Balanced stats, a calm road through the gyms, and Blastoise bulk that never goes out of style. The pick that never embarrasses you.
Squirtle
Base form
Wartortle
Level 16
Blastoise
Level 36
Every gaming house has a favorite at the table, and ours wears a shell. Specimen №007 is the percentage play: no brutal early walls like the dragon, no late game fade like the garden. Water is the best attacking type in classic Kanto — almost nothing resists it that you cannot answer — and Blastoise's defenses let you make mistakes and live to laugh about them. You picked the turtle because you came to finish the run.
| Stage | Typing | Arrives | Calling card | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Squirtle | Water | Starter | Best defensive base of the three | | Wartortle | Water | Level 16 | Bite and a steady climb | | Blastoise | Water | Level 36 | 100 Defense, 105 Special Defense |
One type, no baggage. Pure Water means exactly two weaknesses all game — Grass and Electric — and both are easy to see coming. Compare that to the dragon's Rock problem or the garden's Psychic problem and you start to understand the house's affection.
The argument for Squirtle is coverage and composure.
The tradeoff is ceiling. Blastoise does not hit as hard as Charizard or control fights like Venusaur. It just keeps making correct, boring, winning trades. Some players find that dull. Those players also lose more runs.
At the Elite Four, you resist Lorelei's Ice, Surf handles Bruno's rock work, and Ice Beam is the single best answer in the game to Lance's dragons. The turtle finishes runs.
Early: Bubble and Water Gun keep you scoring through the first stretch, and Withdraw can stonewall early physical threats while you chip. Tail Whip is better than it looks when your offense is still modest.
Mid: Bite arrives in the Wartortle era for reliable neutral damage. Surf replaces everything the moment you can teach it — it is both your boat and your best move.
Late: The classic Blastoise ledger reads Surf, Ice Beam, Earthquake from the TM case, and Body Slam or Rest in the last slot. Ice Beam is non negotiable; it is the move that turns good coverage into total coverage. Hydro Pump is there if you want drama, but Surf's reliability is the house position.
Blastoise needs partners for two letters and one fish story: Grass, Electric, and the rare bulky Water mirror.
Squirtle is the percentage pick: the calmest early game, exactly two predictable weak rooms, and a final form whose answer sheet covers the entire endgame. It will not post the flashiest numbers at the table — it will still be sitting there, fully stacked, when the flashier hands have gone bust.
Filed under: the house favorite.