Pokemon League Foundation's Certified Starter Pokemon
Here in this world, there is a wide range of available starter Pokémon that may not be considered in the main series videogames. Of course, no one is beholden to the below list, as this is simply the PLF's list of suggested starters, and in practice many municipalities, breeders, parents, and cultures have their own notions of what is and is not acceptable to give to a new trainer. And trainers may find their first Pokémon by their own means.
With that said, here are some guidelines to consider when establishing your municipality’s starter Pokémon:
They must be able to evolve across all genders. This means Pokémon that can only evolve if they are female (Combee, Salandit) do not make suitable starter Pokémon.
They must be appropriate to the surrounding environment. Example: Littens are not acceptable starter Pokémon in the United States, but they are in India, Siberia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Conversely, a city such as Oshkosh, WI, which is famous for its airshows and wind turbines surrounded by farmland as well as being along the Fox River, would have starters such as Squirtle, Ducklett, Hoppip, Electrike, and Mareep.
They must be temperamentally and biologically safe for even a 10-year-old. While many trainers acquire their first Pokémon at older and younger ages than that, the Pokémon League Foundation insists that 10 years old is a good beginner age.
Exceptions exist: Pokémon that are a part of 3-stage evolutionary lines are allowed to have temperamental and finicky personalities and needs in the final stage (such as Charizard) since the trainer will inevitably be of an older, more appropriate age, to handle these needs.
To this end, almost all ghost-types are considered unsuitable for beginner trainers.
Pokémon must also have species-wide behavioral patterns that are appropriate for a 10-year-old. To this end, Pokémon like Purrloin and Nickit are seen as unsuitable starter Pokémon because of their proclivities toward theft.
Pokémon with extreme needs somewhere in its evolutionary line, such as Munchlax & Snorlax, are considered unsuitable starter Pokémon.
The Pokémon must have an established domesticated stock in captivity with needs that are achievable to even poor newbie trainers.
Because of this requirement, only two dragon-types are approved starter Pokémon: Applin and Noibat. Dragons are rare, temperamental, finicky, and downright dangerous creatures in almost all circumstances. While there are other dragons, such as Goomy, that may be suitable, they do not have suitably domesticated stock in captivity nor are their specific biological needs achievable to the average low-income new trainer.
While traditional videogame starters are truly excellent choices, consider utilizing less conventional starters such as Poliwag, Ralts, or Eevee, since these Pokémon have split evolutions that allow for a greater variety of fully-evolved starters amongst the local trainers.
There must always be at least 3 starter Pokémon available, but no more than 7. Locations that are so large that they feel that they can justify more than 7 starter Pokémon should consider sub-dividing into sub-regions. For example, New York City is home to millions of people; rather than have a uniform 7 starters for the entire city, consider separate groupings for Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and so forth.
Starter Pokémon are available from every Pokémon Center. They are acquired through partnership with Certified Breeders in the area. Anyone who is at least 10 years old may go to any Pokémon Center of choice and seek an available starter Pokémon. Everyone is granted 1 government-issued (Pokémon Center) starter Pokémon, no matter what stage in their Pokémon journey that they’re in.
Mechanics: Pokémon Center Issued Starter Pokémon always have at least 70% domesticity and at least 70% handleability. Roll a d30 (or a d10 and a d20) to determine the specifics. They are free of most poor health defects, for starter Pokémon Breeders are tasked with breeding healthy & amicable individuals rather than ones that meet the breed standard. Because of this, the individual breed standard is anywhere from 1-100. Roll accordingly.
For a written list of the above chart, read below!
