Bulbasaur

Bulbasaur (Japanese: フシギダネ Fushigidane) is a dual-type Grass/Poison Pokémon introduced in Generation I.
It evolves into Ivysaur starting at level 16, which evolves into Venusaur starting at level 32.
Along with Charmander and Squirtle, Bulbasaur is one of the three first partner Pokémon of Kanto available at the beginning of Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, FireRed, and LeafGreen.
== Biology ==
Bulbasaur is a small, quadrupedal amphibian Pokémon that has blue-green skin with darker patches. It has red eyes with white pupils, pointed, ear-like structures on top of its head, and a short, blunt snout with a wide mouth. A pair of small, pointed teeth are visible in the upper jaw when its mouth is open. Each of its thick legs ends with three sharp claws. On Bulbasaur's back is a green plant bulb that conceals two slender, tentacle-like vines, which is grown from a seed planted there at birth. The bulb also provides it with energy through photosynthesis as well as from the nutrient-rich seeds contained within.
First partner Pokémon are raised by Breeders to be distributed to new Trainers. Having been raised by humans from birth, Bulbasaur is regarded as both a rare and well-behaved Pokémon. It is known to be extremely loyal, even after long-term abandonment. Bulbasaur have demonstrated a nurturing instinct towards younger, weaker Pokémon, one individual even using its vines to pick up a crying Pokémon, gently rocking it back and forth through the air while singing a "Bulba-by". Its vines are long and strong enough to allow Bulbasaur to grab the branches of trees and pull itself up to reach berries. Bulbasaur can survive for days without even eating a single morsel. As mentioned in Sleep Style Dex, Bulbasaur is known to sleep in sunny spots.
It is found in grasslands and forests throughout the Kanto region. However, due to Bulbasaur's status as first partner Pokémon, it is hard to come by in the wild and generally found under the ownership of a Trainer. It has been recently seen living in the Terarium of Blueberry Academy. A Bulbasaur's bulb will flash blue when it is ready to evolve. If it does not want to evolve, it struggles to resist the transformation. Many Bulbasaur gather every year in a hidden garden in Kanto to evolve into Ivysaur in a ceremony led by a Venusaur.
=== Evolution ===
Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur, which evolves into Venusaur.
== In The Anime ==
==== Major appearances ====
===== Ash's Bulbasaur =====
Ash's Bulbasaur debuted in Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village as one of the Pokémon in the Hidden Village, thus also marking the species' physical debut. Though initially wary of Ash, the two eventually warmed up to one another, and Bulbasaur challenged him to a battle. Using Pikachu, Ash won the battle, and Bulbasaur was caught. Unlike Charmander and Squirtle, which were caught in the two episodes following that of Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur remained in Ash's party for most of his journey through Johto until Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, when Ash sent him to Professor Oak's lab to work as an ambassador between otherwise argumentative groups of Pokémon.
===== May's Bulbasaur =====
Much later on, while Ash was traveling in the Hoenn region, May caught her own Bulbasaur after being separated from the group in Grass Hysteria!. She remained with her throughout the rest of her journey in Hoenn, helping her to win the Purika Contest and place Top 8 in the regional Grand Festival. When she traveled to Kanto to continue her journey with Ash in The Right Place and the Right Mime, May, too, left her Bulbasaur at Professor Oak's Laboratory to learn from Ash's while she, Ash, Max, and Brock traveled throughout the Kanto region. May retrieved her during her travels in Johto, where she evolved all the way into a Venusaur.
===== Shauna's Bulbasaur =====
Shauna's first partner Pokémon is a Bulbasaur she received from Professor Sycamore. It first appeared in Summer of Discovery!, and it was revealed to have evolved into Ivysaur by Tag Team Battle Inspiration!
===== Other =====
In Mewtwo Strikes Back, a Bulbasaur was cloned from Ash's own Bulbasaur. The cloned Bulbasaur participated in the battle between the original Pokémon and the cloned Pokémon. Bulbasaur reappeared in Mewtwo Returns.
In The Mystery Menace, a Bulbasaur was abandoned by the Mayor of Trovitopolis during his childhood when it wouldn't evolve into Ivysaur. Since then, it grew to a very large size in the sewers. Aided by Misty and Tracey, Ash found the abandoned Bulbasaur while searching for his own, which had been taken by the giant Bulbasaur. After defeating the arrogant mayor and his personal SWAT team, Ash and his friends left the Bulbasaur with Nurse Joy.
In Journey to the Starting Line!, Gilbert was supposed to start his journey as a Pokémon Trainer with one of the three Kanto first partner Pokémon, but they were scared off by Ash's Tauros, forcing Gilbert to set out to find them with Professor Oak, Tracey, and Delia. Bulbasaur was the last one to be found, having been stuck in a tree that was surrounded by a group of Primeape. In the end, Bulbasaur was chosen by Gilbert as his first partner Pokémon.
In A Six Pack Attack!, a Bulbasaur went with Professor Oak on his trip to Hoenn along with a Charmander and Squirtle.
A Bulbasaur appeared in The Right Place and the Right Mime, where it was one of the first partner Pokémon seen at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
In Ivysaur's Mysterious Tower!, multiple Bulbasaur and Ivysaur traveled to a Gym that was under construction in Vermilion City. Ash and Goh, who were investigating the outbreak, followed them to the Gym and realized the horde had gone there so the Bulbasaur could absorb the sunlight necessary to evolve into new Ivysaur. They reappeared in a flashback in Getting More Than You Battled For!.
==== Minor appearances ====
Bulbasaur made its debut in Pokémon - I Choose You!, where Ash dreamed about one as his prospective first partner Pokémon.
In Battle Aboard the St. Anne, multiple Bulbasaur were aboard the St. Anne.
In Pokémon Fashion Flash, a Bulbasaur was on Scissor Street.
A Bulbasaur appeared in The Breeding Center Secret.
In Friends to the End, a Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared during the closing ceremonies of the Indigo Plateau Conference.
A first partner Bulbasaur appeared in a flashback in Don't Touch That 'dile.
In Gonna Rule The School!, the Pokémon Trainers' School lent a Bulbasaur to the school's underage students for use in lessons.
A Bulbasaur appeared in the opening sequence of Jirachi: Wish Maker.
A Coordinator's Bulbasaur appeared in What I Did for Love!.
In An Old Family Blend!, a Trainer's Bulbasaur competed in the Lily of the Valley Conference.
In Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade, a Bulbasaur watched Meloetta's concert.
In The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!, a Bulbasaur was part of Professor Oak's demonstration of the Kanto first partner Pokémon at the Kanto Fair.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in Crystal-Clear Sleuthing!.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in I Choose You!. Another was revealed to have been chosen by Marina as her first partner Pokémon in a flashback.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!.
Two Trainers' Bulbasaur appeared in The Power of Us.
In Securing the Future!, a Trainer's Bulbasaur joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its normal form.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in The Road to The Semifinals!.
Multiple Bulbasaur appeared in Enter Pikachu!, with one under the ownership of a Trainer and the rest being wild.
In Legend? Go! Friends? Go!, Professor Cerise offered a Bulbasaur to Goh to be his first partner Pokémon, but it was rejected.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in A Chilling Curse!.
A Bulbasaur appeared in a fantasy alongside the other first partner Pokémon in Getting More Than You Battled For!.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in To Train, or Not to Train!. It reappeared in Breaking the Ice!.
A Bulbasaur appeared in This Could be the Start of Something Big!.
A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in The Pendant That Starts It All (Part One). Another two appeared under the ownership of students of Indigo Academy.
== Trivia ==
* In the Japanese Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, the international Pokémon Red and Blue, and the Japanese Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Professor Oak classifies Bulbasaur as the "plant Pokémon" (Japanese: しょくぶつポケモン) when the player is about to choose it as their first partner Pokémon, using the term while referring to its type. In the English versions of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, he calls it the "grass Pokémon".
** This also occurs in the first episode of Pokémon Origins.
* Bulbasaur's evolution family is the only first partner Pokémon family to have the Poison-type.
** Bulbasaur's evolution family is also the only first partner line to have each member appear at least once in the Super Smash Bros. series.
* Bulbasaur shares its category with its evolved forms and Sunkern. They are all known as the Seed Pokémon.
* Bulbasaur's number in the National Pokédex and the Fiore Browser are the same: 001.
* Due to the censor that prevents Pokémon with offensive nicknames being traded on the GTS, a Bulbasaur with an English name couldn't be traded on the GTS without a nickname in Pokémon Black and White.
* In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Bulbasaur is programmed to be able to learn Charm through breeding, but no other Pokémon in the Grass or Monster Groups can legitimately learn it to pass down as an Egg Move in those games. In Generation III and IV, Bulbasaur can inherit the move from Shroomish by chain breeding. In Generation V onwards, Bulbasaur can inherit the move directly from Cottonee.
* In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Bulbasaur could learn Vine Whip at level 7 instead of Leech Seed. This oversight was later fixed in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
== Origin ==
Bulbasaur is based on a frog. In particular, its short legs, stout appearance, and ear-like protrusions on its head make it resemble horned frogs. According to Ken Sugimori and Atsuko Nishida, the latter designed Bulbasaur working backward from Venusaur, meaning Bulbasaur was the last of its evolutionary family to have been designed and was also directly based on Venusaur. The bulb on its back resembles a lily or onion.
==== Name origin ====
Bulbasaur is a combination of bulb (a rounded underground storage organ present in some plants) and dinosaur or -saurus (common suffix used in the names of extinct reptilian creatures, derived from the Ancient Greek word for lizard). The name also sounds similar to the word bulbous.
Fushigidane may be a combination of 不思議 fushigi (strange; mysterious) and 種 tane (seed), as well as a pun of the phrase 不思議だね Fushigi da ne? ("Isn't it strange?").
Category:Seed Species
Category:Pokémon
Category:Pokemon Species
Category:Grass Type Creatures
Category:Poison Type Creatures
Category:Pre-evolution Creatures
Category:Creatures