Is the Fire-type starter the worst? - Charmander Only - Pokemon Yellow

Rules:
1. Only my starter in battle
2. No items in battle, except held items
3. No glitches, exploits, save states, or RNG manipulation
4. No evasion moves before level 100*
Rule details:
-- *In gen1, evasion boosting is allowed if the Pokemon does it through means other than learning the move by level up or TM. For example, using Mimic or Mirror Move to boost evasion is allowed. (This exception is to keep ranking consistent with my legacy videos.)
-- I am allowed to manipulate my starter
-- I play the game at 4x game speed
-- For fair comparisons all my Pokemon have perfect (or near perfect) DVs / IVs
-- I am allowed to catch HM users - I can use all field moves
-- All in-battle glitches are allowed in generation 1
-- In generation 1, I'm allowed to skip Marowak with the Poke Doll
-- Surge's trash-can-puzzle is automatically solved
-- The bike is allowed in gen1, banned in gen2, and allowed for bypassing terrain in gen3
-- Saving between league members is allowed
-- If the solo Pokemon faints and I choose to blackout it counts towards my reset counter
-- I can pause the game and timer to take breaks
-- The footage is sped up / slowed down to match the pace of my narration
-- The ability Pickup can only be used if the starter has it
Patreon: / scottsthoughts
KZbin memberships:
/ @scottsthoughtspokemon
Twitter: / psychicflying
Twitch: / scottsthoughtspokemon
Illustrations by / sarinavail
Thumbnail art by / brianlsart
STAB: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
DVs / IVs: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Damage Calculations: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Gen1 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen1.php
Gen2 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen2.php
Gen1 Crit Rates: www.smogon.com/rb/articles/cr...
Learnsets: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Base Stats: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...)

[@shimmianNS]

On the third day of December, Scott's Thoughts gave to me: The fire starter digging A garden lizard's leech seed And those three weirdo mons punching

[@rummeltm01]

This needs to continue through daily December

[@kode-man23]

Oh we're gonna look for this after every video and vote it right to the top.

[@nautgamingnautgaming9949]

And a BRUNO struggle session

[@6smeargle]

This is excellent. I want to make an arrangement and sing it.

[@stanbrule9357]

And a pidgey in a wepear tree

[@Capslok23342]

hitting bug types with super effective damage with leer broke me, dammn imagine the little dinosaur thing leering the bugs into submission

[@matmurray1274]

Came here to say this and it's the first comment!!! Touche

[@brianwisecarver4880]

No, bug types resist submission, that's a fighting type move 😂😂

[@kingdoge69]

Poor bug types lol

[@vfranceschini]

lol might happen in the anime

[@TheCulturedMan34]

Charmander: "Submit or burn at my feet!"

[@kode-man23]

It's okay Charmander fans. We both know that Squirtle is going to absolutely stomp us both tomorrow.

[@zacharyessey5904]

Indeed.

[@ferrugemj18]

Imagining these fights actually happening is just hilarious. Picture a small fire lizard thing dancing for a bit in front of a gigantic flying sea monster, then walking up to it to kick it with all his might. AND THE SEA MONSTER JUST COLLAPSES

[@kingcygnus]

The algorithm loves when you hit bugs for super effective damage with leer 😂

[@perkypenguin1663]

I gotta say, there was something nice about seeing two Charmanders in your party. Normally, just one cuts and the other one digs, but today they split the work between them and I think that's neat.

[@ktvx.94]

If a move doesn't have 100% accuracy, it's basically Dynamic Punch... unless it induces sleep.

[@GKoopa]

I love the surprise appearance by Bruno towards the end! It's always a highlight when he decides to actually show up for these challenges

[@kingdoge69]

I like how game freak switched around the difficulty in terms of starters in gen 2. Now, the fire type starter is the best starter for most of the game, while the grass type is the worst, meanwhile the water starter stays in the middle and can even out perform the best starter in that gen because of getting surf early and being able to learn ice type moves

[@tiesz109]

Bulbasaur in B(ulbasaur)-tier and Charmander in C(harmander)-tier, I'm looking forward to see Squirtle reach the S(quirtle)-tier!

[@SinNun-tx5jp]

Pikachu in P tier

[@pokemonnnerd]

The "if you made it this far, you're incredible" at the end of your (recent?)videos really helps me remember to hit the like button more than any other mid-video reminders other creators have lol

[@codyssmith73]

GG’s to the weird fish! I knew Lance would be the major struggle but I didn’t expect it to beat Brock that easily.

[@LPMGSAS]

I love charmander! Thank you for taking the time to give each pokemon a proper run, doing your best even if you dont like them that much!

[@kevinmark2146]

I appreciate this channel and other similar ones because it still feels like there are “new episodes” of generation 1 Kanto. Thank you 🙏

[@SaintoftheHonest]

I *LOVE* the MandJTV references. "If it's not 100% accurate... it's basically dynamicpunch."

[@rhlstats]

You hit the bug types for super effective damage with leer, I didn’t think Leer did damage 😅 5:58

[@TheKingQazbatt]

bug type has unique interactions

[@megariderfire1994]

Epic blooper moment

[@bam38]

XD

[@Dullstar2XQT]

When I played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, I had Charmander as the partner and they were so adorable in that game.

[@PandaWithAJetpack]

I played explorers of darkness and my partner was a charmander too!

[@DrMarcosBovo]

Gonna be a great month seen 1 video each day from Scott! Cheers from Brazil 🍺🇧🇷

[@Spudmay]

I've been doing solo no pokecenter runs in gen 1 using the starters. I do allow items, even in battle, and it has been a lot of fun. Managing your PP is engaging. Ive used a lot of TMs i never have lol.

[@tracesofspace]

Kabutops really is the cooler one, glad to learn you're a Kabutops appreciator.

[@funkydinosaur]

Daily December absolutely stomps! Can't even imagine how much work it is for you and your team, Scott - massive thanks to all of you

[@leeboone4440]

Your a beast and we appreciate your hard work

[@nightfan1983]

Well done Charmander

[@zacharyessey5904]

Great video as always mate! Great to see Charmander do really well!

[@archangelreyen7113]

awesome work as usual. I hope you didnt burn yourself out making all these videos but know im excited for it!

[@garrett7261]

awesome video my favorite starter when I was a child i always picked it on my Gameboy color with pokemon Red I used Charmander every time loved Charizard and chameleon also keep up your awesome videos always makes my day better thank you for all your hard work

[@Eintracht-uy3cz]

Ah yes Charmander the charming salamander 🙃

[@AmnesiaPsyduck]

Glad to have your content while I'm bedridden!

[@michaelklos8089]

Have you considered getting the last few levels with blackout training against the E4? The experience yields would probably be much better than any trainers you can battle throughout the game.

[@gemmabarnes]

Keep up the great work

[@nachokz]

Great run! Charmander is optimizable to a point, but Lance's Gyarados is like a brick wall. I would have hoped for paralysis and misses but using Swords Dance diminishes the effect of Hydro Pump so it looks like the better idea. For tomorrow's Squirtle I think it should probably be something like this: -Bubble Brock -Mega Punch Misty -Dig Surge and Koga -Freeze Erika -Body Slam Sabrina -Surf through Blaine and Giovanni -Stat Boost/Outtank Lorelei -Earthquake Agatha -Freeze Lance

[@lenlimbo]

And humilliate the Hicker, don't forget about that.

[@Deez-Master]

Nice video I think charmander was the first pokemon I shiny hunted.

[@BloodfelX]

After the Lance and Oak battles, this is like: "Hydro Pump 80% has accuracy? More like 18% accuracy" The Playthrough ;)

[@BloodfelX]

( And I mean, that is accurate to my track record of trying to use Hydro Pump )

[@JKBrown-vv1yw]

I too love hitting bug types for super effective damage with leer 😁

[@wladijahn4412]

Keep the good job up !

[@captainchewy9513]

I'm waiting for you to continue with the Fire Red series, Mankey is found on Route 22 where the optional battle is with your rival at the beginning of the game, so in my opinion it would make sense to finish those encounters first before doing route 2

[@BoofsBoofington]

New favorite month, all thanks to Scott

[@Psytrese]

I don't know why but it took me this video to finally see Blaine correctly and not as an alien with massive eyes. I can finally see his small red sunglasses.

[@shikishinobi]

This interesting play through raises two questions. 1) which game section do you find it worst to be slowed or walled? A poor early game may be fixed with a fast late game, and a speedy start could mean nothing if the late game is a wall. 2) Does X-accuracy allow attacks with lower hit rate to be guaranteed hits or simply improves the odds? I rarely use X items/guard specs, so this is actually useful info.

[@reydragon2597]

from my own experience doing runs and watching the videos, the very beginning and the very end are the worst places to get stuck at. Brock can ruin your time from being competitive, more so with mons that rely on moves with bad accuracy or have no way to work around bide. There's so little available that it's grinding or lucking your way forward with some mons. The champion is also a terribad place to get stuck at, lance too to a similar degree, because you have to redo the entire e4 to get back, you may have to adapt your whole strat if it turns out it was flawed, or you go into it knowing you'll have to rely on some luck because grinding to super high levels for ranges or outspeeds ain't worth the time. Also I think x-acc guarantees hits to any move, that's why Nidoking is the speedrun mon. you use x-acc and then use horn drill to knockout every single mon in front of you.

[@matthewhenry8008]

Great run, always used slash vs body slam. With the crit chance, it has a better roll vs water types then setup and body slam. Two crit slashes do more then SD + body slam in the same two turns.

[@TheOvalOwl]

I love Scott's December

[@breadpope0358]

the first lance battle.. truly... a sticky situation

[@devinmiracle7680]

Hey Scott, on optimized runs when you are listing the trainers that you battled “this trainer, this trainer…” would it be possible to put their teams on the right like they are when you are in battles? Or would that be too much flashing on the screen back to back? As always, I love the content. I’m glad it’s Daily December!

[@titouanrobin874]

5:55 ...With Leer?

[@MrVelyx]

Props to the coldblood

[@TheSaxRunner05]

Random video idea - best possible Pokémon speedrun. Take Mew, set all its base stats to 255, and start with some nasty set like Psychic, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Body Slam. It would show a baseline for how all the other Pokémon would match up to the “perfect” Pokémon.

[@miqvPL]

I think I mentioned it before but my name from the catholic sacrament of confirmation is Bruno, I chose it as a kid because I really liked Bruno in Fire Red, saw him as a badass and later reading pokemon manga only confirmed him as such. And after all badmouthing him I find that crit against charmander quite poetic. Bruno will not be silenced, he worked hard to be one of the 5 strongest trainers in the region. Even though he kinda misunderstood that it was about pokemon training, not personal bodybuilding

[@MrSpike1981]

The leer super effective damage is real

[@weaponizedemoticon1131]

Are you suggesting that sleep strats are cannon rushes or DT warp rushes?

[@flamingmoomba5608]

When you stopped to pick up the Dome fossil all i can think is. What fossil did you pick ? I know you said which but comments are good for the KZbin algorithm

[@justinsims655]

Would you say that the champion would generally be harder if Exeggutor were omitted from his team? I just realized how often he is used as a break for Rest.

[@danielrobinsonchangemyvisi3195]

Hope we see a machop run!!! If you already made one

[@Riasiru]

"Fire isn't good pretty much exclusively because of Lance's Gyarados." Brock: Am I a joke to you? Mt Moon: Am I a joke to you? Misty: Am I a joke to you? Mountain Climber: Am I a joke to you? Erika: I am a joke to you... Sabrina: Am I a joke to you? Geovanni: Am I a joke to you? The Ocean: Am I a joke to you? Agatha: Welcome to the lottery!! Blastoise: Well well well, look who's over-leveled and fled to a game where I wasn't waiting. Vaporeon: FIGHT ME, COWARD!!!

[@Buddy26420]

"Super effective damage with Leer" Scott

[@mickgorro]

Wow, double burn on Brock? Also, does re-burning after full heal cut the attack again?

[@SmashMath151]

Of course, the pseudo-Dragon Tamer walls the pseudo-Dragon Fire Lizard! Rock Slide (which it gets as an Egg Move in Gen 2, Tutor move in FRLG, and by TM in every subsequent Generation) would probably shave several levels off, but Gen 1 gonna Gen 1! Editing to add that I did some Rock Slide damage calcs out of curiosity, and both Charmander and Gyarados would have ranges against each other (assuming both moves hit and don't crit) if Charmander was between Levels 63-67, with Charmander guaranteeing an OHKO at Level 65 or 66 depending on how much Stat Experience is lost due to lack of training and Gyarados having a 20-40% chance to OHKO at those levels. However, Speed would also be an issue since Charmander would fall just short of 170 after 1 Badge Boost and buying 2 Carbos to mitigate this would start to affect the damage range since Scott bought 4 Proteins.

[@Smileyrat]

Hurray for the cutest salimbder. :)

[@kb27787]

Since its Charmander (and not Charmander line, aka Charizard) things like earthquake is going to be absolutely nasty....

[@Surgemaster2012]

Charmander line is my favorite starter of Kanto, yes I am a Charizard stan, with Venasuar being my second. Perhaps it's because I have a different mindset comparatively speaking, but yes while Charmander is the worst I don't really think that he's that bad. For instance, he has a type disadvantage against Brock, but in gen 1 since he has no rock type moves it really doesn't matter since I can chip him down with Ember relatively speaking, it takes longer than 1 turn, but like I don't really consider that a measurable stance, if the gym itself cannot captialize on then I don't really consider that a definitive check. That's like of Falkner or Busy had no moves to Check Chikorita then they wouldn't be counters despite type resistance. For me I count for how good a mon is throughout the run are they consistent enough throughout, because while you have teams that can cover later, your starter also needs to be a contributor itself, because by this logic every mon on a team can cover at different points or battles in game. Really Blastoise is the one most consistent at doing both, because while Bulbasaur line has the strongest start, it can't really do much after the 3rd gym and doesn't see it's beginning game consistency until around Giovanni, since every gym leader from Erika-Blaine are terrible MUs for it, team rockets various poison types, with maybe the occasional Drowzee or ratatta lines. Venasuar does pick up at points due to auto crit razor leafs, but this is just me.

[@AlphaDal-if9vv]

Personally I don’t think charmander is the worst, at least in gen 1. My personal order is 1.)squirtle line 2.)charmander line 3.) bulbasaur line. Even though early grass, sleep powder, and razor leaf is good, venasaurs move pool is very shallow compared to charmander and squirtle. But for the most part I agree.

[@wmzer0mw]

@@AlphaDal-if9vv Saurs movepool isnt shallow; its actually really good. He gets just enough to hit the things he needs to. Bodyslam, sleep, swords dance and razor leaf/mega drain hit everything he needs to (except 2 ghost trainers in the tower) up until the elite 4 Agitha. Then he can swap out razor leaf for mimic and finish the run

[@AlphaDal-if9vv]

@@wmzer0mw Yes I’m aware that venasaur gets razor leaf, sleep powder, toxic, bodyslam and sword dance, I mentioned that in my comment and sure it's nice to have, but my problem with venasaurs movepool in gen 1 is that all he gets. If that's all you personally need that’s fine but I tend to prefer mons with a bit more type coverage than grass, normal/toxic sleep strats. Ex: Starmie is one of my favorite water pkmn in gen1 for that reason as he gets access to water, psychic, ice, and electric moves. Even Blastoise and charizard get some type coverage too. So yeah I would personally consider vendaurs movepools to be shallow especially for gen 1 standards. Granted that it’s not unique to venasaur alone. Gen 1 move pools for mons were shallow in general especially compared to modern standards.

[@wmzer0mw]

@@AlphaDal-if9vv No, your problem with Venusaur is that it isnt a sweeper. Saurs Movesets allow it to run stall, support, bulky special attacker, bulky phys attacker, and even a set up sweeper set. That is extremely varied. Starmie can ONLY run special attacker sets. What you are complaining about is you like to read the text "its super effective"; but after one SD venusaurs bodyslam far out damages starmies attacks. Venusaurs movepool is great in Gen 1.

[@AlphaDal-if9vv]

@@wmzer0mw Do I prefer sweepers sure, but I also like bulky pokemon/tanks too. Don’t get me wrong I’ve used the bulbasaur line in gen 1 before and the leech seed/poison powder combo + razor leaf kicks ass especially in the early game, but as the game progresses stall tactics like that aren’t really necessary anymore (solo runs, nuzlocks/online competitive in showdown not with standing) and if I’m going to run a mon with bodyslam might as well run it on a pokemon who can body slam and do other things beside razor and body slam. Venasaurs movepool is good with the tools it gets but it doesn’t mean it isn’t shallow. Idk maybe it’s unfair to compare it’s move pool to modern games but I mean come on, it gets way better access to gass moves on both the special and physical spectrum, razor leaf is only a good move in gen 1 cause the glitch that makes it always crit, access to poison stab, recovery moves like synthesis, along with normal, dark, and ground moves for coverage. But idk that’s my opinion. I enjoyed hearing yours as well though. ✌️🏻

[@lemswiler88]

Yeah!

[@tb12161991]

All Hail the Dark Lord!!!

[@peacefulwarrior9518]

Is Scott an artosis enjoyer? I don't buy Terran being harder than the other races in SC2.

[@Mastervitro]

If it's not 100% accuracy... technically it's 98.6%

[@Penguindude1]

20:15 I am amazed BUTT's Magneton did not go for Swift when you went for Dig, because as you said, every attacking move that isn't Swift has a 1-in-256 chance of missing, but it's worth noting that Swift will always hit, even during the set-up turns of Dig and Fly. I lost a Diglett by finding that out the hard way.

[@Shawnzy1]

They should’ve made an attack like thunder wave , but for burn

[@k4mrat]

will-o-wisp?

[@Shawnzy1]

@@k4mrat I meant that n gen 1

[@k4mrat]

@@Shawnzy1 ohhh ok

[@alexrobinet7576]

That brock fight was super lucky.

[@NymphieJP]

Damn, super effective leering lol

[@angelotirado3542]

Predicting he will drop the legendary beasts after squirtle

[@tiagoleivas3495]

35:10 I was watching at 2.0x speed and I thought there was a glitch on the video looool

[@dragonexpert8323]

My prediction is that Venomoth is a water / rock type today.

[@MichaelFawcett-91]

If it doesn't have 100% accuracy it has 50% accuracy...unless you're Scott. When you are Scott if it doesn't have 100% accuracy it has 5% accuracy.

[@mjbalbo]

You were super lucky in the first run

[@dankester5607]

Heh.. Koga's strategy was almost the same as it is in Stadium 1.. poison you with Toxic double team so you can't hit him. Rinse / repeat

[@ilovegarradors]

You must be using some kind of genetically superior charmander cuz when I use it in gen 1, poison sting seems to have a 95% chance to poison it every time. >_

[@tsawy6]

Algo!

[@infernape3335]

Super effect leer

[@bryandauzat293]

Is the name Char a Gundam reference or am I reading to much into it

[@andrewmorris9863]

please be gentle I watch this because I enjoy pokemon but i Dont play cant you go back to mount moon by going though Diglit Cave cut the tree (shrub thing) then walk back? just really think about it

[@AllonBachuth]

You can do that, but in terms of speedrunning this would be incredibly slow and pointless.

[@Citizen5101]

Without watching the videos I would honestly be surprised if Bulbasaur had a better Brock split than Charmander or if Bulbasaur beat Squirtle before Misty or SS Anne. After that is anyone's race but Bulbasaur is so much worse than type alone and Fire has a big advantage early even if Brock makes it feel like it doesn't.

[@nautgamingnautgaming9949]

Facts Bruno bigger wall than lance (in playthrough 8)

[@chrisnelson93]

Go Charmander

[@shellbadorsrival314]

I'm curious why you haven't edited the rom to stop evolutions so you don't have to waste time on the evolution screen everytime your pokemon levels up. I get that it's too late now, but i really want to know why you didn't in the first place considering how easy it is to do

[@HackedGlitch265]

Because it's an in-game mechanic. The only exception to this is Vermillion's gym, due to how awful that thing is with RNG. Yeah, you can manip it, so you may as well cut it out.

[@unicorncat7644]

The first run probably would have been better with double edge instead of mega kick at that point tbh

[@patonosequecosa]

Im pretty sure it is

[@soniablanche5672]

fire is only good against the grass gym. The ice elite 4 is mostly neutral except Jynx so yeah fire is sadly not good in gen1.

[@veghesther3204]

Yes it is and In the Gen 1 games Yellow is the HARDEST 1 of the 3 but in Leaf Green/Fire red on the DS charmander isn't any MUCH better.

[@lozangekitten-gamer7626]

him saying "tomorrow with the *last* starter" is technically false, he hasn't done an actual Pikachu that isn't Surfachu

[@reiny9974]

Don't talk about Bruno no no!

[@jackruby6696]

Does Ike the killer have a KZbin?

[@theprinnyranger]

Charmander so OP he can leer at other pokemon and win without doing damage. The joke would work better with glare byt Scott said Leer. lol

[@henrymars6626]

No wonder my brother beat my ass in StarCraft. He was Terran or Protoss. I was Zerg.

[@mothra__13]

Charmander isn't bad, it's just hard mode!

[@mothra__13]

Omg you actually bring this up in the video 😅

[@AlloAlloRocks]

If Gyarados is the only problem, why not stun lock it with fire spin?

[@stephentoothman7852]

70% accuracy and very low damage, you've got better odds of hitting focus blast 4 turns in a row than of keeping Gyarados trapped for that long, even if you just want to put it in body slam range

[@Senshidayo]

Fire type is obviously the best because Charizard and Charmander are the best.

[@ironleegaming8227]

it is.

[@drachenklaue07]

Hey Scott ❤

[@Thundermikeee]

Did you just say Terrans play SC2 on hard mode? nah, just nah, npt after the recent balance patch. At the top level Terrans got the most options, and at low level play they got widow mines. Terran is probably the strongest race rn, even if some Zerg pro players are making it look another way. But honestly counting people like Serral is just never going to be fair.

[@laureate90]

I have a question: How come in Gold & Silver, Red's team is based on the Yellow character's lineup (despite being called 'Red'), while Blue's is based pretty much on his lineup from Red & Blue? I mean, obviously there's the REAL WORLD answer and all, but I'm looking for that all-important FAN THEORY answer. Someone hit me up.

[@SSJ2AlexiLaiho]

69 hp nice 😂

[@privategallade9120]

🍞