PokeSurvivor Tier List (Updated 2026-10-14)

By: PokeSurvivor Fans · Last updated: October 14, 2026

This is our PokeSurvivor tier list for 25 of the 29 starter partners, ranked by game phase from the game’s client data and the official moves list. Poke Survivor only came out on 2026-10-11, so the list is not official, no community consensus exists yet, and it is our assessment rather than results from recorded test runs. Squirtle, Psyduck, Piplup and Chespin are left out because their starting move isn’t confirmed. If you just want a first partner, read our best starter guide instead.

On this page:

• All starters at a glance
• How we rank
• Early game (0–10 minutes)
• Mid game (10–30 minutes)
• Late game (30+ minutes)
• Move tier list
• Gacha partners: not ranked yet
• Changelog

PokeSurvivor Tier List: All Starters at a Glance

What the tiers mean:

• S: top pick for that phase, easy even for new players.
• A: strong, but needs a bit of positioning or luck.
• B: usable, with a clear weakness.
• C: not recommended as your main partner in that phase.

Each card shows the Pokémon’s sprite, its starting move and its key stat. The 4 starters we haven’t ranked are shown in a “Not yet ranked” row.

How we rank

1. Auto-attack quality. Your partner fires its active move on its own while you move. A move that hits reliably at range while you kite scores higher.
2. Evolution path. Every move maxes out at level 5. With the matching upgrade card it evolves via a golden card. We look at how big the evolution is and how easy its card is to pair with. Source: the official moves list, checked 2026-10-14.
3. Survivability. HP and speed from base stats. Speed matters most in a movement-only game.
4. Type coverage (light weight). We compare the starting move’s type with the 18 rift arena types, using standard Pokémon matchups. The game has a type chart, but its exact multipliers and the type mix of normal hordes aren’t published, so this only breaks ties.
5. Co-op fit (tiebreaker only). In co-op, XP is shared, so we only look at attack shape: a ranged or wide move covers teammates better than a single-target one. We have no co-op test data.

Base stats across starters are close (HP 88–110, speed 84–108, attack multiplier 0.95–1.09), so the starting move decides more than raw stats.

Early game (0–10 minutes)

In the first ten minutes you have one or two moves and no evolutions. What counts is whether the starting move hits without you aiming.

• S: Mudkip, Sobble. Water Gun is “a piercing jet, reliable at any range”, and these two have the highest attack multiplier among Water Gun users (1.08).
• A: other Water Gun users (Totodile, Oshawott, Froakie, Quaxly), Vine Whip users (Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Turtwig, Grookey), Popplio, Scorbunny and Torchic. Vine Whip hits a wide arc at long range. Popplio’s Bubble slows what it touches. Scorbunny (1.09, the highest) and Torchic (1.08) lift Ember with their attack stat.
• B: the other Ember users (Charmander, Cyndaquil, Chimchar, Tepig, Fennekin, Litten, Fuecoco), the Razor Leaf users (Treecko, Snivy, Rowlet, Sprigatito) and Slowpoke. The moves list describes Ember as “a fireball at the nearest enemy”, one shot at a time. Razor Leaf’s two leaves fly out and back, so they need enemies in their path. Slowpoke’s Confusion homes in, but Slowpoke is the slowest starter.

Mid game (10–30 minutes)

This phase brings rifts, bosses and bonds. Moves start reaching level 5, so the evolution path matters more than the base move.

• S: Mudkip, Sobble, Froakie, Totodile, Oshawott, Quaxly, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Turtwig, Grookey. All Water Gun and Vine Whip users. Both moves evolve with the Power card.
• A: Popplio, Scorbunny, Torchic, Fuecoco, Charmander, Cyndaquil, Chimchar, Tepig, Fennekin, Litten. The Ember users get an easy Power evolution too, and Popplio’s Bubble turns into a strong Surf, but needs Sprint.
• B: Treecko, Snivy, Rowlet, Sprigatito, Slowpoke. Razor Leaf and Confusion need Reflexes, which competes with Power for your picks.

Why the evolution path decides this phase:

• Water Gun, Ember and Vine Whip all evolve with the Power card. Power is a generic damage upgrade you will want anyway, so these paths are the easiest to complete.
• Fire Blast and Scald both give ×1.8 damage, +2 projectiles, +2 pierce and bigger shots. Power Whip gives ×1.9 damage, more range and 360° hits, which is why Vine Whip users hold up well here.
• Popplio’s Bubble needs Sprint for Surf. Strong, but a less common pairing.
• Razor Leaf (Leaf Storm) and Confusion (Psyshock) need Reflexes, which competes with Power for your picks.

For rift arenas, using standard matchups, Ember is super effective against four arena types (Grass, Bug, Ice and Steel), while Water Gun (Fire, Ground, Rock) and the Grass moves (Water, Ground, Rock) cover three each. A dual-type legendary can carry a second type that changes this, so treat coverage as a small edge. Per the developer’s news, bosses and legendaries use four telegraphed attacks and enrage at half health, so speed starts to pay off here. Rift fights are covered on the rifts page.

Late game (30+ minutes)

At minute 30 Arceus appears (“Judgment of Arceus”), an invincible chase. You can’t out-damage it, so this tier leans on speed and HP. Froakie (fastest, 108) moves up. Fuecoco (HP 100) holds its place. Slowpoke’s 110 HP doesn’t make up for being the slowest starter. By this point your other picked moves and bonds matter as much as the partner, so read late-game tiers as a light tiebreaker.

• S: Froakie. The fastest starter, with an evolved Scald.
• A: Mudkip, Sobble, Totodile, Oshawott, Quaxly, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Turtwig, Grookey, Popplio, Scorbunny, Torchic, Fuecoco.
• B: Charmander, Cyndaquil, Chimchar, Tepig, Fennekin, Litten, Treecko, Snivy, Rowlet, Sprigatito.
• C: Slowpoke. The slowest starter, in the phase where speed matters most.

PokeSurvivor Move Tier List: Starting Moves Ranked

The six confirmed starting moves, ranked by how much they carry a run once evolved. Evolution data is from the official moves list, checked 2026-10-14.

PokeSurvivor starting move tiers

Tier	Starting move	Evolves into	Card needed	Used by
S	Water Gun	Scald×1.8 damage, +2 projectiles, +2 pierce, bigger	Power
S	Vine Whip	Power Whip×1.9 damage, more range, hits in 360°	Power
A	Ember	Fire Blast×1.8 damage, +2 projectiles, +2 pierce, bigger	Power
A	Bubble	Surf+6 projectiles, ×1.6 damage, +1 pierce	Sprint
B	Razor Leaf	Leaf Storm×1.8 damage, +1 boomerang, more range	Reflexes
B	Confusion	Psyshock×1.8 damage, +2 projectiles, +2 pierce, bigger	Reflexes

• S (Water Gun, Vine Whip): both evolve with Power, a generic damage card you will pick anyway, so Scald and Power Whip are the easiest strong evolutions to reach.
• A (Ember, Bubble): Ember’s Fire Blast gets the same Power evolution as Scald, but the base move fires one shot at the nearest enemy. Bubble’s Surf (+6 projectiles, ×1.6 damage, +1 pierce) is strong, but Sprint is a less common pick.
• B (Razor Leaf, Confusion): Leaf Storm and Psyshock both give ×1.8 damage, but they need Reflexes, which competes with Power for your card picks.

The full evolution table for every starting move, and how to reach level 5 and trigger the golden card, is in How to Play PokeSurvivor. For team picks in multiplayer, see the co-op guide.

Gacha partners: not ranked yet

PokeSurvivor has 966 Pokémon from all 9 regions (Kanto to Paldea), and all of them are playable as partners. Beyond the starters, you get them from region gachas. Tickets are earned by playing and are never sold for real money; bosses and rift legendaries drop ×10 tickets. Shinies show up in 1 in 100 gacha pulls. Permanent upgrades are bought with coins per Pokémon, so it pays to pick one partner to invest in.

We only rank Pokémon whose starting data we have checked. Gacha partners will be added once their moves are confirmed.

Changelog

• 2026-10-14: First version. 25 of 29 starters ranked from client data and the official moves list; Squirtle, Psyduck, Piplup and Chespin left out until their starting move is confirmed. Type coverage and co-op fit added as tiebreakers. Same day: added sprites to the tier cards, a “Not yet ranked” row for the 4 unranked starters, per-tier lists for mid and late game, the move tier list and the gacha partners section.