3 worst Grass starter Pokemon of all time

The sad truth for Grass-type Pokemon is, all too often, they are the worst choice for the starter in any playthrough.

Grass-type Pokemon in general lose to way too many common types. Flying and Bug both defeats Grass, and those types are often scattered throughout early game. Since they also lose to Poison, Fire and Ice, Grass-types have the most weaknesses of any type. Some of these Pokemon aren’t even that bad, like Venusaur. The problem is, it’s competing with Blastoise and Charizard. These three Pokemon are some of the worst starters in Pokemon.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of the writer.

3 worst Grass starter Pokemon of all time

#3 - Turtwig

Turtwig is neither too bad nor too good. With strong Attack (109) and solid Defense (105), its evolution, Torterra, can serve as a nice bulky attacker. It also learns many strong moves, such as Earthquake, Stone Edge, and Leaf Storm.

So what are its shortcomings? Perhaps the biggest one is that it gets destroyed by Ice-types. It doesn’t help that there is an Ice-type Gym, though by then trainers can pick up a Fire-type or other Pokemon to compensate. The other issue is that the other starter options, Chimchar and Piplup, both become mega threats when they evolve.

#2 - Treecko

This might definitely be a controversial pick. Treecko, as well as its evolution Sceptile, are very popular Pokemon that even made their way onto Ash’s team in the anime. When considering Generation III, though, it becomes fairly apparent how many issues Sceptile has.

With 120 Speed and 105 Special Attack, Sceptile looks like a great special sweeper on paper. In Generation III, however, it learns just about no good special moves. There are obvious grass moves (Leaf Blade, Giga Drain), but its other coverage moves are Pursuit (in a game where enemies don’t switch) and Dragon Claw (hits nothing for Super Effective). This Pokemon got much better in later Generations, which is Sceptile’s saving grace.

#1 - Chikorita

As opposed to the previous selection, this might not be surprising at all. When analyzing the early game of Generation II, it is almost as if the game was designed to stop Chikorita from being productive in any way, shape or form. This Pokemon can do no damage in Sprout Tower and loses to both the Flying and Bug Gyms. Absolutely none of the Gym Leaders or Elite Four are weak to Chikorita. If trainers want to progress through the game successfully, they are practically forced to catch a Geodude at the bottom of Route 46 so that they can pass through the first couple of areas.

As a Pokemon, Chikorita isn’t so horrible when it evolves into Meganium. It has enough bulk to be very defensive, and it learns Poisonpowder, Reflect/Light Screen, and Synthesis. All of these moves are great on defensive Pokemon. Meganium just fails to be of any use in the Generation it’s introduced in.