Best Grass Pokémon Starters: A Tier List For Every Generation

Viktoria Ivanova

6 min read

Post on May 14, 2025

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Generation I: Bulbasaur - A Classic Contender

Bulbasaur, the very first Grass-type starter, remains a classic for a reason. Its balanced stats and versatile movepool make it a consistently strong choice.

Strengths:

• Excellent early-game performance: Bulbasaur's early access to Vine Whip and Razor Leaf provides effective offensive capabilities right from the start. Sleep Powder adds a crucial utility element, allowing for strategic control of battles.
• Diverse movepool: Bulbasaur's evolution line, Ivysaur and Venusaur, boast a diverse movepool, learning powerful physical attacks like Giga Drain and powerful special attacks like Solar Beam. This flexibility allows for adaptability to various opponents.
• Strong type coverage: Grass-type moves provide excellent coverage against Rock and Water types, two common foes in the early game. Venusaur's high bulk further enhances its resilience.
• Solid stats across the board: Bulbasaur isn't exceptionally strong in any one area, but its well-rounded stats allow it to perform consistently. Its evolutionary line boasts strong defensive capabilities, making it surprisingly durable.

Weaknesses:

• Type vulnerabilities: Grass is weak to Fire, Ice, Flying, Poison, and Bug types. This makes carefully selecting your team composition very important.
• Early game struggles: While strong overall, Bulbasaur can struggle against strong physical attackers in the early game before its defensive stats significantly improve.

Tier Placement: S-Tier (Top Tier)

Generation II: Chikorita - The Underdog's Charm

Chikorita, often overlooked, possesses hidden strengths that make it a surprisingly effective starter.

Strengths:

• Powerful support moves: Chikorita's access to Sleep Powder and other status moves allows it to control the pace of battles. This strategic approach can be highly effective against powerful opponents.
• Good special attack potential: While not as physically potent as some other starters, Chikorita's final evolution, Meganium, excels in special attacks.
• Strong final evolution: Meganium offers solid defensive typing and respectable special attack power.
• Good defensive typing: Its Grass typing provides good defense against Water and Ground types.

Weaknesses:

• Slow speed: Chikorita's low speed stat makes it vulnerable to faster opponents. This can be a significant drawback in many battles.
• Reliance on special attacks: Chikorita's reliance on special attacks can be easily countered by opponents resistant to Grass-type moves.

Tier Placement: A-Tier (High Tier)

Generation III: Treecko - Speed and Agility

Treecko's high speed and powerful attacks make it a formidable Grass-type starter.

Strengths:

• Exceptional speed: Treecko's impressive speed stat allows it to outspeed many opponents, ensuring it can land attacks before it gets hit.
• High attack stat: Its high attack stat makes it an effective physical attacker, capable of dealing significant damage.
• Strong physical attacker: Treecko's evolutionary line excels as a physical attacker, learning powerful moves like Leaf Blade and Giga Drain.
• Excellent choice for speed-based strategies: Treecko is an excellent choice for players who prefer fast-paced, offensive strategies.

Weaknesses:

• Fragile defense: Treecko's low defensive stats make it highly vulnerable to attacks.
• Vulnerabilities: Grass-type weaknesses remain, making it particularly vulnerable to Fire, Ice, Flying, and Poison types.

Tier Placement: A-Tier (High Tier)

Generation IV: Turtwig - The Defensive Powerhouse

Turtwig offers a different approach to Grass-type starters, prioritizing defense and bulk over raw offensive power.

Strengths:

• Excellent bulk and defense: Turtwig's high Defense stat makes it surprisingly resilient, able to withstand many attacks that would KO other starters.
• Powerful physical attacker: Despite its defensive focus, Turtwig still packs a punch, with access to powerful physical attacks.
• Reliable Grass-type moves: It reliably learns effective Grass-type moves throughout its evolution, providing consistent damage output.

Weaknesses:

• Low speed: Its slow speed stat is a significant drawback, making it vulnerable to faster opponents.
• Reliance on physical attacks: This limits its strategic versatility compared to other starters with a broader movepool.

Tier Placement: B-Tier (Mid Tier)

Generation V: Snivy - Grace and Power

Snivy's elegance belies its power, boasting a high Special Attack stat and access to devastating moves.

Strengths:

• High Special Attack: Snivy's high Special Attack stat makes it a potent special attacker, capable of dealing significant damage.
• Elegant design: Its sleek and elegant design appeals to many players.
• Access to powerful special attacks: Snivy and its evolutions learn a variety of powerful special attacks, making it a strong offensive threat.
• Excellent special sweeper potential: With the right moveset, Snivy can sweep through opposing teams.

Weaknesses:

• Fragile defense: Low defensive stats make it quite vulnerable.
• Struggles against physical attacks: Snivy is very vulnerable to physical attacks.

Tier Placement: A-Tier (High Tier)

Generation VI: Chespin - The Nutty Choice

Chespin provides a balanced approach, combining solid bulk with decent attacking capabilities.

Strengths:

• Solid bulk: Chespin boasts respectable defense and HP stats, making it reasonably durable.
• Good attacking potential: It possesses a good balance of physical and special attack potential, offering strategic flexibility.
• Wide movepool: Its access to a diverse movepool allows for adaptability in battle.
• Strong final evolution: Chesnaught's strong final evolution makes it a capable battler.

Weaknesses:

• Can be outsped: Its speed stat isn't exceptionally high.
• May lack offensive power: Compared to some other starters, it may not have the same offensive punch.

Tier Placement: B-Tier (Mid Tier)

Generation VII: Rowlet - The Owl Power

Rowlet's unique Grass/Ghost typing gives it an edge over other Grass-type starters.

Strengths:

• Unique typing: The Grass/Ghost typing gives Rowlet an advantage against Psychic-types, a common weakness for Grass-types.
• Powerful special attacks: Rowlet's evolutionary line learns a variety of powerful special attacks.
• Good defensive typing: Its dual typing offers some defensive advantages.

Weaknesses:

• Vulnerabilities: It still holds vulnerabilities to Dark and Ghost-type moves.
• Reliance on special attacks: Like many other special attackers, it is easily countered if the opponent is prepared.

Tier Placement: A-Tier (High Tier)

Generation VIII: Grookey - The Monkey Business

Grookey represents a return to a straightforward physical attacker, with high attack and straightforward moveset.

Strengths:

• High attack: Grookey's high Attack stat makes it a formidable physical attacker.
• Powerful physical attacks: It learns powerful physical attacks early in its evolution.
• Simple but effective design: Its design is appealing to many players.

Weaknesses:

• Reliance on physical attacks: This can make it easily predictable for opponents.
• Struggles against special attackers: It is significantly weaker against special attacks.

Tier Placement: B-Tier (Mid Tier)

Conclusion

Choosing the "best" Grass Pokémon starter is subjective and depends on your playstyle and preferred battle strategies. This tier list provides a comprehensive overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each generation's Grass-type starter Pokémon. From Bulbasaur’s classic dominance to Rowlet’s unique Ghost/Grass typing, each Pokémon offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience. So, which Grass Pokémon Starters will you choose for your next adventure? Start your journey today and discover the power of these incredible Grass Pokémon starters!