Bulbasaur is a small, quadrupedal amphibianPokémon 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. 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 and from the nutrient-rich seeds contained within.
First partner Pokémon are raised by Breeders to be distributed to new Trainers.[1] Having been raised by humans 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.[2] Bulbasaur 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".[3] Its vines are long and strong enough to allow Bulbasaur to grab the branches of trees and pull itself up to reach berries.[4] Bulbasaur can survive for days without even eating a single morsel. As mentioned in Sleep Style Dex, Bulbasaur is known to sleep in sunny spots.
It is found in grasslands and forests throughout the Kantoregion. However, due to Bulbasaur's status as first partner Pokémon, it is hard to come by in the wild and generally found under the ownership of a Trainer. It has been recently seen living in the Terarium of Blueberry Academy. 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.[5] 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.
The seed on its back is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows. (Pokémon Red, Silver, or Crystal inserted) It carries a seed on its back right from birth. As it grows older, the seed also grows larger. (Pokémon Blue, Gold, or Yellow inserted)
When Bulbasaur is born, it lives for a while via photosynthesis and the nutrients in the seed on its back. Until it grows bigger, it depends on other Pokémon to survive.
It sits still and basks in sunny spots, possibly taking a nap. Perhaps it's trying to absorb nutrients from the seed on its back in order to grow up big, even while sleeping.
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.
Much later on, while Ash was traveling in the Hoennregion, 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 PurikaContest and place Top 8 in the regionalGrand 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.
In Mewtwo Strikes Back, a Bulbasaur was cloned from Ash's own Bulbasaur. The cloned Bulbasaur 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 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 debuted in Pokémon - I Choose You!, where Ash dreamed about one as his prospective first partner Pokémon.
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 tough and very difficult to capture in the wild.
In Bulbasaur, Come Home!, Red received a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak after helping capture all of the Pokémon he accidentally set free. Bulbasaur, now nicknamed Saur, has since evolved into Ivysaur, and then into Venusaur. It has the ability to suck in large amounts of air through his bulb, as seen in That Awful Arbok!, where he sucked up the mist in Pokémon Tower, as well as the Gastly that made it.
Ash's Bulbasaur debuts in 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.
"Bulbasaur is a cute Pokémon born with a large seed firmly affixed to its back; the seed grows in size as the Pokémon does. Along with Squirtle and Charmander, Bulbasaur is one of the three Pokémon available at the beginning of Pokémon Red and Blue. It evolves into Ivysaur."
Brawl trophy information
"A Seed Pokémon. From birth, Bulbasaur carries a large plant seed on its back. It uses the nutrients 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. Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur."
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.
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 is based on a frog.[7][8] 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 line to have been designed and was also directly based on Venusaur.[8] The bulb on its back resembles a lily or onion.
Name origin
Bulbasaur is a combination of bulb[9][10][11] (a rounded underground storage organ present in some plants) and dinosaur[11] or -saurus[10] (common suffix used in the names of extinct reptilian creatures, derived from the Ancient Greek word for lizard). The name also sounds similar to the word bulbous.
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?").
In other languages
Language
Title
Meaning
Japanese
フシギダネ Fushigidane
From 不思議 fushigi and 種 tane, as well as a pun of 不思議だね Fushigi, da ne?
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.