Pokémon is cruising into its tenth generation of mainline titles, but for decades now, few starters have been as painfully underwhelming in the competitive scene as Meganium. The fully-evolved form of Chikorita and Gen 2 starter from Gold and Silver was perfectly adequate for casual playthroughs, but now, boosted by its Mega Meganium form, this starter’s got a killer ability.
Mega Meganium will join alongside Mega Feraligatr and Mega Emboar for Pokémon Champions as it is set for release on Nintendo Switch consoles on April 8, 2026. While each of them get unique abilities well-suited to them, Mega Meganium’s Mega Sol, treating its moves as if under harsh sunlight, turning it into a Grass-Fairy powerhouse in the making.
Pokémon’s Worst Grass-Type Starter Just Got a Huge New Ability
While the existence of Mega Meganium hasn’t been a secret at this point, news of Pokémon Champions as reported by Serebii.net, among other sources, quickly noted the Grass-type starter’s incredible new ability. Mega Sol not only means Solar Beam without any needed prior setup like Drought or Sunny Day, it means Mega Meganium gets these benefits without the opponent also receiving them.
Add to that the nice boost of stats, including moderate base bulk and a solid balance of Defense and Special Defense, Mega Meganium will have decent enough speed to outlast key Fire-type threats thanks to prior access to Earth Power. Add to that, its defensive stats and Synthesis getting a healing boost from Mega Sol, and this could make for a sturdy competitive sweeper.
25 Strongest Grass-Type Pokémon, Ranked
Grass is a common type in the Pokémon world. With so many creatures with pure Grass typing, many are underwhelming, but certain ones are fantastic.
Mega Meganium’s base stats are the following:
- HP: 80
- Attack: 92
- Defense: 115
- Special Attack: 143
- Special Defense: 115
- Speed: 80
Add to that the potential for physical attack with its access to Solar Blade and moves like Growth boosted by its new ability, Mega Meganium has surprisingly fun applications fans will no doubt be interested in trying. It’s yet another demonstration of the good Mega Evolution has done for Pokémon games, and why its return is so welcome.
Mega Evolution’s Return Is Already Proving Worth the Investment
Pokémon has undergone multiple iterations of battle gimmicks since Generation 6’s introduction of Mega Evolutions, with some better-received than others. Z-Moves felt like a more subtle, but deadly application focused on moves rather than transformations, while Dynamax grew fairly reviled rather quickly, with Gigantamax and Terastallization having their moments.
But Mega Evolution was an interesting way to breathe new life into particular Pokémon that have gone overlooked, with Meganium being the latest to benefit from its upgrades. Often conferring much-needed ability changes or outright unique abilities, this has created some incredible new build opportunities, while making fun twists like Dragon-Fairy Mega Altaria with Pixilate.
Alongside Mega Meganium, even, Feraligatr and Emboar got to benefit from their new forms as well. Mega Feraligatr got Dragonize, turning Normal-type moves into Dragon-type with a 20% power boost, while Emboar got Mold Breaker, allowing it to bypass pesky Pokemon abilities, such as its Earthquake bypassing Pokémon banking on Levitate to avoid Ground-type moves.
With its return in full thanks to Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Mega Evolution is already bringing life back to creatures like Meganium that languished in ZU by Gen 9 users. Even for non-competitive players, this boost will be felt, and that change is just as welcome, as fans can enjoy their potential favorite Pokémon in their newest ultimate form.
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- Created by
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Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda
- First Film
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Pokemon: The First Movie
- Latest Film
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Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle
- First TV Show
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Pokémon
- First Episode Air Date
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April 1, 1997
- Current Series
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Pokémon
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Pokemon Champions
Systems
- Released
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April 8, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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The Pokémon Works, Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
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Full
- Cross Save
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Yes
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
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April 8, 2026
