Week 4: Feraligatr
 

(3/6/10) Question of the Day: isn't it weird how Carvanha is a piranha at first and then evolves into Sharpedo, a shark? I just think it's strange because they are two totally different kinds of animals.

Whatever. It's Generation Shift, so let's get down to business.

This is the last weekend before the release of Heartgold and SoulSilver. I'm sure all of you are really excited for this addition to the series. It will be both nostalgic feelings for many of us and a new experience for some (like my brother, Charizard98 ). I've talked with both friends from high school and friends from college, and most people that I have talked to that have a DS are going to get this game.

So, as with the last two weeks, I'm wrapping up the Johto Starters with one of my favorites.

I had to go through a flower Pokémon for this guy, but it was worth it.

I'm of course talking about the Cajun croc itself, Feraligatr.


This guy is a cool little Pokémon. I remember when Ash first caught his and how he abused its ability to dance in battles. Too bad Tododile is nothing like he is in the cartoon compared to the game.

Feraligatr has been a series favorite for many players. He's always been relatively good, but depending on which version of the game you have, how good becomes an important question.


All four water starters have a strong focus on decent defenses. Feraligatr is no exception. If anyone fights this big-jawed Pokémon, focus on special attacks and not physical attacks because this guy can take serious hits.

This crazy alligator is never meant to be fast (at first). He will usually lag behind a few key Pokémon in terms of pure speed. The upside in this is that it can take a hit before either boosting itself or dishing out a powerful attack.
Rock types should always be afraid of this guy. Even an explosion from a Golem doesn't ensure a kill (if you can pop one off).

The other focus for this guy is his high attack. Now, sometimes, you can't take advantage of this ( especially for the adventure part of the game when you need Surf), but when you can make a good physical moveset, everyone should be careful fighting you.

Let's head to Johto.


Now, I never played with Feraligatr back in Gold and Silver because I thought he lacked a good moveset (I was always a Typhlosion spammer). Looking at his moveset on Pokémon Stadium 2 though, I realize I made a mistake. He would have been a great addition…at least when he doesn't act like a typical water type.

Feraligatr was a great user of either Slash or Return. These moves could still hit most Pokémon for decent damage before the future generations came out (they still do today).

As with the other starters of Johto, Earthquake is usually a must. You take care of those pesky electric types like Ampharos who are slower than you and can cause you some trouble.

Rock Slide is slightly harder to get due to it being an egg move, but it has slightly better power than going with an "ice" move (since it uses his attack stat) and it takes on essentially the same Pokémon (including Dragonite, the main reason for using an "ice" move).

After these moves, it gets a little tougher to have a complete set for him.

Scary Face is sort of okay if you get tired of being slow.

Iron Tail has good coverage for certain rock types that aren't hit by Earthquake (like Aerodactyl).

Dynamic Punch, as much as I dislike it back then with its terrible accuracy, can kill some Pokémon, too, but it is strongly discouraged.

I haven't mentioned Special attacks yet, but his stats don't reflect that he should use more than one.

Surf is good for in-game and does some decent damage due to STAB, although it probably won't kill Typhlosion.

Bite (or preferably Crunch) can mess up some Ghost and Psychic types, although most will be hit harder by Earthquake or equivalent attacks.

The main point is that Feraligatr doesn't do so hot with its leveling up moves alone. Notice most of the moves I mentioned above he doesn't learn on his own just by training. Feraligatr, in this game, is usually best used for competitive battling after the game is finished. He's a lot like Gyrados, except a bit better with moves.


The croc didn't change much for Ruby and Sapphire. It's main focus is to use its physical attack to its advantage.

In terms of better moves, you now have better attacks to deal with various types. Brick Break is a nice breakaway from Dynamic Punch (ensuring good hits along with Reflect/LS breaks).

Aerial Ace gives it something better to use for grass types (once again taking the place of Ice Beam) along with added coverage and accuracy that is better than Rock Slide.

You even can get Body Slam in FireRed and LeafGreen, which sounds small but really isn't. It means the chance that Feraligatr can paralyze opponents (slowing them down for it) and it does more damage overall than Slash. Return is still a good contender.

One final improvement was a stat booster, Sword Dance. I'm sure a decent number of you competitive battlers used this move in a physical moveset.

This adds to his already powerful attack stat and is important to use, especially if you know you can take a hit and might be faster than your opponent.


The waters of Sinnoh were very kind to Feraligatr.

Once again, as I usually say, the Physical/Special move split improved many Pokémon ten-fold, and Feraligatr is no exception.

Now you got physical attacks that were once special, namely Waterfall. Rock and Ground types beware. This guy is a beast against you now.

Crunch is also a move learned from leveling up now and it has major damage on several Pokémon (including Gengar who became immune to Earthquake in Hoenn).

Ice Fang or Ice Punch are great Ice moves that do great damage. The added bonus of dragon coverage isn't half bad either.

Dragon Claw was given in Hoenn, but its true power is unleashed in Sinnoh. This means great type coverage against almost everyone except steel types (but they have other things to fear from Feraligatr anyways).

Outrage is slightly superior to Dragon Claw, but it does involve you being somewhat vulnerable to electric types that can take the hit and take you out in the process.

Shadow Claw is alright, but not compared to Crunch. Save the move for someone else (unless you want to hit fighting types as well, but I doubt a Psychic type or Ghost type would switch out because of you).

Superpower, to finish up our coverage of fighting attacks, is now almost the equivalent of Typhlosion's Eruption. It does a lot of damage to anyone it hits. There is a cost and it's not going to perform miracles, but any Pokémon with this move is scary. The added bonus is that he learns it naturally, so look forward to gaining this later on for you Heartgold and Soulsilver players.

More stat boosters were gained as well. Dragon Dance (by breeding) and Agilitiy (by leveling up? really?) are now available to boost his low speed. Get someone to switch while you perform one of these moves and you're sitting pretty (unless you get walled).

Oh, and you can get REALLY creative and do a Flail moveset. I would love to battle one of you who manages to get one together that can use this move along with a Salac Berry or similar.


Feraligatr is better when he doesn't have the limitations of the adventure mode. Many Pokémon fear him later on and he is very much a great starter for the Heartgold and SoulSilver games. Consequently, it can take on most of the Elite Four and Champion on its own, so keep that in mind for those of you who want a reliable Pokémon to use in the games.

Feraligatr got better in every generation, but he has always had a good time taking out many Pokémon. He very well may be the best water starter in this most current generation.


Alright, so now you have seen how all of the starters have improved in each generation and how they are currently doing in the wake of Heartgold and SoulSliver. Now, which starter fits you?

I will be covering just the Johto region of the game. For Kanto, I assume people will do whatever they like for their teams.

For raw power, go with Typhlosion. If you feel like you want an easier Pokémon that will help you get through the game easily, Typhlosion is the way to go. There aren't any major gym leaders that will give you trouble that aren't easy to take out with other party members. Your only main problem with him is type coverage. You won't be able to take on Rock Pokémon very well, especially in cave parts early in the game.

For a good compromise of power and defense, go Feraligatr. Just like Typhlosion, Feraligatr doesn't have a hard time with many Pokémon and, in fact, can take on more than Typhlosion can. It may not take out every opponent in one hit (especially in the Team Rocket Struggle), but Feraligatr has an easier time than any of the starters with the Elite Four.

For defense, Meganium is the way to go. Meganium will struggle against almost every gym leader, and your skills at catching other Pokémon will be tested. This is where the real adventure is fellas. Even though Meganium can take hits, it won't dish out too many. You'll be relying on it as a staller at times while you heal your other Pokémon. I don't mean to put it down (it's just the truth), but you will have a hard time using Meganium. This is the true Pokémon master's challenge.

Overall, any starter is good in its own way (as I demonstrated in each GS), but each has its own advantages. Depending on how hard you want the game to be, your starter is very crucial.

That wraps up this week's Generation Shift. Think about which starter you might want based on these pages. They may help you figure out what direction to go.

Another great article JastJack I can't wait for next week.

I always love these things, and await the next one with bated breath!

I'm still picking Chikorita though :lol:

I was going to use Feraligator in HG, but in the very last, I decided not to use any starter. Still, I agree that Feraligator is very powerful, not if the most powerful of all the Johto starters.

I expect Ho-Oh and Lugia to be next!

This article explains why I'm choosing Totodile as my starter in SS.

Fera;igtr is my fav starter, He is just much more usefull

AWESOME! my brother choose totodile and its fergalator moveset is:


cut (he insisted)
surf
ice beam
slash