Improved Starters Mod: A Complete Overhaul for Your Favorite Cobblemon Companions
Minecraft mods like Cobblemon bring the beloved world of Pokémon into blocky, procedurally generated landscapes, and nothing sparks nostalgia quite like choosing your first partner. However, many starter Pokémon fall behind in competitive play or feel underwhelming compared to later-generation creatures. The Improved Starters mod addresses this by giving every starter a dramatic rework—tweaking learnsets, altering typings, and swapping abilities to make them genuinely exciting to use in battles, raids, and adventures. Whether you are a seasoned trainer or just starting your Cobblemon journey, this mod breathes new life into classic favorites.
What the Improved Starters Mod Changes
At its core, the mod redesigns every starter Pokémon from Generation 1 through Generation 9, including regional Hisuian forms. The changes are not just minor stat bumps; they completely reimagine how these creatures play. Movesets are expanded with powerful attacks, secondary typings are introduced for better coverage, and abilities are replaced with competitive staples that reflect each Pokémon’s theme. The result is a roster of starters that feel balanced, modern, and far more strategic.
Learnset Expansions: New Moves for Classic Starters
One of the most noticeable upgrades is the addition of high-impact moves that many starters previously lacked. These additions turn them into offensive threats or supportive powerhouses. Here are some standout learnset changes:
- Charizard now learns Hyper Voice, Boomburst, and Nasty Plot, transforming it into a devastating special sweeper.
- Blastoise gains Power Gem, Meteor Beam, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, and Steel Beam, giving it excellent coverage against its usual counters.
- Meganium receives Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, Draining Kiss, Boomburst, Hyper Voice, and Nasty Plot, finally giving the Grass-type a fairy tale glow-up.
- Typhlosion gets Earth Power, adding a crucial Ground-type option to its arsenal.
- Feraligatr is gifted Draco Meteor and Fishious Rend, making its physical Water assaults terrifyingly strong.
- Sceptile learns Draco Meteor, cementing its dragon-like persona.
- Torterra gains Teleport, an unusual but tactically brilliant mobility tool.
- Serperior and Samurott also receive Draco Meteor and Steel Beam respectively, while Greninja gets Aura Sphere.
- Primarina unleashes Boomburst and Bug Buzz, and Rillaboom picks up Throat Chop.
- Cinderace adds High Jump Kick and Axe Kick to its kicking repertoire, while Inteleon learns Shadow Sneak and Destiny Bond.
- Skeledirge rounds out the list with Boomburst, turning its singing into a sonic weapon.
These moves aren't just randomly assigned; they synergize with each starter’s new abilities and typings, creating cohesive and powerful builds.
Typing and Ability Overhauls: A Generation-by-Generation Breakdown
The mod goes far beyond moves. It rewrites the very identity of many starters by changing their elemental types and core abilities. These alterations are carefully chosen to fix longstanding weaknesses or emphasize a unique battle style.
Generation 1
- Venusaur: Ability becomes Thick Fat (replaces Chlorophyll), drastically reducing Fire and Ice damage.
- Charizard: Ability changes to Aerialate (replaces Solar Power), turning Normal-type moves into Flying-type and boosting them.
- Blastoise: Typing shifts to Water/Steel, and its ability becomes Rough Skin (replaces Rain Dish), punishing physical attackers.
Generation 2
- Meganium: Typing becomes Grass/Fairy, and ability changes from Leaf Guard to Pixilate, empowering Normal moves into Fairy-type.
- Typhlosion: Now Fire/Ground with the ability Turboblaze (replaces Flash Fire), ignoring opponent abilities when attacking.
- Feraligatr: Gains Water/Dragon typing and Strong Jaw (replaces Sheer Force), boosting biting moves like Fishious Rend.
Generation 3
- Sceptile: Becomes Grass/Dragon and receives Drought (replaces Unburden), summoning harsh sunlight.
- Blaziken: Ability switches to Unburden (replaces Speed Boost), doubling speed when its held item is consumed.
- Swampert: Gains Water Absorb (replaces Drizzle), granting immunity to Water moves and healing.
Generation 4
- Torterra: Ability becomes Regenerator (replaces Shell Armor), restoring HP upon switching out.
- Infernape: Gets Scrappy (replaces Iron Fist), allowing Fighting and Normal moves to hit Ghost-types.
- Empoleon: Ability changes to Steely Spirit (replaces Competitive), powering up Steel-type moves for the whole team.
Generation 5
- Serperior: Typing shifts to Grass/Dragon, and ability becomes Shed Skin (replaces Contrary), curing status conditions.
- Emboar: Gains Reckless (replaces Sheer Force), boosting recoil moves.
- Samurott: Becomes Water/Steel with Mold Breaker (replaces Sharpness), ignoring opponent abilities.
Generation 6
- Chesnaught: Ability changes to Iron Barbs (replaces Bulletproof), damaging contact attackers.
- Delphox: Gets Magician (replaces Magic Guard), stealing the opponent’s held item when attacking.
- Greninja: Ability becomes Mega Launcher (replaces Protean), powering up aura and pulse moves.
Generation 7
- Decidueye: Ability switches to Long Reach (replaces Adaptability), preventing contact effects.
- Incineroar: Gains Tough Claws (replaces Intimidate), boosting contact moves.
- Primarina: Ability becomes Serene Grace (replaces Liquid Voice), doubling secondary effect chances.
Generation 8
- Rillaboom: Typing changes to Grass/Dark, ability becomes Mold Breaker (replaces Grassy Surge).
- Cinderace: Now Fire/Fighting with Defiant (replaces Libero), sharply raising Attack when stats are lowered.
- Inteleon: Becomes Water/Ghost with Sniper (replaces Infiltrator), increasing critical hit damage.
Hisuian Forms
- Hisuian Decidueye: Ability changes to Tough Claws (replaces Scrappy).
- Hisuian Typhlosion: Gets Frisk (replaces Neuroforce), revealing the opponent’s held item.
- Hisuian Samurott: Gains No Guard (replaces Sharpness), ensuring all attacks hit.
Generation 9
- Meowscarada: Ability becomes Magic Bounce (replaces Protean), reflecting status moves.
- Skeledirge: Receives Punk Rock (replaces Unaware), boosting sound moves and halving sound damage taken.
- Quaquaval: Gains Guts (replaces Moxie), increasing Attack when afflicted by a status condition.
Why These Changes Matter for Your Cobblemon World
The Improved Starters mod isn’t just about making starters stronger; it’s about making them interesting again. By diversifying typings and abilities, the mod encourages team-building strategies that were previously impossible. A Grass/Fairy Meganium with Pixilate and Boomburst becomes a fairy nuke, while a Water/Steel Blastoise with Rough Skin and Steel Beam can tank physical hits and retaliate. These redesigns also make starter Pokémon viable in multiplayer servers and competitive Cobblemon tournaments, where they often struggled to keep up.
Getting the mod into your game is straightforward. For players who want a hassle-free experience, the mod can be easily installed via the foxygame.net launcher — a convenient, flexible, and modern Minecraft launcher where you can download mods right from the menu without digging through file directories. This approach keeps your Cobblemon installation clean and up-to-date, so you can focus on training your revamped starters.
Final Thoughts
The Improved Starters mod is a must-have for any Cobblemon enthusiast who wants to see their first partner shine. It respects the original designs while injecting competitive viability and creative flair. Whether you are replaying through a single-player adventure or challenging friends on a server, these overhauls make every starter choice feel impactful. Give your Bulbasaur, Totodile, or Sprigatito the upgrade they deserve, and rediscover the joy of building a team around a truly powerful companion.