity... infact, I've heard a lot about running Mudkip and Charmander for this very reason! Just things to consider, loved this video!

[@shensei4]

Thank you for your comment! I believe this is my very first piece of constructive criticism on KZbin! For that I am grateful! I will definitely take your opinion of both the lizard bois into consideration. 😁

[@danadekker7048]

It makes me so happy to see that people are still interested in these games and are still making content for it!! Pmd explorers of sky is such an important game to me these kinda videos are awesome thank you man

[@gregowen9856]

I feel like the list is flewed. Chikorita should’ve been way higher cause her support moves are good for survivability like Aromatherapy for example, that move saves me so many times from dangerous debuff such as confuse, badly poison and even Perish Song. I have never run into any problems with Chikorita. Also Treecko should be higher as well cause he knows agility which is one of the broken moves in the game.

[@shensei4]

Thanks for commenting! You're completely entitled to your own opinion and you could make a tier list yourself if you disagree with the placements of certain pokemon! Its free and available online!

[@cheeseboi588]

@@shensei4 I love how you basically just said fuck off

[@shensei4]

@@cheeseboi588 hey man, you can't satisfy everyone 😂

[@rickshiandmoku4128]

Pure grass is just terrible in mystery dungeon. That alone is almost enough for F tier. Way to many fire types in these games sadly

[@gregowen9856]

@@rickshiandmoku4128 if you really want to pick a team that makes the game really hard, then pick Phanpy as your leader and Eevee as your partner as they are the worst possible combination for this game. Grass type at least have some good moves while Phanpy has awful moves and Eevee has the god awful ability Run Away

[@mctankies]

I remember my partner Mudkip using Endeavor on Primal Dialga; it was hilarious seeing his health drop so suddenly.

[@TheAtheistGamer]

I hated the fact I became a skitty...then I starting playing as that Skitty and oh boy...I was a god!

[@zhipcomics3001]

Wouldn’t bulbasaur have a slight advantage thou since he is part poison so he resists some extra things like fighting and becomes neutral to bug and poison and can’t be poisoned from traps and stuff

[@shensei4]

True, good point, but I still believe that all his other disadvantages (mainly just being grass type lmao), his IQ skill group, and his move pool set him back compared to all the other starters.

[@akirananimoto5843]

Plus poison makes ground neutral instead of resistant, as well as makes psychic super effective.

[@zacm4567]

Honestly that saved me a lot throughout the game

[@brandoncherry6264]

Bulbasaur's a monster lol, same with Shinx. Bullet Seed is your best friend, along with Thunder Fang. Was tearing legendary Pokémon in half with the combination. Got even better when they evolved. I'm in postgame now, and my movesets are: Luxray -Thunder Fang (Flinching/Paralyzation) -Crunch (Flinching) -Iron Tail (Coverage, Defense Drop) -Charge (Combined with Thunder Fang and the flinch/paralyzation rate, it's really good) Throwing items replace quick attack lol Venasaur -Giga Drain (For healing & damage) -Sludge Bomb (Multi-hit, pierces) -Bullet Seed (Multi-hit, pierces) -Hidden Power ( Mainly for coverage, might swap for Growth. How does this look?)

[@zhipcomics3001]

@@brandoncherry6264 I’d replace iron tail with discharge

[@voltimer_]

Explorers of Sky: In Depth Official Starter Tier List "By no means am I an official guide or anything" well

[@Akumo69]

If you want more of an objective guide, follow the strategies commonly used on the leaderboards of whatever speedrun category correlates with the stage of the game you're in best

[@Ares-mg2nj]

Pikachu with discharge and cyndaquil with lava plume is OP level starter combo...

[@aquatazer]

I wanted to make a PMD video, and just now getting this in my recommendations will make me go ahead and start working on a video ranking every music track from EoS. Great video, I love this game more than anything else and it’s amazing to see people that also love it and appreciate this game for as wonderful as it is😃

[@oodogla]

I think that Treeko should be higher because 1. It can learn bullet seed and dig. 2. most of the bosses can be either beaten by those moves, or aren't effective on grass. 3. If you choose the right partner that can cover some weaknesses. This is just my opinion but you can play the game any way you like.

[@shensei4]

Thanks for sharing your opinion! Treeko is quite boss in his own way if you know how to use him right!

[@gregowen9856]

There’s also the fact that Treecko can also learn Agility which is one of the broken move in the game. That alone makes it A tier

[@oodogla]

@@gregowen9856 Yeah I forgot to mention that.

[@shannonvanegas7313]

@@oodogla who would recommend as a partner? I'm thinking about running skitty as the partner.

[@oodogla]

@@shannonvanegas7313 treeko ig but you can use whatever you want, the game isn't so hard you need to choose a specific Pokemon to win without difficulty. Skitty is pretty strong by itself too getting double slap. Sorry for late reply

[@anonjohn9760]

Excellent breakdown and tiering, mate. Long time fan and player of the Explorer series, and it has always been a interest of mine of how good/bad/meh each individual Starter/Partner picks are. Nice to see others share that fascination with me! I do have some differing opinions about IQ groups, the validity of Moves, and Exclusive Items that make certain Pokemon 'better' at first/thorough glance than others, however, and allow me to explain. For starters (heh) I personally think IQ groups C,D, and E are pretty solid all around for differing reasons. C and D get Concentrator as an overall consistency booster to their Moves, and makes less than accurate Moves more palatable to choose. Bullet Seed is practically a match made in heaven for Treecko as a result, and a LOT of the more powerful Fire Moves have annoyingly low accuracy that can be shored with Concentrator.Both also get Clutch Performer, which is a nice (if inconsistent) form of protection - can't die if the mobs can't hit ya, after all! Focusing on D it has Sharp Shooter for extra Crits, Gap Prober to safely fire off LoS Moves through your comrades, and late game/grind Quick Dodger and Critical Dodger are supremely good damage mitigation skills when they proc. Group C has Type Advantage Master to give them crits for days on SE Moves, which considering how most Starters in C Group has plenty of coverage to go around make all those Moves much more useful than just sticking to STAB. Speaking of SE, Group C also has Erratic Player, which completely changes how you play, making SE Moves better than STAB and making STAB SE just *devastating* . Group E is....well, it's not the most PROACTIVE of IQ groups, but its Skill generally will help you last longer through dungeons with or without having to overstuff your Bag with Apples, Revivers, or other safety items. That, and it gets most of its good Skill with pretty lenient IQ requirements, so if someone isn't interested in 'late game' Skill they can sod them off and have a much easer/shorter time grinding Gummies to get the easy to get QoL Skills like Energy Savor or Quick Healer. Moving on to Moves and Quirks for the Starters, one thing you glossed over with Bulbasaur and Skitty is that they get Sleep Moves in the form of Sleep Powder and Sing. Main Game they're like Paralysis/Imprision but better against most everything but Boss with Nonsleeper or Self Curer, which makes getting through the story a somewhat easier affair. Post game though...well enemies in general in the new areas have high enough IQ to be practically immune to Sleep through aforementioned Nonsleeper or Self Curer, so Sleep falls off heavily in usefulness unless you have great memory for what Pokemon has those Skills. More of Bulba, they also get Sludge Bomb as a alternative STAB and as a LoS Move, so if a player manages to nab a copy of the TM they have twice the STAB of all Pre Post Game Starters. Sweet Scent can work as a make shift Concentrator, letting it and its whole party have a easer time landing their Moves against mobs (and considering the Accuracy of its STABs and Bullet Seed, any such boost is a true boon indeed). Finally and briefly going on a brief tangent back to IQ, due to being Dual Type from the get go you have a much better time raising IQ for Bulba than the other Starters Main Story, which is relevant considering their are several point in the game you can intentionally stall going further in the plot to farm Missions/Dungeons for Items, Gummies, and Points (Waterfall Cave and Apple Woods spring to mind) to prepare yourself for what come later on. Not the most time efficient route to take to power, but if you want to utilize a good bulk of most Starter's IQ Skills before the credits roll.... Squirtle gets Rain Dance and Protect later on in their Learn Pool, the later of which is stellar....well, *protection* , while the former....oh boy. Weather in general in PMD:EoT/D/S is hard to manipulate since TMs for Weather Moves are unavailable to get in them (to my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong), and their are a bunch of 'Mons that have Abilities or good Type Exclusive Items that would LOVE to have their 'online' 24/7. So Squirtle, as the only Starter with a Weather Move, is in a prime position to be the linchpin of Rain Weather Teams Main Story, and is in a pretty good position Post Game since they've been (presumably) well Leveled and learnt in Moves/IQ SKills. Doesn't hurt that the Water Gem grants Bad Status Immunity to its Type under Rain, giving it and its kin a lovely safeguard (heh) against the most debilitating effects that mobs can lob at ya. Chimchar gets Nasty Plot, which can amp up is Ember Damage and makes Overheat much more of a viable Move to use (without hunting for Wonder Tiles to clear the S.ATK Down, anyway). It also gets Grass Knot as a TM Move, making it the only Fire Starter with counter coverage against Rocks/Grounds/Waters that otherwise be major pests for the tinder sparkers (Also gets buffed by NP, so even better!). It's later Evos Fighting type, while good for extra STAB and wider Movepool, makes them weaker against Flying and Psychic types, which at the time where some of the most prevalent Types in Pokemon. With that in mind, it can probably climb its way up to A- Tier, but it is also fine where it is at in your list Torchic's Mirror Move is not completely broken for the player, as Pokemon that get killed by it don't reward EXP , so if you're not max Level with the chick it can be a slight hinderance to that height. Otherwise, it takes a loooong time to get to MM, and being part Fighting type in its later Evos comes with the same up/downsides that Chimchar has. Riolu overall Learnset is pretty dang excellent, as Bite and Force Palm effectively gives it prefect neutral coverage against everything in the game, while Quick Attack is a nice to take out or soften up mobs a distance away. Screech is the best Link Move set up for ANY of its Phys Moves, and you already mentioned Copycat's potential. TMwise it has Drain Punch for Healing 'n Damage Dealing, Focus Punch for MAXIMUM DAMAGE!, Focus Blast for iffy LoS STAB, and Rock Slide to deal with annoying Flying and Bug pests that would stigmy it. It's Evolution, on the other hand, IS pretty great for the reasons you stated, but what was not mentioned is that its one of the few Pokemon that has access to Bone Rush, which as Ground Moves go is downright excellent compared to the 'Kill My Team/Going Solo' Earthquake/Magnitude and 'Must Wait and Bait' Dig most other Pokemon get as Ground coverage. However its Steel Type is a bit of a liability in some of the late game dungeons - those dang Nidoqueens in the Conceled Ruins with their Earth Power still make me Growl every time I think of them - and one of its Exclusive Treasures is more useful for Riolu, so their is an argument to be made keeping it as a smol puppy if you're the type to always have your Starter with you in Post Game Team Builiding. Overall probably deserves B+ to A Tiering, disregarding its Type Exclusive Treasures. With it.....let's just say 'Virtually Permeant Agility for Fighting Types' and leave it at that, shall we? Eevee is similar to Riolu in that it has a pretty dang good overall Movepool, though even more so due to having Adaptability giving it effectively Double STAB and subsequently wrecking most mobs in the game. It also can learn EXP Elite and its Exclusive Item boosts XP Gains , both of which stack together and with other EXP boosting Items, so once you get them it'll Level up like crazy. STAB Moves in general in PMD are superior to SE Moves (disregarding Erratic Player), and Adaptability just makes STAB even better (and 'stacks' with Ginseng Boosts), so like with Riolu their is a argument to be made not to Evolve it to just to keep its high PP STABs super strong. Probably deserves A Tier in me opinion, but like with Chimchar its good where it is at as well. Skitty.....well, I can't really argue with its Tiering, but I personally don't like it due to its Normalize Ability ruining any possible SE coverage it can get out of its Movepool. Normally not that big of deal consider STAB's dominance....but Skiity can learn Erratic Player, which WOULD benefit it GREATLY where it not for Normalize effectively giving it NO coverage. This makes heavily investing in its IQ Skills even more costly than most other Pokemon, making increasing it's IQ up to and pass Erratic Player wasteful when those Gummis could be given to another Pokemon that has no Ability screwing it over like so. Still a great Pokemon, but I'd put it in A - B+ tier alone for that horrible nombo . Last and certainly least, Phamphy.......is just terrible, really. The only redeeming thing I can find is that you can give it a better Ground STAB via Its Nature Gift, but that uses up your Held Item slot and takes awhile to get the Move anyway, so yeah.....still looking grim here. Finally FINALLY, let's briefly talk about Exclusive Items. Depending on what kind a Starter has can radically boost their effectiveness, or just give them an edge up compared to others. Vulpix for instance gets one that halves ALL Special Damage by half, while the rest of Fire Starters get a Treasure that boosts their Movement Speed by 1 under Sunny Weather. Combine that with the Grass Gem that boosts Grass Types MS by 1 under Sunny Weather and you have the makings for a blitzkrieg team on your hands! Getting the Exclusive Items is hard and time consuming, though, especially the Type ones, so I can forgive you for not including them for consideration for ranking. And....yeah, that's all I got to say. QUITE A BIT, but I suppose that just shows how much your video inspired and motivated me! Keep up the good work mate, here on KZbin and IRL!

[@shensei4]

Wow! Im floored that you took the time to write all that out haha! Thanks for commenting and for sharing your opinions on the game! When I first posted this video I didnt think many other people would be also as in-depth into this game's analysis as the comments and views have shown. But either way, im grateful for your response and I recognize that this list can be reexamined and improved for several of the reasons you and others have pointed out. While I do believe my other separate iq tier list video goes hand in hand with many of the points you bring up, I did neglect to mention the weight of just how important the concentrator iq skill was and I didnt mention anything about exclusive items at all in either videos because I consider them end game items, being pretty difficult to get, albeit super useful once obtained. Once again, thanks for watching and thanks for commenting!

[@shensei4]

Oh also tms for weather are available in the game, such as rain dance, hail, etc. Maybe you just got unlucky in your runs? I always seem to get those instead of more useful ones 😂

[@anonjohn9760]

@@shensei4 Ah shucks, I'm just a little too verbose for my good is all, but I humbly accept ya thanks mate. I haven't yet watched your IQ video, but I think I will so I can familiarize myself with your stance and thoughts on them, then get back to you on the matter. Can't make a good point without taking everything into consideration, eh? Yeap, Concentrator is good stuff, and I was a bit surprised you didn't go into it. Due to the nature of the game's 'blow by blow' combat and how wonky the accuracy of some moves can be in it having a bit more reliability can literally save your Starter's life. Fun little rumor I heard is that female pokemon have a bit more accuracy on their Moves than males , while males have greater Crit rates, so if you want MAXIMUM consistency you'd choose a Female Starter with Concentrator access! One thing I forgot to mention about Vulpix is that Faint Attack is a pretty sweet Move even outside of coverage/Erratic Player usage, as its Always Accurate. If you're in a pinch or an mob has lowered your accuracy to near zero, this Move will deliver! The same can be said of Aura Sphere for Lucario or any other form of A.A. Moves the other starters have access to, but it's nice that Vulpix gets it from the get go! And yeah, I had no luck with Weather Moves in TM form. Tried to see if they were not coded in the game or not, but didn't get any conclusive evidence that stated one way or another, so I just assumed so. Still, Pokemon with Weather Move access in the Learnset (or in the case of Groudon, Kryorge, Tyrana , Hippo, and Snover line, Ability) is pretty valuable since you don't need to get lucky with TM drops, so my points about Squirtle (and Pokemon with innate Weather) still somewhat stand. I fondly remember the time I recruited an Oddish and turned it into a Bell. , and aaalll the fun I had with its Sunny Day fueled Chlorophyll + Solar Beam + Grass Gems shenanigans. Ah.....good times. With a bit of luck and persistence you can get Exclusive Items you want in Crogunk's Shop to pop up in Sky, but as we both agree that is well within the real of a massive time sink pre or post Main Story. Same goes for any IQ skill past 100 - 300 points (depending on luck/personal persistence), though, unless you like to GRIIIIND, so that bears consideration when choosing a Starter for its IQ Group. Chica can be dang BROKEN for improving your party via Seeds/Berries or healthcare with Orans by way of Nature Giver, but man tha ~900 IQ requirement is just absurd, especially when paired with its thoroughly mediocre-ness.... That's all, so once again I thank you, this time for gracing me with a response mate! Be well, and stay safe!

[@stephencook7376]

Thanks! coming back to the game after 10+ years this helps out a lot, it definitely fills in the blanks i missed as a kid. Shinx is definitely my fav to start with by far, just for the fang moves, ice covers its ground weakness just wonderfully and having a partner like riolu or mudkip only makes it that much better.

[@Fu9280]

It doesn't get ice fang without breeding?

[@mes6672]

it's so cool to see recent videos and comments about this game!! i must have last played at least 8 years ago or so, so no in-depth strats from me haha but it made me happy to see mudkip pretty high up there (who i got on the personality test). hoping i can find my old cartridge so i can replay it 🙏 great video, thanks for sharing!

[@dougperez4284]

For years I've looked for a PMD starter tier list, this was really well made!

[@luviagelita2886]

i just wanna say, the video editing here is pretty great. it adds funny jabs and references that aren't detracting from the discussion.

[@alacritical7873]

I played Explorers of Darkness a lot growing up, and I recently started a playthrough of Explorers of Sky. I decided to see what the personality test would make my starter, and I got Riolu, which was pretty cool. Then, I decided to go with Eevee as my partner, partly because it's so cute, and partly because I wanted an all-dog team, haha. I'm glad to know that they're both pretty solid choices for this game! Thanks for the tier list

[@Lemon-by6md]

riolu op against primal dialga focus punch hits it like nothing else

[@shensei4]

Lol its always a blast 2 or 3 shotting dialga haha

[@Lemon-by6md]

@@shensei4 yeah indeed

[@andymarte7673]

Can confirm. The last time i played i managed to one shot dialga with focus punch

[@Marie-do1df]

Exactly the same with Skitty (seriously, Skitty is broken in those games xD )

[@astracrits4633]

@@shensei4 If you set up a Violent Seed on Riolu + a Vile Seed on Dialga, it's actually entirely possible to oneshot it with Focus Punch--especially on a crit XD

[@berkay1773]

thank you for making this, long overdue!!

[@theinsanegamer1024]

Some things to note: Riolu is better long term, learning pretty good TMs and evolving into a good pokemon. However, early game is rough. Lack of coverage without TMs (it only has Bite to deal more than negligible damage to ghost types) and early game is super rough to things with only normal type moves. Also note: Starly is evil, and the first boss (I think) knows confusion. Early game is SUPER (pun not intended) rough for riolu. However, once you get access to more TMs like Dig and a little past Waterfall cave in terms of levels, then Riolu truly shines.

[@shensei4]

Yeah I remember being ko'd a few times by starlies in Mt. Bristle my first playthrough haha, but I wouldn't really call it super rough. Force palm your way through everything is my motto 😆

[@theinsanegamer1024]

@@shensei4 Once you get force palm, yeah. I think it's at like level 12? I don't fully remember.

[@duykhangtran4406]

I have riolu partner and while the early game is tough, once he have Focus punch, he basically carry all the boss fight for me

[@rickw9291]

“By no means is this the official guide” Title: official tier list

[@Samsonsamurai]

I got Riolu every time I played, and then my partner was Pikachu. Riolu/Lucario is my favorite and Pikachu was my best friend’s so it was super cool to play as them. It was like me and my Best friend were taking on a whole new adventure together. Thanks for this video bro!

[@rainman01]

Wonderful video :) these games and their predecessors are my childhood and they never get old, watching this video while grinding this Palkia up because Palkia. Great content my man.

[@Spottedstorm27]

This is fun to watch as I've been replaying this game lately. I started as a mudkip and chose pikachu as my partner. Spamming mud slap and thunderwave has helped me through a lot!

[@edgelord8337]

You honestly just got a new subscriber. My favorite is probably riolu and chimchar. Eevee is pretty good too.

[@shensei4]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video! :D

[@forgettablename6436]

Oh MAN I haven't heard that PMD intro in a while. So much nostalgia.

[@cookiesanddreams3675]

Currently replaying EoS right now. The personality quiz gave me Phanpy, and since phanpy is one of my favorites, I was super happy with it. I chose Vulpix as the partner since Imprison is so broken, so even though my team may not have the greatest damage output, it can still hold its own. Though I dread the upcoming Palkia and Darkrai fights lol

[@realHeff]

This is the kind of in depth niche content I like to see, you earned a sub my dude, keep on truckin

[@jinhui23]

I was planning to play PMD explorers of sky again and had a hard time deciding what starters should I choose (I normally play as mudkip, and charmander as my partner) and thank god saw this video bc this is absolutely very helpful!! I’m also glad that people are still playing this masterpiece. btw aren’t we gonna talk how nice his voice is?? does this guy even have socials? 😳

[@renemaier5197]

Man I enjoyed this vid with a nice coffee at 2am :D You seem very experienced, love listening to your explanations and reasoning. But let's be real you did my boy Treecko dirty. Apart from the already good Bullet Seed/Energyball and Giga Drain... frickin Agility and Dig (!!!) bro. Dig is absolutely strong coverage and helps immensly against bossfights. Dig is literally the single best move against Dialga. Also Grovyle plus points storyline wise. I would have out Treecko at least B tier and in my personal opinion A tier. Nonetheless awesome vid man love PMD

[@cs5250]

Thank you for making this! I just bought the game today and am going way too in depth of who to choose. I want skitty due to the absolute power it holds but I’ve played all the other gens so I don’t need an easy game. I think I’ll choose Riolu and Vulpix.

[@SensitiveDeku]

liked this vid solely for you making mystery dungeon content 🤩 SUCH an underrated spinoff bruh

[@shelbybayer200]

I love playing as Riolu Especially since one of his IQ Skills boost your HP so it takes more to get KO'd

[@JudgeVenat]

Recently started playing this gem again and im happy that the community is still strong to this day

[@HurricaneBady]

Loved seeing a tier list of Exploers of Sky starters! I have heard that some pokemon starters are better than others, so its nice to see that be explained in a video. Glad to see Pikachu (my first starter) is a solid choice, same as Riolu (my partner). Totally unrelated. I miss being Cubone... Rescue Team Red wasint even my first PMD game and i really enjoyed being that pokemon

[@theowizard7024]

I really enjoyed this video, thank you!

[@jvever4904]

This video brings me back to when I first played this game... I took the personality quiz and got Cyndaquil, then chose Mudkip because it was my second favorite starter. I had fun using Smokescreen to cheese bosses, and Mudkip's versatility saved me a lot during the game.

[@naptime_zZ]

I played this game many times and I have to say, if you're an experienced player then Chikorita is awesome. I picked it for the unique IQ group and never had a smoother playthrough before. Grass type means easy access to self healing moves means you'll basically never need to bring any apples and only a few oran berries with you. I think I needed two apples for the entire postgame. And once postgame's over, recruiting all the legendaries becomes so much easier thanks to its recruitment IQ skill. So if this isn't your first playthrough and if you're a completionist then Chikorita's definitely worth considering. (Edited because Lilith below reminded me that Chikorita is available to both genders)

[@lilith1978]

I play as chiko male and Vulpix Fem Chiko literally x me BEST Main Char (And too my first starter in my Life)

[@enderwalkgang]

I was surprised that Chilorota was male friendly cause normally it comes across as very fem Pokemon, often said to be female when they make the characters.

[@user-cx2ow6ju1y]

I have no idea why this ended up in my recommendations but i did love it and the nostalgia of it !

[@budgiegryphon]

I picked Totodile as my partner and he did pretty well, I got Brick Break as a TM so basically Walmart Riolu in terms of fighting Dialga lol. Combined with Cyndaquil’s Smokescreen we got through most of the bosses pretty easily. Also I like Typhlosion’s animation :(

[@noctrineshowdown]

I love the term Walmart Riolu so much I'm crying

[@JuanDinner]

Sky brought a bunch of interesting new mechanics and shops and stuff, but I’ll always miss being able to play as my boy Munchlax

[@justintsui2522]

Nice to finally see one done. I think this seems pretty reasonable. I just have few small points of contention (pretty nit picky) First, I think that you underplay a little the TM pool access for Pikachu. In terms of coverage, Pika only really needs Brick Break and Grass Knot as coverage. You only miss out certain lines like the Gligar and Gible to hit Super effective. Bulbasaur has early access to status moves like Sleep Powder though I don't think that's enough to keep him out of C Tier. Just something I thought is worth pointing out. Also, I'm not sure you made it clear that Mudkip only gets part Ground typing after evolving. Mudkip still gets good ground moves like Mud Shot but won't have STAB on them. Vulpix gets Confuse Ray very early, though it'll get replaced by better moves later on, I think it's worth bring up. Finally, I think Chikorita should be moved up to C just for how bad Phanpy is. At least with Chikorita, it's in a good IQ group and has access to some decent moves like Bullet Seed, Giga Drain, screens and Synthesis. Phanpy doesn't have access to STAB until very late, maybe even post game. Rollout is a Rock-type move btw. Early and mid game with this mon is misery and woe.

[@malick9549]

STAB in MDs isn't 0.5 afaik.

[@anavailablehandle]

id love a tier list like this for the rest of the mystery dungeon series!

[@nattylight9494]

Great vid. Love these games

[@r4tb4st4rd7]

One of my favorite post game things is that damaging moves with higher PP, higher accuracy, and range are ALL more important than power due to the fact that you can reliably farm ginseng to make any move as strong as you want and use a single ginseng on three pokemon at once (by having a team leader with Pierce Hurler). This makes moves like fire blast far less impressive, but moves like water gun shine

[@ValianceGames]

It's so funny because in every playthrough no matter who I got (Chimchar, Riolu, Totodile, and Pikachu have been my quiz selections so far) I always picked Chikorita as my partner because I just really like Chikorita, but she always felt lackluster. Nowadays I would probably never do that unless I seriously wanted that nostalgia lol

[@convoludedduded5086]

Very helpful! Thanks a lot! Thinking of mudkip or chimchar tbhb not sure of partner

[@rajkanishu]

wait, you have less than 1k subs? that's preposterous PMD content this detailed and high quality deserves way more

[@isthisatitleforayoutubecha3035]

Shinx and Riolu were my Explorers of Sky Team, Shinx was great with Discharge and Riolu was great against Dragon type bosses with his Fighting moves. Also they were exculsive to Explorers of Sky so it made the game feel more different from Blue Rescue Team.

[@AuraStrikeAce]

Great to know my usual duo of Riolu and Vulpix are considered to be really good in this game. Riolu/Lucario does loads of damage and Vulpix/Ninetales is indeed OP with Imprison immobilizing foes.

[@LordVermire]

Thank you for doing this! I'm excited to do a hard mode run and have my team be Chicorita and Phamfy!

[@gregowen9856]

The real hard mode is actually Phanpy as leader and Eevee as partner. Eevee Run Away ability makes this game 10x harder if she’s your partner combined with the worst stat growth of any starter in the game Chikorita doesn’t even belong in f tier for numerous reasons: Early range move, sure hit move, Status healing move, screen moves that halves the damage taken which helps so much with dealing with multi-hit and room clearing moves, and other useful tm like Bullet Seed which is a multi-hit range move

[@wheatthins4565]

This made me super happy :)

[@Jess-dm8hl]

I’ve played these games a lot too and I agree with pretty much all of these picks. I actually replayed the game recently as an adult and my partner was a Shinx and I was a Chikorita. I honestly had a ton of fun. I enjoy difficulty in PMD games & my team combo is not one that I have seen before. I’m an artist too so drawing my team makes them that much more personal and special.

[@shensei4]

Aw thanks for watching the video and commenting! Im glad someone had the same thoughts that I do! Shinx and chikorita is quite an eccentric duo! I wonder how the logistics of that plays out!

[@Jess-dm8hl]

Shensei4 boss battles were quite tricky since there aren’t many where I had a type advantage. Both Shinx and Chikorita can learn iron tail, toxic, double team, and of course hidden power. All of which were pretty useful. I usually focus more on exploring than progressing the story so I tend to unintentionally grind during the main story. I think the game is more about item management and strategy over anything else. Either way, I would definitely recommend if you want a fun challenge

[@shensei4]

@@Jess-dm8hl For sure! I'll keep that in mind when I start my 30th or so run of the game haha

[@andrewmoberg8317]

Typhlosion in d tier, dance tier

[@shensei4]

Haha yeah, best (depending on your opinion) dance 😆

[@lookorionisonthesky605]

@@shensei4 hehe teeter dance go SWSHSWHSH

[@pharoahcaraboo9610]

this was a really interesting tier list mostly because i didn't know there was an actual grouping to the IQ system. i've played this game for ages and never noticed, probably because i just throw my gummies around willy-nilly. some constructive crit from a very easily distracted person: maybe get yourself a script or a light script of all the talking points you want, you go off on tangents pretty easily and it can make following your explanations a bit difficult. i've been a piplup stan in this game since i first played so i'm pleased with her ranking overall haha. good luck, i love seeing new mystery dungeon content online!

[@ethan0248910]

Awesome. I love underdog channels💯

[@AgainstTheeWickedlyMusic]

I started another playthrough of this game a while ago, and answered the intro truthfully, so I got Bulbasaur, and can confirm that it is not very good in the story at all haha

[@Ares-mg2nj]

Is it anywhere 😉

[@AgainstTheeWickedlyMusic]

@@Ares-mg2nj I mean, he's kind of a boss in Kanto, but other than that, you have a point 😆 Competitive Venusaur can prove tough though!

[@Avatapaxn]

Really? I've been playing the game with Phanpy hero/Bulbasaur partner and Bulbasaur does some ridiculous damage output so far. I have fun letting him rip things to shreds while Phanpy shields him with Bodyguard and its really high defenses

[@furretman3741]

@@Ares-mg2nj competitive Venusaur can shred many pokemons tbh

[@furretman3741]

@@Ares-mg2njGrass type may seem weak because of the weaknesses but they should not be underestimated

[@Razruer]

As you may can guess from my pfp, I have a particular enjoyment of Totodile and I have to say that Toto at more belongs in mid-B teir. You have NO idea how many times the IQ Bodyguard comes in clench in saving either my client or my partner from failing a mission or main story. As you noted, Totodile has a wide range of moves and certainly has the power to make up for the STAB in raw damage alone. Survivalist and Energy Saver is great combo to cut down on the apple need which allows you to possible go in a dungeon with no to only two normal apples and to also accidentally solo a 100F dungeon you might have entered my accident whilst it also it BEING your first time taking on a 100F dungeon. Too many times that run came close to being defeated by Belly, but eating some random junk allowing just enough to find a proper food item. While yes it doesn't have as many great IQs like Vulpix (who just so happened to be my partner Pokemon), it's a GREAT Leader Pokemon while being supported by someone who has better IQs. Me personally, I would put it on the bottom of A tier because it is a super friendly beginner Pokemon and a great Leader 'Mon VS Partner. I will add, while you don't run into your weakness that often, it HURTS when you do. Especially Special Attacks, they will SHRED and guess what one of the main story bosses are :) Overall though, I think he's way more of a solid pick then people tend to believe even if we're purely looking at them alone. But this is PMD! When *are* you alone? (Fuck you Zero Islands). I also think you should given thought to bag space usage before entering a dungeon, its shocking to hear that people don't really have that big of a plan when they go into a dungeon, it's absolutely essential! I'll give mine when running through a average dungeon. 30 Throwables Apple Apple Max Either Max Either Heal Seed Revive Seed Revive Seed You can swap the two apples for just one Big Apple, but I'm assuming that this is just normal story play, not post game. Also people PLEASE USE THE RAFFLE RECYCLE CENTER I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES PEOPLE JUST IGNORE IT, IT'S SO GOOD AND YOU GET PLENTY OF JUNK OR TOO MUCH OF CERTAIN ITEMS.

[@alessandroarhiri7095]

Awesome video dude! Really well made, enjoyable and clear! Keep it up

[@shensei4]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it informative!😄

[@danielnuneville4202]

Cool video! I recently started a new save, I am charmander and my partner is treecko. I think this pair is pretty nice because treecko has a agility, quick attack and covers charmander's weaknesses with a pretty nice IQ group. and of course charmander later in post game hits like a truck, both have pretty nice movepools.

[@shensei4]

Nice pairing! Glad you liked the video! Good luck on your new adventure! :D

[@valta5063]

Having an Eevee as a partner is hell and if you are playing Riolu you are only Normal and Fighting. Eevee also has that run away ability which makes it hell. He’s also a glass cannon without the cannon. Also the team can’t do effective damage to ghost types and also you will struggle with Ground types because f*** Rollout.

[@shensei4]

Dang someone else also had a similar opinion. Rip eevee but if I were you I'd treat it like a challenge or just not pick him as a partner lol

[@valta5063]

Shensei4 it just can be an annoyance. Eevee doesn’t get any ranged attacks until you find a shadow ball TM but I could be wrong and all the attacks are normal type.

[@imperialwyvern]

True but Riolu dies get access bite,shadow claw and forsight. So it's not as bad. Plus outside of dark hill and the future dungeons there aren't that many ghost type dungeons in the main story. Still is a pain though.

[@valta5063]

@@imperialwyvern Riolu honestly is prob one of the best picks its just Eevee is just a class cannon that lacks any punch. I myself had a challenge in the Northern Desert and the Pit caves.

[@bfdirockythelugiastan]

Speaking from personal experience in my Sky playthrough Northern Desert/Pit Caves was hell My pair was Squirtle (me) and Eevee (Partner). I died many times.

[@imperialwyvern]

Very nice list. Though I would rank Riolu and Vulpix higher. Vulpix for have access to impression and confuse ray making the bosses easy. Also because of flash fire making Dark Creator for "Easyer" because them fire types can"t use their fire type moves. Riolu due the fact gets a lot of good moves and sniping moves like shadow ball. Plus Riolu fighting coverage nukes Primal Dialga and our Darkcri.

[@cheiftainvulpix]

Since I pick female very often definitely vulpix is very broken.

[@solidzack]

Another huge plus for Riolu: it can't get flinched. No this might not seem that special until you realize a lot of late game pokemon have that intimidator IQ skill that flinches you without them doing anything and that's very frustrating when in a critical situation. Plus Lucario is Steel type meaning its immune to Sandstorm and poison traps too

[@renemaier5197]

@@solidzack Excellent points

[@royplatt455]

Riolu also gets STAB Focus Punch, which is a thermonuclear boss shredder. Focus Punch can actually break the 999 Damage Barrier.

[@nathankreich7247]

I just found this now. And I already played PMD Sky explorer. My first team ever was an Eevee with Shinx as a partner , I still managed to finish the game and evolved into a Glaceon. My second gameplay (and still playing on it currently) is Shinx and Mudkip as my partner , they really do kick asses , a very decent team to use in my opinion (finished the story aswell and Darkrai was easy as hell thx to Mudkip's water moves destroying Rhyperior so I could spam with Charge+Discharge ). Now I will do a third gameplay with Piplup and Riolu as my partner, I really want to try a team without any clear room moves, and as you mentioned , Piplup really has a lot of potentials and Riolu is always good lol.

[@LoinkLoink]

Eevee should be much lower than B in my opinion. It should be in D because of how terrible its Run Away ability is. Basically, every time its health falls below half, they can't attack or use items and will automatically try to flee. Playing with an Eevee is truly hard mode.

[@pi2z806]

Only as a partner. Her ability makes stab do even more damage for normal moves so just slap a ginseng on tackle and you'll 1shot almost everything

[@fandenovelas777]

Partner eevee worst mon or maybe in tie with phanphy bc, it prob ko u lol, but eevee as leader is great

[@jamclone]

Leader eevee is insane. I don't use her for damage, though

[@APerson-ws4cw]

Shensei: I think I'm biased towards torchic Also Shensei: _Ranks torchic as the worst fire type_

[@JustAGoomy]

"grass types are like playing on hard mode" *played through the entire game as treecko as a kid* no wonder I had such a hard time HAHAHA

[@SomebodyGiveMe5]

I hope someday teddiursa gets to be a character ,great video for a game i now will consider playing

[@cyndawu1940]

I got Piplup on my personality test and I'm glad. Because water type moves are such good special attack moves, also it got Peck and Drill peck naturally, so it can fight pesky grass types easily. It also learns Water Pulse which can make enemies including bosses get Confused status. It is very handy

[@richards8759]

First of all: That was an awesome video! I know I am a bit late but are u planning on posting more PMD content in the future? I would love to see that!

[@shensei4]

Thank you! You're not late at all! I've been off from uploading because I'm still in school rn, but ill definitely upload more content in the future. I'm thinking of diversifying it so that it'll be pmd, pokemon, and a lot of other things too!

[@ultimaterecoil1136]

Tbh grass has always helped me more then it’s harmed. Bullet seed is absurdly op and overgrow plus a draining move means early game one doesn’t even need to bring oran berries because whenever you do need to heal in a dungeon you just one shot something and go back to full off of them. And in treecko’s case in particular if you use agility you can often times keep at a distance from bosses dishing out still extremely high damage if the boss has a type advantage against treecko. Think it boils down to grass types have some of the best movepool ( the powders on bulbasaur are some of the best anti monster house moves in the game bullet seed aromatherapy can be nice for statuses ) and with access to draining moves overgrow>torrent and blaze. And considering that before one has access to a decent selection of recruitable units you are thrown into waterfall cave a massive increase in difficulty due to enemies having bubble a ranged attack which slows grass actually dominates early game. How common water is earlier on makes them the best when starting out. While flying and bug become more common later on by that point it’s possible the player has recruited something to handle those threats. And there are absolutely some op recruits like smeargle who you can find some moves for in the dojo to counter the main type of the dungeon one goes in. But hey just pair a fire type with a grass type and they cover each other excellently especially considering fire types can shutdown damage with moves like imprison smoke screen ect against the later enemies grass types can’t handle and a grass type can carry a fire lead through waterfall cave easily enough. I would also rate mudkip lower due to earthquake being bad in a group and no bubble early game for a ranged attack early on. Makes him one of the worst water types pre post game due to this where as piplup is always fairly solid so would rate them higher then mudkip. And even if you could play vulpix as a boy considering the combo of imprison and attract breaks most bosses due to them being male so yes gender actually matters to some extent and female is objectively superior though it really only matters when trying to perma stun bosses which is a strategy vulpix can use vulpix is easily the best utility vs bosses with this combo ( attacking twice with dark pulse can be nice for fishing for flinches when perma stunning as well on the few bosses that aren’t male and for those who are well let’s just say Duscnoir is incredibly easy when he can’t do damage. )

[@misschaos4247]

Super cool video, my favorite team I had was myself as Skitty and Phanpy as my partner, although I’m currently doing a play through with myself as Vulpix and my partner as Meowth. Although only two were left out, it would be interesting to hear your opinion on partner exclusive Pokémon.

[@YujiUedaFan]

Meowth would easily be A Rank, since it has similarities with Skitty (same IQ Group plus Fury Swipes). It also starts off with Hypnosis and learns Screech, as well as having Dark Type coverage for Ghost Types.

[@Eroil]

Nice for youtube to recommend this to me lol, didn't play the game in a while but one of my favorite pokemon games for sure. I remember when I last played I chose Shinx for my partner since I saw he had charge + discharge which you could link together which was super good, guess agility is just better though?

[@kinsan89]

I remember my first time through Sky, I let the personality test choose and I got Chimchar. I chose Totodile to be my buddy, and I loved every second of having a Fire/Water duo. I can't wait to see how my two bois hold up

[@kamuihineragi4243]

My Personality type first gave me Totodile, and I can say its fun to play as one, brick break, Hydro Pump, Focus punch, as well as Crunch and Ice Fang. Breaking down Dialga is fun, when I was a kid I bit a lot of things so guess Totodile resonates with me that way.

[@jaredbarker9515]

I taught a Smeargle to use Refresh, Agility, Haze, and Beat Up. They solve many of the most annoying issues of navigating dungeons such as: status effects, memento, getting split up, monster houses, and speed reduction. Here is the rest of my team: Ninetales: Flamethrower, Wide Slash, Dark Pulse, Imprison (The Glowing Bow is great for reducing special damage) Swampert: Blizzard, Water Pulse, Mud Bomb, Ice Beam (Doesn't have any weaknesses if I bring the Swamp Bangle) Mew: Psychic, Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball, Wide Slash (Will use Bulk Up/Calm Mind build to recruit Kecleon)

[@frosted_glaceon5513]

My first experience with Mystery Dungeon I played Time first, and I went with the quiz result which gave me Charmander. I picked Piplup as my partner because it is not only my favorite starter from gen 4, but the image of a Charizard and Empoleon sounded badass. I think I added Luxray and Salamence for my other two members. Not my favorite team but I will always remember my first experience. I really hope we get a new MD someday with a bunch of the new Pokemon.

[@MagicMagenta]

This was really great! Would love to see a tier list ranking everyone as a partner or somethin like that :>

[@shensei4]

I've actually gotten another comment on that! I honestly think it would an interesting list to make, but since you and your partner are essentially straight up with each other for the entirety of the game, I figured that not too much would change besides the story pov, especially post game once you have the option of choosing what leader to enter dungeons with

[@helfyr9656]

@@shensei4 Except Eevee. Partner Eevee is awful

[@shensei4]

@@helfyr9656 I don't think that's true, eevee has its merits! Plus when you hit late game you can choose to evolve it, so that refreshes things up!

[@helfyr9656]

@@shensei4 I know Eevee has great support tools. (Helping Hand, Stab adaptability quick attack) but having to deal with Run Away until you can evolve is a real pain.

[@shensei4]

@@helfyr9656 ah I see! I hadn't thought of that! Maybe consider it a challenge mode of sorts then? 😅

[@rkmath4905]

My most recent playthrough had me as Skitty and a partner as Riolu lol, I had no idea how overpowered they were, I was worried about not having ghost type coverage. Maybe you should make a video talking about what you think the strongest teams are, if you haven’t already?

[@fandenovelas777]

ghost types are soo broken in this game, but if u aren't carefu u can overpass walls when u don't want and boop -5 points of belly (i wished froslass could overpass the walls too but she can't :(

[@bunniyubel3782]

This video just popped up in my recommended, and uh, I more or less agree with ur tierlist except for a few points, though by the end of the video I probably forgot what you said at the beginning XD Personally I'd pick and choose starter/partner pokemon based on their effectiveness on worse possible outcomes. What I mean by this is, how would you get out of a monster room, if you happen to not have an orb ready for it, or Multi-target boss fights like Darkrai, Wigglytuff, Sableye, etc. In which case I would put Pikachu in the S-tier considering it gains access to Thunderbolt and Discharge which will make short work of all monster rooms and multi-target boss fights, bar ground types, however that can be circumvented with an appropriate partner/main character. My bias but I'd put Riolu in S-Tier as well, considering type advantage + STAB vs the main bosses in the game Dialga and Darkrai make it much easier to overcome. My first playthrough as a kid I went with Riolu and Pikachu and the game just felt like a walk in the park bar the few times I stepped on a sticky trap and my reviver seeds got sticky T_T

[@cehnd2662]

I played explorers of time like 7 times over since its release and played explorers of sky not too long ago, such good games. Nice tier list,

[@shensei4]

Thank you! Always glad to see another fan of this underrated yet powerful game! :D

[@number16kelbax]

Have you ever played darkness?

[@shensei4]

@@number16kelbax if you're asking me, then yes I have! I started with darkness before sky came out and was ecstatic when I saw there was another version!