Bulbasaur



Bulbasaur is a Grass-type Pokémon from the first generation. It evolves into Ivysaur at Level 16, then into Venusaur at Level 32.

Kanto
Team Rocket, attacked the Village and attempted to steal all of the Pokémon with an enormous vacuum. Bulbasaur managed to save Oddish at the last second, and was touched when Ash dashed out to help him get to safety. It then used Vine Whip to deflect the vacuum and Pidgeotto drove Team Rocket away. Melanie encouraged Bulbasaur to join Ash, explaining that its growth was being stunted by staying too long in the village. Bulbasaur agreed to join him once Ash defeated it in battle. Bulbasaur put up an excellent fight against Pikachu, using its vines to seize and smash Pikachu onto the ground repeatedly. However, a powerful Thunderbolt fried Bulbasaur and stunned it long enough for Ash to capture it.

Bulbasaur was a Pokémon Ash always wanted to catch, as explained in Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village.When Misty tried to capture a wild Oddish, Bulbasaur rushed to Oddish's aid, easily defeating both Starmie with Tackle andButterfree by blowing his own Sleep Powder back onto it. Later, it was revealed that Bulbasaur was raised in the Hidden Village by Melanie, who cared for sick, injured, and abandoned Pokémon. It acted as the village's bodyguard, and was blatantly hostile to all Trainers, going to far as to physically attack Misty.

Its gym battle debut occurred in Pokémon Scent-sation!, where it fought Erika's Tangela. It attempted to use Vine Whip, but Tangela used Constrict to pull it in close and defeated it with Stun Spore. It then fought Koga's sister, Aya in The Ninja Poké-Showdown, defeating her Venonat by blowing away Stun Spore and then striking it with a newly learned Leech Seed. In Who Gets To Keep Togepi?, it fought for Ash in the tournament to decide who get to keep Togepi, easily defeating Misty's unintentional entrantPsyduck by licking and tickling it. However, the win meant nothing as Togepi chose Misty anyway.

In Princess vs Princess, Bulbasaur, along with Pikachu and Brock's Vulpix, was briefly lent to Misty to allow her to compete in the Princess Day Festival with a more balanced team, Bulbasaur single-handedly let Misty have her first win by defeating a Kingler, Pinsir, Cubone and Raticate on its own. It was called out in the final to battle Jessie on advice from Ash, but its ranged vines were bumped aside by the huge tongue of Lickitung and defeated with Lick.

Bulbasaur had the opportunity to evolve after battling a powerful Rhyhorn with a very strong Take Down attack in Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, but refused to do so despite facing a mass of Ivysaur as well as a Venusaur who were angry at it for ruining the Bulbasaur evolutionary festival. This allowed it to learn the powerful SolarBeam technique earlier than if it had evolved.

It had only one battle in the Indigo League, in The Fourth Round Rumble against Jeanette Fisher. After an initial trouble with Beedrill's speed, Bulbasaur crippled the Poison Bee Pokémon with Leech Seed and then defeating it with Tackle. Scyther's speed and Double Team produces similar trouble for Ash, until Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip to hit every single clone until it knocks out the real Scyther. Looking set to sweep the match with just Bulbasaur, Ash then took on her Bellsprout. Bulbasaur used Tackle, but Bellsprout flexed its body and absorbed the blow, before seizing Bulbasaur and slamming it onto the ground until it fainted.

Its bond with Ash's Pikachu was shown for real in A Friend in Deed, where Pikachu was able to detect Bulbasaur's Poké Ball amongst hundreds of stolen balls.

In Mewtwo Strikes Back, Bulbasaur was used to battle Raymond's Donphan. It was hit by two successive Rollouts, but when launched into the air, it was able to flatten Donphan with SolarBeam. OnNew Island, Bulbasaur and Squirtle attempted to resist capture by Mewtwo, using its vines to keep the balls at bay. Ash recalled both Pokémon to safety, but both were cloned when Bulbasaur's ball was captured itself. Bulbsasaur fought viciously against its clone, but was the underdog, its clone able to headbutt it over and over. It wept when Ash was petrified by Mewtwo and Mew, its tears helping in his restoration.

Orange Islands
It accompanied Ash to the Orange Islands and was used in Ash's second gym challenge against Dannyin Navel Maneuvers. It attempted to help Pikachu carve a frozen geyser into an ice sled, but was unable to keep up with Danny's team until Charizard completed it in a few short Flamethrowers. It then helped Ash, Pikachu and Squirtle in the race down the cliff, using its vines to steer.

In The Mystery Menace, Bulbasaur was kidnapped by a giant vined creature in the sewers ofTrovitopolis. Ash was so upset by this that Misty and Tracey had to both physically restrain him from diving into the water after it and then tie him up so that Officer Jenny could rescue them. Ash kicked and screamed the entire time. With help from Muk, he rescued Bulbasaur and its captor, a mutated giant Bulbasaur that had been abandoned by the town's mayor.

In Misty Meets Her Match, Bulbasaur is used in the Grass-type round of the Gym battle for the Spike Shell Badge. It fought against Rudy's Exeggutor, who dodged Razor Leaf and knocked Bulbasaur down with Egg Bomb. Bulbasaur quickly saved the battle by putting Exeggutor to sleep with Sleep Powder. Bulbasaur was on Ash's team to fight Drake for the Orange League championship in Enter the Dragonite. It managed to land a few blows on Drake's Electabuzz, but was defeated by a ThunderPunch. Drake was eventually defeated and Bulbasaur joined the rest of the team in the Hall of Fame.

Johto
Bulbasaur fought for Ash against Misty for the second time inThe Totodile Duel. It seemingly defeated Poliwag with a Razor Leaf, but Poliwag evolved into Poliwhirl and fought back with a powerful Body Slam. After taking damage from Bubble, Bulbasaur flattened Poliwhirl with SolarBeam, winning the match for Ash. It also had a rematch with Aya in Ariados, Amigos!, using Body Slam to defeat Venonat from above. In The Grass Route, Bulbasaur was entered in the 45th annual Grass Tournament, reaching the finals after Team Rocket was disqualified for dressing Meowth up as a Sunflora. Bulbasaur looked set to win the final, but Ephraim's Skiploom learned SolarBeam and won the tournament.

Bulbasaur joined Ash in Johto, where it first met Heracross inA Sappy Ending. This began the recurring joke of Heracross wanting to suck the pollen from Bulbasaur's bulb. Throughout the Johto journeys, Bulbasaur's oldest team membersCharizard and Squirtle both went into training with others, leaving Bulbasaur as Ash's only remaining Kanto starter. It bid a solemn farewell to Squirtle in The Fire-ing Squad!.

Bulbasaur remained with Ash until Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, when it was sent back to Professor Oak's lab to keep the Pokémon there from quarreling with each other. It proved to be a natural leader, first solving the territorial disputes between the warring Bellossom and Jumpluff factions, and the Grass-type and Water-type Pokémon by ordering and leading the construction of a new lake. It came very close to peril when it saved an Oddish from an enormous falling boulder, but revealed that it had learnedDig just in time to save itself. Oak remarked to Tracey that Bulbasaur was a perfect example of a Pokémon being able to call on powers unheard of in extreme situations. After resolving this dispute, Ash and Oak agreed to allow Bulbasaur to reside at Oak's lab for an indefinite period, finally rotating it out of his team.

It was called on in Tie One On!, where it fought in the Silver Conference against Jackson's ShinyMagneton. It quickly learned from Pikachu and Cyndaquil's mistakes, instead using a spinning Vine Whip to mow through the afterimages from Double Team. It blocked Magneton's attacks with Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, before taking it down with Leech Seed and Vine Whip. It then took on his Meganium, with whom it had a bitter rivalry after the Herb Pokémon had mocked it earlier. Neither Pokémon attempted to dodge the other's attacks, both willing to be able to take as much as the other. It came down to a battle of Vine Whips and a double SolarBeam, which knocked out both Pokémon.

In Spell of the Unown, he was defeated by Lisa's Butterfree's Sleep Powder, despite having been able to resist Ash's Butterfree using the same tactic in its debut. It helped Ash and his friends break into the mansion by using its vines as ropes for climbing.

Hoenn
Bulbasaur was seen in Showdown at the Oak Corral, and was one of the first Pokémon to realize there was something wrong. It later defeated Butch's Hitmontop and used a SolarBeam on the whole group.

Bulbasaur later returned in Hokey Poké Balls! to meet May's Bulbasaur. The two struck up a good friendship, eventually resulting in May choosing to leave her Bulbasaur at Oak's lab inThe Right Place and the Right Mime so it could learn from Ash's.

Kanto Battle Frontier
Sinnoh

In Gathering the Gang of Four!, Ash brought it to his team alongside Charizard andSquirtle to battle Brandon at the Battle Pyramid. After Brandon'sDusclops took down Charizard, Ash's Bulbasaur was sent out to fight in the next episode. It took damage from the powerful Dusclops, including a Confuse Ray which sent the vines out of control and caused them to attack Bulbasaur and Ash. Bulbasaur responded to Ash's cries and broke out of confusion, leaping into the air and taking down Dusclops with SolarBeam. After Solrocktook down Squirtle, Bulbasaur was sent back out. After taking damage from Psychic-type moves and responding with Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, a double SolarBeam knocked both Pokémon out. After Ash won, Bulbasaur returned to Professor Oak's Laboratory.

Bulbasaur made a cameo in An Old Family Blend! at Professor Oak's Laboratory, where Heracross is sucking sap from its bulb, much to Bulbasaur's annoyance. It used Vine Whip to shove Heracross away. Bulbasaur was not seen participating in the Lily of the Valley Conference.

Trainer: Ash Ketchum

Friends: Ash, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Squirtle, Kingler, Muk, Tauros, Lapras, Snorlax, Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Torkoal, Glalie, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor, Gible, Goldeen, Staryu, Starmie, Horsea, Psyduck, Togepi, Politwag, Onix, Geodude, Crobat, Vulpix, Pineco, Venonat, Marill, Scyther, May's Bulbasaur, Combusken, Munchlax, May's Squirtle