PokéBonk Starters: Bulbasaur vs Charmander vs Squirtle

Which first partner to pick? A side-by-side comparison of the three starters’ passives and starting kits.

Quick answer

Bulbasaur if you want recovery while you move, Squirtle for the biggest safety margin, Charmander for the fastest Fire-focused start. This is a first-partner recommendation from kits and starting stats, not a full-run ranking.

	Bulbasaur	Charmander	Squirtle
Class	Healer	Fiery Assault	Defender
Type	Grass / Poison	Fire	Water
Passive (v0.7.2)	Photosynthesis: +1.5 regeneration, +25% healing; Grass hits heal 0.4% HP per hit, at most 5 times a second	Blaze: below 40% HP, +40% damage; Fire damage +10%	Shell of the Torrent: +15 armor, +20 shield; below 40% HP, +40% damage
Starting move	Vine Whip (arcing physical strike)	Ember (special projectile)	Water Gun (special projectile): 18.7 damage, 0.9 s cooldown, 19.2 m range, 12% chance to soak (v0.7.2)
Move damage / cooldown (v0.5.5)	20 / 0.8 s	15 / 0.9 s	15 / 0.9 s (since changed, see above)
Max HP (v0.5.5)	108	104	108
Armor (v0.5.5)	9	8	26
Shield (v0.5.5)	0	0	20
Regeneration / s (v0.5.5)	2.0	0.4	0.5
Movement speed (v0.5.5)	102%	107%	102%
Pick it for	Recovery	Speed and Fire damage	Initial protection

Numbers tagged v0.5.5 come from earlier public testing and may have changed; the game is now Beta v0.7.2.

Bulbasaur — recovery

Photosynthesis adds regeneration and healing, and Grass hits heal a little. Vine Whip targets the closest enemy with an arcing strike and a chance to root. A forgiving pick for learning to move and survive.

Charmander — speed and Fire

The fastest of the three with the lowest defense. Ember is a projectile, so positioning matters more, and Blaze rewards fighting at low health — only worth it once you dodge well.

Squirtle — protection and a strong kit

Squirtle starts with armor and a shield, and its passive also adds damage below 40% HP. In our v0.7.2 run its four cards were:

Move	Shape	Damage	Cooldown	Range
Water Gun	Special projectile, 12% soak	18.7	0.9 s	19.2 m
Foam	Special rapid fire, 12% soak	7.2 × 4	1 s	18 m
High-speed rotation	Physical area	10.7	0.7 s	3.2 m radius
Water Cannon	Special beam, 12% soak	13.1	2.2 s	14 m

Its Ultimate on R is Shell Cyclone. Observed, v0.7.2. Card-level estimate (our reading): Foam is about 28.8 raw damage a second against about 20.8 for Water Gun, before hit rate and modifiers, so it looks strong when enemies line up.

Squirtle level-up choice offering Foam, a vitamin and an enhancement — Squirtle’s first level-up choice offers Foam as a new move.

Can I get the others later?

Yes. The selection screen says the other two can join after you complete their challenges and capture them in a run. A fresh guest profile in our v0.7.2 test had only Squirtle unlocked, so availability can differ by profile and patch.

Frequently asked questions

Which starter is best for beginners in PokéBonk?

Bulbasaur is the most forgiving, with regeneration and healing from Grass hits. Squirtle has the biggest safety margin, with +15 armor and +20 shield from its passive.

Can I unlock Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur later?

Yes. The selection screen says the other two can join after you complete their challenges and capture them in a run.

What does the Charmander passive do?

Blaze gives +40% damage below 40% HP and +10% Fire damage.

Sources & verification

Sources: the game’s official patch announcements (api.pokebonk.com/news, Patches #1–#7 and the maintenance update, 15–18 Oct 2026), plus our own observation of the game in Beta v0.7.2 (Patch #7) on 18 Oct 2026. Passives were read on the starter-selection screen in v0.7.2. Squirtle’s moves were read from its in-game cards in v0.7.2; the other rows marked “v0.5.5” come from earlier public testing and have not yet been re-checked in v0.7.2. Each fact is labelled Official (from the announcements) or Observed (seen in the game UI). Patches overwrite one another, so numbers may have changed since; we have not re-measured every value. Mistake? support@pokebonkwiki.com

Last updated: 2026-10-19