Pokemon Legends: Arceus had an eclectic mix of starters. Cyndaquil, one of the most popular starters ever and from the beloved Gen 2 Johto region, was the nostalgia pick. Rowlett, the plucky Gen 7 starter with a cool line, was there for the newer players less familiar with the classics. Finally Oshawott, an overlooked starter from the also-overlooked Gen 5, was given a new lease of life by Legends. In Legends: Z-A, things are a little different.
This time around, we have two Gen 2 starters, with Chikorita and Totodile following in Cyndaquil’s footsteps, while Tepig, from the same generation as Oshawott, covers the Fire-type option. Only representing three generations across six choices does not feel like the best planning. Even if you wanted to side-step the temptation to bring back Gen 1 and leave out the newest generations (which would rule out Gen 8 from Arceus and Gen 9 from Z-A), there’s no love for Gen 3 or Gen 6 here. But still, Z-A offers us a lot to look forward to.
Given how popular Mudkip and Greninja are specifically, those seem like odd generations to overlook. However, the desire to offer new designs through regional variants, and offer Mega Evolutions to those without them, may have been a factor.
Chikorita, Tell Me What’s Wrong
The ‘mons don’t quite fit into the neat boxes they did in Arceus. Tepig is too old to appeal to the newest players, while both Chikorita and Totodile offer a healthy dose of nostalgia. However, if we look to the Oshawott role of getting a new lease of life, I think we still find a candidate – Chikorita. I have always loved you, and now the world can too.
Chikorita is not an unpopular Pokemon, per se. But while many fans would have Cyndaquil and Totodile in the upper echelons of all-time starters, befitting their status as ‘mons brought back for a Legends game, Chikorita usually languishes in the lower middle reaches. There are a few reasons for this, and that’s why bringing Chikorita back for another go around could prove vital in their overall standing as a Pokemon.
Firstly, while Cyndaquil and Totodile have more obvious transformations through evolutions, Chikorita just becomes a slightly bigger version of itself. Bayleef, the mid-stage Pokemon, goes in a bit of a new direction with a change of colour tint and rip to its leaf antler, but then Meganium goes back to being much closer to A Big Chikorita. Given we saw the third stage change into Hisuian variants in Arceus, that means we’ll get a new Meganium this time, solving the problem.
Chikorita is also a more female coded ‘mon, which may have cost cool points in the early ’00s, but these days can be a major selling point for a Pokemon, see: Sprigatito (also see: several websites I can’t link to here without an SEO penalty for indecency). It’s hard to say too much when we don’t know what Meganium will look like, but it feels as though Chikorita might do better in 2025 than in 2000.
Chikorita: Not Just Another Bulbasaur
But it’s not just the design itself that might fit better in 2025. It’s the context around it. Chikorita is a lizard with a leaf that turns into a bigger lizard with a flower. So, Bulbasaur. While Cyndaquil is a flaming shrew covered in fire in a major departure from the Charmander line of dragons with a flame tail, and Totodile is a crocodile instead of a turtle a la Squirtle, Chikorita is a weird confusing grass… thing whose motif is a flower bud that blooms. I love Chikorita, but it’s the most similar of all the Grass-type starters to Bulbasaur, and it immediately followed Pokemon’s king out of the door.
This time, Chikorita isn’t up against the odds like that. It still feels as though being paired with Totodile, and therefore competing against a fellow starter for the affection of gentwoers (the smartest Pokemon fans), is a slice of tough luck, but anything that gets Chikorita back in the spotlight is just fine with me. I don’t have anything against the existing Meganium line, though another attempt at making something that better gives the line a sense of identity could make it even better.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus was a valiant attempt at a new take on the Pokemon formula, and despite some drawbacks that tend to limit most Pokemon games in one way or another, it was a step forward. I’m hopeful Z-A can build on that step to finally haul Pokemon into the modern era, and I’m delighted Chikorita will be leading the charge.
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo, The Pokemon Company