Bulbasaur (フシギダネ Fushigidane in Japanese) is one of the Template:Pokenum fictional species of Pokémon from the Pokémon franchise - a series of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. Bulbasaur is one of the first Pokémon a player can have in the first Pokémon video games, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue; Bulbasaur is also a commonly appearing Pokémon in the Pokémon anime. CNN refers to Bulbasaur and its later evolutions as “the Carmen Miranda of Pokémon figures”, due to the "increasingly exotic foliage on its head" as it evolves and according to Time magazine, Bulbasaur was considered one of the “lead critters” in the original series^[1].

The name Bulbasaur is a portmanteau of “bulb” (from the large bulb on its back) and “sauros” (Greek for “lizard”), creating a name evocative of dinosaur. Fushigidane フシギダネ), the Japanese name for Bulbasaur, is a portmanteau of ふしぎ (fushigi, “mystery”) and たね; (tane, “seed”).

Characteristics

In all iterations of the Pokémon series, Bulbasaur is a small, squat reptilian creature that moves on all fours. Its body coloration is light blue-green with darker blue-green spots. It is born with a seed planted on its back which soon grows into a large, floral bulb as the Bulbasaur matures. The bulb can absorb solar energy through photosynthesis in order to supply Bulbasaur with nutrients and will grow bigger if it is exposed to sunlight; for this reason, Bulbasaur enjoys taking naps in the sunlit daytime. It can survive off stored energy without eating for days at a time. When in battle, solar energy that has been stored in the bulb can be released as a powerful Solar Beam attack. The bulb also holds seeds that can be launched at an enemy in order to sap health in an attack called Leech Seed, and Bulbasaur is able to extend two vines from the bulb that serve as extra appendages for attacking and deftly manipulating objects. The artwork design of Bulbasaur was created by Ken Sugimori in for its 1996 debut in the Pokémon video games.

In the Pokémon video games

In the first-generation Pokémon games (Red, Green, and Blue) and their remakes, (FireRed and LeafGreen), Bulbasaur is one of the three Pokémon, along with Charmander and Squirtle, that the player may choose as his or her first (or “starter”) Pokémon. If the player chooses Bulbasaur, the player’s rival will invariably choose Charmander, since Charmander has a type advantage over Bulbasaur.

In the next game, Pokémon Yellow, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle are not available from the start as the three of them had already been taken by other trainers; instead, the player starts with a Pikachu. Bulbasaur becomes available later in the game as a gift from a Pokémon breeder. This progression is much closer to the storyline of the anime. The three original starters, Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur, are not available in any of the other games in the series (except serving the same purpose in the enhanced remakes FireRed and LeafGreen). However, Bulbasaur is one of the random Pokémon available in Pokémon Stadium as a prize for defeating all the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members, the highest level of competition in the game. Bulbasaur also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, which the player can acquire through the internal lottery by spending the Smash Coins earned whilst playing the game^[2].

Bulbasaur is a grass/poison-type (a special attribute determining the strengths and weaknesses of the Pokémon) but it does not have the ability to learn any damage-dealing poison attacks naturally. Therefore, its attacks are particularly effective against ground-, rock- and water-type Pokémon, but psychic-, fire-, and flying-type attacks are particularly effective against it. Attacks of the poison, fighting, and grass types do little damage to Bulbasaur, and Bulbasaur does little damage to other grass and poison types or to dragon types. All other types have no particular advantage over Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur is therefore considered a good first for beginners, as the Kanto region’s first two Pokémon Gym Leaders (Brock and Misty) use rock-type and water-type Pokémon, respectively. Also, the third and fourth Gym Leaders (Lt. Surge and Erika) specialize in electric and grass Pokémon, and so have no advantage in battle against Bulbasaur and its evolutions.

Bulbasaur’s reasonably high Special Attack and Special Defense statistics mean that it has strong grass attacks (such as Vine Whip and Razor Leaf) and is strong when attacked with these sorts of attacks. However, its Attack stat is quite poor, so Bulbasaur’s attacks involving physical contact are weaker. At level 16, however, Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur, then Venusaur at level 32, so the fact that Bulbasaur’s statistics are relatively poor is less important. The player can choose to stop Bulbasaur’s evolution (as with any Pokémon), but since Iysaur and Venusaur have much better statistics, few players decide to do this.

Bulbasaur are unavailable in the wild in all versions, so they are considered extremely rare and very valuable, despite lack of battle prowess before evolving. Because one goal in a Pokémon RPG is to “catch 'em all”, any player of Red or Blue (for example) who does not select Bulbasaur at the beginning of the game must trade with someone else who has one. For this reason, Bulbasaur (and other starter Pokémon like Mudkip and Chicorita) are popularly bred within the games (Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent games contain locations where Pokémon can be bred to produce eggs, which hatch into Pokémon matching the mother’s earliest stage of development) and traded to other players.

In the Pokémon anime

Several Bulbasaur have appeared throughout the Pokémon anime television series, although only two have served as major characters. Like all Pokémon (except a particular Meowth and a certain Slowking), Bulbasaur cannot speak and are only able to communicate by repeating syllables of their species name ("bulb", "bulba", "saur") using different pitch, tone and body language to convey moods. From this, however, a Bulbasaur’s trainer can usually understand what it is saying. Two of the series’s main characters, Ash Ketchum and May both own a Bulbasaur at some time. Ash and his companions were the first humans to witness a Bulbasaur evolution ceremony, in which all the Bulbasaur in the world gather at one place.

Ash’s Bulbasaur has been around longer than all of his other Pokémon with the exception of Pikachu. Before joining Ash’s team, it lived with a girl named Melanie, who took care of abandoned Pokémon. It is unclear whether or not this Bulbasaur has been abandoned, but Melanie was not its trainer, she was merely a friend. Originally, this Bulbasaur is pessimistic about Ash, and when it and Ash’s other Pokémon are separated from Ash and company, it insists to the other Pokémon that Ash has abandoned them. However, after that episode, its loyalties begin to improve and it eventually becomes one of Ash’s most faithful Pokémon.

Pokémon trainers can carry a maximum of 6 Pokémon in their active roster at any one time. Ash’s Bulbasaur remained on Ash’s active roster for much of the series, but was later left with Professor Oak, after other Pokémon in his care started fighting amongst themselves. Bulbasaur was the only Pokémon able to break up these fights, and the fights would resume if it were to leave.

Nintendo has stated that, unlike the video games, Pokémon in the anime are genderless with a few exceptions. Bulbasaur typically has a relaxed attitude, rarely allowing itself to be provoked. This is a sharp contrast to its teammate Squirtle, which tends to act rashly in similar situations. Like Pikachu, Ash’s Bulbasaur has decided it prefers not to evolve. Although this decision was not accepted by other Bulbasaur at first, they have come to respect its wishes.

In the grass field battle of the Indigo League tournament, Ash’s Bulbasaur defeated two of the opponent’s three Pokémon (a Beedrill and a Scyther) by itself, despite rarely fighting as part of Ash’s team. It also took part in the Orange League tournament on Ash’s team, but was quickly defeated by a more experienced Electabuzz, becoming the only Pokémon on the team not to defeat at least one of the leader’s Pokémon. Later, it was used in the Johto League Silver Conference, where it was able to defeat a particularly strong shiny Magneton, and then in the same match duel a freshly rested Meganium to a draw. It is one of only two of Ash’s Pokémon team members (the other being Snorlax) to appear in the Advanced Generation episodes, the third incarnation of the showTemplate:Inote.

A Bulbasaur is also the fourth Pokémon caught by May during her Hoenn adventures. While travelling in the Forbidden Forest (a grass Pokémon reserve), she meets it trying to pick flowers. It warms to her and defends her against the other grass Pokémon, who see her as a threat. When May leaves, Bulbasaur decides to go with her. In the Japanese version, it is voiced by Miyako Itō. Like May’s other Pokémon, it is a contest Pokémon. Pokémon contests within the series are dog show-type events in which Pokémon compete to demonstate style to a panel of judges. For this reason, it is taught the Petal Dance attack, a flashy move which garners high scores from the judgesTemplate:Inote.

In other media

Bulbasaur is featured in two manga, Pokémon Adventures and Magical Pokémon Journey. In Pokémon Adventures, Red, the protagonist, receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak after demonstrating instinctive knowledge of its abilities. It becomes one of his primary Pokémon and eventually evolves into a Venusaur. In Magical Pokémon Journey, a character named Pistachio has a female Bulbasaur (nicknamed Danerina in the Japanese version), who has a crush on him.

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Bulbasaur was among the first Pokémon cards with which players became acquainted. Bulbasaur cards have appeared in the Base Set (and Base Set 2 and Legendary Collection), Gym Challenge (as Erika’s Bulbasaur), Expedition (two cards), EX Team Magma vs. Team Aqua, EX FireRed & LeafGreen (two cards) and POP Series 2. Considering the notability and popularity of Bulbasaur, the Pokémon had relatively few appearances early in the cards’ series. In particular, the Rocket set contained Charmander and Squirtle cards, but no Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur began to make more frequent appearances in the recent expansions, starting with the Expedition set. The Bulbasaur card is considered “common” by collectors and generally can be found with relative ease^[3],

In Japan, McDonald’s included Bulbasaur as one of a series of promotional Pokémon cards given away with their Happy Meals^[4]. McDonald’s did not, however, extend this idea outside Japan. Instead, a rival company, Burger King, took up the cause: their “Power Cards” included a Bulbasaur, alongside Elekid, Charmander, Meowth, Kingler, Snorlax, Lapras, Scyther, Articuno and Pikachu in “Assortment 3”. During the Christmas period of 1999, Bulbasaur and other Pokémon toys beat out Furby to become the most popular and most bought toy in the United Kingdom^[5].

Bulbasaur is also the main character of two children’s books, Pokémon Tales, Volume 3: Bulbasaur’s Trouble and Bulbasaur’s Bad Day, that were published in 1999 and 2000 respectively by Sagebrush. In Pokémon Tales, Volume 3: Bulbasaur’s Trouble, Bulbasaur resolves an argument between the other Pokémon^[6]. In Bulbasaur’s Bad Day, Meowth traps Bulbasaur in a pit and it has to outwit Team Rocket (the antagonists of the anime) to escape^[7].

References

Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2, Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

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• Official Pokemon website
• Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Bulbasaur as a species.
  • Bulbapedia’s article about Ash’s Bulbasaur.
  • Bulbapedia’s article about May’s Bulbasaur.
• Serebii.net’s 3rd Gen Pokédex entry for Bulbasaur
• Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
• PsyPoke Pokédex entry
• Smogon Pokédex entry