As with most Pokemon games, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet begin by allowing to pick the player from one of three starter Pokemon. When it comes to Skeledirge, the final evolution of fire-type starter Fuecoco, many are of the opinion that its ghost-fire typing and access to new move Torch Song make clearing Pokemon Scarlet and Violet all too easy.Each starter Pokemon within a game presents the player with different type matchups against the Gym Leaders of the region and, eventually, the Elite Four and Champion. Though Pokemon games have no formal difficulty setting, players can indirectly make their journey more or less difficult depending upon which starter they pick. For fan-made challenges such as Nuzlockes, where a Pokemon fainting means it can no longer be used during the playthrough, picking a starter with favorable matchups into the gym leaders of a region is especially important.Enter Fuecoco, the fire-type starter of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Fire is a particularly devastating type in Paldea, having a massive advantage against the bug, ice, and grass gyms. Upon fully evolving from Crocalor into Skeledirge, Fuecoco also gains the ghost typing - enabling it to also hit the psychic and ghost gyms for super effective damage through moves such as hex. This means the Fuecoco line has a type advantage against 6 of the 8 gyms in the region - and also against Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Elite Four member Poppy's Steel types.
Though many starters would still get worn down in fights, even with the type advantage, the Fuecoco line has an incredible move in the form of its signature Torch Song that allows it to end battles before the enemy has a chance to land too many hits. Sporting a base power of 80, increased to 120 by the same-type attack bonus granted from it being a fire move, Torch Song also raises the user's special attack stat by one level each time it is used. What this means is, once Skeledirge defeats the enemy's first Pokemon with two to three torch songs, subsequent Torch Songs are almost certain to one-shot enemies due to the stockpiled stat boosts. This gameplay loop makes Pokemon Scarlet and Violet so ridiculously easy that veteran players of Pokemon challenges such as Nuzlockes are taking to Twitter, advising others not to pick Fuecoco if they want "a more interesting run."
With ghost-typing already being strong defensively in playthroughs due to its immunity to normal, what makes the Fuecoco line especially broken compared to its fellow Pokemon Scarlet and Violet starters is its unprecedentedly great matchups into the gym leaders of the region in combination with a brilliant, STAB-boosted move in the form of Torch Song that allows it to sweep entire teams with ease.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.