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Grass-type starters are arguably some of the most popular creatures across the Pokemon franchise. Most of them have become favorites among competitive players and those who like to do challenge playthroughs. However, the unfortunate consequence of having the series last so long is that power creep eventually catches up to some of the older Pocket Monsters.
With every starter returning to the main series thanks to the release of Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk expansion, it can be fun to go over the many Grass-type options to see which is worth the effort to catch.
Note: This ranking is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer
Ranking every Grass-type starter Pokemon from worst to best
9) Serperior
While there are worse designs in the Pokemon franchise, Serperior is just an overall bad Pocket Monster. Its hidden ability, Contrary, gives it a fun set-up niche with Leaf Storm, but this is the only instance of the creature being good competitively.
In a standard playthrough, Serperior struggles to get value due to its moveset focusing on defense. Snivy, its base form, also has the lowest base stat total of all Grass-type starters.
While its design tries hard to do something interesting, a green snake can only be so cool, leaving it with a rather underwhelming final product, especially compared to its previous two forms.
8) Meganium
Meganium is a notoriously terrible starter Pokemon. This is largely due to its defensive moveset. However, unlike Serperior, Meganium is meant to be a support pick with access to moves like Aromatherapy, Ingrain, Safeguard, and both defensive screens.
Its design is not terrible, considering that it is supposed to be a supporting tank. Its flowery collar, being a bright pink with white and yellow accents, gives it a friendlier tone than if it had a traditional leaf dinosaur design.
7) Chesnaught
Chesnaught is far from bad and has even made a comeback after the release of its Tera Raid event. However, among Grass and Fighting-type creatures, it is rather weak. All the more confusing is why Game Freak committed to the idea of making this Pocket Monster a tank, as all other Grass and Fighting-type species are speedy sweepers.
Chesnaught's design is pretty good, and the pattern on its back is beautiful. Aside from the details on its shell, Chesnaught is supposed to be based on a knight, which fits its tanky stat spread.
As a parting thought, Chesnaught would be a much better pick if it was a Steel-type creature and not a Fighting-type pick.
6) Meowscarada
Meowscarada is an interesting take on the standard Grass-type starter playstyle. While other Grass-type starters have a supporting take on utility, Meowscarada takes a more offensive approach with access to moves like Taunt, Knock Off, Toxic Spikes, and its signature, Flower Trick.
In terms of its design, Meowscarada fails to really stand out. It has a basic humanoid design, not really setting it apart from other Grass-type starters like Sceptile, Chesnaught, or Decidueye.
Meowscarada shows great potential, so it will be interesting to see if it receives any more tricks when Indigo Disk drops.
5) Sceptile
Sceptile is one of the most popular Grass-type starters of all time. With it being a fan favorite, many players have fond memories of traveling across the Hoenn region with the creature at their side. However, time has not been kind to the poor lizard, thanks mostly to power creep, as well as Game Freak taking away its Mega Evolution.
While Sceptile is entirely usable in a playthrough, being the only Hoenn starter without a secondary typing has really kept it down.
Though its movepool is much more colorful in the modern era of the franchise, Sceptile's stat spread and pure Grass typing leaves much to be desired.
4) Venusaur
One of the original starters, Venusaur has grown into a creature that players either really love or really hate. It sports a solid design, as well as a balanced Poison and Grass typing. However, its value in a playthrough can be rather lackluster. This is especially true for older titles like FireRed and LeafGreen, where Grass is still seen as a pure utility element and does not have many powerful move choices.
Competitively, Venusaur has been very good across the board. Being a Grass-type creature with the Chlorophyll hidden ability, it can be a great sweeper for sun teams or a decent tanking choice with stall moves like Leech Seed and Toxic.
3) Decidueye
Being a playable character in Pokemon Unite and Pokken Tournament, Decidueye was one of those instant-success designs that trainers fell in love with right away. Its secondary Ghost typing made it a menace in playthroughs as well as a decent niche pick in low, competitive tiers.
Being a humanoid bird archer, Decidueye sports a hood-like druid design. It also fires wing-like arrows from a bow. This provides the much-needed magical aspect to the design that bridges the gap between real life and fantasy.
Decidueye has an overall charming design and is a refreshing take on the standard bird Pokemon.
2) Torterra
With the release of Scarlet and Violet's Teal Mask DLC, Torterra is back and is making its presence known in the metagame. This is thanks to a combination of the Loaded Dice item and Shell Smash, a boosting move the creature has been missing since the fifth generation.
In terms of design, Torterra is a natural evolution of its base form (from Turtwig's head to the bushes on Grotle's back). Its mini-ecosystem, complete with a large tree on one side, not only showcases the family's design philosophy but also adds some much-needed darker colors and asymmetry to the creature. This lets trainers know that it is a threatening beast and not a cute housepet.
1) Rillaboom
At first glance, Rillaboom can seem like a ridiculous idea for a Pocket Monster, but its design and execution are incredible. It has a punkish vibe with its long leaf mullet and top-heavy stature.
Rillaboom rules doubles in the metagame to this day, even after receiving a nerf from the generational transition. Being a supporting offensive pick, its automatic Grassy Terrain and priority with Grassy Glide make it a perfect choice for trainers who like battlefield control and sweeping.
