With the Grookey Community Day upon us, we finally have all available Grass-type starters from the main series games in Pokémon GO!
All of these are Frenzy Plant users, and some even have signature moves to make them more evergreen (no pun intended). Having all of them in your collection, you must be wondering how each of them fares in the current meta, especially in Raids and the GO Battle League.
So let’s lay out an analysis of each Grass starter in the game, quoting how they perform in Raid and PvP battles, with mention of their Mega Evolutions (wherever applicable) and other caveats.
Venusaur
The iconic Gen 1 starter has a lot going for it, making it one of the most preferred Grass types in the meta.
In Raids, Mega Venusaur is a hard-hitting and bulky monster, sporting high TDO and is trailed only by Mega Sceptile and Kartana in Grass-type DPS. It is great for Raid groups of large numbers, boosting the Grass damage of all fellow attackers. Of course, it also applies to Poison-type damage, making it quite able against Fairy types in particular. However, it is surpassed in this role, and Grass is its primary strength.
In its base form, Venusaur is the overall best Grass starter for PvP, sporting mixed stats and a handy Poison subtyping that decimates even other Grass Pokémon and annihilates the dreaded Fairy types. While it is toothless against Steel and Poison types, which can easily be managed by a teammate. Vine Whip, with an EPT of 4.00 is solid, and coupling it with the cheap but powerful Frenzy Plant (100 DMG for only 45 energy) and Sludge (70 DMG for only 40 energy) helps Venu bait shields as well as inflict respectable damage, hitting everything except Steel and Poison, which can be eaaily dealt with a Ground type move on a teammate.
Coming to Max Battles, Gigantamax Venusaur is a bulky behemoth, and the attacker role is better done by Giganamax Rillaboom. However, with the 0.50s Fast Move Vine Whip, Venusaur can charge up the Max Move meter pretty quickly, helping you switch in GMax Rillaboom to do damage or heal others with GMax Venusaur.
Meganium
Meganium itself may be rather underwhelming in the PvE scene, but there’s good news on the horizon. Mega Meganium, slated to have an ATK stat of 276, will become the best Grass Mega Evolution, just behind Mega Sceptile. To put it into perspective, Mega Meganium’s DPS output with Frenzy Plant would be more or less the same as Kartana, with more bulk to boost. So if you have a high IV Meganium with you, keep it nice and safe until its powerful Mega Evolution debuts.
Coming to PvP, Meganium is a superb addition to the Great and Ultra League, salvaging its bulk and, more importantly, holding the distinction of being able to take out Steel types thanks to its access to Earthquake. With the 4 EPT Vine Whip, it is also able to charge up Earthquake pretty quickly, posing a gigantic threat to Steel Pokémon that are otherwise untouchable by Grass types.
Sceptile
Sceptile has been the classic example of fast and furious, with its true power coming from its incredible Mega Evolution. Keeping aside a possible Shadow Kartana, Mega Sceptile is THE strongest Grass type in Pokémon GO. The Grass/Dragon type assassin possesses a triple resistance to Water-type attacks, making it a deadly prospect to take down Water Raid Bosses.
Of course, if the Water Boss has an Ice-type move as coverage, it’s nighty night for Mega Sceptile, but all things said and done, this is the best Grass type in the PvE meta.
For PvP, Sceptile is extremely frail for the lower Leagues and not strong enough for the Master League. However, with blitz moves like Fury Cutter, Dragon Claw, and the dreaded Leaf Blade… along with the powerful Earthquake, Sceptile is very unpredictable and can quickly flip the matchup. Definitely a dark horse in the PvP meta!
Torterra
One of the coolest designs of all Grass starters, Torterra is behind Venusaur in DPS. Its Shadow version performs similarly to regular Mewoscarada, making it an overall underwhelming investment.
That said, it is quite interesting in PvP! Torterra has a bunch of coverage moves in its arsenal, which are quite tacky! Razor Leaf, combined with Sand Tomb, makes it formidable, and with the ever-dependable Frenzy Plant, Torterra is a legitimate threat in the Great and Ultra League. It also has a trick up its sleeve in Stone Edge, a Rock-type move that addresses all of Torterra’s weaknesses! Yes, Stone Edge is super-effective against Ice, Bug, Fire, and , and this move can add more spice to its already impressive PvP profile.
Serperior
Serperior has the least DPS of all Grass starters, making it a complete no-no for the Raids meta.
However, you can’t cross out Serperior when it comes to PvP as it is extremely bulky. With Aerial Ace as a coverage move, it eliminates other Grass types as well as Fighting and Bug types (which it is weak to). Thanks to Vine Whips’s energy gains, Frenzy Plant’s power, and Aerial Ace’s coverage, Serperior is a headache to deal with in the Great League, and to a lesser (but still decent) extent in the Ultra League. The resistance to Ground moves is also appreciated (an advantage over Venusaur).
Chesnaught
Chesnaught is an okayish Grass type, but the Precious Pals: Taken Over event brings Shadow Chesnaught to the meta, establishing it as a top-tier Grass attacker. In fact, Shadow Chesnaught’s Grass DPS is higher than Shaymin (Sky) but is a bit behind Mega Venusaur.
With Mega Chesnaught on the horizon, you must be curious how it fares against the competition. Unfortunately, its ATK is only 242, making it around Mega Venusaur’s level. So Mega Meganium is the new Grass starter Mega you should look forward to.
On the PvP front, while Chesnaught is tainted with a double weakness to the popular typing, its STAB Fighting offense is a great perk, helping it tackle Steel, Dark, and Ice types.
This is a mixed bag, but one you can surely have fun using in battles.
Decidueye
Dedidueye is an underwhelming PvE Grass attacker, possessing DPS around the same value of Venusaur (a little higher) while also not having anything to boast about in the Ghost meta.
In PvP, Astonish is a great STAB move to have, and with Frenzy Plant in tow, it can do substantial damage to opponents that resist Ghost moves: the frequent Dark and Normal types in the lower PvP Leagues. In addition, the Ghost subtyping also gives it excellent resistances, namely the Fighting and Normal types, making Decidueye a great safe switch-in on many occasions.
Rillaboom
We get to arguably the best PvE Grass starter in Pokémon GO, not counting Megas obviously. Rillaboom has it all, the most ATK and bulk of all Grass starters, and an OP moveset to boot (Drum Beating)… or is it still that OP?
Drum Beating’s duration was nerfed (4s to 4.5s), making it slower than it initially was. As such, Rillaboom has to stay content with Frenzy Plant, and that pushes it down, plummeting down the greatness it briefly achieved with Drum Beating.
With Frenzy Plant, Rillaboom performs around the same level as Shadow Venusaur. So, it is still a solid Pokémon and the best non-Shadow, non-Mega Grass starter for Raids.
GMax Rillaboom is the strongest Grass type Max Pokémon as well. It not only hits the hardest but is also the tankiest. In fact, compared to GMax Venusaur, it does around 16% more damage and is around 5% tankier.
The only issue is that it has Razor Leaf, a 1.00s Fast Move, and it has to rely on 0.5s Scratch to generate the most energy. Still, GMax Rillaboom will reign supreme as the best Grass type Max Pokémon.
In PvP, Rillaboom wishes it had a swifter Fast Move as Razor Leaf is painful to use at only 2 EPT. It’s not bad (thanks to Drum Beating) and can take out threats like Primarina, Rhyperior, and Florges in the Master Premier, but it falters against Metagross and Dragonite. For the lower Leagues, you’d rather use Torterra or Chesnaught over it.
Overall, Rillaboom is undoubtedly the top Grass starter.
Meowscarada
Mewoscarada has the second-highest ATK of all Grass starters, and it’s decent, sporting around the same DPS as Roserade. It is fragile, so dodging is mandatory to make good use of this Paldean starter.
In PvP, Grass and Dark form a good offensive pair, taking out the omnipresent Water and Ghost types in the lower PvP Leagues. It also competes with Shiftry, with the latter often doing better thanks to Snarl’s higher energy gains and the deadly Lefa Blade in its arsenal. However, with a lucky Night Slash ATK boost, Meowscarada can sweep!
All things said and done, Rillaboom, Venusaur, and Sceptile are the most worthwhile Grass starters in Pokémon GO. Special mention for the eventual Mega Meganium, though!
We’ll be back with an analysis of the Fire and Water starters as the Community Day events for Cinderace and Inteleon hit the game.
Until then, have fun!
