Physiology
Bulbasaur is a reptilian creature that somewhat resembles a toad or a young dinosaur with a spotted blue-green hide. It has three white toes or claws growing out of its four legs. Its eyes are a bright red, but the most notable feature of this Pokémon is the onion-like bulb on its back. This bulb has a symbiotic relationship with the Pokémon, growing from a seed planted on its back by its mother at birth. Unlike the parasitic tochukaso mushrooms growing on the back of Paras, which eventually take over its body as it evolves into Parasect, Bulbasaur's bulb shares a symbiotic relationship that is beneficial for both. This allows Bulbasaur to get an enhanced boost of energy from the sun during the day and the bulb to remain growing and strong at night. The bulb also contains many seeds from which it draws nutrients.
Though they usually walk on four legs, a Bulbasaur can rise up on its hind legs. When it evolves into Ivysaur, the bulb becomes a larger flower bud, making it nearly impossible for one to rise on its hind legs.
Gender differences
None.
However, May's Bulbasaur is shown to have hearts on its forehead rather than the usual pattern.
Special abilities
Bulbasaur have a variety of Grass-type abilities granted to it by the bulb growing on its back. Powders, scents, petals, and seeds can come from the very tip of the bulb, and vines and leaves can come from the base. By manipulating these into moves like Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Petal Dance, Seed Bomb, and Sweet Scent, Bulbasaur have quite an arsenal at their disposal.
The bulb can absorb sunlight, allowing Bulbasaur to restore health with Synthesis or fire off a powerful SolarBeam.
Behavior
Most Bulbasaur are domesticated Pokémon, raised by breeders to be distributed as starter Pokémon in the Kanto region. Due to this, they are regarded as mostly well-behaved Pokémon. Some consider them to be the easiest Pokémon to start with due to this, as well as the fact that they have a type advantage over the first two Gym Leaders in Kanto.
Bulbasaur tend to have a strong loyalty to their friends and Trainers. In The Mystery Menace, for example, a Bulbasaur was abandoned by its Trainer in the sewers of Trovitopolis and remained there for years yet was still happy to see him when finally brought out from the sewer by Ash and his friends.
It is shown in Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden that once
annually in Kanto, large groups of Bulbasaur gather in a hidden garden to become Ivysaur. It is unknown whether or not this is the case in other regions.
Bulbasaur can sometimes be found lying in the sun during the day to photosynthesize energy when food is scarce.
When a baby Pokemon, such as Togepi or a newly hatched Bulbasaur, is crying and all other methods of calming down the baby fail, Bulbasaur may use its vines to perform its Bulba-by, where it rocks the baby back and forth in the air and sings to it. This has only been recorded once by humans, making it seem that some people don't even believe that this behavior is real.
Habitat
Bulbasaur are scarce in the wild. Sometimes they can be found in secret places such as gardens, plains near large sources of fresh water, or hiding in the forest in hollow logs, but overall, they are found far more often in the ownership of Trainers. It is native to Kanto.
Diet
- Main article: Pokémon food
Much like most Pokémon, Bulbasaur appears to be an omnivore. However, in times of scarcity, it does not need to eat much food, since the bulb on its back can store energy from the sun.
Major appearances
Ash's Bulbasaur
- Main article: 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.
May's Bulbasaur
- Main article: 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 journey 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.
Other
A 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.
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.
Minor appearances
Bulbasaur was mentioned in the first episode of the anime, Pokémon - I Choose You!, as one of the three starter Pokémon new trainers in Pallet Town can choose from. Ash dreamed of owning one, and it was his second choice of a starter, after Squirtle. However, when he arrived at Oak's lab, it was too late, as an unnamed Trainer who started the same day had already taken it.
A Bulbasaur was used by one of the students of the Pokémon Trainer's School in Gonna Rule The School!.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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EP010
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Bulbasaur
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Ash's Pokédex
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Bulbasaur, it bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and are difficult to capture in the wild.
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In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Ash's Bulbasaur appears in the manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu. It first appears in the eighth chapter, You Gotta Have Friends. Bulbasaur's capture is not shown; it is simply stated when it first appears from its Poké Ball that "Ash has been busy since the last comic".
In I'm Your Venusaur, Ash and Misty travel to a town inhabited by many Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur. There is a local legend that a giant Venusaur saved the townsfolk in battle.
In the Magical Pokémon Journey manga
- Main article: Bulbasaur (MPJ)
In Magical Pokémon Journey, Pistachio's Bulbasaur has a crush on him and is extremely jealous whenever she sees him talking to other females.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In the Red, Green & Blue arc, Red receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak in Bulbasaur, Come Home! after helping capture all the Pokémon he accidentally set free. Bulbasaur, now named Saur, 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.