Bulbasaur

**Bulbasaur** (バルバゾァ, *Barubasō*) is a dual Grass/Poison-type Seed Pokémon that is known to evolve into a Ivysaur starting at level 16, which evolves into Venusaur starting at level 32.

Along with Charmander, Squirtle, Pichu, and Eevee, Charmander is one of five starter Pokémon of Kanto that Professor Oak gives to new trainers.

"*.*"

—Bulbasaur.

## Appearance & Biography

*Voice Actor (4Kids)*: Tara Jayne (both English and Japanese), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (German), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (French), Not Known (Latin American Spanish)
*Voice Actor (PUSA)*: Michele Knotz (both English and Japanese), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (German), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (French), Not Known (Latin American Spanish)

### Biography

Bulbasaur is a cute Seed Pokemon. From birth, Bulbasaur born with a large plant seed firmly affixed onto its back; the seed grows in size as the Pokémon does. It uses the nutrients carries from the seed to grow bigger and bigger. Extended exposure to the sun will cause its body and seed to grow in size.

Some say that once, when the seed was much lighter, Bulbasaur was able to get around on two legs. Along with Pichu, Eevee, Squirtle, and Charmander, Bulbasaur is one of three Pokémon available at the beginning of Pokémon Red & Blue. Bulbasaur evolves first into Ivysaur and ultimately into Venusaur.

### Appearance

Bulbasaur is a small, quadruped Pokémon with green or bluish green skin and dark patches. Its thick legs each end with three sharp claws. Its eyes have red irises, while the sclera and pupils are white. Bulbasaur has a pair of small, pointed teeth visible when its mouth is open. It has a bulb on its back, grown from a seed planted there at birth. The bulb provides it with energy through photosynthesis as well as from the nutrient-rich seeds contained within.

#### Gender differences

* Hair Color: N/A
* Skin Color: Green or Bluish Green
* Eye Color: Red (irises), White (sclera and pupils)
* Age: Not Known
* Height: 2'00"
* Weight: 20.9 lbs.

## Behavior

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 has also shown itself to be an excellent caretaker, even having a special technique called the "Bulba-by." To perform this technique, Bulbasaur uses its vines to pick up a young Pokémon and soothingly rocks the young one in the air.

## Habitat

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 must struggle to resist the transformation. Many Bulbasaur gather every year in a hidden garden in Kanto to become Ivysaur in a ceremony led by a Venusaur.

## Trainers with this Pokémon

### Main

#### Dex's Bulbasaur

Dex's starter Pokémon is a Bulbasaur he received from Professor Oak, when he went out on his journey, in *Pokémon - I Choose You!* His Bulbasaur, has since evolved into Ivysaur, and then to Venusaur. It has also been shown in the manga that Bulbasaur has the ability to suck in large amounts of air through its bulb, as seen in *That Awful Arbok!* where it sucked up the mist in Pokémon Tower as well as the Gastly that made it. It was shown in *The Major Big Leagues!* to be able to Mega Evolve into Mega Venusaur.

#### Ash's Bulbasaur

Ash's Bulbasaur first debuted in *Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village* as one of the Pokémon in the Hidden Village. 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 captured. Unlike Charmander and Squirtle, which were captured in the two episodes following that of Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur remained in Ash's party until *Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!*, when Ash sent him to Professor Oak's lab to work as an ambassador between otherwise argumentative groups of Pokémon.

#### Nurse Joy's Bulbasaur

The Bulbasaur that used to belong to the Mayor of Trovitopolis appeared in *The Mystery Menace*. In his childhood, the mayor abandoned his Bulbasaur and sent it into the sewers when it wouldn't evolve into Ivysaur. Aided by Misty and Tracey, Ash found the abandoned Bulbasaur while searching for his own, which had gone missing. After defeating the arrogant mayor and his personal SWAT team, Ash and company left the Bulbasaur, which had grown rather large in its time in the sewers, with Nurse Joy.

#### May's Bulbasaur

Much later on, when Ash was traveling in the Hoenn region, his companion May captured her own Bulbasaur after being separated from the group in *Grass Hysteria!*. It remained with her throughout the rest of her journey in Hoenn, helping her to compete in the regional Grand Festival. When she traveled to Kanto to continue her journies with Ash in *The Right Place and the Right Mime*, May, too, left her Bulbasaur at Professor Oak's lab to learn from Ash's while she and Ash's group traveled throughout the Battle Frontier in Kanto. May retrieved it during her travels in Johto, where it evolved all the way into a Venusaur.

##### Shauna's Bulbasaur

Shauna's starter Pokémon is a Bulbasaur she received from Professor Sycamore.

### Other

In *Journey to the Starting Line*, Gilbert, the son of the mayor of Pallet Town, 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. Professor Oak, Tracey, Delia, and Gilbert set out to find them. The Bulbasaur was the last one to be found and it was stuck in a tree that was surrounded by a group of Primeape. In the end, Bulbasaur was the one that Gilbert decided to start with.

One also appeared in *Meloetta's Moonlight Serenade*.

### Minor

Multiple Bulbasaur appeared in *Battle Aboard the St. Anne*.

A Bulbasaur also appeared in *Pokémon Fashion Flash* and *The Breeding Center Secret*.

A Bulbasaur under the ownership of an unknown Trainer, appeared in *Friends to the End*, during the closing ceremonies of the Kanto League.

A picture of a Bulbasaur appeared in *Hocus Pokémon*.

A Bulbasaur was used by one of the students of the Pokémon Trainer's School in *Gonna Rule The School!*

A Bulbasaur appeared in the opening of *Jirachi: Wish Maker*.

A Bulbasaur was one of the starter Pokémon at Professor Oak's Laboratory in *The Right Place and the Right Mime*.

A Bulbasaur made a brief appearance under the ownership of a Trainer in the Lily of the Valley Conference in *An Old Family Blend!*.

A Bulbasaur appeared in *The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!*.

A Bulbasaur appeared in Alexa's magazine in *The Journalist from Another Region!*.

A Bulbasaur appeared as a plush toy in *A Jolting Switcheroo!*.

## Pokédex entry

**Bulbasaur**, Seed Pokémon. The pre-evolved form of Ivysaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. A young Bulbasaur uses the nutrients from its seed for the energy it needs to grow. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild.

## Learnset

### By leveling up

* Tackle
* Growl
* Leech Seed
* Vine Whip
* Poison Powder
* Take Down
* Razor Leaf
* Sweet Scent
* Growth
* Double-Edge
* Worry Seed
* Synthesis
* Seed Bomb
* Sleep Powder
* Solar Beam

## External links

* Bulbasaur *The Pokémon Wiki*
* Bulbasaur *Bulbapedia, the Community-Driven Pokémon Encyclopedia*