With summer quickly approaching I have been struck by the urge to replay the greatest Pokémon game of all time, Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky. I want to play as either a Bulbasaur or Treecko, but I'm not sure who is the better option because they both bring different pros and cons to the table.
Bulbasaur's biggest advantage is having Sleep Powder, a powerful move that allows me to immobilize bosses while I take out their minions. Bulbasaur learns Razor Leaf early on, and ranged moves are a valuable tool in PMD that Treecko does not learn naturally (I need to chance upon an Energy Ball TM). He also has the dopest nickname in the history of Pokémon, Bulba Fett.
Unfortunately, Bulbasaur has its downsides. It has no recovery outside of Leech Seed for a long time, until it learns Synthesis. Neither move is ideal because Leech Seed doesn't heal much and Synthesis has very little PP. If I'm super lucky I might find a Giga Drain TM, but they are rare. Bulba also suffers from its Poison typing, because many of the bosses in-game are Psychic-types (Drowzee in particular). Finally, outside of Grass moves and Sludge Bomb, Bulbasaur's movepool is garbage.
Treecko's biggest advantage over Bulbasaur is its movepool. It naturally learns all three draining moves, and can learn some of the best and most common TMs (Brick Break, Dig, Aerial Ace, Rock Slide). Pursuit also gives some nice early-game coverage.
Unfortunately, Treecko has virtually no ranged moves outside of Quick Attack. It learns Energy Ball extremely late in the game. The lizard also suffers from 4MSS. It's hard to fit Absorb, Mega Drain, Pursuit, Quick Attack, Brick Break, Rock Slide, Aerial Ace, and Dig into one moveset. I also can't think of a badass nickname for Treecko.
It's probably worth mentioning that my partner will probably be Shinx. It covers my Flying weakness, and I can handle its Ground weakness. It's moveset will probably be something like:
- Bite > Crunch
- Spark > Thunder Fang/Thunderbolt
- Quick Attack
- Shock Wave/Thunder Wave
So, which is better? Bulbasaur's ability to put foes to sleep and hammer them with ranged attacks, or Treecko's diverse movepool and recovery? Should I pick a different partner Pokémon? And feedback is much appreciated!
