How to get all starters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Just like in previous generations, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trainers are faced with a tough decision at the start of their journey—which of the three starter Pokémon should they choose?

The three options are Fuecoco, a Fire-type crocodile Pokémon, Quaxly, a Water-type duck Pokémon, and Sprigatito, a Grass-type kitten Pokémon. In the end, it all comes down to preference.

But what about if you want to own all three? After all, they evolve into some of the strongest Pokémon in the game—one for each element, and you’ll need them to complete the Pokédex.

All starters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet method, explained

Fuecoco, Quaxly, and Sprigatito cannot be found in the wild. The only way to get them is via trading.

This can be done after you’ve completed the tutorial, which should take no more than two hours, and reached the Pokémon Center in Los Platos—where you’ll unlock the PokéPortal.

If you’ve done that, you can start a trade anytime by pressing the X button and selecting PokéPortal. There, you’ll be able to do a link trade with a friend, who can send you their starter, or roll the dice on doing a surprise trade, where you might have a chance to get one.

Alternatively, if you own both versions of the game, or have a friend willing to put in a bit of time to play the tutorial to reach that point several times over, you can pick each one and trade them.

It’s the tried and true method that Pokémon fans have been doing since Generation I.

Then, you can breed them with Ditto, and return the favor down the track by sending them a hatched egg. This can be done by setting up a picnic and having nothing else but the starter Pokémon you want to breed and Ditto in the party (that way, you know who the egg will belong to).

You don’t have to do anything else. An egg will appear after they’ve been running around playing together for a while.