Story time. Mudkip was my third choice of starter in Gen 3.
I picked Torchic first, but I hated Blaziken and it was banished to a PC box for most of the game. Treecko was mediocre and outclassed by other grass types. So I picked Mudkip for my Emerald playthru.
Look. Swampert is ugly as sin but he can solo the entire game. Bulky bruiser and one of the few 'mons that learned Earthquake without a TM... We brute-forced our way thru everything, and Swampert really grew on me.

#pokemon #mudkip