The “worst” starter Pokemon desperately needs buffs in Legends Z-A

One starter Pokemon stands out as by far the worst in the franchise, and the upcoming release of Legends Z-A offers the perfect opportunity for Game Freak to fix that by buffing it.

If Legends Arceus is anything to go by, Legends Z-A will likely feature three more starter Pokemon from past generations. In Legends Arceus’ case, it was Cyndaquil, Oshawott, and Rowlett that trainers could choose between.

As Legends Z-A approaches, it begs the question of who will be the next starter Pokemon. There’s no way to know for sure, but what’s certain is that Chikorita needs it more than any other eligible candidate.

Chikorita itself is a cute, yet unspectacular grass type. It’s nothing special, but that’s not the problem. The real issues appear once Chikorita is fully evolved, becoming Meganium. Meganium is the weakest starter Pokemon of all time, with even Champion Wolfe “Wolfey” Glick agreeing.

Explaining why the grass-type is the worst Starter Pokemon for competitive battling, Wolfey expressed, “Meganium has super low offensive stats, making it nearly impossible to deal damage, and it’s not very fast.”

The Champion also criticized Meganium’s move pool for lacking coverage, as well as the Grass-type’s underwhelming Hidden Ability, Leaf Guard. Of Pokemon’s various Sun-based abilities, Leaf Guard is arguably the worst, being far inferior to the likes of Chlorophyll and Solar Power.

It’s for these reasons that Meganium needs to be one of the starter Pokemon in Legends Z-A. Despite having first debuted 25 years ago in Gold and Silver, Meganium has never received either a Mega Evolution or Regional Form.

Legends Z-A is bringing back both of these key features. Therefore, it’s the perfect opportunity for Game Freak to buff Meganium by giving it a regional form, Mega Evolution, or even both. Either approach allows Meganium to receive the stat moves, new moves, and the improved typing that it desperately needs.