Bulbasaur (Pokémon)

This article is about the species. For a specific instance of this species, see Bulbasaur (disambiguation).

**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 starter 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.

As mentioned in the anime, starter Pokémon are raised by Breeders to be distributed to new Trainers. Having been domesticated 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 in the anime 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." As shown in the TCG, its vines are long and strong enough to allow Bulbasaur to grab the branches of trees and pull itself up to reach berries.

It is found in grasslands and forests throughout the Kanto region. However, due to Bulbasaur's status as starter Pokémon, it is hard to come by in the wild and generally found under the ownership of a Trainer. It has been observed that 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.

(For specifics on this Pokémon's evolution in the games, refer to Game data→Evolution data.)

## In the anime

### Main series

#### 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 starter 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. It then 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 starter 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 starter 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 starter 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 starter.

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 starter 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 starters 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 starter 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 starter, but it was rejected.

A Trainer's Bulbasaur appeared in *A Chilling Curse!*.

A Bulbasaur appeared in a fantasy alongside the other starter 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.

## Game data

### Stats

#### Base stats

* Maximum stats are calculated with 252 EVs, IVs of 31, and (if applicable) a helpful nature.
* This Pokémon's Special base stat in Generation I was **65**.

### Learnset

#### By breeding

Template:Learnlist/breedh/9
Template:Learnlist/breed9
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Template:Learnlist/breedf/9

## Trivia

* In the Japanese Pokémon Red, Green, 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 starter, 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.

 File:Niue Dollar Pokémon.png
* Niue released a one-dollar coin featuring Bulbasaur as part of a commemorative promotion for the Pokémon franchise, with Bulbasaur on one side and the nation's coat of arms on the other.
* Bulbasaur's evolution family is the only starter Pokémon to have the Poison-type.
	+ Bulbasaur's evolution family is also the only starter Pokémon evolution family 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 Template:Egg or Template:Egg2s 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.
* While Bulbasaur is not considered to be part of the inspiration for the naming of *Bulbasaurus*, a genus of dicynodonts, it has been noted that the similarities "may not be entirely coincidental".

### 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*. It may also derive from the word "bulbous" in reference to the bulb on its back.

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?").

## References

1. ↑ Sloat, Sarah. (February 1, 2017). "Scientists Who Discovered Bulbasaurus Didn’t Name It After a Pokémon." *Inverse*.
2. ↑ Interview with Jun'ichi Masuda and Ken Sugimori about *Pokémon Black and White Versions* (archived - Japanese text)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Creator Profile: The Creators of Pikachu - Pokémon.com (archived)
4. ↑ (November 15, 2019). "「ポケットモンスター ソード・シールド」インタビュー。「最強」をテーマに，子供たちが楽しめるものを目指して." *4Gamer.net*.