When it comes to choosing a starter in Pokemon, the Grass-types seem like they often get overshadowed by their counterparts. In many cases, the Fire or Water-types grab all the attention. Even though Grass starters have some of the best designs, it just seems that the Water or Fire options are a more natural choice to most trainers.
Still, don’t count out Grass-types just yet! A lot of them fill some interesting niches that no other Pokemon can. So let's take a look at which starter stands tall and which ones we'll leaf in the dust.
Updated December 4, 2022 by Jeremy Hanna: Much to the chagrin of gen wunners everywhere, the world of Pokemon is constantly changing with new Pokemon, moves, and abilities introduced every generation. Now that Scarlet & Violet have released, there is a bevy of new content including a brand-new Grass starter and nerfs to already existing move sets that made some formerly broken Pokemon much more manageable. This means that Rillaboom will no longer be gliding its way to competitive glory. So with the intent of keeping everything up to date, let's take a look at how things have changed with the debut of Gen 9.
9 Chikorita - Bayleef - Meganium
Meganium |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Herb |
80 |
82 |
100 |
83 |
100 |
80 |
As much as some fans may love Chikorita, the painful truth is that this evolution line just doesn’t stack up well when comparing it to other Grass-type starters. While the others excel in certain stats or strategies, Meganium is mostly well-balanced. However, that leads to its downfall.
While it excels in Defense and Special Defense, there are many other Grass-types that do that better like Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, or Roserade. On top of that, the Chikorita line is pretty terrible in game with a majority of Gym Leaders and Elite Four dealing super effective damage. Fortunately, you can experience Meganium in New Pokemon Snap where its only job is to look good.
8 Treecko - Grovyle - Sceptile
Sceptile |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forest |
70 |
85 |
65 |
105 |
85 |
120 |
Generation three had some really great starters. Blaziken brought the Fire/Fighting-typing front and center while tearing up the competition with Speed Boost. Meanwhile, Swampert has one of the best dual-types in the game and only has one weakness. Finally, Sceptile is also there.
Look, Sceptile has a lot working for it. Its design is awesome, and it has wonderful Speed and Special Attack. But after you battle Roxanne, Sceptile has to face a lot of resistance with a Fire Gym, Flying Gym, an Ice Elite Four member, and an Electric gym filled with Steel-types. Competitively, there's just a lot of Pokemon that move faster and hit harder. It's a shame, but at least its Mega Evolution looks like the Dragonzord from Power Rangers.
7 Sprigatito - Floragato - Meowscarada
Meowscarada |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Magician |
76 |
110 |
70 |
81 |
70 |
123 |
When Sprgatito was introduced for Scarlet & Violet, all of the internet was absorbed with its cuteness. Lovingly dubbing it "Weed Cat," Sprigatito quickly became a fan favorite. It's just a shame that its popularity probably won't translate to much success in battle.
Meowscarada is an incredibly fast physical attacker with 123 base Speed and 110 Attack. However, this is let down by its frailty combined with its disastrous Grass/Dark-typing. That means it has a whopping seven weaknesses, including a 4x weakness to Bug. To make matters worse, the whole Sprigatito line doesn't have many advantages against the main trainers in the game. Meowscarada's most exciting prospect is its hidden ability Protean, but that has been weakened to only working once per switch in. It looks like despite being a magician, there's no real magic here.
6 Rowlet - Dartrix - Decidueye/Hisuian Decidueye
Decidueye |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrow Quill |
78/88 |
107/112 |
75/80 |
100/95 |
100/95 |
70/60 |
If you’re looking for an interesting pairing, then maybe Rowlet may be the Grass-type starter for you. A rare case among starters, Rowlet actually starts off as Grass/Flying. But when it evolves into Decidueye, it swaps to Grass/Ghost. While this adds a bunch of interesting immunities and resistances, it doesn't really translate to success for Decidueye in game or competitively.
You'd expect Decidueye to be quick based on its design, but it’s actually fairly slow. And the rest of the stats aren't that great. This does make it a decent mixed attacker, but that's nothing to write home about. However, its Hisuian form from Pokemon Legends: Arceus is interesting since it changes to Grass/Fighting and gets the hidden ability Scrappy, meaning it can hit Ghost-types with its Fighting moves. But this is at the cost of being even slower than its regular form. Both forms have great designs, but there are plenty of options that do their jobs better.
5 Turtwig - Grotle - Torterra
Torterra |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Continent |
95 |
109 |
105 |
75 |
85 |
56 |
One thing to look at when choosing a starter is whether or not they develop into a dual type with any of their two evolutions. This can give the Pokémon in question some useful advantages and moves later on in the game. Turtwig just so happens to be one of those starters. And what a typing it is!
Torterra is a Grass/Ground-type which is perfect for its high Attack stat. On top of this, Torterra has great HP and Defense. Though being Grass/Ground does make it immune to Electric-types, Torterra is incredibly susceptible to Ice-type moves. This means that Candice will be an issue in-game and competitive play will be tough since every team will have an Ice-type move. But if you want a bulky physical attacker, you can do a lot worse.
4 Snivy - Servine - Serperior
Serperior |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regal |
75 |
75 |
95 |
75 |
95 |
113 |
Serperior seems like it shouldn't work. It has great speed, decent defenses, and mediocre everything else. However, its odd moveset and Hidden Ability Contrary give it a unique strategy. Set up Substitute, use Leaf Storm to deal damage and double its Special Attack, and paralyze enemies with Glare. This gives Serperior a fun niche competitively.
But this doesn't translate well in game. All five of its weaknesses appear as a Gym battle in Black and White as well as their sequels. To add insult to injury, the champion Alder uses the Bug/Fire-type Volcarona. If you choose Snivy as your starter you're going to have fun, but it'll be an uphill battle.
3 Grookey - Thwackey - Rillaboom
Rillaboom |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Drummer |
100 |
125 |
90 |
60 |
70 |
85 |
When the starters for Sword and Shield were announced, it seemed like they'd all be equally useful in-game and Scorbunny was going to be the most viable competitively with its Libero ability. While the former turned out ot be true, it turned out that Rillaboom would become a force to be reckoned with after the Isle Of Armor DLC and the introduction of Grassy Glide.
But things have changed and Rillaboom no longer gets access to the move that made it so popular. To make matters worse, it lost a lot of its coverage moves that made it It's still a powerful Pokemon with moves like Wood Hammer, Drum Beating, Drain Punch, U-Turn, and Fake Out, but the loss of certain moves can really be felt. Rillaboom still has a great design and will be good enough for in-game play, but its days in competitive are probably numbered.
2 Chespin - Quilladin - Chesnaught
Chesnaught |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spiny Armor |
88 |
107 |
122 |
74 |
75 |
64 |
Chespin may be the most underrated starter on this list. Though it looks odd, that isn’t a great indicator of what Chespin can do. With its evolution into Chesnaught at level 36, Chespin cements its case for being among the best Grass-type starters in the game.
Chesnaught is a Grass/Fighting-type, giving it six weaknesses and six resistances. However, its Bulletproof ability and access to Spiky Shield make it a defensive powerhouse perfect for setting up Spikes. It can also sustain itself with moves like Leech Seed, Synthesis, and Drain Punch. Unfortunately, this becomes tougher to hold up in game when a majority of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four can easily destroy it.
1 Bulbasaur - Ivysaur - Venusaur
Venusaur |
HP |
Attack |
Defense |
Special Attack |
Special Defense |
Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seed |
80 |
82 |
83 |
100 |
100 |
80 |
The best of the best, Bulbasaur also happens to be number one in the Pokedex as well. Bulbasaur starts off as Grass/Poison and keeps those types as it evolves into Ivysaur and ultimately Venusaur. This gives it an advantage over four gyms and Lorelei, excluding Jynx, but that's not where the fun ends!
Venusaur is easily one of the best Sun sweepers in Pokemon, even without its Gigantamax form, because of its hidden ability Chlorophyll. And if you're feeling especially nostalgic, you can make a bulky variant with its Mega Evolution that has Thick Fat which removes two of its biggest weaknesses. Combine this with Growth, and you have one of the most dangerous Grass-types of all time.