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Bulbasaur (フシギダネ Fushigidane in Japanese) is one of the 386 fictional species of Pokémon from the Pokémon franchise. Bulbasaur, a Template:PokemonType/Template:PokemonType-type Pokémon, is one of the first Pokémon a player can have in the first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue; Bulbasaur is also a commonly appearing Pokémon in the Pokémon anime. According to Time magazine, Bulbasaur is considered one of the "lead critters" in the series and CNN refers to Bulbasaur and his later evolutions as "the Carmen Miranda of Pokémon figures".

The name Bulbasaur is a portmanteau of "bulb" (from the large bulb on its back) and "sauros" (Greek for "lizard"), creating a name similar to 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 the anime, manga, and trading card game, Bulbasaur is a small, squat lizard that moves on all fours. Its body coloration is light green with darker green spots. A Bulbasaur is born without a bulb on its back; instead, it bears a seed which soon grows into a large, floral bulb as the Bulbasaur matures. The bulb can absorb solar energy 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. When in battle, the solar energy that has been stored in the bulb can be used to launch a powerful Solar Beam attack. The bulb also holds seeds that can be launched at an enemy in order to sap health from them in an attack called Leech Seed. Bulbasaur is also able to release two vines from the bulb, which are powerful enough to support a large amount of weight. The artwork design of Bulbasaur was created by Ken Sugimori in 1996. Like all Pokémon (except Meowth), Bulbasaur cannot speak and is only able to communicate by repeating the first two syllables of his name ("Bulba") over and over again. From this, however, Bulbasaur's trainer can tell what Bulbasaur is saying.

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. However, Bulbasaur is one of the random Pokémon available in Pokémon Stadium as a prize after defeating all the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members. Bulbasaur also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. The player can acquire it through the internal lottery by putting in the Smash Coins earned whilst playing the game.

As Bulbasaur is a grass/poison type (though Bulbasaur does not have the ability to learn any damage-dealing poison attacks naturally), his attacks are particularly effective against ground, rock and water Pokémon, but psychic, fire and flying attacks are particularly effective against it. Poison, fighting, and grass attacks do little damage to Bulbasaur and Bulbasaur does little damage to other grass and poison types, as well as dragon types. All other types have no particular advantage over Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur is therefore considered a good first for beginners, as the first two Gym Leaders (Brock and Misty) use rock and water Pokémon respectively. Also, the third and fourth Gym Leaders (Lt. Surge and Erika) use electric and grass Pokémon, and so have no advantage in battle against Bulbasaur.

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 that involve physical contact are weaker. Nevertheless, at level 16 Bulbasaur evolves into Ivysaur, followed by 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's), but as Iysaur and Venusaur have much better statistics, few players decide to do this.

As Bulbasaur is unavailable in most versions of Pokémon, including Red or Blue (unless it is chosen as the starting Pokémon), it is considered extremely rare and very valuable, despite its lack of battle prowess before evolving. As the eventual goal in any Pokémon version is to "catch 'em all", any player of Red or Blue (for example) that does not select Bulbasaur at the beginning of the game must trade with someone else for it; a difficult task, as most players would evolve their Bulbasaur to an Ivysaur and then a Venusaur as soon as they can. Ivysaur is rare for this same reason; most players evolve it to a Venusaur at their first chance.

In the Pokémon anime

Several Bulbasaur have appeared throughout the Pokémon anime television series, although only two as major characters. Two of the series' 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, Ash's Bulbasaur lived with a girl named Melanie, who took care of abandoned Pokémon. It is unclear whether or not this Bulbasaur has been abandoned, but it is shown that Melanie was not its trainer, since Ash is able to catch it after a battle, and characters cannot catch other trainers' Pokémon. Originally, this Bulbasaur is pessimistic about Ash, and when it and Ash's other Pokémon are separated from Ash and company, he insists to the other Pokémon that Ash has abandoned them. However, after that episode, its loyalties begin to improve and it later becomes one of Ash's most loyal Pokémon.

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

As with many other Pokémon in the anime, Ash's Bulbasaur's gender is unknown. It typically has a relaxed attitude, rarely being provoked. This is in contrast to its teammate Squirtle, who tends to act rashly in similar situations. Like Pikachu, Ash's Bulbasaur has decided it will be best if it does not evolve. Although this decision is not accepted by other Bulbasaur (and evolved forms thereof), it has been a decision that the other Bulbasaur have come to accept.

In the grass field battle of the Indigo League tournament, Ash's Bulbasaur defeats two of the opponent's three Pokémon (a Beedrill and a Scyther) by itself, despite rarely fighting as part of Ash's team. Later it is used in the Johto Silver Conference, where it is able to defeat a particularly strong shiny Magneton, and then in the same match duel a freshly wrested Meganium to a draw. It also takes part in the Orange League tournament on Ash's team, but in battle is quickly defeated by a more experienced Electabuzz, being the only one on the team to not defeat at least one of the leader's Pokémon. It is one of only two of Ash's Pokémon team members (the other being Snorlax) to appear in the Advanced Generation series, the third series of the show. Template: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 warmed to her and defended her against the other grass Pokémon, who saw her as a threat. Before May left, this Bulbasaur decided to stay with her. In the Japanese version, it is voiced by Miyako Itō. Althought not explicitly said, because of the heart-shaped marks on this Bulbasaur's forehead, it is assumed to be female. Like May's other Pokémon, it is a contest Pokémon and therefore it is taught the Petal Dance attack later on in the series. Template:Inote

In other media

Bulbasaur appears in two mangas: Pokémon Adventures and Magical Pokémon Journey. In Pokémon Adventures, Red, the protagonist of the series, receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak. 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 were 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, in the Rocket set, there were 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 general can be found with relative ease.

In Japan, McDonald's included Bulbasaur as one of a series of promotional Pokémon cards given away with their Happy Meals. McDonald's did not, however, bring this idea outside Japan. Instead, a rival company, Burger King, took up the idea: 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 bought toy in the United Kingdom.

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

References

1. "Pokémon banished from another playground," CNN, October 5, 1999; "PokéMania," Time Asia. URL accessed on December 29, 2005.
2. "Guides:Super Smash Bros. Melee," IGN.com. URL last accessed on December 29, 2005.
3. "Bulbasaur CotW," pojo.com. URL last accessed on January 31, 2006.
4. "Bulbasaur's Bad Day," Amazon. URL last accessed on February 1, 2006.
5. "Pokemon Tales, Volume 3 : Bulbasaur's Trouble," Amazon. URL last accessed on February 2, 2006.
6. "Pokemon, Pashmina Hot in Britain," Mimitchi. URL last accessed on February 2, 2006.
7. "McDonalds's Pokemon Series I & II," Rita's Pokemon Store. URL last accessed on December 29, 2005.

Books

• Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0439154049.
• Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 130206151.

Websites

• "Statistical analysis of Bulbasaur". PsyPoke. December 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• "Individual animé episode summaries". Serebii.net. December 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
• "May's Bulbasaur". Bulbagarden.net. January 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)

External links

2. Part 2

• 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.
• Pokémon Dungeon, full of statistics analysis.