For those of you who are excited to start your Pokemon Legends: Z-A journey, you should best prepare to decide on who your starter is going to be. The 9th mainline entry has provided three options to choose from: Chikorita, Totodile, and Tepig.
While one of them is clearly not like the others, which I still question Game Freak about to this day, they're all meant to have the abilities to help you become the best trainer in Lumiose City. However, I disagree regarding Chikorita.
As adorable as Chikorita may be, I'd rather pick the other two. But some of you, especially fans of the cute Grass-type starter, would wonder why. What is it about the Pokemon that is so bad that I believe you should actively avoid choosing it?
To begin with, it has the most weaknesses among the three. When it comes to battles in Pokemon Legends Z-A or those from other mainline entries, taking advantage of what an opponent is weak against can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Chikorita has five different types that it's bad against, namely Fire, Ice, Poison, Flying, and Bug. This is thanks to it being a mono Grass type, and it will stay that way even when it turns into a Meganium. So what this means is that from the beginning until the end, it will have a lot of unfavorable matchups, which is never something you'd want from a Pokemon.
There is the possibility that its Mega Evolution could potentially give it another typing, but doing so means wasting the gimmick on a bad Pokemon, rather than using it on one that's good and making it even more powerful. Besides, even if you did give it an extra advantage, it won't solve its other problem: being bad at what it's meant to do.
Chikorita should turn into a tanky Grass type that can wear down opponents as soon as it evolves into Meganium. However, due to its abysmal move pool and lackluster stats, it cannot even serve its purpose. I have tried making the Pokemon work during my playthroughs of past entries, but due to its limitations, I was never able to, and always ended up replacing it with better Grass types.
There is the possibility that Pokemon Legends: Z-A fixed some of the weaknesses of Chikorita, potentially giving it better stats, but that still won't stop it from being a liability rather than an asset. You'd be much better off going for another Grass type that plays a similar role, as it's likely to do a much better job.
Having Chikorita as a starter option is one of the biggest questions I have when it comes to Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but one that I will have to live with. Given the information I provided, I will actively avoid choosing it from my journey, and I hope that others will as well, for their benefit. Because if they or you decide to pick it, then prepare for a gameplay experience that could have been so much better.
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