Venusaur vs Meganium | Bulbagarden
Liam Parker 
I'm thinking I might as well pair all the Starters up against each of their counterparts and get it done with. That is to say, I'll pair the Grass Starters up against each other and do the same with the Fire and Water ones. So, why don't we get on with it?
Venusaur and Megnaium are the Tohjo Grass Starters. Venusaur is the choice given to you by Professor Oak of Kanto whereas Meganium is given out by Professor Elm of the adjoining Johto region. There's a very clear correlation between Kanto and Johto and this can be easily seen in the form of their Starters. Specifically, the Johto Starters have the same Base Stats as their Kanto counterparts, but rearranged (well, except for Charizard/Typhlosion).
Venusaur and Meganium are both bulky Pokemon but Venusaur chooses a more varied approach to battling (successfully filling the roles of mixed sweeper, physical sweeper, special sweeper, physical tank, special tank, lead, annoyer, status inducer, Toxic Spikes absorber, etc) whereas Meganium is a more defensive Pokemon that prefers to support her team rather than battle herself (she has excellent defensive stats and access to Light Screen, Reflect, Aromatherapy and Safeguard.)
With Gen V's Dream World abilities, both of them have obtained a real liking to the sun. Venusaur's new Clorophyll ability doubles it's speed in sunlight and Meganium's Leaf Guard ability protects her from status. Throw in Ninetales the new perma sun user and you have a trio of best friends.
Which Starter do you prefer?
Which is more useful?
Who'd win in a fight?
Ouch, this one is tough for me, mostly because of how thoroughly screwed Meganium is. Venusaur is my all time favorite Pokemon, he has the better type combination, he's a lot more versatile than Meganium, he has access to better moves (Power Whip, Sleep Powder, Sludge Bomb), he'd wipe the floor with her in a battle and he pretty much outclasses her in every single way that doesn't include team support.
I love Meganium. I love her a whole lot. And a lot of you know that I adamantly defend her in almost every argument that comes up, but she just can't hold a candle to Venusaur in my eyes, which is why I feel so sorry for her. I know she'll get very few votes as it is, but I simply can't bring myself to choose her this time. Venusaur owns my heart. Sorry Meganium. Next time, maybe.
Other Venusaur Starter matchups:
Other Meganium Starter matchups:
