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Overgrow
- Raises the power of Grass-type moves 50% when at 1/3 HP or less.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
80
|
- |
301 |
364 |
- |
| Atk |
82
|
180 |
200 |
263 |
289 |
| Def |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
| SpA |
83
|
181 |
202 |
265 |
291 |
| SpD |
100
|
212 |
236 |
299 |
328 |
| Spe |
80
|
176 |
196 |
259 |
284 |
Overview
Although Meganium is outclassed by Venusaur in most areas, it does have a few things going for it, namely its greater physical bulk, useful Ground-type resistance, dual screens, and Aromatherapy. Sadly, its movepool is shallow, and it has less Special Attack, a lack of secondary STAB, and no access to Sleep Powder. Despite these flaws, Meganium can still play as a useful supporter or an unexpected sweeper in place of Venusaur due to its unique traits. Just don't play Meganium like an inferior Venusaur and you'll have a capable Pokemon in your hands.
With great physical bulk and access to Aromatherapy, Meganium can successfully fend off dangerous physical threats such as Azumarill, Feraligatr, and Donphan while clearing your team of status. Energy Ball is a reliable STAB move on the special side, but Seed Bomb can be used instead to break the Substitutes of physically frail Pokemon such as Mismagius. Synthesis helps Meganium recover lost health, which is very useful for any supporting Pokemon. In the last slot, Leech Seed is helpful for sapping the opponent's health while restoring Meganium's own health; it can also help your switch-in regenerate some health should your opponent stay in. Toxic can be used over Leech Seed in order for Meganium to cripple Pokemon whom it would not normally threaten, such as Tangrowth, Arcanine, and Moltres.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Meganium's most common counters are hard-hitting Fire-types, so bulky Water-type Pokemon such as Milotic make great teammates. Milotic is also the best defensive teammate to pair up with Meganium, as they can defeat most of each other's counters. Meganium is a great lure for Swellow and Scyther, so take advantage of this by using Pokemon who can set up on them, such as Rhyperior, Aggron, and Registeel. The 4 Speed EVs are just enough Speed to outpace Rhyperior before it uses Rock Polish.
Meganium can use Grass Knot over Energy Ball to hit heavier Pokemon such as Milotic and Rhyperior with higher Base Power, but don't expect either to be staying in on Meganium. Light Screen could be used over Aromatherapy to protect Meganium and its team from special attacks if status isn't a concern. By using Light Screen, Meganium has more chances to use Leech Seed or Toxic on foes whom it would otherwise have to switch out on.
Meganium's sturdy defenses make it a great dual screens user, and once it has the right screen up, it will be taking minimal damage from most attacks, even super effective ones. Energy Ball is a reliable STAB move to attack with, and also makes sure that Meganium is not completely shut down by Taunt. Seed Bomb is an option to hit specially bulky Pokemon for more damage. If Seed Bomb is the chosen option, an Impish nature should be used. Synthesis allows Meganium to preserve its HP throughout the match and have more chances to set up dual screens. Aromatherapy is also a good option to heal your team of status; however, Meganium's longevity is greatly affected since it will be running neither Leftovers nor Synthesis.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Grass Knot is a good option over Energy Ball to hit heavier foes, but Energy Ball is more consistent, making it the better choice in most situations. Meganium is weak to Bug-, Fire-, Ice-, and Flying-type attacks, so Pokemon who can set up on those attacks will greatly benefit from Meganium's support. For example, Dragon Dance Feraligatr and Swords Dance Blaziken are great teammates, both resist Fire- and Ice-type attacks while the latter also resists Bug-type attacks. Rock Polish Rhyperior and Aggron also have good synergy with Meganium, and will definitely benefit from Meganium's support. Pokemon with Taunt can shut down Meganium, preventing it from performing its job, while also being able to set up in the process. Mismagius is a good example, having access to Taunt, Calm Mind, and Nasty Plot, so packing a Pokemon such as Drapion in your team can help eliminate Mismagius with Pursuit.
With this set, Meganium's goal is to switch into an attack it resists, set up a Swords Dance, and smash through the opposition. However, this set plays more like a stallbreaker, as the lackluster investment in Speed will only allow Meganium to outpace slow walls. Swords Dance is the main focus of this set, boosting Meganium's 264 Attack to a more reasonable 528. Synthesis gives Meganium a form of instant recovery, which allows it more chances to set up Swords Dances. If you feel that Synthesis is unnecessary, then Substitute can be a valuable replacement so that Meganium can block status, which gives it more opportunities to set up Swords Dance. The choice between Earthquake and Return is a tough one. Earthquake allows Meganium to hit most of its most common counters such as Steel- and Fire-type Pokemon for super effective damage, while Return gives it greater overall type coverage, hitting almost all Pokemon in UU for neutral damage.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
If another coverage move is necessary, then Meganium can forgo Synthesis and Substitute and instead use Earthquake or Return (whichever move is not being used in the last slot). Faster Fire-type Pokemon who take little damage from Meganium's attacks, such as Arcanine and Moltres, are troublesome. Meganium greatly benefits from bulky Water-type Pokemon such as Milotic or Blastoise in order to get rid of such threats. Weezing can also counter this set well due to its great physical bulk; moreover, it can break Meganium’s Substitute with Flamethrower or burn it if it lacks Substitute. Strong Fire-type Pokemon such as Houndoom and Arcanine can help stop Weezing. Aromatherapy may be used over Substitute and Synthesis to cure Meganium and its teammates of status. Life Orb can be used over Leftovers for more power, but the bulk gained from Leftovers is important. The EV spread maximizes Meganium's bulk, which means that it can set up Swords Dance much more easily. 136 Speed EVs allow Meganium to reach 230 Speed, outspeeding all Pokemon with a base Speed of 60 and below. The remaining EVs are dumped into Attack for more power.
Other Options
Meganium could use an SubSeed set, but since Meganium has no reliable way of attacking enemy Grass-type attacks outside of Hidden Power, the idea is moot. There are several Hidden Powers that can be useful. Hidden Power Ice can be used to dent opposing Grass-types and Altaria; Hidden Power Fire can burn Bug-, Grass-, and Steel-types; and Hidden Power Rock can smash Bug-, Flying-, and Fire-types. Meganium could also use a Flail set, though with all the priority attacks in the tier, it will be very easy to take Meganium out. Counter is also usable, because Meganium has a high Defense stat as well as access to Synthesis to take repeated hits and heal the damage off.
Checks and Counters
Fire-type Pokemon such as Blaziken, Houndoom, and Arcanine are great counters to Meganium. If you are using Houndoom for countering Meganium, beware of Earthquake because it will always OHKO after Stealth Rock. You also can use Poison- and Steel-type Pokemon to counter it due to their resistance to Grass-type moves. Good examples include Toxicroak, Weezing, and Registeel. Venusaur is one of the best counters to Meganium due to its immunity to both Leech Seed and Toxic, while also quad-resisting Meganium’s STAB attack. Other Grass-type Pokemon such as Leafeon and Tangrowth do well thanks to their high Defense stat; Leafeon can freely set up Swords Dances and then fire off deadly Double-Edges while Tangrowth can put Meganium to sleep with Sleep Powder. Flying-type Pokemon such as Scyther, Swellow, Moltres, and Altaria can all defeat Meganium easily as well thanks to their resistance to Grass-type moves.
