Bulbasaur was designed by Atsuko Nishida, one of the character designers for Pocket Monsters Red and Blue, who based its design on Ivysaur, the mid-evolved form of Bulbasaur The species first appeared as one of three starter Pokémon the player could choose from at the beginning of the initial Game Boy games, Pokémon Red and Blue, released in Japan in 1996.
Characteristics
Despite their English names, Ken Sugimori confirmed that the design of Bulbasaur and its evolutions are based on onions and frogs, albeit identified more with a smaller Dicynodont. In the Pokémon franchise, Bulbasaur are small, squat amphibian and plant Pokémon that move on all four legs, and have light blue-green bodies with darker blue-green spots.
Appearances
In the video games
Bulbasaur 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 a starter Pokémon the player can choose from at the beginning of the games.
In the anime
Scenes from the Pokémon anime have depicted both the characters Ash and May training a Bulbasaur at different times, with Ash's Bulbasaur garnering more prominence within the storylines.
In other media
Bulbasaur is featured in an eclectic range of different Pokémon manga series. In Pokémon: Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, and Surf's Up, Pikachu!, which loosely parallel the storyline of the anime, Pikachu is separated from Ash temporarily, and travels with a Bulbasaur to a secret Pokémon village in the mountains.
