Oh, Bulbasaur. You were my first-ever Kanto starter, and for that you hold a special place in my heart. Honestly I still prefer Bulbasaur to the other three Kanto starters, Especially when compared to the ever-overrepped Charizard line. I used to like Charizard but... That's a story for Charmander's line review. This is about my good good boy Bulbasaur.





To start with, look at how cute he is. Just look at him. He's just a dumpy little dumpling-lookin' plant monster. Look at that smile. He is the very Definition of the word "babey." Interestingly enough, I've always thought of the Bulbasaur family as frogs of sorts! I think it has something to do with their combined head/body shape.





Ivysaur! Not a whole lot to say about him, beyond the fact that I've always loved mid-stages for the starter Pokemon, and I think Ivysaur was the start of that. Look at how teenager-y it looks! It even has that rebellious, angry kind of teenage energy about it. I can also appreciate the pop of color that it's given by its bud.





Venusaur is probably the biggest reason why I always have been so adamant that the Bulba line is frogs instead of dinosaurs. It's just so... frog-like! I adore the fact that its fangs were kept in its final design, implying that meat is some sort of part of its diet. I know fangs are in a lot of pop culture Japanese media, but when it comes to creatures like this, its got to imply something about their diet and physiology y'know?





Mega Venusaur has always been incredibly underwhelming to me. Like yeah, its little forehead flower is cute and all, but compared to how drastically most other mega evolutions change the Pokemon's base design... I mean, there's just not much there, is there?

So how does the Bulba line hold up in battle?

Surprisingly, Venusaur holds its own in battle! With relatively decent defensive capabilities and access to Chlorophyll, Venusaur turns its average speed into something to be reckoned with. It has two incredible STAB moves in Sludge Bomb and Leaf Storm, with Energy Ball also being a good choice for a Grass STAB move. Venusaur really shines on any doubles sun team, though it works well in the main game as an all-arounder of a grass type! Its stats are nothing to sneeze at, with it being perfectly capable of running both physical and special moves- though special sets are preferred by it, with an 18 base point advantage toward special moves.

Final Thoughts

The Bulba line is, overall, really fucking good. In both design and battle, it is a superb Pokemon. I just wish that it was half as loved by Nintendo as Charizard, because Venusaur shows off everything good about Pokemon- taking two relatively simple things and combining them to make something that looks both monstrous and friendly at the same time. Viva la Venusaur!