Bulbasaur

Designed by Atsuko Nishida, Bulbasaur debuted in Pocket Monsters: Red and Green (Pokémon Red and Blue outside Japan) as a starter Pokémon. Since then, it has reappeared in subsequent sequels, spin-off games, related merchandise, and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. It is a central character in the Pokémon anime, being one of Ash Ketchum's main Pokémon for the first season, and a different one later being obtained by May. It is featured in various manga and is owned by protagonist Red in the Pokémon Adventures manga. Bulbasaur has been featured in myriad pieces of merchandise, including toys, key chains, and plush dolls. Bulbasaur can evolve into Ivysaur and eventually Venusaur.

Bulbasaur
Pokémon character
Bulbasaur artwork by Ken Sugimori
First game	Pokémon Red and Blue (1996)
Designed by	Atsuko Nishida Ken Sugimori (finalized)
Voiced by	Tara Sands (English)
In-universe information
Species	Pokémon
Type	Grass and Poison

Bulbasaur has generally been received positively and has been considered one of the best Pokémon and best starter Pokémon, including by series producer Junichi Masuda. Its role in the anime has been suggested to have played a factor into its popularity.

Bulbasaur is a fictional species of Pokémon created for the Pokémon franchise. Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the series began in Japan in 1996 with the release of the video games Pokémon Red and Blue for the Game Boy. In these games, the player assumes the role of a Pokémon Trainer whose goal is to capture and train creatures called Pokémon. Players use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon, and some can transform into stronger species through a process called evolution.

Bulbasaur was designed by Atsuko Nishida, one of the character designers for Pocket Monsters Red and Blue, who based its design on Ivysaur, the next evolved form of Bulbasaur, who was designed first. The species first appeared as one of three Pokémon the player could choose as their first at the beginning of the initial Game Boy games, Pokémon Red and Blue, released in Japan in 1996. Its Japanese name, Fushigidane, is a combination of the Japanese words for mystery or miracle (fushigi) and seed (tane). In translating the game for English-speaking audiences, Nintendo gave the Pokémon "cleverly descriptive names" related to their appearance or features as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children; thus, Bulbasaur is a portmanteau relating to both its dinosaurian appearance and the large garlic-shaped bulb on its back. Both the etymology and appearance of Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur convey a transition of this Pokémon from the harmless to the dangerous as it evolves. The idea to feature Bulbasaur and the other Red and Blue starters in a significant role in Pokémon X and Y came about a year and a half into the development of the games. The Mega Evolutions for the three Pokémon's final forms were created, and the designers decided that they should give players an opportunity to receive one of these Pokémon from Professor Sycamore, the games professor, to see their Mega Evolved form.

Despite their English names, Ken Sugimori confirmed that the design of Bulbasaur and its evolutions based on frogs. In the Pokémon franchise, Bulbasaur are small, squat amphibian and plant Pokémon that move on all four legs, and have blue-green bodies with darker blue-green spots. As a Bulbasaur undergoes evolution into Ivysaur and then later into Venusaur, the bulb on its back blossoms into a large flower. The seed on a Bulbasaur's back is planted at birth and then sprouts and grows larger as the Bulbasaur grows. The bulb absorbs sunlight which allows it to grow, and for this reason, Bulbasaur enjoy soaking up the sun's rays. They can also survive for days without eating because the bulb stores energy. In the video games, Bulbasaur has two "types," elemental attributes that determine strengths and weaknesses: Grass and Poison. Series producer and director Junichi Masuda considered Bulbasaur the best starter Pokémon, finding it really cute and feeling that it exemplifies what Pokémon is for him, citing the monster and plant combination. Bulbasaur has been voiced by Tara Sands in English in the Pokémon anime series.

Bulbasaur is the first Pokémon entry in the Pokedex. It made its video game debut on February 27, 1996, in the Japanese-language games Pocket Monsters Red and Green. Along with Charmander and Squirtle, Bulbasaur is one of the initial three Pokémon the player can choose from at the beginning of the games. Bulbasaur and the other starters from Red and Blue are replaced by Pikachu in Pokémon Yellow, the only starter available in it, and is instead obtainable elsewhere in the game. Bulbasaur appears in all other entries in the series, though in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Bulbasaur is not available until the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Isle of Armor. Similarly, Bulbasaur is not available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet until the release of The Indigo Disk.

Bulbasaur appears in various Pokémon spin-offs, including Pokémon Stadium and the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, where players may be assigned Bulbasaur in a personality quiz. Bulbasaur appears in both Pokémon Snap and New Pokémon Snap as Pokémon the player can take pictures of. Bulbasaur also features in Pokémon Go and as a playable character in Pokémon Unite. Outside of the Pokémon video games, Bulbasaur is featured as a collectible in multiple games in the Super Smash Bros. series, including Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. A costume for Mario based on it was added to Super Mario Maker.

In the Pokémon anime, multiple Bulbasaur are owned by various main characters, including series protagonist Ash Ketchum. The character May also captures one in Pokémon: Advanced. She later makes a guest appearance, where it is revealed that her Bulbasaur has fully evolved into a Venusaur. In Pokémon Adventures, a manga based on the plot of the Pokémon Red and Blue games, the character Red receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, which he nicknames Saur. Bulbasaur also appears in the movie Detective Pikachu, where a herd of them lead Pikachu for Mewtwo to heal. In making the film, a bulldog was used to understand the top-heavy movement of Bulbasaur, then puppeteers in London were hired to create 3D puppets of it. Facial expressions and texture details were added using CGI.

Bulbasaur has been featured in varying pieces of merchandise, including toys and plush dolls. Bulbasaur has been depicted in action figures sold by Hasbro in the United States, while Tomy in Japan sold extensive merchandise of the character, including vinyl dolls, wind-up model kits, Singaporean popcorn, and terry cloth bean bags. It has also been used in promotional merchandising at fast-food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King. Bulbasaur has also been included in various versions of the Pokémon painting on ANA Boeing 767s. In 2021, Seiko made limited edition luxury watches based on Bulbasaur and its evolutionary family. The watch also depicts it using Solar Beam. The island nation of Niue issued a commemorative coin with a legal tender value of one crown, which has a Bulbasaur on the reverse side. Bulbasaur was also among the eleven Pokémon chosen as Japan's mascots in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. A Bulbasaur statue was installed on March 25, 2018, in the municipality of Suzano, São Paulo, Brazil, and was the first of several other Pokémon-related statues installed.

Bulbasaur has been noted to be less popular than Charmander and Squirtle. Nerdist attributed it to a lack of attention to the line early in the series because of Venusaur's omission from game box art in non-Japanese releases of the game. This led to one Twitter user creating an account named BulbaGanda to spread support for the Pokémon, which was met with considerable popularity.

Bulbasaur has received praise from publications such as IGN and Official Nintendo Magazine. Nintendo World Report's Pedro Hernandez highlighted its role in one episode of the anime, citing its appealing storyline as endearing Bulbasaur to him. He stated that this role helped him become a fan of the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Chris Plante of Polygon called Bulbasaur the best Pokémon; while he felt it and its evolutions "comparably dull", they were "the most true to life" as it looked more "leathery and aged" after evolving, compared to the other starters. Other Polygon writers highlighted Bulbasaur for similar reasons, mostly notably for its design, which was highlighted for providing a good balance of design elements while remaining cute. Another writer highlighted Bulbasaur's appearance in Detective Pikachu, stating that its cute appearance and affectionate design helped endear him to the Pokémon. He further noted that age seemed to affect people's perception of Bulbasaur; whereas younger audiences saw it as weaker, older audiences tended to perceive it as a more cute and appealing creature. Bulbasaur was ranked the third best starter Pokémon in a poll of Japanese Pokémon fans by ITmedia. The staff felt the popularity of Bulbasaur derived from the anime, particularly Ash's Bulbasaur, who at the time was the Pokémon that was with the series protagonist for the longest time besides Pikachu, spanning four-and-a-half years. They speculated this led to fans feeling attached to Bulbasaur.