TB051: Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden

is the 51st episode of of , the final episode of Season 1 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
In the course of his journey, Ash battles a mountaineer Pokémon trainer he encountered in a small wooded area. Ash deploys his Bulbasaur against the mountaineer's Rhyhorn, but Bulbasaur is behaving very strangely, causing even Pikachu to be concerned. In the end, Bulbasaur defeats Rhyhorn, but Ash decides to go immediately to a Pokémon Center and seek help from Joy. What could be the problem with Bulbasaur?
==Episode plot==
Ash and his crew are still on a tough path to Cinnabar Island. After battling his way through many trainers, he comes across a Hiker. This dangerous trainer decides to battle Ash and sends out his Rhyhorn. Ash, accepting his challenge, sends out Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur, unwilling to give up endures Rhyhorn's strength and defeats it. After the two trainers chat, Ash finds out that Bulbasaur isn't feeling so well and the bulb on his back starts glowing. The worried Ash brings Bulbasaur to the Pokémon Center to have Nurse Joy examine him. After examining him, Nurse Joy tells Ash it's preparing to evolve, this making Ash very excited. After showing them a garden of blooming flowers, Joy then informs the friends that Bulbasaur gather from all over the world to attend a festival where they evolve. The festival takes place in the "Mysterious Garden". Bulbasaur overhears all of this, though not looking very excited.
That night, Pikachu wakes up to see Bulbasaur walking out of the Pokémon Center. Pikachu follows Bulbasaur all the way to a garden where some other Bulbasaur pick him up with their vines. Pikachu tries to help Bulbasaur, but he makes Pikachu stop. Pikachu then races back to the Pokémon Center to get Ash. He wakes Ash up using a Thunder Shock and shows him the now empty ER. Ash orders Pikachu to lead him to where Bulbasaur is.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket finds the group of Bulbasaur and tries to capture them. This ended in no positive results being blasted off by their Vine Whip. Back near the Pokémon Center, Ash, Misty and Brock follow the pollen to try and find Bulbasaur. However, vines try and block their path. Eventually, they find a garden filled with Bulbasaur. These Bulbasaur then start chanting and all of the pollen goes directly to a tree, making it grow very high. A Venusaur then emerges from inside the newly-grown tree. After chanting some more, this time with Venusaur, the Bulbasaur all start to evolve into Ivysaur.
Ash's Bulbasaur wasn't chanting, so he did not evolve yet. Ash, starstruck by the sight of evolution, wonders if his Bulbasaur is going to evolve. His Bulbasaur is trying not to evolve, much to Ash's surprise. Venusaur get upset at Ash's Bulbasaur as Ivysaur said that he made him upset and Venusaur used Vine Whip on Bulbasaur, but Ash interrupts and takes the hit for Bulbasaur. Ash apologizes for showing up, as humans are not allowed, but he knows that he has to protect his friend.
Venusaur tries to convince Bulbasaur to evolve by manipulating nature, but Team Rocket enters the forest via balloon. Team Rocket starts sucking up all of the Ivysaur and the Venusaur. Ash commands Bulbasaur to "blow them out of the sky" after it caught Pikachu on time from being vacuumed using Razor Leaf, but he fails. Bulbasaur angrily yells in a rage as the sun's rays start to shine on Bulbasaur's bulb and Dexter the Pokédex informs Ash that it is preparing to use Solar Beam. Bulbasaur blasts Team Rocket's balloon into oblivion with his new attack and free all of the Ivysaur using Razor Leaf. Team Rocket falls out of their balloon and all of the other Pokémon want revenge on Team Rocket. They all smack Team Rocket with their vines using Vine Whip and make them "blast off again". Venusaur then lets Bulbasaur leave and is now okay with him evolving when he decides to. Ash and his crew continue their quest to reach Cinnabar Island.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
Venusaur
===Move===
Solar Beam
==Quotes==
"At a certain time of the year, Bulbasaur gather together from all over the world for the festival where they evolve. No one knows why they choose that time, it is different every year, but it seems to do something with the alignment of the planets and the phases of the moon." -
Nurse Joy.
"Venusaur: The final form of the Bulbasaur evolution. This Seed Pokémon soaks up the sun's rays as a source of energy." - Pokédex.
"The Seed Pokémon, Ivysaur, Bulbasaur's evolved form. The bulb on its back absorbs the nourishment and glooms into a large flower." - Pokédex.
==Trivia==
*"Who's that Pokémon?": Ivysaur (JA, EN and KO)
**This is also the last episode in the English dub of the original series where the "Who's that Pokémon" segments featured a Pokémon with a major role, with a few exceptions of later episodes. Most other episodes following this would have random Pokémon in the segments.
*James breaks the fourth wall by saying their fans expect their motto.
*This is one of the episodes that Team Rocket blasts off twice.
*Ash surprisingly says "Smokin!" after witnessing his Bulbasaur unleashes his Solar Beam on Team Rocket's balloon. This word came from Stanley Ipkiss' catchphrase as the titular character of the series and movies, The Mask.
*This marks the second time one of Ash's Pokémon didn't want to evolve.
===Mistakes===
*When Pikachu wakes up Ash with Thunderbolt in a report that his Bulbasaur is kidnapped, his shirt is white instead of black.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring a main character's Pokémon learning a new move
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character's Pokémon refuses to evolve