On beautiful tropical islands of the Alola region, new trainers seeking to begin their journey inPokemon Sun& Moonwill get the usual choice between 3 starters: a Water-type, a Grass-type, and a Fire-type. The latter is a fierce feline called Litten, who evolves into Torracat and then Incineroar.
RELATED:Pokemon TCG: 10 Cards From Your Childhood That Are Worth A Fortune
Cat-lovers and wrestling aficionados are the demographics most likely to select Littenas their starter pokemon, however, there are many more reasons to choose them than simple aesthetics. If one trains hard enough, their partnership with Litten can allow them to become one of the most powerful trainers in the entire region.
10Pokedex Entries
In terms of Litten’s behavior and personality, trainers should read up on theirPokedex entriesin order to get familiar with their new partner. This curious and chaotic cat pokemon is more complex than one initially assumes, though its encyclopedic data sheds some light on things, especially if one checks out their entries from every game where they are obtainable.
All Pokedex Entries For Litten
9Base Stats
As one might expect from theusual trend with Fire-types, Litten and their evolutions prioritize offensive stats over defensive ones. Though, it should still be noted that this flaming kitten possesses a Speed stat higher than its other traits. They have a base stat total of 320, which is spread out in a way that lets their trainer hit hard and fast.
Litten’s Base Stats
8Type Effectiveness
Beinga pure Fire-typemeans that Litten will have the usual disadvantage against Ground, Rock, and Water-types, however, will also possess a lot of neutral match-ups as well as quite a few resistances. Fire-types are considered one of the better offensive elements, but be sure to keep track of type effectiveness when sending Litten into battle for the best results.
Resistant To
7Moveset (By Leveling Up)
Like many pocket monsters, Litten can learn moves by leveling up, even past the point where they would normally evolve into Torracat (more on that later).This Fire-type starterwill continue to acquire new moves until level 36, and players should know that they learn moves earlier if they don’t evolve, meaning that one can potentially get a level 38 Incineroar with the most powerful moves that they would not normally obtain until almost level 60.
All Generation VIII Moves Learned By Leveling Up
6Moveset (By TM & TR)
There are numerous other ways to teach Litten mighty moves, and some of the most convenient methods are by Technical Machines (TM) and Technical Records (TR). This fire cat definitely learns its best Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) moves by leveling up, however, some of the most ideal coverage and status moves from other types can only be taught by a TM or TR.
All Generation VIII Moves Learned By TM & TR
5Moveset (By Every Other Method)
In addition to learning moves by leveling up and via TM as well as TR, there are other meansto educate one’s Fire-typestarter in the ways of battle. Some moves can only be passed on by breeding, while one can be tutored. On top of that, transferring Litten from a Gen VII game to a Gen VIII game will allow a trainer to acquire this feline with moves that they can’t normally learn inSword & Shield.
By Transfer From Gen VII
4Abilities
Like all Fire-type starters, Litten usually comes with the Blaze ability, which increases their Attack or Special Attack stat by 50% if a damage-dealing Fire-type move is used while the pokemon is under 33% of their max HP.
RELATED:10 Most Underrated Abilities In Pokemon History
However, this species has a hidden ability that can be acquired by breeding. This other ability, Intimidate, causes foes who see Litten approaching to have their Attack stat dropped by 1 stage.
3Breeding
Breeding one’s starter with another pokemon to maybe get a Litten that is shiny and possesses a different ability and moves is not a bad idea, however, can be time-consuming. To breed a Litten, one will need to pair them with a Ditto or a pokemon from the Field egg group, as these are the only kinds of mates that will produce eggs with Litten. Get one’s bicycle ready, as the hatching time for each egg will be between 3855 and 4111 steps (tiles moved).
2Evolution
By training Litten up to level 17, they will have a chance to evolve into Torracat, though, trainers can cancel the evolution in order to keep Litten in their current form to learn level-up moves faster. Torracat evolves into Incineroar at level 34, which will give playersthe most physically-oriented starter final evolutionin the game.
While Torracat’s stats and typing (pure Fire-type) are a natural progression from Litten’s, things change up a bit when they evolve into Incineroar, as they get a huge drop in Speed that is compensated by better defensive stats and HP as well as gains Dark as a secondary typing.
1Origin
No one will be surprised when they learn that Litten is based on a real-world cat; specifically, a Mackerel Tabby Cat, as can be gleaned from this Fire-type’s stripes and forehead markings. Interestingly, Mackerel Tabby Cats are sometimes called “Tiger Cats”, which clearly influenced the design of Litten and their evolutions.
