With Bulbasaur releasing back in Gen I, the very first Grass-type Pokémon introduced to the public who weren’t even Pokémon fans at that point, the audience got a good understanding of what to expect from Grass types in general: they’re dependable and well-rounded.
But the Grass type has come quite a way since Pokémon Red and Blue, and its Pokémon don’t always fit the mold they were once presented in. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have actually introduced an amazing roster of new Grass types into Gen IX, along with bringing back many old beloved ones from previous generations.
In this list, we will be talking about the 10 best Grass-type Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet on the basis of their design, lore, and competitive viability.
10 best Grass-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, ranked
10) Leafeon
Leafeon is a classic Grass-type Pokémon, and is especially adored simply because it is an Eeveelution, and we all know that Eevee is top tier.
Leafeon’s got a simplistic and beautiful design along with it being decently good in competitive battling. It gets access to the ability Chlorophyll which makes it incredibly fast under the Sun. Couple that with a solid Attack stat and decent bulk and you’ve got a pretty good Pokémon on your hands.
The reason it only takes the No. 10 spot on our list is because everything it does, it does mediocre. Leafeon could’ve been so much more, but Game Freak had other plans.
9) Scovillain
Can we rejoice in the fact that after nine whole generations, we have finally gotten a Grass and Fire dual-type Pokémon? Fans have always conceptualized what a dual-type Pokémon with such contrasting types as these would look like, and interestingly enough, chili peppers were pretty common ideas even among fans and fan artists.
Game Freak chose this route as well, which makes the most sense, honestly. While the devs didn’t do a horrible job, they certainly could’ve done better. Scovillain is a green chili pepper with an extra red chili pepper head, along with some stumpy hands and feet. After all that wait, we can understand why such a middling design would be a disappointment.
But hey, a Grass/Fire dual-type!
8) Breloom
Breloom has always been a solid dude and loved almost unanimously by the franchise’s fans. We could go so far as to say that it’s the most adored mushroom Pokémon, while discounting the highly-memed Amoonguss; in the latter’s case, we’d count that as ridicule.
Breloom is also pretty good in the competitive scene, boasting an incredible Attack stat coupled with its ability Technician, while also having access to the move Spore, the most overpowered Sleep-inducing status move due to its perfect accuracy.
With a bit of speed control on Breloom’s side, it can be a Mach Punching, Sleep-inducing threat. Thank Arceus it’s frail.
7) Wo-Chien
Being one member of the Treasures of Ruin quartet, Wo-Chien almost doesn’t look like a Pokémon at first glance, just a bunch of leaves and vegetation come to life. Which it kinda is.
Wo-Chien came to life due to the overpowering grudge of the person who wrote the Paldean king’s evil deeds on the tablet that now acts as its shell, which is its true form. Its body has been formed by taking control over plant matter, and conversely, Wo-Chien is known to be able to drain the life force of all the vegetation in a large area around it. Spooky.
6) Tsareena
Tsareena is pretty darn majestic. Gotta love that queenly majesty, right?
We’ll walk ourselves out, after telling you what a powerhouse Tsareena is in the competitive scene, especially due to her Queenly Majesty ability. When Tsareena is on the field, her ability blocks all priority moves. In VGC, priority moves like Fake Out are invaluable, so preventing them from working makes Tsareena viable just for that itself.
But apart from that, Tsareena has brilliant coverage and decent bulk as well. She can be built slow and bulky or fast and offensive, fitting on a plethora of team archetypes. Tsareena losing Triple Axel in Gen IX does hurt her a bit, but nothing a queen can’t shrug off.
5) Smoliv
Now how could we not add this little munchkin on this list? Ever since we saw it in the initial trailer of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, we fell in love. It’s tiny and meek, and a whole lotta cute.
But just because it’s docile, doesn’t mean it won’t mess you up. It’s said that when Smoliv is threatened, it will shoot out a very bitter oil it photosynthesizes in the fruit on its head at its attacker, flinching them and drastically slowing them down. Way to go, tiger.
Unlike Toedscruel on this list, we don’t have to worry about people devouring this innocent little olive Pokémon, mainly because that bitter oil that it produces most likely repels anybody from actually trying to eat any part of this baby Pokémon. We’re sure they’ve tried, though.
4) Toedscruel
Convergent species are a new form of Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, and are a concept taken from the real world. Game Freak really nailed making Toedscruel look incredibly similar to the Pokémon it is meant to resemble, Tentacruel, while having perfect explanations for the almost identical design.
With Toedscruel, this Pokémon is now a mushroom instead of a jellyfish, and the long tentacles it seems to have are actually mycelium. Brilliant design from the artists and all that, but just one question, Game Freak: what’s up people eating this Pokémon, again?
Pokémon Violet’s Pokédex entry for Toedscruel says that the “folds along the rim of its head are a popular delicacy.” We know for a fact that Toedscruel is a defensive species, so there is no way they are letting you cut off parts of its body without force. Now that’s scary to think about.
3) Lilligant
Chlorophyll is such an amazing ability that it almost always makes any ‘mon that has access to it immediately viable, and Lilligant is an excellent example of this.
Yes, Lilligant has an amazing Speed even without Sun and can get access to super fast Sleep Powders with Chlorophyll active, but what really makes this Pokémon shine is its access to the move After You.
After You lets Lilligant enable a slow partner Pokémon that would normally go last to move right after Lilligant uses the move, regardless of its Speed tier. The incredibly synergistic combo of Torkoal plus Lilligant make incredible use of his strategy, since Torkoal is incredibly slow, but provides the Sun weather condition due to its ability Drought, doubling Lilligant’s Speed and letting it almost always use After You before anything else on the field and letting Torkoal use powerful Sun-boosted Eruptions right after.
A match made in heaven, all enabled by this humanoid flower thing.
2) Meowscarada
Is it a controversial thing to say that we liked Meowscarada’s design? Isn’t it the norm to hate on the bipedal final stages of the starters? Will this grassy kitty cat ever escape the sins of its forefathers? We’re looking at you, Incineroar.
Apart from its cool Magician-themed design and black-green color scheme, Meowscarada is a pretty interesting pick in competitive Pokémon as well. It’s a pretty speedy ‘mon that gets access to Trick Room, which can catch your opponents off guard and help your slower teammates.
It also has its signature move Flower Trick, a 70 base power Grass move that always crits, essentially making it 105 BP while letting it bypass any Defense boosts and screen support from the opponent’s side.
Meowscarada also gets Protean as an ability, but it’s been nerfed to activate only on the first move used. Nevertheless, that’s pretty good when you consider that it can at least get rid of its Grass/Dark dual-typing before getting smacked in the face with a Bug move.
1) Amoonguss
Don’t fuss with the ‘guss. That’s common knowledge if you’ve come across Amoonguss in competitive VGC play in past metagames, and Amoonguss’ presence isn’t leaving the competitive scene anytime soon.
You would think that with the addition of Brute Bonnet—Amoonguss’ past Paradox form—Amoonguss would lose its relevance. After all, Brute Bonnet has more bulk, a good offensive stat, and the ability to boost its highest stat with its ability, Protosynthesis. And while Brute Bonnet is good and was a contender for this spot on the list against Amoonguss, the latter still outshines Brute Bonnet.
Amoonguss has a superior dual-typing and is not threatened by any four-times effective moves like Brute Bonnet is with Bug moves such as the omnipresent U-Turn. Combine that with Amoonguss’ Regenerator ability that lets it heal one-third of its health every time it switches out, and you have a classic tried-and-tested formula that screams “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
And of course, it has an incredible supportive move pool which includes Spore and Rage Powder, along with more niche options like Clear Smog that can be especially useful in Scarlet and Violet with so many set-up and boosting strategies prevalent in its early metagame.
With all of this going for it, it’s not hard to see why Amoonguss nabs the top spot on our list.
Published: Nov 27, 2022 01:08 pm