Pokémon Champions finally redeems a bad grass starter 25 years later

Through Pokémon Champions, Mega Meganium will vindicate anyone who picked Chikorita

In the world of Pokémon, there's no such thing as a bad starter pick... unless we're talking about Chikorita from Pokémon Gold and Silver. The leaf-headed monster eventually turns into the tropical Meganium. And how bad is Meganium? Well, up until recently, this Pokémon was staunchly placed in the "zero use" tier used by competitive players.

Meganium did get an upgrade in Pokémon Legends: Z-A via Mega Evolution, but without the ability to transfer monsters into the mainline games, that glow-up was limited to the spinoff. With the April release of competitively focused Pokémon Champions, however, Mega Meganium won't just become usable: The grass starter might legitimately be the best pick of the bunch.

All three second-generation monsters will get a Mega variant for Pokémon Champions, and each one will have a brand-new ability to mark the occasion. Mega Emboar will make use of the Mold Breaker ability, which allows it to ignore the abilities of its opponents. Mega Feraligatr will finally make good on its reptile-like appearance through the Dragonize ability, which transforms its moves into a 20% more effective Dragon-type.

Then there's Mega Meganium, the star of the show. Meganium will be able to use Mega Sol, an ability that allows it to power up its moves as if it were under harsh sunlight. In less vague terms, Meganium will now operate as if it were under the influence of Sunny Day, a weather condition that boosts fire-type moves.

Now, some of Meganium's weaknesses will still be apparent even with Mega Evolution. The grass starter will still be slow, and it will still be weak to common types and moves used in competitive play. But Meganium's strengths have also been given steroids. With a high special attack, Mega Meganium can make beastly use of moves like the powerful Solar Beam — and it won't need to recharge afterward. Another benefit of the Sol ability is that Mega Meganium will no longer have to worry about boosted fire attacks against it, which eliminates a major weakness.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure that competitive players will come up with more strategies over time, but already, some of the potential approaches sound wild. As Redditor Zesty-Rexy_1999 explains in a breakdown, the immediately notable additions to Meganium's toolkit are Weather Ball and Synthesis:

Because of Mega Sol, Weather Ball is instantly turned from a 50 base power Normal move into a 100 base power Fire type move. This is amazing coverage for dealing with Ice and Steel type Pokemon, two types that in the past would’ve likely halted any momentum Meganium had gained. The second is the move Synthesis. Normally, Synthesis only recovers 50% of HP, exactly like Recover or Roost. But, under sun, Synthesis restores an insane 66% of HP. This effectively gives Mega Meganium, a Pokémon already known for its well rounded bulk, one of the best self-healing moves IN THE ENTIRE GAME!

As you can imagine, Chikorita pickers are absolutely thrilled right now. Even if they don't play competitively or have an interest in Pokémon Champions, it's nice to know that your favorite pick isn't relegated to the dregs of possible starter options.

"Yes us Chikorita fans waited literal decades but finally it bears flowers!" one commenter exclaimed in the thread.

"Finally, Meganium owners feel long deserved justice," another replied.

Pokémon Champions launches on April 8 for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Mobile versions are coming an an unannounced date.