Basic Trope: The Mons given at the very start of the game.
- Straight: In Tropémon, the player is given the choice of Flara, Frosta, or Zappa to begin the game. Each is unique and this is the only way to get them without trading from another game. Each is stronger than the local Com Mons and each evolves to be one of the strongest of its type after some Level Grinding and Bonding.
- Exaggerated: The one you choose is the only Mon you get for the entire game.
- Downplayed: While unique, each is fairly weak and will be replaced as soon as you can acquire other Mons.
- Justified: They are specifically bred to be the very first Mon for newbie trainers and are strictly policed so that each trainer can have only one.
- Inverted: Olympus Mons.
- Subverted: They have all of the characteristics of Starter Mons, but each (including the one you choose) can be encountered and captured out in the world.
- Double Subverted: ...but you are still limited to using just one at a time on your team.
- Parodied:
- Zig-Zagged: The player is given the choice of them to begin the game and this is the only way to get them...until the Playable Epilogue where, due to being a world-saving hero, the player is rewarded with the two that were not originally picked.
- Averted: No Mons are given to the player for free at the start of the game. Players must begin by catching their first Mon themselves.
- Enforced: The game is based on a show in which the protagonists are given their choice of these three Mons to start out, so the game is written to match.
- Lampshaded: The player's snarky in-game best friend comments upon receiving the Mon "Oh man, my starting Mon! I bet we won't find any more like him out in the world...I wonder where they get these to give to new trainers, anyway?"
- Exploited:
- Defied: The player is supposed to get one of the three as a starting Mon...but the Nebulous Evil Organization has stolen them, so the player must catch their own first Mon.
- Discussed:
- Conversed:
- Deconstructed:
- The Starter Mons are produced via an unethical mill-breeding process and accepting one causes a nasty hit to the player's Morality Meter, locking them out of the Golden Ending. To avoid it, the player must begin with a much weaker Com Mon, making the early game far more difficult.
- The Starter Mon sucks. The player's favoritism towards a weaker Mon just because it happened to be their first Mon handicaps their progress throughout the game.
- Reconstructed:
- But a side quest allows the player to shut down the mill and rescue the abused Mons. Not only can the player now use them guilt-free, but there is no longer a hit to their morality.
- Beating the Final Boss with the weak Starter Mon in your party allows you to evolve it into the most powerful Mon in the game.
- Played for Laughs:
- Played for Drama:
