Tag Archives: Pokemon X

Best Pokemon Games for a Ground Type Run

1 Reply

Image result for ground pokemon

Update 12/31/2019: This article now includes Sword and Shield

A top-tier Monotype Run (or Single Type) in Pokemon would be the Ground Type.  There are few types that have a better record in delivering solid team after solid team in the main line games.  Even going back to Pokemon Red and Blue you can craft a team that is sturdy and strong like its namesake.

What makes Ground Type such a fun run to do is the plentiful type combos that neutralize two of its three weaknesses (i.e., Water, Grass, Fire, Dragon, and Steel).  There are a lot of Water/Ground Pokemon while Steel and Dragon duos make a surprisingly strong showing in the later games.  Ironically, some of these duos trade these resistances for 4x weaknesses!  Once you have one of these combos you can pair it with another Pokemon and finish off the last weakness easily.

Only a few games have a poor Ground Type run so in this article, we’re going to cover which games are the very best for a Ground Type run and which Pokemon you should look out for.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to disregard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Mega Pokémon count as long as you Mega Evolve them as soon as they appear on the battlefield.
  6. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

Best Games
The Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, Alola, and Galar games all have very nice teams.  The Sun and Moon games you’ll have to wait a little while before your first Pokemon (Alolan Diglett) but it still has a nice set with Palossand being a great new addition.  I also like the “classic” feel in Pokemon Gold with Quagsire, the Nidos, and Gligar making a strong team.  Pokemon ORAS also gives a lot of a late game Ground diversity like Excadrill and it’s nice to have Mudkip right from the getgo.

Subjectively, the best games are probably Pokemon Platinum, Pokemon XY, and Pokemon SWSH.  This is thanks to their huge diversity, early availability and more importantly, Hippowdon!  We’ll talk about Hippowdon in a moment but this hippo makes Ground Type runs extra fun and extra sweet.  Hippowdon has Sand Stream which triggers a sandstorm, because of which you can easily use the Pokemon from these games to take advantage of the storm and go to town on your opponents.  It’s fun!

Worst Games
I would say Pokemon BW and B2W2 are probably the worst games in the series for a Ground Type Run.  In BW there are less than six unique Pokemon on your team and in B2W2 the first Pokemon you can catch is after the second gym. I should say though that all the BW games still neutralize their weaknesses despite the flaws.  The Kanto games are also just okay.  Sure the Nidos are there at the beginning to help you out but after that you have a lot of Ground/Rocks to train which compounds on your Water and Grass weaknesses.  It’s doable but be prepared for some headaches!

Ground Teams in Pokemon Games

Red/Blue/Yellow and FireRed/LeafGreen
Ideal Team: Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Rhydon, Onix, Dugtrio, Sandslash (Blue, LeafGreen, and Yellow)
Optional: Graveler
First Pokémon: Nidorans in Route 22
Covers weaknesses? No, Water and Ice are not neutralized.

Gold/Silver/Crystal and HeartGold/SoulSilver
Ideal Team: Quagsire, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Mammoswine/Piloswine, Gligar (G, HG)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Donphan (G, C, HG), Sandslash (G, C, HG or by slotmachines in S and SS)
First Pokémon: Geodude via the southern route of Route 46 before the first gym and in Crystal you can catch a Phanpy and Geodude on Route 46.
Via Pokewalker Geodude (Rugged Road in 0+ steps), Onix (Rugged Road in 4000+ steps or Dim Cave in 1000+ steps), the Nidorans (Refreshing Field in 500+ steps), and Wooper (Beautiful Beach in 0+ steps) are available.
Covers Weaknesses? Regardless of your version, all weaknesses are covered

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphrie
Ideal Team: Swampert, Rhydon, Flygon/Garchomp (ORAS), Krookodile (ORAS), Camerupt, Excadrill (ORAS)
Optional: Graveler, Donphan, Claydol, Whiscash/Seismitoad (ORAS)/Gastrodon (ORAS), Dugtrio (ORAS), Groudon (Ruby and OR)
First Pokémon: Mudkip via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
Ideal Team: Torterra, Hippowdon, Garchomp, Gastrodon/Quagsire/Whiscash, Gliscor (Platinum)/Steelix, Mammoswine (Platinum)
Optional: Graveler, Onix, Wormadam
First Pokémon: Turtwig via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes

Black/White and Black2/White2
BW Ideal Team: Excadrill, Seismitoad, Stunfisk, Krookodile, Golurk
First Pokémon: Drilbur via Wellspring Cave after first gym
Cover weaknesses?  Yes

B2W2 Ideal Team: Krookodile, Camerupt (W2)/Golurk, Flygon, Gliscor, Excadrill, Claydol
Optional: Sandslash, Onix
First Pokémon: Onix and Drilbur via Relic Passage (Castelia City side) after the second gym
Cover weaknesses? Yes

XY
Ideal Team: Hippowdon, Nidoqueen/Nidoking, Gliscor, Golurk, Steelix, Garchomp
Optional: Diggersby, Marowak, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Quagsire, Graveler, Stunfisk, Whiscash, Mamoswine, Sandslash, Krookodile, Wormadam
First Pokémon: Bunnelby via Route 2, before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and you can even interchange some of these pokemon and still cover weaknesses fine.

Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon
SM Ideal Team: Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Mamoswine (scan), Palossand, Krookodile, Garchomp
Optional: Mudsdale, Flygon, Rhydon (scan),
First Pokémon: Diglett in Verdant Cavern after completion of first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

USUM Ideal Team: Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Mamoswine (scan), Palossand, Krookodile, Garchomp
Optional: Mudsdale, Flygon, Rhydon (scan), Claydol (UM), Golurk (US), Swampert (scan), Torterra (scan), Onix (scan)
First Pokémon: Diglett in Verdant Cavern after completion of first trial
Cover weaknesses? Yes

Sword/Shield
Ideal Team: Flygon, Hippowdon, Golurk, Gastrodon, Excadrill, Sandaconda
Optional: Diggersby, Mudsdale, Onix, Whiscash, Steelix, Quagsire, Runerigus, Seismitoad, Rhyperior (Raid), Dugtrio, Claydol, Stunfisk, Mamoswine
First Pokémon:  In the Rolling Fields, you will find Bunnelby in the overworld in every weather except Snowstorm and Thunderstorm; additionally, you will always find them by random encounter.  You can also find Nincada, Mudbray, Baltoy, Golett, and Diggersby in random encounters throughout the Wild Area.  They are most common in Sandstorms and Intense Sun (although Sandstorms won’t be unlocked until after the third gym).  Look for Swinub when it’s Snowing, Barboach fishing in South Lake Miloch, and Tympole and Wooper in West Lake Axewell.  You can also find Ground Pokemon for Den 16/52 in Rolling Fields for Max Raid Battles including the aforementioned Pokemon as well as Diglett and Yamask.  There’s also a chance to find a Trapinch by Max Raid battles in Rolling Fields.  This is before the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

MVP (Most Valuable Pokemon)

Image result for gastrodon
Water/Ground Pokemon

The Water/Ground combo is one of the best type duos in Pokemon.  Ground’s immunity to Electric attacks and Water’s resistances to itself and Ice make it an acceptable addition to any team.  Water/Ground Pokemon are also quite common and are available pre-Elite Four in every game after Pokemon Yellow except FRLG and B2W2.  I just love these guys in general.  They have a great move diversity and they have some fantastic abilities like Gastrodon’s Storm Drain and Quagsire’s Water Absorb (which further nullify that Water weakness).

Your big issue is that 4x weakness to Grass attacks.  THANKFULLY, and surprisingly, every Pokemon game has a Ground type that neutralizes its Grass weakness.  Whether it’s a Nidoran, Gliscor, or Excadrill, you’ll find a Pokemon that can cover your bases.

Available in: All games except Pokemon RBY, FRLG, B2W2

Image result for torterraImage result for swampert

Torterra and Swampert

A lot of starters evolve into dual types and thankfully, you’ll have a few games with a Ground-based starter.  Enter Mudkip and Turtwig.  Both starters hail from vastly different regions but evolve into your Ground Pokemon.  They also give you handy resistances to a couple of your weaknesses.  Of the two, Torterra seems to get the short end of the stick as there are a lot of weaknesses to watch out for but it makes up for it with its sweet design and recovery moves.  If you have ORAS, you can mega evolve your Swampert which is a nice bonus.  It’s also great that both of these starters are in games with diverse Ground Pokemon so you took your first easy step for your fantastic Ground team!  For you USUM players, use Island Scan and find these respective Pokemon in your game.  How’s that for awesome sauce?

Available in: Pokemon RSE, DPP, ORAS, and USUM (Island Scan)

Trapinch artwork by Ken SugimoriGible artwork by Ken Sugimori

Ground/Dragon Pokemon

Starting in Generation 3 onwards you can find a Ground/Dragon Pokemon in every main series game except FRLG, HGSS, and BW (a track record only exceeded by Ground/Water).  Although the 4x weakness to Ice stinks, the resistances to Fire and neutralization of Water and Grass are appreciated.  Flygon’s Levitate and Garchomp’s Sand Veil are both useful abilities for your team.  Garchomp is also the strongest, non-Legendary, non-Mega, Ground Pokemon so you’ll have the powerhouse on your team.

The real reason why they should be on your team though is there incredible move diversity, especially for move tutoring and TMs.  They can learn at least a dozen strong moves from different types ranging from Crunch to Flamethrower, from Bug Buzz to Shadow Claw, and from Thunderpunch to Steel Wing.  This is essential for your team!  You may be packing a lot of Rock, Steel, and Fighting moves but you’ll be severely lacking in other categories.  Definitely get one of these two.  They’re awesome.

However, besides the 4x Ice weakness, the two other major issues with these guys are their mid to late game availability and their evolution delay.  You’ll be waiting quite awhile before you get some good moves so expect to carry these guys and babysit them for awhile.

Available in: RSE (Flygon), DPP (Garchomp), B2W2 (Flygon), XY (Flygon and Garchomp), SM (Garchomp), USUM (Garchomp and Flygon), and SWSH (Flygon)

Image result for hippowdon

Hippowdon

I’m highly bias towards Hippowdon so take this entry for what you will but I think this beautiful creature is a very important member in any Ground team.  Sand Stream automatically generates a Sandstorm upon battle entry and, if you’re playing before Generation 6, will go on forever until it’s changed for a different weather.  As such, you can incorporate many Ground Pokemon’s abilities that rely on Sandstorm into your team very nicely!  Garchomp and Gliscor have Sand Veil, and Excadrill has Sand Force and Sand Rush.  Sandstorm’s boost towards Rock’s defenses makes it appealing and you can whittle down your opponent’s teams!

Hippowdon does fantastically well as a tank, I have trained one several times in competitive teams for this reason alone.  Teach it Roar and combine it with Stealth Rock via TM in Gen 4 and you have an annoying beast!  Crunch and a STAB Earthquake rounds things off well with your Pokemon.  Hippowdon is also among the strongest Ground Pokemon so it’s going to be pulling its weight well.

Hippowdon does suffer from relatively low game occurrences so the chances of you running into one are unfortunately slim.  Hippowdon additionally suffers from low movepool diversity.  This is not surprising given its monotype nature.  Speaking of which, Hippowdon can’t bestow any additional resistances or immunities to your team so the other members will have to pick up the slack.

But come on, Sand Stream, it more than makes up for it.

Available in: DPP, XY, SWSH

Steelix artwork by Ken SugimoriExcadrill artwork by Ken SugimoriImage result for alolan dugtrio

Ground/Steel Pokemon

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that I placed the Steel type on this list.  They are super defensive and eliminate Ground’s two of three weaknesses without trading it with a 4x weakness.  They are also very common in the later games so expect to find one from Generation 6 and on.  You can even catch Steelix in some of those games!  You don’t need another game to trade an Onix with a Steel Coat, you can get one yourself!  I find this very curious but I’m not complaining!  Alolan Diglet is also among the first Ground Pokemon you can get in the Sun and Moon games so you’re starting strong with a fast attacker.

They’re all nice in their own way.  Excadrill is probably the MVP of the three due to its sandstorm-related abilities and really powerful attack.  The main thing that’s holding all three of them back would be their limited movepool.  Mainly Fighting, Dark, Ground, Rock, and Steel moves.  Which is not bad but a lot of other Ground Pokemon can learn them.  If you have a Steelix for Sword and Shield teach it Body Press as it has a maaaaaaaaasive Defense stat and can use the move extremely well!

Available in: DPP (Steelix), BW and B2W2 (Excadrill), XY (Excadrill and Steelix), ORAS (Excadrill), SM and USUM (Dugtrio), SWSH (Steelix, Stunfisk, Excadrill)

Image result for Nidoking and nidoqueen

Nidoqueen and Nidoking

Bless these rabbit-like, therapsids, for they are glorious and fun to train.  Besides the obvious neutralization of Grass weakness, the Nidos are fantastic as they are among the best Ground Pokemon for move diversity, rivaled only by the likes of Garchomp, Flygon, and Golurk.  They also have decent Special Attack stats, something that other Ground Pokemon lack, and thus are equipped for that Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, or Flamethrower you have prepared for them.  Of course, a Poison STAB means you can handle your Grass Pokemon well (and it pairs nicely with Quagsire in the Johto games) (and don’t forget about Nidoking’s Megahorn too!).

Your biggest drawback is their rarity which almost kicked them off this list.  Although the Nidos save the Kanto games from being almost unplayable for a Ground Type Run, they don’t make many other appearances.  Thankfully, GSC and especially XY are great Ground Type runs and its partially thanks for their inclusions.  Depending on your game, you may additionally have trouble finding a Moon Rock to evolve your respective Nidoran so be prepared for that.

Available in: RBY, GSC, FRLG, HGSS, XY

Image result for krookodile

Krookodile

Krookodile has one of the highest occurrences of Ground Type Pokemon which is the biggest reason it’s on this list.  It’s also here because of its strength and diversity.  Besides it’s own STAB moves, it can learn strong Dragon, Fighting, Water, Ghost, and Poison moves giving it diversity that other Ground Pokemon lack.  It’s Intimidate and Moxie abilities are also top notch and sets itself well for a great revenge killer or wall.  Although that Dark pairing won’t save your team from any weaknesses, it’s still nice to have especially when you have to deal with Psychics or Ghosts.

Available in: BW, B2W2, ORAS, XY, SM, and USUM

Advertisement

Best Monotype Runs for Pokemon X and Y

10 Replies

If I may be frank, Pokémon X and Y are among the best (if not the best) games to do a Monotype (or Single Type) Run.  Pick almost any type and you’re guaranteed a fantastic time, even Ice and Dragon are doable to a degree.  With over 400 Pokemon available in these games lot of types neutralize their weaknesses and can be caught before the first gym.  So what would your team look like? Let’s take a look but first…

Rules

  1.   You can only catch and train Pokémon of a certain type.  Once you capture your first Pokemon of that type, disregard any previous Pokemon on your team.
  2.   If a Pokémon evolves to said type you may train it but evolve it ASAP.
  3.   No trading allowed
  4.   If a Pokémon changes to said type via Mega Evolution you are allowed to train it provided you Mega evolve it every time.
  5.   Only Pokémon caught before the Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Best Types

To give a cop-out answer, almost all the types in these games are great for a Monotype Run.  I’m serious, pick a type and you’re bound to have a good time.  But what if you want the very best? In my opinion, the best of the best are Flying, Water, and Fighting.  What these three types have in common are high diversity of strong Pokemon.  You can have multiple variations of each type and easily cover their weaknesses.  The hardest thing about their runs is picking your final six. I myself did a Fighting Run recently and it was tough for me to narrow it down.  You have Chesnaught, Lucario, Toxicroak, Hawlucha, and so forth who can give you a great diversity of moves. Water Pokemon can give you a healthy team for role diversity in terms of defense, support, and attack (and Greninja is always nice).  Flying Type also has a lot of gems, most notably Gliscor, Charizard, and Honchkrow. All of these types are available very early and consistently give you new Pokemon to play with as you progress.

The Worst Types


Like I said before, even the “worst” types in the game are still not bad, especially compared to the other games.  But the worst would probably be Rock as it’s available relatively late compared to the other types.  The first pokemon you can catch, Dwebble and Binnacle, are available shortly before you get to the second gym.  Still though, this may be one of the best Rock Type runs in Pokemon due to the sheer abundance and diversity of them.  You neutralize your weaknesses right off the bat thanks to the aforementioned Dwebble and Binnacle! So how about that?  Also, when you arrive to Glittering Cave, shortly afterwards, you can catch a Solrock, Lunatone, Onix, and a Rhyhorn! So you go from drought to deluge in almost an instant!  Also, you can’t go wrong with Tyrantrum.

Dragon, Ice, Ghost, and Fire would be the other subpar types in these games but still, not too bad.  For Dragon Pokemon, you get your first Pokemon, whether a Charmander or Axew, after the first gym and you have some weaknesses to watch out for.  Still, this is a pretty solid team. Hydreigon, Garchomp, potentially Mega-Charizard X and Dragalge, and others give you a nice solid, strong team to fight with!  Fire Pokemon also have weaknesses to Rock and, for Y, Water but at least you have Fennekin as your starter so you can play Fire right from the get go.

Ice Pokemon have all their weaknesses covered which is a shock, but your first Pokemon, Eevee, won’t be acquired until after your first gym.  The same goes for Ghost Pokemon who are also available after the first gym but have their weaknesses covered. On Route 6 you can catch a Nincada and a Honedge at the same time which is nice.

Type Teams

Bug
Ideal Team: Vespiquen/Yanmega, Shedinja, Scolipede, Crustle, Heracross (Y), Durant
Optional: Beedrill, Butterfree, Viviilon, Ninjask, Masquerain, Pinsir (X), Shuckle, Scyther, Wormadam and its various forms, Mothim
First Pokémon: Scatterbug via Route 2 and Weedle (X)/Caterpie (Y) for Route 2 as well but you can catch them both in both versions at Santalune Forest.
Weaknesses Covered?  Regardless of versions, you’re good!

Dark
Ideal Team: Greninja, Pangoro/Scrafty, Malamar, Honchkrow, Houndoom (X)/Bisharp, Drapion/Skuntank
Optional: Crawdaunt, Sharpedo, Absol, Umbreon, Sableye, Liepard (Y)/Mightyena (X), Krookodile, Weavile, Tyranitar (Y), Hydreigon, Zoroark
First Pokémon: Froakie via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Dragon
Ideal Team: Goodra, Dragonite, Mega Charizard X (X)/Dragalge (Y), Tyrantrum, Garchomp, Hydreigon
Optional: Flygon, Noivern, Haxorus, Salamence, Altaria, Druddigon, Mega-Ampharos
First Pokémon: Axew via Connecting Cave after the first gym or Charmander in Lumiose City after the first gym for Pokémon X.
Weaknesses Covered? No, X is weak to Dragon.  Y is weak to Dragon and Ice.

Electric
Ideal Team: Heliolisk, Lanturn, Rotom, Magnezone, Mega-Ampharos, Stunfisk
Optional: Manectric (Y), Jolteon, Pachirisu, Raichu, Emolga, Dedenne, Electrode, all the other Rotom forms
First Pokémon: Pikachu via Santalune Forest, before 1st gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Fairy
Ideal Team: Azumarill, Gardevoir, Wigglytuff, Dedenne, Mawile, Granbull
Optional: Aromatisse (Y)/Slurpuff (X), Sylveon, Mr. Mime, Carbink, Klefki, Florges
First Pokémon: Azurill via Route 3 before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Fighting
Ideal Team: Chesnaught, Lucario, Gallade, Pangoro/Scrafty, Toxicroak, Hawlucha
Optional: Medicham, Mienshao, Machoke, Hariyama, Throh (Y)/Sawk (X), Heracross (Y), Poliwrath, Gurdurr
First Pokémon: Chespin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Fire
Ideal Team: Delphox, Talonflame, Charizard, Pyroar, Houndoom (X), Chandelure
Optional: Simisear, Flareon, Magcargo, Torkoal, Heat Rotom
First Pokémon: Fennekin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? No, in Pokemon X, Rock is not neutralized.  In Pokemon Y, Water and Rock are not neutralized.

Flying
Ideal Team: Talonflame/Charizard, Gyarados, Gliscor, Salamence/Dragonite, Aerodactyl, Honchkrow
Optional: Ninjask, Mothim, Butterfree, Swanna, Pelipper, Swellow, Vivillon, Jumpluff, Swoobat, Crobat, Drifblim, Emolga, Hawlucha, Sigilyph, Staraptor, Mantine, Fan Rotom, Skarmory, Noivern, Pidgeot, Altaria, Scyther, Yanmega, Delibird
First Pokémon: Pidgey, Scatterbug, and Fletchling via Route 2
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and in more ways than one.  You can have several different team matchups and still have your bases covered.

Ghost
Ideal Team: Shedinja, Aegislash, Rotom, Golurk, Sableye, Chandelure
Optional: Haunter, Phantump/Pumpkaboo, Drifblim, Banette
First Pokémon: Nincada and Honedge via Route 6 after the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Grass
Ideal Team: Chesnaught, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Exeggutor, Ludicolo, Mow Rotom
Optional: Wormadam, Simisage, Roserade, Gogoat, Vileplume, Bellossom, Jumpluff, Leafeon, Victreebel, Carnivine, Amoonguss, Phantump/Pumpkaboo, Abomasnow
First Pokémon: Chespin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Ground
Ideal Team: Hippowdon, Nidoqueen/Nidoking, Gliscor, Golurk, Steelix, Garchomp
Optional: Diggersby, Marowak, Dugtrio, Rhydon, Quagsire, Graveler, Stunfisk, Whiscash, Mamoswine, Sandslash, Krookodile, Wormadam
First Pokémon: Bunnelby via Route 2, before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and you can even interchange some of these pokemon and still cover weaknesses fine.

Ice
Ideal Team: Aurorus, Frost Rotom, Cloyster (Y)/Lapras, Mamoswine, Jynx, Abomasnow
Optional: Glaceon, Beartic, Avalugg, Weavile, Vanilluxe, Delibird, Cryogonal
First Pokémon:  Eevee via Trade in Camphrier Town after the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Normal
Ideal Team: Snorlax, Pidgeot, Tauros/Miltank, Pyroar, Heliolisk, Wigglytuff
Optional: Diggersby, Linoone, Swellow, Staraptor, Dodrio, Dunsparce, Delcatty, Farfetch’d, Furfrou, Furret, Audino, Smeargle, Kecleon, Exploud, Zangoose, Bibarel, Fearow, Watchog, Chatot, Noctowl, Kangaskhan, Spinda, Ursaring, Lickilicki, Ditto
First Pokémon: Bunnelby, Fletchling, Zigzagoon, and Pidgey via Route 2, before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Poison
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Nidoking/Nidoqueen, Drapion/Skuntank, Scolipede, Toxicroak, Dragalge (Y)/Tentacruel
Optional: Beedrill, Roserade, Vileplume, Swalot, Crobat, Seviper, Haunter, Arbok, Amoonguss, Garbodor, Ariados, Qwilfish
First Pokémon: Weedle via Route 2 in X or Santalune Forest in Y.  Both before the first gym
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Psychic
Ideal Team: Delphox, Gardevoir, Gallade, Malamar, Slowbro, Sigilyph
Optional: Kadabra, Meowstic, Medicham, Grumpig, Lunatone, Solrock, Swoobat, Espeon, Chimecho, Mr. Mime, Wobbuffet, Reuniclus, Exeggutor, Jynx, Gothitelle, Starmie (X)
First Pokémon: Fennekin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Rock
Ideal Team: Tyrantrum, Barbaracle, Crustle, Aerodactyl, Probopass/Aggron (X), Tyranitar (Y)/Lunatone
Optional: Solrock, Aurorus, Relicanth, Rhydon, Onix, Boldore, Carbink, Corsola, Graveler, Magcargo, Shuckle, Sudowoodo
First Pokémon: Dwebble and Binacle via Rock Smash in Ambrette Town.  This is well into the game but is still before the second gym. Get the Rock Smash TM from the girl outside of the Aquarium.  You can then get Rhyhorn, Onix, Solrock, and Lunatone almost immediately afterwards in Glittering Cave with the fossils following shortly afterwards.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Steel
Ideal Team: Lucario, Probopass/Aggron (X), Aegislash, Mawile, Ferrothorn, Durant
Optional: Wormadam, Klefki, Bisharp, Magnezone, Skarmory, Steelix
First Pokémon: Burmy via Route 3, before the first gym.  Don’t worry, you’ll get a Riolu soon after via Route 22, also before the first gym.
Weaknesses Covered? Yes and in more ways than one. Ground is covered by Ferrothorn, Durant, and Skarmory.  Fire by Probopass/Aggron. Fighting by Mawile, Durant, Wormadam, and Skarmory.

Water
Ideal Team: Greninja, Clawitzer (X)/Cloyster (Y), Gyarados, Slowbro, Quagsire, Ludicolo
Optional: Simipour, Bibarel, Crawdaunt, Seaking, Sharpedo, Golduck, Blastoise, Pelipper, Swanna, Wailord, Tentacruel, Starmie (X), Qwilfish, Lapras, Seadra, Relicanth, Vaporeon, Mantine, Octillery, Lanturn, Corsola, Gorebyss, Huntail, Alomomola, Whiscash, Poliwrath, Floatzel, Barbaracle, Azumarill, Wash Rotom
First Pokémon: Froakie via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes, and in more ways than one, you can interchange some of these pokemon for others and still be fine.

The Best Pokemon Games for a Grass Type Run

Leave a reply

Update 12/28/2019: This article now includes Sword and Shield.

If you’re looking for a challenging but doable Monotype (or Single Type) Run in Pokémon let me suggest the Grass type. Unlike Ice, Dragon, and other difficult types, Grass Pokémon are (most of the time) available at the game’s beginning due to your starter. As such, you have a companion you can rely on for the entirety of your game regardless of team size or diversity. However, you will have to overcome difficult feats like low movepool and dual-type diversity and a large amount of weaknesses. These difficult feats make Grass a challenging but not impossible run to do. So which games are the best for a Grass type Run? Let’s find out.

Rules

  1. Only Pokémon of a certain type may be caught and trained.
  2. You must catch the first Pokémon available of that type if your starter does not match that type (you’ll then have to disregard that starter).
  3. You may train a Pokémon that evolves to said type as long as you do it ASAP.
  4. No out-of-game trading allowed.
  5. Mega Pokémon count as long as you Mega Evolve them as soon as they appear on the battlefield.
  6. Only Pokémon caught before Elite Four are counted.

Monotype Chart Version 2.03

The Best Games

The good news is that most of the series’ games will give you a full team of Grass types with the bad news being not all of them will cover your weaknesses. But for you die hard fans I recommend looking at Pokémon Sapphire, Emerald, X, Y, AlphaSapphire, and Shield thanks primarily to this beautiful Pokémon right here.

Yep, Ludicolo’s Grass/Water makes him a valuable Pokémon. I’ll go into Ludicolo later but for now understand that if you want a slick Grass type run, find a game that has this dancing Pokémon in it. If this doesn’t bother you, however, consider Ruby, Omega Ruby, Sword, and any of the Sun/Moon games as they have reasonable diversity with some fun Pokémon.

Given the choice I would choose XY as you have a lot of beautiful Pokémon working together. Your starter Chesnaught gives you a strong fighter and learns Rock Slide to handle Bug Pokémon. Mega Venusaur’s Thick Fat ability neutralizes Fire and Ice weaknesses so if you don’t want Ludicolo then you’re fine. I’d still push for Ludicolo as it can learn Ice Beam which is rare among Grass types (and of course Surf takes care of your Fire Pokémon). Exeggutor and Trevenant learn some unique moves featuring Psychic and Ghost which further aid your run. Finally, Ferrothorn rounds off our team by being a wall and shutting down the like of Ice, Flying, and Poison types. If you’re really worried about Flying Pokémon then get a Mow Rotom and zap them down. These Pokémon (and more) are spread nicely throughout the game you have decent progression of your team.

Worst Games

The worst game in the franchise for a Grass type run is probably Pokémon Yellow, Bulbasaur is not a starter and you can get him only right before the second gym (at least in Pokémon Let’s Go you can get a Bulbasaur in Viridian Forest which is leagues better). Even then the Kanto games are not the best as your dealing with a less-than-full team with half of your team being Grass/Poison which is pretty bad considering Psychics reign supreme in those games.

Grass Teams in Pokemon Games

Red/Blue/Yellow and FireRed/LeafGreen
Ideal Team: Venusaur, Exeggutor, Vileplume (Red, FireRed, Yellow), Victreebel (Blue, LeafGreen, Yellow), Parasect, Tangela
First Pokémon: Bulbasaur via starter or Paras via Mt. Moon in Yellow
Covers weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, or Fire not neutralized.

Gold/Silver/Crystal and HeartGold/SoulSilver
Ideal Team: Meganium, Jumpluff, Victreebel/Vileplume, Exeggutor, Parasect, Tangela/Tangrowth
First Pokémon: Chikorita via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Flying, Ice, and Fire are not neutralized.

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and ORAS
Ideal Team: Sceptile, Brleoom, Shiftry (R, E, OR)/Cacturne, Roserade/Roselia (R, S, ORAS)/Vileplume, Ludicolo (S, E, AS), Cradily
Optional: Tropius, Trevanant (ORAS), Leafeon (ORAS), Sawsbuck (ORAS), Whimsicott (ORAS), Parasect (ORAS), Tangrowth (ORAS), Sunflora (ORAS), Cherrim (ORAS), Lilligant (ORAS), Maractus (ORAS)
First Pokémon: Treecko via starter
Covers Weaknesses? Yes for Sapphire, Emerald, and AlphaSapphire. In other versions, Ice is not neutralized. 

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
Ideal Team: Torterra, Roserade, Wormadam, Abomasnow, Leafeon (Platinum), Tropius (Platinum)
Optional: Carnivine
First Pokémon: Turtwig via starter
Covers Weaknesses? No, Fire and Flying not covered

Black/White and Black2/White2
BW Ideal Team: Serperior, Ferrothorn, Virizion, Leavanny, Amoongus, Sawsbuck
Optional: Maractus, Lilligant, Whimsicott, Simisage
First Pokemon: Snivy via Starter
Cover weaknesses?   No, Fire is not neutralized

B2W2 Ideal Team: Serperior, Leavanny, Virizion, Roserade, Sawsbuck, Ferrothorn
Optional: Sunflora, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Simisage, Amoongus, Tangrowth, Maractus, Leafeon
First Pokémon: Snivy via starter
Cover weaknesses? No, Fire is not neutralized

XY
Ideal Team: Chesnaught, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, Exeggutor, Ludicolo, Mow Rotom
Optional: Wormadam, Simisage, Roserade, Gogoat, Vileplume, Bellossom, Jumpluff, Leafeon, Victreebel, Carnivine, Amoonguss, Phantump/Pumpkaboo, Abomasnow
First Pokémon: Chespin via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon
SM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Whimsicott (Sun)/Shiinotic, Exeggutor, Roserade (scan), Dhelmise, Serperior (scan)
Optional: Victreebel (scan), Meganium (scan), Parasect, Leafeon, Trevenant
First Pokémon: Rowlet via Starter
Cover weaknesses? No, in Sun and Moon, Grass is weak to Flying and Ice

USUM Ideal Team: Decidueye, Whimsicott (US)/Shiinotic, Torterra (scan), Exeggutor, Venusaur (scan), Cradily (UM)/Chesnaught (scan)
Optional: Sceptile (scan), Dhelmise, Tropius, Parasect, Leafeon, Trevenant
First Pokémon: Rowlet via Starter
Cover weaknesses? No, In Ultra Sun, Grass is weak to Flying and Ice. In Ultra Moon, Grass is weak to Ice.

Sword/Shield
Ideal Team: Rillaboom, Ludicolo (Shield)/Dhelmise, Flapple (Sword)/Appletun (Shield), Roserade, Ferrothorn, Mow Rotom
Optional: Vileplume, Gourgeist, Cherrim, Shiftry (Sword), Eldegoss, Whimsicott, Shiinotic, Bellossom, Trevanant (Raid), Leafeon, Tsareena, Abomasnow, Maractus
First Pokémon: Grooky via Starter
Weaknesses Covered? Yes

MVP (Most Valuable Pokémon)

Your Starter

Duh! This is the Pokémon you’ll be hanging out with for all of the game! Doesn’t matter who, you’ll want to take your starter to the Elite Four as they all have great stats. Quite a few of them even have dual typing which further expands their moveset and can counter common weaknesses. Mega Sceptile neutralizes Fire moves (at the cost of 4x weakness to Ice) and Mega Venusaur neutralizes Fire and Ice moves. Torterra can learn Rock and Ground moves while Deceidueye gives you some sweet Ghost moves. Serperior has the rare Coil move which can make it a tank. Meganium is probably the worse out of the bunch but at least you can teach it Earthquake.

Available in: All the games

Ludicolo

As mentioned before, if you want to cover all your Grass’ weaknesses you’ll likely need this pineapple Pokémon.  Ludicolo has okay stats but is boosted by a decent movepool selection. Besides its Water moves it can also learn Ice Beam, Zen Headbutt, and Focus Blast countering the likes of Flying, Poison, and Ice Types (along a host of other Pokémon). If you’re up for it, you can also run a Rain Dance set on it due to its rain abilities (and dampening Fire type’s super effectiveness).

Available In: Sapphire, Emerald, X, Y, AlphaSapphire, Shield

Grass/Poison Pokémon

The dual Grass/Poison combo is the third most common dual type combo and is available in every game. This commonality means you are guaranteed to neutralize Bug and Poison moves. Unfortunately, a Grass/Poison Pokémon for a Grass team is kind of meh due to said abundance and a glaring weakness to Psychic moves. But a lot of these guys can learn Earthquake so it’s not all bad.

Available in: All games

250px-598Ferrothorn

Ferrothorn

Generally speaking, when you do a Monotype run of any type, you’ll want your type paired up with Steel and man is this a fantastic combo! Steel neutralizes Grass’ Poison, Bug, and Flying weaknesses while the favor’s return by neutralizing Ground. I need to doubly stress that Flying weakness as there are very few Grass Pokémon that can do that. Ferrothorn is a fantastic wall thanks to its high Defense and Sp Defense and Iron Barbs ability. Although you won’t get any Spikes or Stealth Rock via leveling up you’ll still have some great Steel moves. Ferrothorn’s biggest flaw might be its lack of move diversity (despite it defending your team against the birds, it doesn’t learn any strong Rock moves to use against them unlike our next candidate…).

Available in: Black/White/B2W2, XY, Sword and Shield

Cradily

Your other major counter against the birds will be Cradily who can actually learn Rock moves but you’ll have to use a TM like Rock Tomb or Rock Slide, bleh! But! At the same time it can learn TM Earthquake! This means Cradily is effective against the like of Fire Pokémon which is quite impressive. However, Cradily suffers from its horrendous speed, its lackluster ability, and a hit-or-miss availability.

Available in: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, ORAS, X, and USUM

Image result for alolan exeggutor

Alolan Exeggutor

By itself, Exeggutor is a fine Pokemon but the real star is its Alolan form.  Alolan Exeggutor boosts the move diversity to a respectable degree.  It’s one of the few Grass types that can learn Flamethrower, which is baller, and it can learn Dragon Hammer which is very rare and can only be learned from A. Exeggutor and Tropius (via breeding).  The Dragon typing it not bad either as it neutralizes the Fire Weakness (but watch out for Ice!).  This neutrality to Fire means you can teach A. Exeggutor Earthquake and go to town against hot opponents.  Also, why wouldn’t you train one?  They’re hilarious!

Available in: SM and USUM, and Let’s Go

Mow Rotom

There’s one more Grass Pokémon that resists Flying moves and it’s one I’m sure you may have forgotten! In its base form, Rotom is Ghost/Electric but after Generation 5, its forms change it to different types. Mow Rotom thus is the only Grass/Electric type out there and it’s strange. You got Levitate, some weird resistances here and there, but most importantly you got Thunderbolt. It’s very rare for a Grass Pokemon to learn an Electric move which is why Mow Rotom deserves to be on this list.  Additionally, the form Rotoms are much stronger than regular Rotom and you get a Pokémon with great Defense, Sp. Attack, and Sp. Defense. Now, it’s going to be a pain to get this Rotom but if you love this Pokémon, then it will be worth it!

Available in: XY, Sword and Shield