2nd Gen Starting With Chikorita

So, you know, it's my first time playing Gen 2 and I decide I'd like to be different and start with Chikorita. Going against the grain here.

Then I come to realize, the first two gyms are flying and bug... complete pains in the butt.

Who else started with Chikorita and struggled? After beating the first two gyms, I actually remember not finding Whitney very difficult. How did you beat them?

It's been a while, but I think my strategy involved crazy grinding and a Hoothoot.

I remember the Chikorita struggle, but I loved my first Chikorita. I didn't let it evolve past a Bayleef, just like Ash's in the anime and it was a very strong Bayleef indeed. The first two gyms proved to be difficult, but I still managed to push through them. I think I caught a Geodude to fight in those two gyms specifically while still catching and raising other Pokemon on my team.

I went with chikorita the first time. I enjoyed it and used Meganeum until I finished the game.
The first gym can be beaten if you get onyx or geodude.

Chikorita can be a bit of a struggle with the first two gyms, though trading a Bellsprout for the Onix in Violet City can make Falkner easier. With the second gym, it might be worth getting a Flying-type early on so it's ready for Bugsy. Onix can come in handy here as well against his Syther. Whitney is a matter of strategy since you'd be looking to Poison her Miltank to whittle it down and spam heal.

It's definitely a struggle but it's totally worth it because Chikorita is the cutest. It makes your successes feel better, too.

ETL.it said:

After beating the first two gyms, I actually remember not finding Whitney very difficult..

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This is definitely something I experienced as a Chikorita-chooser. I overleveled my Chikorita (and evolved her into Bayleef) by the time I was done with Bugsy, so Whitney was never a problem for me.

I love Chikorita's design and it didn't put me off choosing it, but it definitely is a struggle with the first two gyms being super effective against Grass-types. Come to think of it, most of the Johto gyms resist Grass Pokémon with none being weak to them.

I caught Geodude in the Dark Cave.

Nidorina and Nidorino aren't too shabby against Whitney, as they both can learn Double Kick and don't take super effective damage from Rollout. Nidorino is a bit stronger and faster, but Nidorina is a bit bulkier and can't be attracted by Whitney's Pokemon.

I think Chikorita has a solid defense and somehow manages to be a good choice for beginners.

I would never be able to use chikorita, it's the worst starter in my opinion. It has little offence and speed, but it has decent bulk. But it gets destroyed in GSC and HGSS because of its typing.

I always play with totodile and cyndaquil.

Great I need to play Crystal again...

Chikorita was my starter the first time I played Pokemon crystal (before I played gold and silver). It was so long ago, I don't remember really how hard it was in the first gyms, but I always catch an use many Pokemon so maybe chikorita wasn't my main Pokemon in those battles.

I remember not too long ago that I did a Grass mono run of Crystal as part of my 3-way Grass mono challenge that I did before, and i can understand the pains of the Early-game hell with the 1st two gyms.

Then, as I raised Chikorita into a Meganium, i remember giving it a rather weird movepool. I remember it being able to learn Earthquake and that was extremely useful later on.

Oh boy, the pains of starting as Chikorita and having to play with it as my main mon since after all, it was a grass mono that i did before.

Having Chikorita as a starter option is like Game Freak's way of implementing a "Difficulty" option into the games. I feel bad for any newer Pokemon fans that played through Johto with Chikorita as their starter. She/he does not give you an advantage in literally any of the Gym or Elite 4 battles and actually hinders you in many (Ex: Violet City Gym, Bugsy's Gym, Pryce's gym and Will of the Eite 4). Compare this to Cyndaquill and Totodile who are both extremely useful in many of these same battles, and ya it's crazy how useless Chikorita is. I do still love it though and all of its evolutions.

Chikorita was my first starter, and didn't give up on it when I first played Silver.

You just have to catch "counter" pokemon, like Pidgey and Rattata, as well as there's Slowpokes at Azalea Town for you to use against Flying types. It's just a matter of catching non-grass types to counter your Chikorita/Bayleef.

I have never played through a generation 2 game without Chikorita as my starter.

I started with chikorita and never had to struggle. I simply caught a pidgey and both of these did the job for me.
Like, in Violet City, I used my starter against all pidgeys and my pidgey against the spearows and in Bugsy's gym, I used both of these guys since my bayleef's tackle was enough to 2hko most of the pokes there. Kinda struggled against the gym leader though because he poisoned my pidgey and I had used up all my antidotes, but with a little bit of luck, I was able to get the badge!

I'm currently playing Silver with Chikorita as my starter. I caught Spearow otherwise I wouldn't get through the first two, but it was very easy to beat Whitney for once. Meganium is a strong member of my team now.

Catching other mons to complement it made the game quite easier than usual. Chuck, a leader I always struggled with, was actually a cakewalk.

Chikorita is so cute and Chikorita is my starter

I never used Chikorita in a Johto game (I had Cyndaquil in SS) but as some other comments said, you can get around that struggle by catching a diverse team of Pokemon.