How I Would Fix Chikorita in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

[@taylorchesser8990]

"Base stats are reflective of a Pokemon's design" Yeah, tell that to Ledian. Boxing gloves for hands, a physically-weighted movepool and the Iron Fist ability, but it's worst stat is an attack of 35. Definitely a cool idea though, and I like that you actually put it into practice

[@cuit-real]

Or Onix having 35 hp and 45 attack

[@1stCallipostle]

​@@cuit-real at least that's an NFE pokemon. It wasn't always, sure. But gen 1 producing garbage (usability wise) is expected

[@bongosmcdongos4190]

Aren't early game bugs supposed to suck? They evolve early, and are great early game bc of it. Then mid game you swap them out.

[@jacoosacoon118]

​@@bongosmcdongos4190Ledian is awful early, mid, and late game though 😂

[@IanColquitt]

​@@bongosmcdongos4190Ledian is not the same as dustox, butterfree, beautifly, etc. Those pokemon actually have usable stats and good movepools

[@jacktitus4454]

“My name is Jack, and like a lot of you, pokemon has ruined my life” instant subscribe

[@grundgutigertv6170]

I got a leech seed Chikorita in an egglocke in Gen 7. Boy, this girl was a TANK. Survived everything you throw at it. She survived until the very end and I was PROUD of her. Well done, my dear.

[@ZenModeYT]

Yeah it’ll be a challenge to NOT just slap leech seed on every grass type I ever try to fix. It’s like my favourite move lol

[@Seinsmelled]

This comment goes crazy ngl

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

@@ZenModeYT the anime made me a huge fan of Leech Seed

[@gregolas5873]

@@ZenModeYT it’s easily my favorite move as well. Everyone likes to crap on grass types because of their 10 billion weaknesses and mediocre stats, but they get moves like sleep powder and leech seed left and right, which make in-game runs a total breeze. I’ve always loved the sneaky status moves of grass types; it gives them more longevity than any other type if used right!

[@Elfking94]

Fought one in emerald battle tower once, it was no joke

[@yorecf9641]

If we aren’t limiting this to starters, Pidgeot or Fearow seem like good candidates for this concept. Pidgeot in particular has always been outclassed by Fearow in a playthrough. In turn, Fearow is often outclassed by other flying types like Dodrio.

[@ZenModeYT]

Definitely not limiting this to starters. I have a few other vids on the way that aren’t. I think pidgeot is an interesting one - I feel like it used to be everyone’s no-brainer choice for a flyer but now everyone loves to bash it and some of that is undeserved I think! Will probably add to the list!

[@yorecf9641]

@@ZenModeYT good to hear! I’m pretty sure everyone - including myself - picked it because of the anime when we were younger. When we got older, we realized that’s it’s usually outclassed by other flying types. It’s not as bad as something like Farfetch’d or early Gen Crobat, but it could certainly use some love with a new ability and/or improved move pool.

[@spencergreen9415]

If Kanto were to be remade again or if I were just to alter Let’s Go I think just giving Pidgeot access to it’s Mega Evolution much earlier would be a huge help.

[@bananaforscale1283]

It wouldn't be outclassed if it was special so maybe give it Nasty Plot and early MudSlap?

[@yorecf9641]

@@bananaforscale1283 would also need to adjust when it learns Air Slash and give it a good normal STAB move like Hyper Voice at a reasonable level. Honestly, if we go special attacker, I'd swap the attacking stats and then buff its now 80 special attack to 100. Even after it's speed buff in Gen 6, it's BST would still come in at just under 500, so I think it's reasonable even without Nasty Plot.

[@therealegr]

I like how the changes seem realistic, and not just slapping a typing and a broken hidden ability

[@pikminman13]

i mean, when changes add a typing and better ability, its usually to raise the bar across the board. this isnt meant to revamp everyone, just the exceptionally bad.

[@anothergamer112]

*cough everyone makes Luxray electric/dark because of its colors and nothing else *cough Sorry, allergy season where I am.

[@pikminman13]

@@anothergamer112 x-rays are invisible, which effectively means luxray can see things in the dark. also, crunch is a prominent move it ends up using in singleplayer, it gives it a way to set itself apart from the other mediocre physical electric types, and it lets it resist things you do not typically see electric types resisting. so no, it isnt just for its color palette.

[@therealegr]

@@anothergamer112 *cough* it also dosen't make sense because the dark type in japanese is the evil type, and luxray isn't evil

[@av2279]

@@therealegr Thank you! "Dark" typing refers to the personality, and has never referred to a lack of literal light. Otherwise, every pokemon like Zubat and Noctowl would be dark-type before Luxray lol.

[@dragonturtleab.3036]

actually this made chikorita a decent option after all those moves you gave it.

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks! In the future, I want to do more than just add new moves, but chikorita was a bit restricting as I wanted to keep Overgrow and the mono grass typing to remain faithful to it being a Johto starter. In the future I may play with types and abilities as well.

[@artimist0315]

Sadly it's still nowhere near its competition of water attack spamming tododile. Sure this moveset helps greatly in actually finishing the game with it if you want to, but it would most likely still deter most players that don't have the patience to play this way, and even this playstyle doesn't work for every fight. That's why I think we can't help meganium without a stat change. Bayleaf maybe looks like it could make use of those lead blades but meganium has no features to justify an 82 base attack. For me a 98-60-90-88-112-82 would help it a lot, both as a slow set up and as a more regular attacker. If we only do move changes, I think adding extrasensory and barrier would both make sense and provide it with great coverage/set up options. Extrasensory is not too crazy as you can already get it early as it's one of Togepi's egg move, plus it makes sens with Meganium's theme of scents and delicate sensitive flower. Also aromatherapy should probably be available at an early level, that's the whole theme of this Pokémon. I could also get sunny day so it could utilise a sun set with growth, solar beam and synthesis. Also please, give this thing energy ball, it's not like it has too many moves already, energy ball feels like it belongs to it. Make bayleaf 80-72-63-50-80-60 and give it leaf blade so it's more physical.

[@MLPIceberg]

@@artimist0315 I had my Belladonna (Chikorita) in Gen 7 with Energy Ball. Boy, she massacred nearly everything in her path. Almost like it was meant to be~ my girl did good in Gen 7.

[@haidynwendlandt2479]

As someone who uses Chikorita in every Johto playthrough, I love that you gave them Leech Seed on level up! The fact that they didn't always surprises me to find out. I love how you gave Meganium Calm Mind as well, it seems to fit so well on the moveset and theming of the Pokemon. If Feraligatr can learn Swords Dance, then Meganium should get Calm Mind!

[@PassengerOnTheMenu]

Bayleef is such a perfect design aesthetically. Totally agree with your movepool changes especially Leech Seed, Ancient Power and Calm Mind. Excellent choices both balance and design-wise. Jhoto remake needed a Crystal re-remake to fix so many things. Level curve, lack of available Gen 2 'mons for all around, a VS seeker to supplement the awful phone system for battles, fixing the meh story with something other than just padding it with Eusine. Love HGSS to the point I'm still playing it on OG hardware completing a Gen 4 living dex I started with Covid.

[@MLPIceberg]

It's not that HG/SS needed a Crystal remake, it's more of the Devs just remade the games as (more or less) a 1;1 remake and didn't see the issue of the Level Curve that many, myself included, despise.

[@IanColquitt]

​@@MLPIceberggood job disagreeing with him while repeating what he literally said? Weird

[@joshuasilva8168]

agreed bayleef is the absolute peak of middle stage evos

[@nathanbradley5819]

Chikorita is my favorite Pokémon! The fact that it doesn’t learn Leech Seed on level up is probably the single greatest slight out of many, so thanks for that!

[@MLPIceberg]

She's my favorite too! Nice to see someone out there not only likes her too, but the CC here gives her the movepool love that she needed.

[@ihavepissinmybrain]

You meant to write “sleight” there, brother. “Slight” and “sleight” are different words.

[@andrewschaosson]

As someone who picked Chikorita in Soul Silver, i thank you for your efforts.

[@Thorozak]

“Like a lot of you, Pokémon has ruined my life.” I almost choked on something I was eating, this is already a great start to the video lol

[@LeavingNight]

Doing a run to test the changes was a brilliant idea❤

[@ZenModeYT]

Haha thank you! Honestly it was a last minute change but glad I did it. Will be doing it from here on!

[@justsomejojo]

Leech Seed fixing the Chikorita line's problems sounds about right. My favorite team member period (Grass type or otherwise) in the Johto games (mostly Gen2, but Gen4 also works) is Jumpluff, which trades Reflect for Leech Seed and way more speed. It's always an invaluable asset against any pokemon that can't twoshot it. Seeing that, it makes total sense that a bulkier pokemon without the Flying type induced 2x time weaknesses and neutralities would do incredibly well with Leech Seed. Also, side note - the Headbutt TM/tutor always ends up being really good on Jumpluff for me considering the extra flinch turns provide extra leech healing. Should work great for a leech seed Chikorita as well. This is a pretty great video. I like how there's a run to back up the changes too.

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks for the support! Yeah like I said, I think leech seed can save any grass type and I’ll try my best not to just slap it on every grass type in this series haha. Yeah jumpluff I think is pretty underrated. HGSS gives you a lot of resources that help out mons like him and chikorita like the wide lens at the game corner to land your powder moves and the swords dance TM which jumpluff can learn and actually makes an OK sweeper since it’s so fast, and can set up while healing with leech seed.

[@gigastrike2]

Jumpluff is such a fun pokemon. It has so much utility.

[@mewion6774]

Chikorita has always been my favorite starter, despite it being the weakest. This video is a nice change of pace for it! I'm glad you kept the mono-type for the johto starters, as I think dual-typings for them should be saved for regional forms. The only extra change I'd make is its hidden ability, but that isn't really applicable in HGSS. Great video!

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks, I like chikorita too, and most grass starters for that matter. Nothing wrong with adding a little challenge to your playthrough for series veterans. But yeah it’s too easy imo to just slap a dragon typing on everything and min/max their stats. But most Pokémon won’t have as many constraints as chikorita did since they’re not Johto starters.

[@JaharNarishma]

Chikorita being extremely weak in the early game is what made my friends not use it. Them not using it made me use it for every rerun I did. Great variety was the result. Ariados as the lead on my first try, Graveler on my second. The duo Haunter/Graveler on my third. Then I tried basically everything. All thanks to Sprout Tower having only Poison and Flying types, first Gym being Flying type, Team Rocket using Zubat and Koffing, Bugsy having Scyther, all the rival's Pokémon resisting Grass moves and Chikorita having bad match ups vs everything.

[@Castersvarog]

Just the addition of Ancient power and Earth power already were great ideas, the other additions like Giga drain, leech seed and Sleep powder are just icing on top. Honestly really great ideas, and props to doing a play through just to show how the additions help.

[@grunkleg.2934]

I feel like you could totally justify the Chikorita line learning a few more Psychic-type moves as well, namely Psychic through TM or Extrasensory via Meganium Move Reminder. If Pokemon like Lapras, Politoed, and Corsola can get Psychic, why not Meganium? Aromatherapy and nice scents are known to have strong effects on the mind, peace and tranquility tend to give non-Psychic-types a bit of psychic power, Meganium and family are the mindful sort. You could even slot in Psybeam early game to help out with all the Poison-types in HGSS

[@brian_Austin27]

It should be a Grass/fairy type and learn moonblast and psychic and some more of a special moveset

[@RogerDuckman]

This. Psybeam at level 18 or so and Psychic at lv 38. Give or take not exact.

[@MLPIceberg]

@@RogerDuckman Maybe not Psybeam. Maybe Psywave or Confusion. Don't get me wrong, Chikorita (and her evos) are my favorite Pokémon, but just giving her some of the best attacks form a completely different typing is unfair. But I do like the Idea of Bayleaf or (more than likely) Meganium learning Psychic via TM or Move Tutor.

[@tijnvannelmen5832]

Dont forget about Zen Headbutt!

[@RogerDuckman]

@@MLPIceberg my bad i flipped the 2 I meant wave

[@Skogienor]

Nice video. And love the idea of making the Chikorita line more powerful without changing too much of the core game (i.e. giving meganium a second type). It was also really cool to see you play a playthrough with the changes and would definitely want to see that for any future videos you decide to do.

[@grandarkfang_1482]

2:03 "The haters said she couldn't make it in Johto. They were right. Absolutely great call coming from the haters."

[@glitchwarrior7270]

I had a feeling Sleep/Leech would make it viable - that combo benefits basically every Grass type. Nice debut video, hope to see more of this as time goes on.

[@Lytbringr0]

Love the move set tweaks and how you gave them REASONS to be there. Overall Chikorita isn't bad, but it's competition is some of the best in their class AND Johto eats grass types. Love how you pointed that out. I wish these were official changes in a re-release. I'd use her!

[@dittmar104]

Johoto only eat grass because the routes grass have type advantage on are dominated by kanto pokemon with poison typing or flying coverages.

[@MLPIceberg]

I always pick my Bella (Chikorita) in Gen 2. Always. She's my go-to traveling companion, no matter what. Also my favorite Pokémon~ This video is literally what GameFreak should be looking at, not just for her, but for some Pokémon that really don't perform well. A good example of this is Mightyena in Gen 3. When hitting the late game, it just becomes so stale. That and Dark Type is still special based, which screws over all Dark Types since they're physical attackers. Mostly. I'd love to see what kind of changes can be made to it (by extension Poochyena).

[@Yfighter2]

Nature Power is such a cool move, and fitting for Chikorita line

[@Laurmachi]

I always like how Colosseum made the Chikorita line a lot more useful. Not only does Ores screw over grass types a lot less, but a bulky grass type that's more of a team player is actually super handy in double battles.

[@1stCallipostle]

Colosseum makes a lot of things shine. For the most part, the game is balanced around most of the available Pokemon being pretty "eh" until late game.

[@ryuuakiyama3958]

I really did like this. I would've gone a little further, giving Meganium access to more Psychic moves (Barrier, Amnesia, Magic Coat, and maybe even Extrasensory, Psychic, Psybeam, or Confusion); the line also gets Counter as an Egg move, so I might've included Mirror Coat, too (though this all together might be a bit on the extravagant side for number of changes). Sleep Powder was also a nice choice. I loved both Ancientpower and Earth Power, and Dragon Pulse is a nice nod to the connection between Dragons and Dinosaurs (the Japanese word for "Dragon is "Kyōryū", literally "Terrifying Dragon"; Meganium's beta name was, if I'm remembering correctly, "Hanaryū", meaning "Flower Dragon").

[@gigastrike2]

Nowadays if Meganium was featured in a game, they would probably give it a bunch of fairy moves while keeping screens.

[@ryuuakiyama3958]

@@gigastrike2 Probably.

[@affsteak3530]

Mirror Coat is thematically appropriate since the Chikorita line naturally learns both screens.

[@ryuuakiyama3958]

@@affsteak3530 I suppose it is. I suppose that would mean it ought to get Magic Coat, or even Magic Bounce or Magic Guard as a hidden ability.

[@MrTheMasterX]

That Nature Power clutch at the very end was amazing. Hope you do more videos like this, it was really fun to watch it all play out.

[@ZenModeYT]

I know!! I don’t think I’ve ever used nature power before, just thought it’d be fun. Appreciate the support!!

[@andyhuynh2625]

It was really cool seeing you do an actual playthrough with the suggested changes! Realistic changes, balanced, and on-theme with the design. Super cool series idea and love the execution of it

[@abrarkadabrar7829]

This was such a refreshing concept and the actual run of the game was very entertaining seeing your theory put into practice. Meganium already was decently good but your version of it definitely pulls its own weight and then some. The Blizzard Nature Power at the end was some clutch! Kudos. Earned a sub. 😁

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks so much for the kind words! Yeah well get to some mons that are a LOT worse than Chikorita lol. Just thought he’d be a good start cuz he’s a STARTer, and a no-brainer for a Pokémon in dire need of some buffs! Thanks for the sub!

[@TigeriPlaysGames]

I really love this approach to improving pokemon! many romhacks will dramatically change stats and typing to fix pokemon, and that approach can be fun, but I much prefer something that keeps the original spirit of the pokemon and is just executed better. I've actually been working on my own heartgold hack and I might steal some of these ideas for chikorita!

[@kougatbean]

Love the moveset ideas, they synergized so well together. You should send this to drayano, he’s remastering his HGSS romhack and I betcha he’d love the input

[@Kurooganeko]

This makes mt SO HAPPY! You have no idea!!! I sweet kind adorable gentle baby having justice served is just... THANK YOU ♥♥♥

[@timpaul721]

Really glad to see someone giving love to my favorite starter pokemon. Good video

[@sophiamalcolm2119]

Good stuff! I've always loved the grass type in principle, with its focus on setting up and debilitating the opponent with moves like leech seed, powders, and growth, rather than focusing on all-out power or bulk like the fire and water types, and this stuck to this while still making the Chikorita line a viable pick!

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks! And same, grass is my favourite type, so you’ll probably see quite a few more grass types in this series (along with other weak types like bug and ice).

[@shiruotakuno28]

Those type stereotypes have greatly loosened over time, but that was especially the case for the generation 1 starters.

[@mr.sandman7339]

This video did help me realize how violent a lot of physical grass moves sounded in gens 1-4: RAZOR leaf, Vine WHIP, Power WHIP, BULLET Seed, Seed BOMB, NEEDLE arm, Leaf BLADE, Wood HAMMER Still plenty of support options usually, but they won't let you forget that they can do damage, too

[@kakqem]

Loved the idea of making Chikorita more viable! It has been one of my favourite Pokémon ever since I got my first main series game: seeing its line get some much deserved appreciation puts a smile on my face. I also appreciate how you backed up the changes you proposed with a nicely commentated run, it made me enjoy the video much more than if you hadn't done so. I look forward to future uploads and I hope to see Chimecho and Maractus (two of my most beloved Pokémon) in future videos ❤

[@ghartman56]

Crazy how much difference a few moves can make. Great video/series idea!

[@ColonelMustache]

This video makes me happy. Chikorita is probably my favorite starter, but they did it so dirty! You really put a lot of thought into the changes, and it shows. The playthrough was very satisfying and cathartic to watch. For once, I'll say it only half as a joke: NINTENDO HIRE THIS MAN

[@GOATTier-un5gx]

Awesome play through and explanation. Honestly didn’t think I was going to watch til the but this video was very satisfying to watch as you made that starter playable without break the themes or game awesome job

[@hdb5369]

This concept is dope and you executed it so well! The Chikorita line has always been a favorite of mine, it’s nice to see her get some love finally. Would love to see how you could improve a couple mons like Ledian, Ariados, or Parasect!

[@pookiegaming75]

This reminds me of my childhood playthrough of HG, where my meganium beat reds charizard. Always nice to see it get some love maybe in future vids you can give pokemon new egg moves just to give them more options without cramming too much in the level up set, like if you gave chikorita dragon dance or wood hammer or something from breeding.

[@typhlosion7872]

Maybe this could become a series? For a suggestion for episode 2 if you do decide to make it a series, a pokemon in its home region that performs rather poorly in comparison to the others is Rowlet in gen 7.

[@jorgegonzalezavila9376]

I can attest to that. Incineroar is a beast, even without Intimidate, and Primarina hits like a truck, with both of them having the defenses to make up for their lack of speed. Decidueye, on the other hand, wastes its stat points on Special Attack, which it has no real use for, and is thus left wide open to anything that can abuse its “slowness”.

[@becausesakamoto5938]

​@@jorgegonzalezavila9376 I think Snivy would fit better - while Decidueye still gets good coverage and some immunities from its ghost typing, Serperior doesn't get a secondary type and basically only has Grass, Dragon, and Normal moves in gen 5. It also only has base 75 in attack and special attack, making it extremely weaker than just about every other fully evolved grass type in Unova, while Decidueye can make effective use of either of its attacking stats with Swords Dance and Nasty Plot.

[@jorgegonzalezavila9376]

@@becausesakamoto5938 holy fuck, I never realized how absurdly bad Serperior is without Contrary; I've never had too much trouble with it.

[@becausesakamoto5938]

@@jorgegonzalezavila9376 Just now getting to the point where he mentions that Snivy is also in the running for worst starter ever, but he fails to mention that in B/W there are 5 gyms that it matches badly against: the Striaton Gym(which all starters match badly against), the Bug Gym, the Flying Gym, the Ice Gym, and the Dragon Gym. While Ice is replaced with Water in B2/W2, I don't think beating the Poison gym there with Snivy is as easy as he says with the available resources. Roxie uses primarily defensive poison types that set up poison, which makes Servine hit like a damp towel with the moves you have available. Trying to setup with Growth + Return puts you at high risk for the poison/venoshock combo. Going by level caps, it barely misses out on Leech Seed before the gym, so it can't take advantage of that either.

[@jorgegonzalezavila9376]

@@becausesakamoto5938 and now I'm remembering I usually rely almost exclusively on Lucario to pull me through Virbank Gym.

[@The_Red_Drifter]

This is a pretty solid learnset for Gen 4 Chikorita to actually deal with Johto, although it would unfortunately still be a bit lacking in the Gen 2 games because some of these moves just don't exist. It would be funny if you could do something to make Parasect a true menace in pretty much any gen while having it still be a slow Bug/Grass Type. I love them but they have it rough.

[@ZenModeYT]

Paras is absolutely on my hit list. He won’t be next, but sometime soon. Wasn’t sure if people cared about doing 2 grass types in a row.

[@igorstark9514]

At first glance, fixing Parasect looks very challenging.

[@ZenModeYT]

Don’t worry, I got the fix 😎

[@yungmuney5903]

Simply just evolve Parasect, like it has a bst similar to many NFE mons.

[@shiruotakuno28]

​@@ZenModeYTParasect has always been one of the most consistently bad Pokemon in the whole series. Even in season 1 of the anime, Ash asked Pikachu to go easy on a Paras and he STILL took it out in one hit.

[@sierranicholes6712]

i really enjoyed this and i love the way you approached the improvements to keep the spirit of the pokemon, basically just making it more viable without being overpowered. watching the playthrough was really fun to see how it all played out!

[@mastermuffles7097]

I absolutely love this video You are the ONE singe person I've met or watched who understands that the movesets and the stats of the pokemon are integral parts of its design and inspiration

[@WannabeGingery]

For me chikorita really shines in pmd explorers, it was my first partner in that game and I think the partner's personality is very fitting for chikorita. If we ever got another gen 2 remake, it would be really cool if they revamped chikorita like this, I'd love to be able to actually use it in important fights lol

[@atxbee]

same!

[@nidohime6233]

Funny how grass type tend to suck in main games but there are god tier in the Mystery Dungeon series. Treecko+Seed Bullet is a must have.

[@skywing217]

@@nidohime6233 That's what i really loved about pmd, many typically overlooked pokemon become phenomenal like Skitty. One of my favorite pokemon Shiftry was actually an absolute monster to use in explorers of sky and i loved it.

[@affsteak3530]

Chikorita is so good in Explorers of Sky. One of the few non-water types that can swim once it's IQ is high enough. ❤

[@MLPIceberg]

If the rumored 'Let's Go Johto' games are a thing, then maybe. But knowing GameFreak and their "tradition", I seriously doubt they'll make that kind of positive change, especially to starters. Though... I do find it odd that nothing was done with Typhlosion in 'Pokémon Legends: Arceus'. Just gave it a half-baked form/color pallet swap and called it a day. Unless I'm missing something there. I... never got into that game. Not for the lack of trying, mind you.

[@Zak_Katchem]

Hey! New creator! Was an enjoyable take. As a person who enjoys this poke line but was also dismayed by it’s treatment and moves, definitely a fun concept. I hope we get more opportunities to see this starter line to be revamped in some other game.

[@Zak_Katchem]

New subscribe from me! :)

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks a ton! Yeah like I said I really do hope we get a Johto Legends game where this line gets revamped. Also Johto is my favourite region to get lost in!

[@kellycoons9808]

Even modest changes to a Pokemon's moveset makes a big difference! Subscribed!

[@zimswaffles7892]

Really love videos like these! The playthrough at the end really makes this video unique and supports your hypothesis. Can't wait for the next one.

[@jvever4904]

Also, this is such a quality first video for your channel! I hope your channel keeps growing :)

[@robinobregon6546]

great video, couldn’t believe it was your first when i checked your channel. keep it up! i really hope you keep posting

[@dogcatmousecow533]

This is a really fun concept! Excited to see more of these! My first run of hgss i used an ampharos almost exclusively. The learnset is absolutely insane for the mareep line in gen 4! So much random coverage!

[@urrigongreyjoy]

Dude. It may not be worth anything, but there is a game company out there that is all the poorer without you. Solid, solid work.

[@RenoReborn]

Great vid my dude, can't wait to see what else you do. Personally, I'd enjoy seeing some Gen 3 runs, lots of not so good movesets that could do with some tweaking there

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks so much! Yeah there will definitely be a lot of Pokémon from gens 1-3 for that reason and also because power creep is so prominent in recent gens. Pretty much every new mon is viable.

[@Garvant_]

3:53 "perfect availability" you cant fool me this dudes a fire emblem player 💀

[@greenyax]

I really like the format of actually using your pokemon's build in-game, and chikorita was always the best starter in Johto. I subscribed!

[@_k.hj_6873]

No way this is your first video Splendid job, hope to see more videos of you 😊

[@evanpakos3733]

My first play through of soul silver when I was a kid was with chicorita and I always wondered why the game felt so hard 😂😂

[@AndrewSmith-xs1cg]

Glad to see Chikorita get some love, and you did a perfect job fixing Meganium just enough that sure she isn’t perfect, but she’s perfectly viable now without being a radically different take on the pokemon

[@Kev.in1997]

Omg this content is so creative and original I can't believe I found someone who actually makes new and interesting pokémon content in 2023 ^^

[@ReventonSpeed]

Yo this idea is actually OP, Ima subscribe with the hopes you’ll make more of these

[@chicasepticeye]

THANK YOU! As a Chikorita lover, this video is what I needed to see. This video feels like a what if GameFreak took more time to fix Chikoria. Nothing broken, feels legit and it was nice.

[@evilduck1000]

It's mad how Chikorita a defensive Grass type, has only just been given Leech Seed as a level up move. But I really like it learning Ancient Power, and Earth Power. Especially Calm Mind, it suits the Pokemon very well. It goes to show that Meganium isn't fundamentally bad, it's largely been deprived power buffs and new moves that other Pokemon got throughout the generations. It is used to be considered the best Gen 2 starter for competitive.

[@OkEmpress]

I love to see this! Chikorita has always been a favorite since I was a kid. I'm always happy to see other people give them some appreciation

[@GalaxiiSmoothie]

Thank you for doing my girl justice. She was my very first Pokémon, in Crystal, when I was around 3-4 years old, and it was truly love at first sight. She doesn’t deserve the slander she gets :(

[@yaziyo]

I really enjoyed this and it's a great concept. I like that the result was clearly a starter that still isn't the "best" but can now hold its own. In my view it's okay to have some starters be naturally easier than others, the games were always designed in that way.

[@Ospyro3em]

I love Chikorita so much and always have. Funny enough, I've never struggled using it. However, I have just recently found your channel and I am absolutely loving this series!

[@LifeIsAJoke314]

Man. Giving Chikorita ancient power feels so right.

[@levistokes3960]

Literally my favorite pokemon line. I love this guy. I always teach mine earthquake and calm mind. I have one in BDSP that has leaf guard so it knows sunny day and solar beam too.

[@destinygalearies7382]

Holy crap, not only are you making balance decisions that aren't "make it OP", but you also have hacking abilities to test/showcase your changes? This is fucking cool! I've always wanted to try ROM hacks but never liked how they seem to opt for making every single Pokemon overpowered; I really enjoy your design philosophy of trying to stick to the "canon" design/attributes of Pokemon to make them seem like roleplaying creatures rather than just vessels of combat haha.

[@TheWarlordShogun]

Reflect was actually one of the best moves my Chikorita had during my playthrough of Silver Version. It doubles the defense of Chikorita and over half the gyms are physical. Team Rocket is also mostly physical. Plus, Chikorita gets it at lv12, which is about the level you would fight Falkner at if you did Sprout Tower. The combo of Tackle/Razor Leaf/Synthesis/Reflect is actually pretty good for most of the game. You also get Light Screen around the level where the rest of the game becomes special attackers, which helps a ton. Body Slam seems underrated in this video because it felt like a massive power boost in my playthrough. While Meganium is not a great Pokemon, it did better than I expected with all the hate it gets.

[@jetsteamgray]

Excellent first video

[@UltimateBlobrex]

This was very nice, I like how you changed up Chikorita and the rest of the line, I love Chikorita, so I enjoyed this a lot

[@scary-sounds]

This made me feel so much better. I love how you made this feel real and believable and possible for a future gen where chikorita came back as a star player.

[@_Fizzy_1]

This is such a fun idea! Both the planning phase, then the actual playthrough. Very cool, very creative.

[@EpicPrawn]

This is such a cool idea. I especially love the limitation of keeping base stats, imo that's a solid constraint which allows for creative focus on things like the moveset.

[@TheDubbedCasual]

This was so cool! Feels good to see the lil grassy boy finally succeed in Johto!

[@olivineember]

This would be awesome. Can’t wait for this channel to blow up in popularity. You have such good ideas

[@killiantruegames3670]

Very neat idea for a series. You got yourself a subscriber.

[@TheCarbonMirror]

This video was great! I especially love that you tested your design! THat really sold me I really look forward to more of this series!

[@rheamichaell]

I love this type of content! Super original and so much care put into this.

[@slanyus]

Man.. Your voice so calming I can just listen to your videos to sleep frfr

[@RavensaursRex]

I think you were a little rough on the little guy, but I really like your guidelines for tweaking mons and the limits you put in place.

[@shadowmyst09]

Wow this was great. Chikorita has always been my favourite pokemon and its really disappointing that it's not actually a good choice to use in the Johto games. Thanks for showing it some love and making it a viable pokemon.

[@zacreus1]

I'm so glad this channel was recommended! Great content, you clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it. I'd love to see changes like this in a fangame.

[@Jumbucker]

Nicely done! It was so satisfying to see Chikorita line redeemed.

[@DarthFhenix55]

0:45 That's really fitting isn't it?

[@jvever4904]

Chikorita deserves this glow up!

[@OpinionPiece]

This series is such a unique idea and I really hope you continue with the concept or something similar! You could even expand it and look at how changing types or adding/removing cross generation evolutions would change a pokemon.

[@eleonoradelpiano8635]

The amount of detail and effort u put into this video is insane

[@ZenModeYT]

Thank you! Just making content that I myself would like to watch!

[@ilovepersona3]

This is one of the coolest video concepts ever. I'm a huge fan, earned a sub.

[@sunnydayluxe]

[the most soothing voice ever]: "chikoria is horrible. and pathetic. it's embarrasing." beautiful work lol

[@StormEagleCH]

I absolutely love the idea of this series! This channel is going places, and I am so excited to watch it grow. This post was written by a fervent Chikorita enjoyer

[@nibbletman]

This is a great idea for a series, and I love the implementation, trying out all the proposed changes at the end. Great stuff

[@NanoSwarm]

Can't wait to see Ledyba/Ledian line get fixed. Ledian is one of my favorite pokes, but it sucks so bad lmao.

[@ZenModeYT]

I’ll definitely have to do ledian one day but fixing it is such a tall order lol 😅

[@grundgutigertv6170]

You know what wouldve improved Chiko even more? Sunny Day + Weather Ball. I mean: Its a happy plant. I bet it loves the sun. And it would give it fire coverage.

[@ZenModeYT]

True weather ball is super underrated. There are some vids in the future I’m definitely throwing weather ball on (and some that already have it - hint hint)

[@-DeScruff]

I like how your changes are geared for a typical playthrough, rather then being competitive. I personally prefer pokemon that are fun to play with in the campaign, rather then great in PVP. When I was a kid one of my favorite things to do was use a Gameshark to change the starter pokemon to something else. So I'd do a playthrough where I started with, and my ace pokemon would be a, Magnemite, Rattata, Cubone, Houndour, Meowth. exc A lot of pokemon I tried didn't have the chops to make it sadly. - I am talking about G/S/C, so a lot of pokemon had fairly shallow move pools, or they really did not learn moves until they were fairly high level.

[@evawhite1144]

I really, really liked this video. Honestly, you did a damn good job fixing the Chikorita line, and making it viable in a play-through. The moveset you gave it is pretty good too. I also think adding some fairy type moves (after the typing was introduced to the franchise. Obviously, Ik it didn't exist in gen 4, but after it came to exist) would be good, cause idk, Meganium looks more like a gentle, forest fae creature than a dragon. Imagine this thing with dazzling gleam or moonblast. That would be better coverage against dragons than dragon pulse. Like, I don't mind meganium learning dragon moves, but the typing just doesn't fit it. In my opinion, Feraligatr is the most "dragon-looking" of the Johto trio. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that, Feraligatr, next to Charizard and Sceptile, form the trio of starters (one of each elemental type) that are like, "half dragons". They're all lizard lookin. Reptilian, which is a dragon characteristic. All 3 of them have similar body shapes, and all 3 of them can learn dragon moves. That's why I'm convinced that, had the Johto starters received megas, Fer woulda definitely been a dragon, to complete this trio with Sceptile and Charizard. Anyways, the video was really good, and I'd really like it if you did this with other underrated, weak mon, to try and fix them, and make them more usable. Think you could fix Seel and Dewgong? Or the Pidgey line? Or Hoppip? There's so many options 😅. Anyways, you got a new subscriber, looking forward for more content!

[@ZenModeYT]

Wow thank you!! Never really thought about that for feraligatr. But I guess it makes sense. He could have a few different dual types honestly - maybe even dark or ice, all of which would be pretty fun. And thanks for the suggestions. Dewgong is one I’ve considered but honestly I think the only thing holding it back is it’s base stats. The fact that it gets stab ice makes it pretty useful for dealing with dragon types, especially in HGSS where you can just slap the choice scarf on it if u need the speed. I’d definitely say he’s one of the most underrated mons out there!

[@A0normal]

I thought this video would be silly but this is some amazing content. Excited to see more from your channel!

[@danielnkunga6640]

I don’t have much to say that hasn’t been said already but this video was fantastic! Great start to you channel and I’m excited to see what you come up with next!

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks! Appreciate the comment nonetheless, helps a lot ☺️

[@gregolas5873]

Awesome video!!! Meganium is my favorite Pokémon of all time, and I wish it got access to leech seed and ancient power naturally, because those two moves make all the difference for it in Johto and beyond. Whenever I play through a game with Chikorita, (which is pretty often) I always try to breed at least one of those moves onto it for a little more fun. I think the changes you made to its moveset work really well; you really “get” Chikorita and I’m glad you had fun tweaking its viability! Can’t wait for the next video in this series :D

[@ImmacHn]

The Nature Power coming in clutch for the Red battle was so satisfying, and also very fitting for Meganium.

[@glowingpineapple619]

this vid was great! you definitely deserve more subs. i love chikorita and it was awesome seeing it do great! i wish this is what it was like in the main games bc as it is it definitely gets too much hate for being bad when the gen it was made in was so defensive that it made sense for it to be bulky

[@ZenModeYT]

Thanks for the kind words! Yeah that’s exactly what I was going for, just making some less powerful Pokémon more viable. Keep an eye out for more vids on the horizon!

[@CyberKirby]

Just found this channel and I’m already all in! Can’t wait for more!