Ash's Bulbasaur (Tom's Version)

Ash's Bulbasaur (Japanese: サトシのフシギダネ Satoshi's Fushigidane) is the eleventh Pokémon that Ash Ketchum caught in the Kanto region.

Kanto
Bulbasaur's first appearance was in Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village. After Ash catches his Oddish, Misty tried to capture a wild Oddish, Bulbasaur rushed to Oddish's aid, easily defeating both her Starmie with Tackle and Ash's Butterfree by blowing its own Sleep Powder back onto it. Later, the group met Melanie, who cared for sick, injured, and abandoned Pokémon in the Hidden Village. She revealed that she had raised Bulbasaur, that it acted as the village's bodyguard, and was blatantly hostile to all Trainers. Later, 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 it get to safety. It then used Vine Whip to deflect the vacuum and Pidgeotto drove Team Rocket away. After Team Rocket's defeat, Melanie encouraged Bulbasaur to join Ash, explaining that its growth was being stunted by staying too long in the village. Bulbasaur agrees 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 first used in a battle to repel Team Rocket Grunts aboard the St. Anne in Battle Aboard the St. Anne, where it joined a group of other Bulbasaur to use Vine Whip on the Grunts. Its vines were also used to help the gang and Team Rocket escape from the sinking ship in the next episode.

In The Ninja Poké-Showdown, Bulbasaur was used to battle Koga's sister, Aya, and her Venonat. After dodging Bulbasaur's Tackle, Venonat fired its Stun Spore. Bulbasaur, however, countered by blowing away the spores and used Vine Whip. Venonat was able to dodge Bulbasaur's vines and hit Bulbasaur with a super-effective Psybeam. Bulbasaur, however, was able to endure the hit and after dodging another Psybeam it defeated Venonat with Leech Seed.

In Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, Bulbasaur was called out by Ash to battle Duplica's Ditto. Ditto immediately transformed into Bulbasaur and blocked an incoming Razor Leaf with Vine Whip. It then used Vine Whip to enwrap Bulbasaur. Unable to do anything, Ash forfeited the match.

Bulbasaur had the opportunity to evolve in Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden. Bulbasaur was used in a battle against a Hiker's Rhyhorn. While Rhyhorn headed forwards using Take Down, Bulbasaur tried stopping it with Leech Seed. Bulbasaur, however, failed to do so and was hit hard. Ash tried recalling Bulbasaur, but it refused to return to its Poké Ball, wanting to continue the battle. As Rhyhorn charged in for another attack, Bulbasaur struck it with Razor Leaf and followed up with Vine Whip, knocking it out. Ash then noticed Bulbasaur had collapsed and that its bulb had started glowing and immediately rushed to the Pokémon Center. At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy revealed Bulbasaur was almost ready to evolve and that the evolution of Bulbasaur takes place at a special festival in the Mysterious Garden. That night, Pikachu noticed Bulbasaur leaving the Pokémon Center and the two had a conversation. Suddenly, Bulbasaur was grabbed by multiple vines belonging to a group of Bulbasaur and was taken away. While Pikachu went to get the others, Bulbasaur was taken to the Mysterious Garden where the evolutionary festival was about to take place. While all other Bulbasaur evolved into Ivysaur, Ash's Bulbasaur refused to do so, despite facing the mass of Ivysaur as well as a Venusaur, who were angry at it for ruining the festival. Ash then intervened and stood up for Bulbasaur and its decision not to evolve. Then Team Rocket appeared and used a vacuum to try to capture all Ivysaur and Venusaur. Since Bulbasaur didn't evolve, it was able to learn Solar Beam and used its new move to free the Ivysaur and blast Team Rocket off. Venusaur then approached Bulbasaur and extended a vine to it as a gesture of respect. Bulbasaur, Ash, and the others then left the garden, having made amends with the Ivysaur and Venusaur.

In Princess vs Princess, Bulbasaur, along with Pikachu and Brock's Vulpix, was briefly lent to Misty to allow her to compete in the Queen of the Princess Festival contest with a more balanced team. In the first round of the tournament, Bulbasaur single-handedly defeated a Trainer's Kingler, Pinsir, Cubone and Raticate. Later, it was also seen defeating a Graveler. Bulbasaur was called out again in the finals to battle Jessie's Lickitung. Bulbasaur tried attacking with Vine Whip, but its vines were tied by Lickitung's huge tongue and it was then licked, causing it to faint.

In Battle for the Badge!, Bulbasaur was sent out to fight Team Rocket, who were fighting in Giovanni's stead in the Viridian Gym. It faced Giovanni's Kingler. Despite the type-advantage, Bulbasaur was hit hard by Kingler, who blocked Vine Whip with Harden and then hit back with Bubble.

Bulbasaur had only one battle in the Indigo Plateau Conference, in The Fourth Round Rumble against Jeanette Fisher. Bulbasaur first faced Jeanette's Beedrill. Beedrill started off with Tackle, but Bulbasaur managed to dodge it and retaliated with Razor Leaf. Beedrill, however, used its great speed to dodge the attack and force Bulbasaur to take evasive actions by continuously attacking with Twineedle and Poison Sting. Eventually, Bulbasaur managed to fire off a Leech Seed, crippling Beedrill giving it the chance to finish the Poison Bee Pokémon off with Tackle. Jeanette's next Pokémon was Scyther, which produced similar trouble for Ash as Bulbasaur was forced to dodge Scyther's speedy Slash and Swift attacks. Bulbasaur tried stopping Scyther with Vine Whip, but it simply knocked its vines away while continuing to attack. Scyther then went for Double Team, confusing Bulbasaur. Ash ordered Bulbasaur to attack with Vine Whip, but it only hit the clones, giving Scyther the chance to hit Bulbasaur with Slash. Scyther continued to use this strategy to constantly hit Bulbasaur, giving it no time to successfully counterattack. As Bulbasaur was thrown in the air by another hit, Ash had Bulbasaur use Vine Whip to hit every single clone and knock out the real Scyther. Looking set to sweep the match with just Bulbasaur, Ash then took on Jeanette's Bellsprout. Bulbasaur used Tackle, but Bellsprout was able to absorb the attack using its flexible body, before seizing Bulbasaur and slamming it onto the ground until it fainted.

Orange Island
In The Mystery Menace, due to one of Team Rocket's schemes, Ash and his friends found themselves in the sewers of Trovitopolis, where they came across a giant vined creature. Ash sent out Bulbasaur to attack the creature, but it used its vines to deflect Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf and then proceeded to grab and take Bulbasaur underwater. After learning more about the vined creature from the Mayor of Trovitopolis as well as about his plans to exterminate it, the group decided to head back to the sewers to save the creature and Bulbasaur from the Mayor's personal SWAT team. With help from Muk, Ash was able to find Bulbasaur and its captor, a mutated giant Bulbasaur that had been abandoned by the town's Mayor. Bulbasaur later saved its new friend by helping it sending the Mayor and the SWAT team flying.

Jotho
It was called on in Tie One On, where it fought in the Silver Conference against Jackson's Shiny Magneton. It quickly learned from Pikachu and Cyndaquil's mistakes, 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 Solar Beam, which knocked out both Pokémon.

Hoenn
In Hokey Poké Balls, May showed her Bulbasaur to Professor Oak, which made Ash decide to bring his Bulbasaur over for a visit. When the Poké Ball arrived though, it wouldn't open, making everyone believe that the Pokémon Center's balls had been stolen. It was revealed to be Team Rocket, who accidentally dropped Ash's Bulbasaur while escaping. The two Bulbasaur teamed up to stop Team Rocket, with Ash's Bulbasaur teaching May's along the way. Once they found Team Rocket, the Bulbasaur battled against them, with Ash's Bulbasaur protecting and teaching May's how to fight. After rescuing the Pokémon, Professor Oak called back and asked for Ash's Bulbasaur to return and stop the Water and Grass Pokémon from fighting. Ash sent his Bulbasaur back to Professor Oak's Laboratory as May's Bulbasaur appeared to have made a positive change from the experience.

Unova
Bulbasaur later appeared in The Dream Continues at Professor Oak's corral, where it was being filmed by Alexa. It later had a happy reunion with Ash and Pikachu, before signalling to Ash's Unova Pokémon with its Solar Beam. It later posed with the rest of Ash's Pokémon in a group photo with him.

Personality and Characteristics
Bulbasaur is one of Ash's most mature Pokémon, and is frequently viewed as the responsible leader of Ash's Pokémon, especially due to its actions at both Melanie's Hidden Village and Professor Oak's lab.

Unlike its closest friend, the boisterous and immature Squirtle, Bulbasaur was cautious bordering on cynical of all Trainers when it joined Ash's team, going so far as to physically attack Misty when it thought she was trying to take an Oddish away. In Island of the Giant Pokémon, it alone assumed that Ash had abandoned them. Its views on Trainers were presumably colored by all the abandoned Pokémon in the Hidden Village. Over time, Bulbasaur grew to trust its new Trainer, but it retained a stubborn, surly, and eager-to-battle demeanor. For example, in Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, it dodged Ash's call to return and insisted on finishing the battle. This hard personality was briefly softened during a visit to a garden full of exotic plants run by Florinda Showers, where Bulbasaur developed a certain affection for her Gloom, but nothing apparently came of it.

Although Bulbasaur is one of Ash's most mature Pokémon, it has succumbed to fits of immaturity when Squirtle is involved. This is seen multiple times in disagreements or quarrels between the two. In Christmas Night, after Squirtle accidentally eats Bulbasaur's Bulbasaur-shaped cookie, despite being apologetic, Bulbasaur still chases and attacks Squirtle. In Kanga Games, Pikachu, Togepi, and a baby Kangaskhan ride past Bulbasaur and Squirtle on a sled. Eager to join in, Bulbasaur flips Squirtle onto its back and uses Squirtle as an involuntary makeshift sled.