Yeah, Venusaur may have had the faster time, but I think Meganium had the more interesting run. I like the way its play style rewards patience, knowing when to sit back and heal and when to press the attack. And I know that's kind of against the spirit of the race, but there's just something about watching Meganium tank fire and ice moves that's so incredibly satisfying.
It was also way more rewarding figuring a Meganium out. Over coming all the obstacles was tricky but I’m quite happy with what I came up with. Venusaur just sort of played itself once Hidden Power was on the table.
I think the reason I love Umbreon so much is because when I played Pokemon Coliseum, watching it tank Cross Chops was satisfying, so I get this. Meanwhile, the Espeon was getting one-shotted repeatedly to the point I gave up on it. And Meganium ended up being a relatively good partner for Umbreon too, since both could tank solid hits while dealing fair strikes in return.
Sometimes Scott knows if he made mistakes or he believes that the amount of time is so cose to being in th enext tier he will place it in the "Correct tier" for example if he hit a few walls and got stuck for extended period of time knowing that could shave off 1 min, knowing even in the second playthrough he messed something up that could shave off another mine. So I guess what im saying is if he projects that if he did 5 play throughs he could get it under 1:20 with Optimization he will do so. Later he usually updates it if he cannot manage to get it under the 1:20
Every person I know who chooses chikorita has been female. Not sure if it's cause it's cute or because of its popularity in the anime. Maybe aspects of both. Me personally I go water no matter the Gen. Water is king. 🤴 👑 💧
Don't worry about people mentioning your mistakes - it is impossible to be perfect and I am pretty sure that most of us just want to see you having fun playing the game that we all love!
57:37 that is some really good artwork and like you said, the different moods or faces of the Koffings and Weezing is absolutely brilliant and good. Scott, youve got some talented people helping you out with these videos. They're getting better and better as time moves forward, just like your overlay has been too. I re-watch videos alot, especially when im super bored and tou can really twll the difference between your older/original videos to now. The change is remarkable, well done good sir lol
Did it on my first silver version playthrough when back in the day. Encountered raikou and it fled when I tried to fight it. Encountered it again like a week later and just chucked a poke ball. Rocked 3 times, caught it and that was the end of my luck. 😂
@@nathanandsugar5252 Yeah. It's not the best, but it's definitely better than nothing. The poison resistance is great because of team rocket, and the fighting resistance helps too, against chuck and bruno(though neither are particularly threatening) In gen 1, the psychic weakness somewhat ironically also helps, because of the borked ai.
genuinely such a good video. the editing highlighting what you’re talking about, the knowledge and explanations, the switch back and forth between each starter, everything. so goodddddd
Gen1 AI: Lorelei uses Rest, because Psychic is "very effective". Gen2 AI: Koga knows when your Pokemon are badly poisoned and will prioritize stalling moves. That's quite the improvement :)
I think a big optimization for both runs is to teach Hidden Power as early as possible. Having even a neutral Hidden Power versus Morty would be a big power boost (definitely makes Gastly a clean 1-hit-KO), and Mud Slap is arguably pretty replaceable. I think Scott gives way too much credit to Magnemite, which is pretty frail and easy to 2-hit with resisted STAB. Pair that with a Prz cure berry and it's not much of a threat.
U dont know how nasty supersonice+twave is. If it has actual atacking moves it would have been a terror. It has same special attack as Xatu which is absurd.
Regarding Bellsprout being the wrong choice for a cut user... the first route has Sentret at 40% encounter rate. You have to pass through the route anyways right after an aide gives you pokeballs, so it makes more sense to me. Cutting out Flash also means you don't lose out by not having Bellsprout.
I was on the edge of my seat waiting for this video and during this video. I was so rooting for Meganium. (Even though I like Venusaur more.) I’m glad you finally got to the Johto starters. I am also realizing that these guys would be good for a backlog playthrough of Yellow too. We’ve seen how The Kanto starters do, it might be fun to see how the Johto starters do as well. Great video and I am waiting with baited breath for the next video. GO TYPHLOSION! Suck it ya flying lizard!
I'm so happy that Meganium actually did so well in this run, I developed a soft spot for it only recently and it's among my favorite fully evolved starters of all time ❤
Love the Petrel art. As a Koffing lover I live the emotions on all of them. Also will wait for the Typhlosion vs Charizard video as an avid lover of Typhlosion. Please keep up the great work.
I think Meganium is not just a defensive beast. It has enough special attack, so if anything it's a little like a Milotic situation, with less special but better coverage, and a physical option. If something is able to ruin that, is the grass typing.
38:52 - Actually, Crobat almost always chooses Double Team turn one, no matter what. Muk will almost also set up either Minimize or Acid Armor turn 1. Fortress will likely Protect stall you if you are Toxic'd, but the others will not spam their evasion moves. Usually only Ariados will use Double Team multiple times.
I am SOOOOO looking forward to seeing Charizard vs Typhlosion. They have *exactly* the same base stats and probably have a lot of the same advantages in movepool as well. I predict it is going to be one of the most volatile, competitive, and outright fierce Pokemon races that you'll ever play which I think is very fitting given their archtypes as fast, powerful, and aggressive Pokemon. My heart is in it for Charizard! Can't wait!
This made me very happy to see venusaur make it with zero resets on its 2nd play through. Also the bulbasaur is my favorite! Good job scott! Meganium did great too!
I've always viewed Meganium as an unfortunate "benefactor" or beneficiary of Venusaur being as good as it is. I can see the intent of making a better team based wall in theory at the grass type position without going overboard, but Feraligtr and Typhlosion are so godly in their launch gen it honestly hurts the poor little Chikoritas chances. Plus, the anime absolutely did it no favors, also in regards to Bulbasaur who was extremely cool in the launch series.
This was such a fun watch! The flow of Meganium's first playthrough was top notch! For what is overall the worst Starter combat-wise, Meganium *definitely* held its own!
@@FF8Irvine_Fan It was able to do some stuff in GSC's bulkier meta, but, by modern metrics? It's the one with less of a niche, but I was also referring to its reputation in the fanbase.
Anyone else feel there's something kind of sad about Generation 2 of Pokémon? (Gold, Silver and Crystal) The music is very bittersweet and by the time you reach Kanto, so much of it is closed down and there are far fewer trainers to battle than in RBY Kanto, which gives it a really empty and lonely feeling Hope this makes sense, and thanks for the video Scott
Yeah, you make mistakes, but a few times you played differently than I would have but you taught me to play the game differently and that makes the game more fun. I appreciate you.
1:31 “This is the actually the first generation 2 Grass type run I will be doing on this channel” Celebi: am I a joke to you In all seriousness, I quite enjoyed the video! Meganium’s optimized strategy, really caught me off guard. I genuinely was a bit frustrated that you did not use Leech Seed right away against the Koffing in Slowpoke Well right away when you only had 3 PP of Tackle left. Oh well, just a first playthrough anyway. The follow up is what really matters and you definitely delivered in that regard.
Not finished the video yet; but I think the reason Meganium is doing so well is that between it's bulk and the ability to heal it has the endurance to last in longer fights.
@@ScottsThoughtsPokemon I was thinking Electric, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as useful for Lance’s Dragonites or Koga’s Bugs and you lose half of the damage on Charizard since stat experience keeps the attack and special attack stats relatively close.
Venusaur rises to the top once again as Meganium blows a 28-3 lead by the end of the Red battle! Shame that Venusaur can't learn Body Slam through level up like Meganium does, but Return helps its movepool in a big way! Bravo, Scott!
Meganium is unironically one of my favourite Grass starters, due to stuff like its simplicity in design, approachable and friendly demeanor, getting moves early by LUp, etc. However, Johto is famously ATROCIOUS for any grass type, so people undervalue it as a whole. Truth is, Meganium is DAMN powerful, you just need to take it to another region. If anyone mods their own roms, I'd suggest trying it in Alpha Sapphire, with a physical set of Bulldoze/EQ coverage w/ Swords Dance. Edit: "I've heard rumours that Johto is quite cruel to grass types." Bruh, just look at all the boss battles' aces. ~ Falkner has a prematurely evolved Flying type. ~ Bugsy has a Bug/Flying DUEL type with a BST on par with Alakazam ~ Whitney's Miltank is atrocious for all starters ~ The ENTIRE Ghost gym is poison types that are immune to your Normal coverage ~ Chuck is the weakest GL, so having an advantage against his ace doesn't matter ~ Jasmine's gym of Electric and Ground types sounds good on paper, until you realise that Steelix is weak to BOTH the other starters, so Meganium is the worst yet again. ~ Being SE against all Pryce's mons doesn't mean much when everything in the gym hits YOU super effectively ~ Team Rocket have migrated from having no type specialty (Ground types, Normal types, Fighting types, etc) to being Poison specialists ~ Dragon gym with Smokescreen. This fucks everyone. ~ Will has two Flying types, a Grass type and an Ice type. ~ Koga has all poison types except for Forretress - a Bug/Steel type. ~ Bruno is Bruno. He's a joke. ~ Karen packs a Vileplume, a Gengar, a Flying type and a Fire type. ~ Bird Keeper Lance. Now with a Charizard.
Scott what an amazing video! That was a fun one to watch! I wonder if Venasuar could get even a faster time if you used solarbeam, sunndy day and synthesis together along with return. For parts of the Elite four. Anyways, amazing content as always!
Everybody picks on Meganium but the cuteness of the whole line makes up for any shortcomings for me. Also that early level razor leaf was actually pretty good back in the day, many grass types never learned it or learned it at lvl 60 when the champ is only in the 40s. I'm doing a Nuzlocke of every gen and I'm at Crystal. The learnsets of grass types before gen 3 were abysmal! I ended up swapping out my Victreebel (spelling?) for a Miltank (very lucky catch!) because non resistent stomp was doing more damage than super effective, 10 pp vine whips. I can't believe kid me really thought Jumpluff and Paras were so powerful haha
Let’s go Venosaur! Been my favorite starter since 1998 when I played blue on my gameboy. Also, the Entai encounter made me realize how much I look forward to seeing the legendary doggos compete!
Seven for everyone's exasperation at Scott insisting on sleep tactics for way too long. If you're drinking anything alcoholic while watching this, take a sip every time you think he should have changed tactics.
Game freak didn’t like grass at all. It wasn’t enough that all types used in the gyms either resisted or were neutral versus it. It wasn’t enough that there was no real good offensive grass move tm in Johto. But they had to make sure that only 2 mons in the league were weak to Grass… while 15 resisted. 15. Out of 26. Wow.
Unova is another example of hate on Grass types in both Black and White 1 and 2. BW1: Burgh, Elesa's Emolgas, Skyla, Brycen, Drayden, Shauntal's Chandelure, Grimsley's Bisharp and his other Pokemon having coverage for Grass types, Caitlin's Sigilyph, N's Archeops, Vanilluxe, Flamethrower Zoroark, Klinklang, and if you are playing on White, Reshiram, Ghetsis's whole team except for Cofagrigus has coverage for Grass types. Seismitoad is an afterthought with Grass moves. And, the absolute salt to the wound is Alder and his anti Grass army. Seriously. Accelgor, Sap Sipper Bouffalant, Vanilluxe, Escavalier, Druddigon, and the real Grass type killer of any kind: Volcarona. BW2: Roxie, Burgh, Elesa's Emolga and Joltik in Challenge Mode, Skyla, Drayden, both Kyurem forms, especially Kyurem White, Ghetsis's Eelektross, Drapion, and Toxicroak, and Iris having a lot of ways to maul Grass types. Let's not forget to mention the fact that Team Plasma has Poison types like Weezing, Muk, and Golbat, on top of Zinzolin's Ice types and Shadow Triad's Bisharps.
Venusaur is Amazing. I always use leech seed / sleep powder or toxic strats. Also love you're content I think I've almost watched all your videos and I love your live streams. Zangoose vs seviper eventually
Awesome video! There is an error however at 38:32: Damage from bad poison doesn't double every turn, it increases by 1/16 of the afflicted Pokémon's health each turn, going from 1/16 to 2/16 to 3/16 etc.
I think the big struggle for the Chikorita line stems from the fact that Poisonpowder is in its movepool. I'm guessing most Pokemon players were sick of powder-spreading grass types by gen 2. Combine this with the fact that three of its level up slots were dedicated to Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard in a period where competive was rather niche outside of Japan, and it's movepool was rather limited to Razor Leaf, Body Slam, Synthesis, and a random move (either Reflect or Earthquake depending on who was in the know). As a result, Meganium kind of fell behind the more aggressive Typhlosion and Feraligatr. It had its fans, sure, but being the second flower dinosaur in a row that learned Poisonpowder and Solarbeam rather than Sleep Powder and a more distinctive Grass move means it got a lot of its personality from the anime which doesn't always translate into the games. I'll gladly pick Chikorita as often as Cyndaquil or Totodile, but it really wasn't marketed well in the gen 2 games themselves besides to kids who watched the anime and loved Bayleef. There's also the disadvantage of Wooper and Bellsprout being early route mons which made Cyndaquil appear much more distinct than its comrades.
Oh cool! Andrew Davis just did a Chicorita run yesterday. Looking forward to seeing this run tonight! Fun fact: as a kid, I picked Chikorita because I remembered how great Bulbasaur was in the early game of Gen 1. *M A N* did the game make me pay for that choice. XD
1:16:31 - uh, correct me if I am wrong, but a 1 hour 21 min time should put it in A-tier, not S-tier right? Probably right at the front but still there? Of course this is nothing against the Plant-Dino-Frog, I love my good boy, I am just asking as a matter of principle. Edit: Aight so this gets addressed in the Typhlosion vs Charizard vid, neat.
Meganium and Venosaur were giving their best in this versus video ,well done.👏👏👏 I'm glad that Meganium could get surprisingly good results in both the early game and in real time. They both had similar issues when it came to the major walls they both had to face ,which are Lance, Red, Jasmine. But their level up moveset and hidden power let them almost breeze through these parts . Venosaur had better moves in my opinion, in order to stall out tougher opponents,then Meganium had, but at least it could have body slam and earthquake in its moveset, which is really good.😊 I guess that once again, the secondary poison typing gives an edge to some certain pokemon. I can't wait to see how Typhlosion and Charizard could do next,or in other words, is a secondary flying typing is going to give an edge to Charizard this time 🤔(even though Typhlosion has a lot of coverage to hundle most of Johto's major fights).
My first game was Silver and my first pokemon was Chikorita. Since then it has been tradition to use the grass starter in all my 1st playthroughs. I LOVE Meganium AND Venusaur. SO HYPED
I'm not surprised to see Venusaur win, but it was a pleasant surprise to see how well Meganium did. Charizard vs Typhlosion is going to be interesting. They have the exact same stats, so it comes down to how beneficial Charizard's Flying typing is and how the small differences in moveset affect things. I think Typhlosion has the edge here just because it gets Thunder Punch, which will be invaluable against Water types. Though that might be less of s factor in the second playthrough, where they'll have access to Hidden Power. (Most likely HP Grass.)
I think the Pokemon blue series without TMS will be so interesting, but I would equally want to watch a series where sleep is banned so that it doesn't become to go to strat as soon as a pokemon can learn a sleep move.
People always hate on Meganium, but I’ve never had a problem with it. That being said, I’ll always prefer Venusaur and it’s nice seeing it get a win. Scott is no joke with secondary poison types
So, a thought I had while watching this and thinking about Pokemon that are generally good but walled by specific things: I think it'd be cool to, once you're pretty happy with your solo run tier list for a generation, do some duo runs where you use your usual rules but are allowed to use two Pokemon in battle, rather than one. Not sure how I'd implement gaining your second Pokemon - perhaps replace the earliest available gift/purchase Pokemon with it, so it's a solo run until you get there? Either way, I think it'd be cool to see how certain duos go in terms of fighting for the same pool of XP but being able to cover one another's weaknesses.
I remember playing Gold as a kid that even though the chikorita line was my least favorite of the six starter lines up to that point, but still choosing it in most of my playthroughs because I was CONVINCED your choice of starter dictated which legendary dog you could catch, and that if I wanted Entei (obviously the coolest Gen 2 mon you can get without owning a link cable), I'd have to resign myself to a slightly boring early game 😂
When you eventually get to Gligar, I think it would be neat if you did a "hypothetical" run using a romhack where Gligar can learn Mud-Slap to see how this much more blessed alternate universe compares to our tragic Mud-Slapless Gligar
Two great Grass types! Two favorites! Meganium is cuter, but Venusaur is so cool! And such an unexpected result! Honestly, I like the option of a defensive starter… Too bad it will never happen again. Very cool idea for playthroughs!
Oooooh. My non-existent money is on Venusaur. Better move spread, better stat spread, and psychic isn't as big a threat in this generation. But not as a major blowout, I think Meganium will probably be behind but not by a LOT.
@@JJ-qo7th how venusaur has better stats? Look at physical defenses. Venusaur is much less bulkier and has more weaknesses. On top meganium has much better movepool having ancient power in egg moves. It just wasnt used. Meganium was battling with better hand behind its back.
@@wildresin6292 Egg moves are not in play here. These are solo challenges based on getting them as your starter. Also, in solo play you usually want better attacking stats; the fewer turns it takes to knock your opponent out, the fewer attacks they make, the fewer chances they get to inflict status or critical moves.
That was a pretty awesome run between the two flowers And after I saw that Meganium had Earthquake over Venesaur, I thought the toad would loose the run but color me impressed. But I'm really excited for Charizard and Typhlosion, because they are almost the same Pokémon in stats and primary typings
Quite the good runs. Especially seeing how well Meganium did as it made it into A tier. Seeing how normally its seen as bad. Scyther was definitely a problem with Cut. Synthesis would have been useful through the run.
Okay, so this video is _clearly_ unfair. It's judging which starter is better, but it only plays through them in gen 2! _Clearly_ we also need Venusaur vs Meganium challenge in Pokemon Yellow with Meganium backported! :V edit: If I could make one change to Ice types, I'd have it only do like 75% more damage when super effective and not used by an Ice type, and improve STAB for Ice types by 25%. If the type is supposed to be one of glass cannons, with tons of weaknesses and very few resistances but many things it's super effective against then let's give a reason for someone to actually use the type itself instead of just using ice moves on non-ice pokemon to get almost all the advantages with none of the drawbacks.
Venasaur was my very first "favorite" starter and first pokemon in generall and I really hoped the chikorita line would do justice to its legacy. In the beginning I really loved the chikorita/meganium line, but after 2 failed attempts at beating the game I could no longer hold it in high esteem anymore. Rip sweet flower dinosaur: You were forgotten by time, abondoned by game freak and shunned by the comunity.
So I don't know for sure if this works in gen 2, but there's a bulbapedia entry that says if the hm is the first in the move slot, the daycare people will overwrite it with a new move. That might help Meganium, my favorite pokemon.
I'm not sure if you know this Scott or if its been commented, but I'd argue the reason Grass is tough in Johto is due to it not being super effective against any gym or elite four members typing. Like, thanks Game Frick...
(Commenting before the end of playthrough 1 so I don't know if something comes up later that makes this a bad idea) I think learning Safeguard over Razor Leaf on Meganium might have added a bit of consistency to the league. Slowbro and Aerodactyl are the only mons in the elite four that you'd really like to have razor leaf for, and with safeguard you can stop Koga from stalling you out with Toxic and Vileplume cutting your speed for the Houndoom.
Great video. Just wondering, did you consider setting up reflect on Kakuna during the Bugsy fight to lower the damage of fury cutter on Scyther, or backtracking after Falkner to get the Pink Bow?
Since I seem to be the resident Pokemon Colosseum fanboy for the comments: Meganium actually fares really well in that game, probably better than Feraligatr from my experiences. Turns out 5 PP on Giga Drain and Synthesis doesn't really matter when the core battle system restores PP between rounds and makes Meganium really shine as an everlasting tank, especially combined with access to dual screens in a game focused on 2 v 2 battles.
I love Meganium and just got through watching the first playthrough. I was thinking about what Meganium has that Venusaur doesn't and i thibk i found the answer: Light Screen! Hoping Scott makes some use out of it in the second playthrough
Spoiler to the end. Since Meganium's comparison was skipped: Time 1:40:40 1:25:39 Resets 16 2 Level 75 73 IG Time 5:435:32 So the moral victory. Not gonna lie, I like Meganium, I was expecting Venusaur to win but not the Sleep Powder to be that huge deal breaker. Shows how much Pokémon have evolved since during Will I was waiting Exeggutor to destroy Venusaur and then remembering 'yeah, which gen was it that introduced Grass being immune to Powder moves.' But that's also a good thing in a sense that one move made enough diversity, making both Pokémon to feel to be their own despite of the similar stats and moves. Meganium was forced to be learned where as Venusaur was true to its RB design: the easy mode. Again - moral victory.
Time for another installment of: "BOTH OF THESE TWO POKÈMON CAN LEARN MUD-SLAP, BUT GLIGAR CAN NOT". R.I.P Gligar :,)
:D
Minute of silence for all terrible gen 2 pokemen
Yes, but Gligar learns Sludge Bomb, so... Venusaur is sad too!
@@DanteTheIguana And that makes Venasaur a saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad panda.
R. I. P Donphan as well
Yeah, Venusaur may have had the faster time, but I think Meganium had the more interesting run. I like the way its play style rewards patience, knowing when to sit back and heal and when to press the attack. And I know that's kind of against the spirit of the race, but there's just something about watching Meganium tank fire and ice moves that's so incredibly satisfying.
It was also way more rewarding figuring a Meganium out. Over coming all the obstacles was tricky but I’m quite happy with what I came up with. Venusaur just sort of played itself once Hidden Power was on the table.
I think the reason I love Umbreon so much is because when I played Pokemon Coliseum, watching it tank Cross Chops was satisfying, so I get this. Meanwhile, the Espeon was getting one-shotted repeatedly to the point I gave up on it. And Meganium ended up being a relatively good partner for Umbreon too, since both could tank solid hits while dealing fair strikes in return.
Overall I am proud of Meganium's performance, it lacked Venusaur's ace of Sleep Powder but it was overall more consistent through the play through.
You have seen it probably already, Scott, but Venusaur should actually go to the top of the A tier, with a time above 1:20:00
Unless that's a sign of things to come...
1h, 21 minutes is less than 1h, 20 minutes. That is why it is S tier.
(joke)
I'm glad someone pointed this out. Couldn't let it go! Minor fix
Came here to comment this. I'll just like this comment instead
Sometimes Scott knows if he made mistakes or he believes that the amount of time is so cose to being in th enext tier he will place it in the "Correct tier" for example if he hit a few walls and got stuck for extended period of time knowing that could shave off 1 min, knowing even in the second playthrough he messed something up that could shave off another mine. So I guess what im saying is if he projects that if he did 5 play throughs he could get it under 1:20 with Optimization he will do so. Later he usually updates it if he cannot manage to get it under the 1:20
Honestly the fact meganium holds up that well to the top tiers is amazing. It clearly is a decent pokemon despite nobody choosing it
Exactly. It’s decent, just not a fantastic mon. With a better move pool it would be a better Mon.
Venusaur is much better in modern Pokémon so it's easy to forget what it was like in the early games.
Every person I know who chooses chikorita has been female. Not sure if it's cause it's cute or because of its popularity in the anime. Maybe aspects of both.
Me personally I go water no matter the Gen. Water is king. 🤴 👑 💧
I loved Meganium..but I think feraligator was my first love.
I liked chokorita, but... you know, I can't say no to cyndaquil. I just can't.
Don't worry about people mentioning your mistakes - it is impossible to be perfect and I am pretty sure that most of us just want to see you having fun playing the game that we all love!
my dad wants to see scott having fun playing the game that we all love
57:37 that is some really good artwork and like you said, the different moods or faces of the Koffings and Weezing is absolutely brilliant and good. Scott, youve got some talented people helping you out with these videos. They're getting better and better as time moves forward, just like your overlay has been too. I re-watch videos alot, especially when im super bored and tou can really twll the difference between your older/original videos to now. The change is remarkable, well done good sir lol
Thank you so much. I do have a lot of really talented people helping me. They are amazing. I couldn’t do this without them.
Meganium’s Lance fight had no business being that close. So clutch though!
I had to reread this several times because my brain refused to read Meganium as anything but Megumin.
@@Great_Olaf5 I didn't see that until you mentioned it but now I see it and can't unsee, now I wish Meganium got explosion.
Fun fact, you have a 0.781% chance of catching a full health Entei or Raikou with a pokeball.
Did it on my first silver version playthrough when back in the day. Encountered raikou and it fled when I tried to fight it. Encountered it again like a week later and just chucked a poke ball. Rocked 3 times, caught it and that was the end of my luck. 😂
Gacha players be like "crazy good odds !"
@@svansiian2050 execpt they can't pay to roll the dice again.
This will be a fun run. Maybe it's due to my age but I believe in the OG grass Pokémon. Let's go Venusar!
venusaur, is hands down the best starter pokemon ever, easily. Stats, mega, etc.. he's op, meganiums is just absolute garbage..
@@ironmanandspidyrocI agree. What do you think of serperior? Had a lot of success with it in romhacks with both abilities
Meganium kinda sucks, so yeah, this should be pretty easy for Venusaur
I agree and even IN BASE form Chikorita is still pure CRAP.
Hype. I think it's venusaur because dual types are generally better than monotypes, even if the second type is poision.
Poison is good defensively. Being neutral to poison and immune to poisoning is great in Kanto/Johto. Even Hoenn to a lesser extent.
@@nathanandsugar5252 Yeah. It's not the best, but it's definitely better than nothing. The poison resistance is great because of team rocket, and the fighting resistance helps too, against chuck and bruno(though neither are particularly threatening) In gen 1, the psychic weakness somewhat ironically also helps, because of the borked ai.
genuinely such a good video. the editing highlighting what you’re talking about, the knowledge and explanations, the switch back and forth between each starter, everything. so goodddddd
Thank you so much!
Gen1 AI: Lorelei uses Rest, because Psychic is "very effective".
Gen2 AI: Koga knows when your Pokemon are badly poisoned and will prioritize stalling moves.
That's quite the improvement :)
I think a big optimization for both runs is to teach Hidden Power as early as possible. Having even a neutral Hidden Power versus Morty would be a big power boost (definitely makes Gastly a clean 1-hit-KO), and Mud Slap is arguably pretty replaceable. I think Scott gives way too much credit to Magnemite, which is pretty frail and easy to 2-hit with resisted STAB. Pair that with a Prz cure berry and it's not much of a threat.
Magnemite terrifies me. But you’re probably right.
U dont know how nasty supersonice+twave is. If it has actual atacking moves it would have been a terror. It has same special attack as Xatu which is absurd.
Regarding Bellsprout being the wrong choice for a cut user... the first route has Sentret at 40% encounter rate. You have to pass through the route anyways right after an aide gives you pokeballs, so it makes more sense to me. Cutting out Flash also means you don't lose out by not having Bellsprout.
I was on the edge of my seat waiting for this video and during this video. I was so rooting for Meganium. (Even though I like Venusaur more.) I’m glad you finally got to the Johto starters. I am also realizing that these guys would be good for a backlog playthrough of Yellow too. We’ve seen how The Kanto starters do, it might be fun to see how the Johto starters do as well. Great video and I am waiting with baited breath for the next video. GO TYPHLOSION! Suck it ya flying lizard!
I'm so happy that Meganium actually did so well in this run, I developed a soft spot for it only recently and it's among my favorite fully evolved starters of all time ❤
I can't wait for the 5 way eeveelution gen 2 video!
You are the most wholesome content creator on RUclips, and I love your content. Please, keep up the fantastic work!
"Alright, that was a nice battle"
Love how slick you've gotten with those remarks.
Love the Petrel art. As a Koffing lover I live the emotions on all of them. Also will wait for the Typhlosion vs Charizard video as an avid lover of Typhlosion. Please keep up the great work.
I think Meganium is not just a defensive beast. It has enough special attack, so if anything it's a little like a Milotic situation, with less special but better coverage, and a physical option. If something is able to ruin that, is the grass typing.
38:52 - Actually, Crobat almost always chooses Double Team turn one, no matter what. Muk will almost also set up either Minimize or Acid Armor turn 1. Fortress will likely Protect stall you if you are Toxic'd, but the others will not spam their evasion moves. Usually only Ariados will use Double Team multiple times.
I am SOOOOO looking forward to seeing Charizard vs Typhlosion. They have *exactly* the same base stats and probably have a lot of the same advantages in movepool as well. I predict it is going to be one of the most volatile, competitive, and outright fierce Pokemon races that you'll ever play which I think is very fitting given their archtypes as fast, powerful, and aggressive Pokemon.
My heart is in it for Charizard! Can't wait!
It’ll be a dead heat to the finish. Both will go down in blazes of glory
Really loving the Petrol and the Koffing Gang fanart! Thank you, Serina!
I love how they look so happy to race each other in the thumbnail, like they both know its a friendly competition.
This made me very happy to see venusaur make it with zero resets on its 2nd play through. Also the bulbasaur is my favorite! Good job scott! Meganium did great too!
I've always viewed Meganium as an unfortunate "benefactor" or beneficiary of Venusaur being as good as it is. I can see the intent of making a better team based wall in theory at the grass type position without going overboard, but Feraligtr and Typhlosion are so godly in their launch gen it honestly hurts the poor little Chikoritas chances. Plus, the anime absolutely did it no favors, also in regards to Bulbasaur who was extremely cool in the launch series.
This was such a fun watch! The flow of Meganium's first playthrough was top notch! For what is overall the worst Starter combat-wise, Meganium *definitely* held its own!
It's not the worst. Not by any means or any stretch of the imagination.
@@FF8Irvine_Fan It was able to do some stuff in GSC's bulkier meta, but, by modern metrics? It's the one with less of a niche, but I was also referring to its reputation in the fanbase.
Anyone else feel there's something kind of sad about Generation 2 of Pokémon? (Gold, Silver and Crystal)
The music is very bittersweet and by the time you reach Kanto, so much of it is closed down and there are far fewer trainers to battle than in RBY Kanto, which gives it a really empty and lonely feeling
Hope this makes sense, and thanks for the video Scott
I expected Venusaur to win, but Meganium definitely held its own. Fun watch
Your videos are always a fun experience from beginning to end. Please keep them coming!
Thank you so much! I will.
Yeah, you make mistakes, but a few times you played differently than I would have but you taught me to play the game differently and that makes the game more fun. I appreciate you.
the amount of detail is astonishing, bravo!
Fantastic video! I am not a Meganium fan, but I cheered it on due to it being the underdog and I am very happy with how it went.
1:31 “This is the actually the first generation 2 Grass type run I will be doing on this channel”
Celebi: am I a joke to you
In all seriousness, I quite enjoyed the video! Meganium’s optimized strategy, really caught me off guard. I genuinely was a bit frustrated that you did not use Leech Seed right away against the Koffing in Slowpoke Well right away when you only had 3 PP of Tackle left. Oh well, just a first playthrough anyway. The follow up is what really matters and you definitely delivered in that regard.
Did I use a grass move with Celebi? I think my brain just put it into the mono-psychic category with how long I had to use confusion in that run.
Not finished the video yet; but I think the reason Meganium is doing so well is that between it's bulk and the ability to heal it has the endurance to last in longer fights.
So cool to have another versus vid these are the best. Thank u Scott for all the work u put in.
I questioned Hidden Power Rock on Venusaur initially, but that elite 4 footage was quite convincing! Wow!
Yeah, at first I wanted to do Ice. But that just doesn’t have the punch it needs for Charizard.
@@ScottsThoughtsPokemon I was thinking Electric, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as useful for Lance’s Dragonites or Koga’s Bugs and you lose half of the damage on Charizard since stat experience keeps the attack and special attack stats relatively close.
Venusaur rises to the top once again as Meganium blows a 28-3 lead by the end of the Red battle!
Shame that Venusaur can't learn Body Slam through level up like Meganium does, but Return helps its movepool in a big way!
Bravo, Scott!
I'm hoping earlier razor leaf and access to earthquake can allow meganium to edge venusaur and win in the end? who knows!
Meganium is unironically one of my favourite Grass starters, due to stuff like its simplicity in design, approachable and friendly demeanor, getting moves early by LUp, etc. However, Johto is famously ATROCIOUS for any grass type, so people undervalue it as a whole. Truth is, Meganium is DAMN powerful, you just need to take it to another region. If anyone mods their own roms, I'd suggest trying it in Alpha Sapphire, with a physical set of Bulldoze/EQ coverage w/ Swords Dance.
Edit: "I've heard rumours that Johto is quite cruel to grass types." Bruh, just look at all the boss battles' aces.
~ Falkner has a prematurely evolved Flying type.
~ Bugsy has a Bug/Flying DUEL type with a BST on par with Alakazam
~ Whitney's Miltank is atrocious for all starters
~ The ENTIRE Ghost gym is poison types that are immune to your Normal coverage
~ Chuck is the weakest GL, so having an advantage against his ace doesn't matter
~ Jasmine's gym of Electric and Ground types sounds good on paper, until you realise that Steelix is weak to BOTH the other starters, so Meganium is the worst yet again.
~ Being SE against all Pryce's mons doesn't mean much when everything in the gym hits YOU super effectively
~ Team Rocket have migrated from having no type specialty (Ground types, Normal types, Fighting types, etc) to being Poison specialists
~ Dragon gym with Smokescreen. This fucks everyone.
~ Will has two Flying types, a Grass type and an Ice type.
~ Koga has all poison types except for Forretress - a Bug/Steel type.
~ Bruno is Bruno. He's a joke.
~ Karen packs a Vileplume, a Gengar, a Flying type and a Fire type.
~ Bird Keeper Lance. Now with a Charizard.
And in what region would Chikorita be good in? Hoenn? Kalos?
Scott what an amazing video! That was a fun one to watch!
I wonder if Venasuar could get even a faster time if you used solarbeam, sunndy day and synthesis together along with return. For parts of the Elite four.
Anyways, amazing content as always!
Everybody picks on Meganium but the cuteness of the whole line makes up for any shortcomings for me. Also that early level razor leaf was actually pretty good back in the day, many grass types never learned it or learned it at lvl 60 when the champ is only in the 40s. I'm doing a Nuzlocke of every gen and I'm at Crystal. The learnsets of grass types before gen 3 were abysmal! I ended up swapping out my Victreebel (spelling?) for a Miltank (very lucky catch!) because non resistent stomp was doing more damage than super effective, 10 pp vine whips. I can't believe kid me really thought Jumpluff and Paras were so powerful haha
38:25 not gonna lie, calling Venomoth a Poison type feels illegal
Great video as always, Scott!
Hot take: Meganium should have been grass/normal for stab body slam and ghost immunity for more viability
Definitely would’ve made it stand out more. Maybe typhlosion and feraligatr could’ve been part normal as well which would help with stab return
Or, Grass Fairy like many people are doing.
Grass/Dragon because it's a GD dinosaur.
Also a 4x weakness to ice because just dragon things.
I don't normally comment but I love these vs battles. They're much more interesting than your other content
Such a cool series. Didn't watch in release order so this was my second :) Really sweet idea!
I never cared if Meganium was good, I just like the pokemon.
i like the pokemon as well. It doesn't beat Venusaur, but i'm happy it good a decent time.
Let’s go Venosaur! Been my favorite starter since 1998 when I played blue on my gameboy. Also, the Entai encounter made me realize how much I look forward to seeing the legendary doggos compete!
Seven for everyone's exasperation at Scott insisting on sleep tactics for way too long. If you're drinking anything alcoholic while watching this, take a sip every time you think he should have changed tactics.
I hope typlosion doesn't let me down next time and had fun watching this vid you did a great job scott
Take a shot every time Scott refers to Meganium as a defensive beast
Game freak didn’t like grass at all. It wasn’t enough that all types used in the gyms either resisted or were neutral versus it. It wasn’t enough that there was no real good offensive grass move tm in Johto. But they had to make sure that only 2 mons in the league were weak to Grass… while 15 resisted. 15. Out of 26. Wow.
Unova is another example of hate on Grass types in both Black and White 1 and 2.
BW1: Burgh, Elesa's Emolgas, Skyla, Brycen, Drayden, Shauntal's Chandelure, Grimsley's Bisharp and his other Pokemon having coverage for Grass types, Caitlin's Sigilyph, N's Archeops, Vanilluxe, Flamethrower Zoroark, Klinklang, and if you are playing on White, Reshiram, Ghetsis's whole team except for Cofagrigus has coverage for Grass types. Seismitoad is an afterthought with Grass moves.
And, the absolute salt to the wound is Alder and his anti Grass army. Seriously. Accelgor, Sap Sipper Bouffalant, Vanilluxe, Escavalier, Druddigon, and the real Grass type killer of any kind: Volcarona.
BW2: Roxie, Burgh, Elesa's Emolga and Joltik in Challenge Mode, Skyla, Drayden, both Kyurem forms, especially Kyurem White, Ghetsis's Eelektross, Drapion, and Toxicroak, and Iris having a lot of ways to maul Grass types. Let's not forget to mention the fact that Team Plasma has Poison types like Weezing, Muk, and Golbat, on top of Zinzolin's Ice types and Shadow Triad's Bisharps.
Venusaur is Amazing. I always use leech seed / sleep powder or toxic strats. Also love you're content I think I've almost watched all your videos and I love your live streams. Zangoose vs seviper eventually
Awesome video! There is an error however at 38:32: Damage from bad poison doesn't double every turn, it increases by 1/16 of the afflicted Pokémon's health each turn, going from 1/16 to 2/16 to 3/16 etc.
I think the big struggle for the Chikorita line stems from the fact that Poisonpowder is in its movepool. I'm guessing most Pokemon players were sick of powder-spreading grass types by gen 2.
Combine this with the fact that three of its level up slots were dedicated to Reflect, Light Screen, and Safeguard in a period where competive was rather niche outside of Japan, and it's movepool was rather limited to Razor Leaf, Body Slam, Synthesis, and a random move (either Reflect or Earthquake depending on who was in the know).
As a result, Meganium kind of fell behind the more aggressive Typhlosion and Feraligatr. It had its fans, sure, but being the second flower dinosaur in a row that learned Poisonpowder and Solarbeam rather than Sleep Powder and a more distinctive Grass move means it got a lot of its personality from the anime which doesn't always translate into the games.
I'll gladly pick Chikorita as often as Cyndaquil or Totodile, but it really wasn't marketed well in the gen 2 games themselves besides to kids who watched the anime and loved Bayleef.
There's also the disadvantage of Wooper and Bellsprout being early route mons which made Cyndaquil appear much more distinct than its comrades.
Oh cool! Andrew Davis just did a Chicorita run yesterday. Looking forward to seeing this run tonight!
Fun fact: as a kid, I picked Chikorita because I remembered how great Bulbasaur was in the early game of Gen 1. *M A N* did the game make me pay for that choice. XD
Yeah, what a coincidence!
1:16:31 - uh, correct me if I am wrong, but a 1 hour 21 min time should put it in A-tier, not S-tier right? Probably right at the front but still there? Of course this is nothing against the Plant-Dino-Frog, I love my good boy, I am just asking as a matter of principle.
Edit: Aight so this gets addressed in the Typhlosion vs Charizard vid, neat.
*Gengar pounds Meganium to no effect as it synthesizes sunlight casually*
Meganium: I'll be with you in a moment, Sir.
This video was awesome! Thank you for making it! I knew Venasaur was gonna win but definitely not the way it actually did. That was very surprising! 😅
Very good video. I hope you will do a Blastoise VS Feraligatr comparison one day too :D
Meganium and Venosaur were giving their best in this versus video ,well done.👏👏👏
I'm glad that Meganium could get surprisingly good results in both the early game and in real time.
They both had similar issues when it came to the major walls they both had to face ,which are Lance, Red, Jasmine. But their level up moveset and hidden power let them almost breeze through these parts .
Venosaur had better moves in my opinion, in order to stall out tougher opponents,then Meganium had, but at least it could have body slam and earthquake in its moveset, which is really good.😊
I guess that once again, the secondary poison typing gives an edge to some certain pokemon.
I can't wait to see how Typhlosion and Charizard could do next,or in other words, is a secondary flying typing is going to give an edge to Charizard this time 🤔(even though Typhlosion has a lot of coverage to hundle most of Johto's major fights).
You’ve pitted my BOYS AGAINST EACH OTHER.
MY BOIIIIIIIIIS
My first game was Silver and my first pokemon was Chikorita. Since then it has been tradition to use the grass starter in all my 1st playthroughs. I LOVE Meganium AND Venusaur. SO HYPED
Did you know: Wobbuffet is the Patient Pokémon
As someone who appreciates Mrganium Ithink Venusaur's dual typing will be the difference and help it get through the game faster
Yes Venusaur won 🤘🏽🤙🏽
Also if you give your Pokémon a haircut it will help with friendship for your Return
I seen some ppl do that
I'm not surprised to see Venusaur win, but it was a pleasant surprise to see how well Meganium did.
Charizard vs Typhlosion is going to be interesting. They have the exact same stats, so it comes down to how beneficial Charizard's Flying typing is and how the small differences in moveset affect things. I think Typhlosion has the edge here just because it gets Thunder Punch, which will be invaluable against Water types. Though that might be less of s factor in the second playthrough, where they'll have access to Hidden Power. (Most likely HP Grass.)
I clicked on this just as it started without even realising
I think the Pokemon blue series without TMS will be so interesting, but I would equally want to watch a series where sleep is banned so that it doesn't become to go to strat as soon as a pokemon can learn a sleep move.
Can't wait to see how Scott's enthusiasm for Sleep fares when he eventually does Amoongus in Gen V.
At this point it’s pretty sus wouldn’t you say?
Thats assuming he does gen 5 at all, and i highly doubt it
@@TheGodIvy Maybe in 2030 we’ll get lucky.
Sleep is 1-3 Turns since Gen 5. So, Sleep tactics are not gonna be anywhere near strong as Gen 1 to 3.
People always hate on Meganium, but I’ve never had a problem with it. That being said, I’ll always prefer Venusaur and it’s nice seeing it get a win. Scott is no joke with secondary poison types
So, a thought I had while watching this and thinking about Pokemon that are generally good but walled by specific things: I think it'd be cool to, once you're pretty happy with your solo run tier list for a generation, do some duo runs where you use your usual rules but are allowed to use two Pokemon in battle, rather than one. Not sure how I'd implement gaining your second Pokemon - perhaps replace the earliest available gift/purchase Pokemon with it, so it's a solo run until you get there? Either way, I think it'd be cool to see how certain duos go in terms of fighting for the same pool of XP but being able to cover one another's weaknesses.
I remember playing Gold as a kid that even though the chikorita line was my least favorite of the six starter lines up to that point, but still choosing it in most of my playthroughs because I was CONVINCED your choice of starter dictated which legendary dog you could catch, and that if I wanted Entei (obviously the coolest Gen 2 mon you can get without owning a link cable), I'd have to resign myself to a slightly boring early game 😂
When you eventually get to Gligar, I think it would be neat if you did a "hypothetical" run using a romhack where Gligar can learn Mud-Slap to see how this much more blessed alternate universe compares to our tragic Mud-Slapless Gligar
Two great Grass types! Two favorites! Meganium is cuter, but Venusaur is so cool! And such an unexpected result! Honestly, I like the option of a defensive starter… Too bad it will never happen again. Very cool idea for playthroughs!
everyone else: "who would want a defense beast for a starter?"
me (who is in absolute love with drain/stall strats): "i am both satisfied and pleased"
Oooooh.
My non-existent money is on Venusaur. Better move spread, better stat spread, and psychic isn't as big a threat in this generation. But not as a major blowout, I think Meganium will probably be behind but not by a LOT.
Worse stat spread and less coverage although meganium didnt use it
@@wildresin6292 ???
@@JJ-qo7th how venusaur has better stats? Look at physical defenses. Venusaur is much less bulkier and has more weaknesses. On top meganium has much better movepool having ancient power in egg moves. It just wasnt used. Meganium was battling with better hand behind its back.
@@wildresin6292 Egg moves are not in play here. These are solo challenges based on getting them as your starter. Also, in solo play you usually want better attacking stats; the fewer turns it takes to knock your opponent out, the fewer attacks they make, the fewer chances they get to inflict status or critical moves.
That was a pretty awesome run between the two flowers
And after I saw that Meganium had Earthquake over Venesaur, I thought the toad would loose the run but color me impressed.
But I'm really excited for Charizard and Typhlosion, because they are almost the same Pokémon in stats and primary typings
"Before you self diagnose with depression, make sure that you are not just surrounded by a$$hole$" - Sigmund Freud alledgedly
Blue's Pidgeot, the first pokemon he ever caught, has 0 friendship? Brr, that's cold.
Ah Meganium, my favorite Johto starter if only by virtue that it was my first Johto starter.
Every time I hear 80 HP I hear ADHD and start thinking about Magenium with the zoomies
Always facing the true nemesis of the game. Birdkeeper Denis.
Quite the good runs. Especially seeing how well Meganium did as it made it into A tier. Seeing how normally its seen as bad. Scyther was definitely a problem with Cut. Synthesis would have been useful through the run.
Okay, so this video is _clearly_ unfair. It's judging which starter is better, but it only plays through them in gen 2! _Clearly_ we also need Venusaur vs Meganium challenge in Pokemon Yellow with Meganium backported! :V
edit: If I could make one change to Ice types, I'd have it only do like 75% more damage when super effective and not used by an Ice type, and improve STAB for Ice types by 25%. If the type is supposed to be one of glass cannons, with tons of weaknesses and very few resistances but many things it's super effective against then let's give a reason for someone to actually use the type itself instead of just using ice moves on non-ice pokemon to get almost all the advantages with none of the drawbacks.
sometimes I have a lucid moment and I'm like 'this is really mundane content' but I'm like 300 hours deep and continue accelerating
I always pick Meganium for Gen 2, so come on Grass Dinosaur!
This is the part where we throw our heads back and laugh!
But seriously though this feels like coughing baby vs nuclear bomb. XD
Venasaur was my very first "favorite" starter and first pokemon in generall and I really hoped the chikorita line would do justice to its legacy.
In the beginning I really loved the chikorita/meganium line, but after 2 failed attempts at beating the game I could no longer hold it in high esteem anymore.
Rip sweet flower dinosaur: You were forgotten by time, abondoned by game freak and shunned by the comunity.
Been looking forward to this one for a while 🍿 can meganium prove itself??
So I don't know for sure if this works in gen 2, but there's a bulbapedia entry that says if the hm is the first in the move slot, the daycare people will overwrite it with a new move. That might help Meganium, my favorite pokemon.
I’ll look into this.
I'm not sure if you know this Scott or if its been commented, but I'd argue the reason Grass is tough in Johto is due to it not being super effective against any gym or elite four members typing. Like, thanks Game Frick...
(Commenting before the end of playthrough 1 so I don't know if something comes up later that makes this a bad idea)
I think learning Safeguard over Razor Leaf on Meganium might have added a bit of consistency to the league. Slowbro and Aerodactyl are the only mons in the elite four that you'd really like to have razor leaf for, and with safeguard you can stop Koga from stalling you out with Toxic and Vileplume cutting your speed for the Houndoom.
I love that charizard was the hardest hurdle vs venasaur during the first play through
Great video. Just wondering, did you consider setting up reflect on Kakuna during the Bugsy fight to lower the damage of fury cutter on Scyther, or backtracking after Falkner to get the Pink Bow?
Since I seem to be the resident Pokemon Colosseum fanboy for the comments: Meganium actually fares really well in that game, probably better than Feraligatr from my experiences. Turns out 5 PP on Giga Drain and Synthesis doesn't really matter when the core battle system restores PP between rounds and makes Meganium really shine as an everlasting tank, especially combined with access to dual screens in a game focused on 2 v 2 battles.
I love Meganium and just got through watching the first playthrough. I was thinking about what Meganium has that Venusaur doesn't and i thibk i found the answer: Light Screen! Hoping Scott makes some use out of it in the second playthrough
Spoiler to the end.
Since Meganium's comparison was skipped:
Time 1:40:40 1:25:39
Resets 16 2
Level 75 73
IG Time 5:43 5:32
So the moral victory.
Not gonna lie, I like Meganium, I was expecting Venusaur to win but not the Sleep Powder to be that huge deal breaker. Shows how much Pokémon have evolved since during Will I was waiting Exeggutor to destroy Venusaur and then remembering 'yeah, which gen was it that introduced Grass being immune to Powder moves.'
But that's also a good thing in a sense that one move made enough diversity, making both Pokémon to feel to be their own despite of the similar stats and moves. Meganium was forced to be learned where as Venusaur was true to its RB design: the easy mode.
Again - moral victory.