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Grass-type Starter Pokemon are usually not selected very often, largely because they have a lot of weaknesses to some of the very common Pokemon types. However, creatures of this type are super effective against Water and Ground-type, and can aid trainers during the early stages of the game, especially in those pesky Rock-type gyms.
In this article, we'll be diving deep into the world of Grass-type Starter Pokemon, and rank them based on factors like their competitive viability, overall usefulness, and the spark that makes them special.
Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinions.
Ranking all the Grass-type Starter Pokemon
9) Chikorita
Hailing from the Johto region, Chikorita is an extremely adorable Grass-type Starter Pokemon that falls off majorly because of its evolution line having no particular competitive edge. Meganium, its final evolution, is an amazing critter with a design that embodies the gentle nature of the Grass-types, but there's nothing more to it.
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Although Meganium has decent defensive stats, it is easily knocked out by most of the Elite Four battles owing to its multiple weaknesses. The Pocket Monster can be a good addition to teams but only in very specific scenarios.
8) Treecko
Treecko was in a tough group, having to compete with Mudkip and Torchic as the other Starter Pokemon choices. This critter had a lot of solid points, with an excellent evolutionary design, as seen in Sceptile. However, it also was a lackluster addition to the competitive roster, even with its Mega Evolution.
Sceptile has high speed and Sp. Attack, making it a decent sweeper in team compositions, especially with the Speed Boost ability. However, after the Roxanne battle, all the subsequent battles rendered Sceptile useless, pushing it to a lower rank in this Grass-type Starter Pokemon list.
7) Sprigatito
The latest addition to the Grass-type Starter Pokemon, Sprigatito had insane potential which was ruined by an absolutely horrible dual Grass and Dark-typing in its final evolution Meowscarada. This particular combination made the critter weak to seven other types, rendering it unusable in battle.
Meowscarada has amazing Speed and Physical Attack stats and would have been a great sweeper, if not for its disastrous typing. The critter even had the Protean hidden ability, although it was modified in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
6) Turtwig
Turtwig has quite a few things working in its favor as a Grass-type Starter Pokemon. Its final evolution, Torterra, is a dual Grass and Ground-type critter, which makes it completely immune to Electric-type moves. However, one major drawback is its vulnerability against Ice-type moves.
Torterra is a bulky Pocket Monster with decent Attack and Defense stats, however, its weakness to Ice-types makes it a suboptimal pick, since most teams have at least one Ice-type move in them. Despite this, the critter still has the potential to be a decent Physical sweeper in teams.
5) Grookey
Grookey is a perfectly average Pokemon. Introduced in the Sword and Shield alongside Scorbunny and Sobble, this critter had a lot of potential, which was ultimately held back by yet another boring singular Grass-typing. Rillaboom, the final evolution, has a fun and unique design, but it has no spark to it.
Rillaboom was a competitive hit owing to its ability Grassy Glide, which was nerfed to oblivion by Nintendo, making this Pokemon less than useful in actual matches. The Pokemon has decent Physical Attack and HP, but it falls off for having no particular spark to it.
4) Chespin
Chespin is a well-balanced Grass-type Starter Pokemon and takes over the areas where Turtwig and its evolution line fails. This critter's final evolution, Chesnaught, is a dual Grass/Fighting-type, which gives it an equal number of weaknesses and strengths.
The Fighting-type is especially useful against some of the Gym and Elite Four battles, and with a decent Attack and Defense stat, this Pocket Monster can be a worthy addition to many teams as a Physical sweeper.
3) Snivy
Snivy was an interesting addition, as we saw this Grass-type Starter Pokemon lose its legs for a more serpentine body in its higher evolutions. The final form, Serperior, was an absolute menace in competitive battles, owing to its Contrary hidden ability.
With this ability, Serperior could double its Sp. Attack stat with every move, and could gain a huge boost owing to other moves like Nasty Plot and paralyzing moves like Glare. Although this niche playstyle was fun and damaging, its Grass-type held it back, since the Champion Alder uses a team where all five of its weaknesses pop up.
2) Rowlet
Rowlet is a rare Grass-type Starter Pokemon, which has dual Grass and Flying typing right from the very beginning, in its base form. However, in its final evolution Decidueye becomes a Grass/Ghost-type instead. It has a Hisuian form as well, in which Decidueye is Grass/Fighting-type.
Although an extremely well-designed and unique critter, it does not do as well as you would expect it to, with an amazing dual Ghost-typing. It has a decent Physical and Sp. Attack, but is pretty slow on the other hand. Its Hisuian form has the Scrappy ability, which allows it to deal damage to Ghost-types with Fighting moves, but this form is even slower.
1) Bulbasaur
No surprises here, Bulbasaur is our pick for the best Grass-type Starter Pokemon in the entire franchise. Being the first (quite literally) Pokemon with dual types of Grass and Poison, this entire evolution line is exceptionally powerful.
Poison-type gives it access to powerful moves like Sludge Bomb, and paired with its great Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense, it can be a difficult Pokemon to tackle in most scenarios. Venusaur is also one of the best "Sun Sweepers" (an Attacker who performs well under Sunny weather conditions) in the game, owing to its Chlorophyll ability.
Finally, Venusaur has both Mega Evolution and Gigantamax forms, akin to its Fire-type friend Charizard. All of these factors propel it to the top of the list, along with being one of the best Grass-type Pokemon to ever exist.
