Grass Type Starters: Which One Has the Easiest Start

Grass type starters have a lot to prove early on. Your starter is likely your main for the whole game. The useful question is what it meets in the first few hours: the rival's starter, then three Gym leaders who either melt in front of it or run it over.

There are nine Grass starters, one from each generation, and all of them finish with 525 to 530 base stats. Some of them breeze through the first badges and some need grinding, a second Pokemon or a lot of patience. (Grass types have always been a little too trusting.)

What you're up against early

Each game gives its Grass starter one rival fight and then the first Gyms in an order you can't change. Grass hits Water, Ground and Rock for double and takes double from Fire, Flying, Bug and Poison. The leaders' types decide most of it.

Starter	Game	First three fights
Bulbasaur	Red and Blue	Brock (Rock), Misty (Water), Lt. Surge (Electric)
Rowlet	Sun and Moon	Ilima (Normal), Hala (Fighting)
Grookey	Sword and Shield	Milo (Grass), Nessa (Water), Kabu (Fire)
Treecko	Ruby and Sapphire	Roxanne (Rock), Brawly (Fighting), Wattson (Electric)
Turtwig	Diamond and Pearl	Roark (Rock), Gardenia (Grass), Maylene (Fighting)
Sprigatito	Scarlet and Violet	Katy (Bug), Brassius (Grass), Iono (Electric)
Chespin	X and Y	Viola (Bug), Grant (Rock), Korrina (Fighting)
Snivy	Black and White	Chili (Fire), Lenora (Normal), Burgh (Bug)
Chikorita	Gold and Silver	Falkner (Flying), Bugsy (Bug), Whitney (Normal)

Alola has trials instead of Gyms, which is why Rowlet only has two entries.

Bulbasaur, if you want it easy

Bulbasaur gets the best draw in Kanto. Brock's Geodude at level 12 and Onix at level 14 are Rock and Ground, and Grass hits them for four times the damage. Vine Whip arrives at level 13, and Leech Seed at level 7 covers the gap. Misty's Staryu at level 18 and Starmie at level 21 are Water types and take double.

Then Lt. Surge, who barely matters. Voltorb at level 21, Pikachu at level 18 and Raichu at level 24 are Electric, which does half damage to Grass. The rival fight goes against Bulbasaur. Blue's Charmander is Fire, and Fire hits Grass for double. Ivysaur arrives at level 16 and Venusaur at level 32, a Grass and Poison type with 100 Special Attack and 525 base stats.

Rowlet, with Hala as the prize

Rowlet knows Leafage from level 1 and learns Peck at level 8. Peck is a Flying move, and Flying hits Fighting for double, which is exactly what Hala's Mankey and Makuhita at level 14 and Crabrawler at level 15 are. Fighting moves do half damage to Rowlet's Flying half. Ilima's Yungoos at level 9 and Smeargle at level 10 are Normal types, and that is an even fight.

Rowlet breezes through both of these fights. It gets Razor Leaf at level 15. Rowlet becomes Dartrix at level 17 and Decidueye at level 34, a Grass and Ghost type with 107 Attack and 530 base stats.

Grookey, until Kabu

Hop's Sobble is the rival fight Grookey gets, and Grass hits Water for double. Razor Leaf arrives at level 12 and Milo is next. Gossifleur at level 19 and Eldegoss at level 20 are Grass types, and Grass does half damage to Grass. He's a slow fight but an even one.

Nessa is the best Gym Grookey has. Goldeen at level 22 and Arrokuda at level 23 are Water and take double. Drednaw at level 24 is Water and Rock and takes four times the damage. Kabu is the wall. Ninetales and Arcanine at level 25 are Fire types, Fire hits Grass for double, and Grass does half damage to Fire. Thwackey arrives at level 16 and Rillaboom at level 35, a Grass type with 125 Attack and 530 base stats.

Treecko, strong until Wattson

Treecko learns Absorb at level 6, and Roxanne's Geodude at level 14 is Rock and Ground, which Grass hits for four times the damage. Her Nosepass at level 15 takes double. That Gym is a gift. Brawly's Fighting team is an even fight.

Wattson is the stubborn part. Magnemite at level 22 and Magneton at level 23 are Electric and Steel, and Steel resists Grass. Absorb barely scratches them. Electric does half damage to Treecko, which keeps it safe. The rival's Torchic beats Treecko on type, since Fire hits Grass for double. Grovyle arrives at level 16 and Sceptile at level 36, a Grass type with 120 Speed and 530 base stats.

Turtwig, with Roark and not much after

Razor Leaf arrives at level 13, and Roark's Geodude and Onix at level 12 are Rock and Ground, which take four times the damage. Cranidos at level 14 takes double. That Gym is over fast.

It gets harder from there. Barry's Chimchar is the rival fight Turtwig gets, and Fire hits Grass for double. Gardenia's Cherubi and Turtwig at level 19 and Roserade at level 22 are Grass types, and Grass does half damage to Grass. Maylene's Lucario at level 30 is Fighting and Steel, and Steel resists Grass too. Grotle arrives at level 18 and Torterra at level 32, a Grass and Ground type with 109 Attack and 525 base stats.

Sprigatito, until it meets Katy

Katy is the problem. Nymble and Tarountula at level 14 are Bug types, Bug hits Grass for double, and Grass does half damage to Bug. Sprigatito knows Leafage from level 1 and learns Magical Leaf at level 13, which doesn't change that. Brassius's Petilil and Smoliv at level 16 are Grass types, which makes that fight slow. His Sudowoodo at level 17 is Rock, and Grass hits Rock for double.

Iono's Mismagius at level 24 is a Ghost type, and Bite, a Dark move Sprigatito learns at level 7, hits Ghost for double. Floragato arrives at level 16 and Meowscarada at level 36, a Grass and Dark type with 123 Speed and 530 base stats. It takes some work to get there.

Chespin, with Viola as the first hurdle

Chespin learns Vine Whip at level 5 and goes into Viola's Gym with two problems. Surskit at level 10 is Bug and Water, so Grass does normal damage to it, but its Bug moves still hit Chespin for double. Vivillon at level 12 is Bug and Flying, and both of those hit Grass for double while Grass does only a quarter of normal damage to it.

Grant's Amaura at level 25 is Rock and Ice and takes double from Grass, and Tyrunt is Rock and Dragon, which cancels the bonus. Korrina's Mienfoo, Machoke and Hawlucha are Fighting types. Hawlucha at level 32 is Fighting and Flying, and Flying hits Grass for double. Quilladin arrives at level 16 and Chesnaught at level 36, a Grass and Fighting type with 122 Defense and 530 base stats.

Snivy, down against Chili and Burgh

Cheren's Tepig is the rival fight Snivy gets. The Striaton City leader is Chili, whose Pansear at level 14 is a Fire type, and Fire hits Grass for double. Vine Whip arrives at level 7 and Leaf Tornado at level 16, and neither does much to Fire.

Lenora's Herdier and Watchog, at levels 18 and 20, are Normal types, and that's the one even fight. Burgh finishes the job. Whirlipede at level 21 is Bug and Poison, Leavanny at level 23 is Bug and Grass, and both resist Grass moves while hitting Snivy for double. Servine arrives at level 17 and Serperior at level 36, a Grass type with 113 Speed and 528 base stats. (Serperior still looks smug about it.)

Chikorita, last in Johto

Chikorita learns Razor Leaf at level 8, and it makes no difference. Silver's Cyndaquil is the rival fight Chikorita gets, and Fire hits Grass for double. Falkner's Pidgey and Pidgeotto, at levels 7 and 9, are Flying types, and Flying hits Grass for double. Bugsy's Metapod and Kakuna at level 14 and Scyther at level 16 are Bug types, and Bug hits Grass for double as well.

Whitney's Clefairy at level 18 and Miltank at level 20 are Normal types, and that is the only even fight. Bayleef arrives at level 16 and Meganium at level 32, a Grass type with 100 Defense and 525 base stats. (Nobody asked the flower for its opinion.)

So which one should you pick?

The overworld in Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Rank	Starter	Game	Final form	Base stats
1	Bulbasaur	Red and Blue	Venusaur	525
2	Rowlet	Sun and Moon	Decidueye	530
3	Grookey	Sword and Shield	Rillaboom	530
4	Treecko	Ruby and Sapphire	Sceptile	530
5	Turtwig	Diamond and Pearl	Torterra	525
6	Sprigatito	Scarlet and Violet	Meowscarada	530
7	Chespin	X and Y	Chesnaught	530
8	Snivy	Black and White	Serperior	528
9	Chikorita	Gold and Silver	Meganium	525

Bulbasaur has the easiest start and Chikorita the hardest. If you want the first badges to come easy, pick Bulbasaur or Rowlet. Grookey, Treecko and Turtwig each have a Gym that goes their way and then ask for a bit of work. Sprigatito, Chespin, Snivy and Chikorita are the ones to pick if you like a fight or have a second Pokemon to lean on. All nine finish within a few points of each other. The pages for generation 1, generation 2, generation 3, generation 4, generation 5, generation 6, generation 7, generation 8 and generation 9 cover each trio in full.

FAQ

What is the best Grass type starter?

Bulbasaur has the easiest start. Grass hits Brock's Rock team and Misty's Water team for double or more, and Lt. Surge's Electric moves do half damage to it.

Which Grass type starter has the strongest final form?

Five tie at 530 base stats: Decidueye, Rillaboom, Sceptile, Meowscarada and Chesnaught.

Which Grass type starter has the hardest start?

Chikorita. Falkner, Bugsy and Silver all beat it on type.