Is Bulbasaur Good in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Playthrough?
Bulbasaur shows up in Grand Underground hideaways and works fine against Crasher Wake and parts of Bertha's team. The permanent Exp. Share means it levels fast even as a secondary pickup. Venusaur handles a decent chunk of the mid-game but doesn't have the same dominance it does in Kanto.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Roark's team.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Gardenia's team.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Crasher Wake's team.
Fantina's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Byron's team.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Volkner's team.
Aaron's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Flint's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Lucian's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Cynthia's team.
Bulbasaur cannot be caught in this game. It must be traded in from a compatible game where it appears in the wild. Cross-region trading typically becomes available after defeating the Elite Four.
How to Get Bulbasaur in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
12 encounter spots for Bulbasaur at moderate rates starting from endgame routes. Best and Earliest sort options below help narrow down your approach based on odds vs. Accessibility.
Where To Catch Bulbasaur in BDSP
To get Bulbasaur, start by catching Bulbasaur through walking encounters at Lv. 58-63. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Bulbasaur Weakness
Fire, Ice, Flying, and Psychic moves hit Bulbasaur for super-effective damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Standard number of weaknesses for the Grass/Poison typing.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Fire, Ice, Flying, Psychic |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Water, Electric, Fighting, Fairy |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass |
What is Bulbasaur Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Bulbasaur
 Kadabra Psychic | B | |
 Hypno Psychic | C | |
 Golbat Poison | C | |
Obtain MethodMt Coronet Surfing | ||
 Mr. Mime PsychicFairy | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Mr. Mime builds →Dream Eater 2x137-162%KO Aerial Ace 2x39-47% | ||
 Noctowl Normal | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Noctowl builds →Sky Attack 2x141-166%KO Dream Eater 2x80-95% | ||
 Staraptor Normal | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Staraptor builds →Brave Bird 2x226-267%KO | ||
 Skarmory Steel | B | |
Kadabra Psychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x184-217%KO | ||
 Bronzong SteelPsychic | C | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Bronzong builds →Future Sight 2x132-155%KO | ||
 Rapidash Fire | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Rapidash builds →Flare Blitz 2x195-230%KO | ||
In Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Weavile can KO Bulbasaur with Ice Shard (96-113%). Arcanine threatens a KO with Flare Blitz (266-313%). Staraptor's Double-Edge also KOs at 212-249%.
 Weavile DarkIce | A | |
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Weavile builds →Knock Off77-91% Ice Shard 2x96-113%KO | ||
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemRocky Helmet NatureHasty Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Arcanine builds →Extreme Speed59-70% Flare Blitz 2x266-313%KO Flamethrower 2x120-142%KO | ||
Staraptor Normal | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityReckless ItemChoice Band NatureJolly Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Staraptor builds →Close Combat71-83% Double Edge212-249%KO U Turn82-97% | ||
 Gardevoir PsychicFairy | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTrace ItemChoice Scarf NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Gardevoir builds →Moonblast46-55% Psychic 2x175-206%KO Shadow Ball52-61% | ||
Bulbasaur Evolutions
Three stages ahead. Bulbasaur grows into Ivysaur, then pushes on to Venusaur. Check the evolution methods below. For breeding, average hatch time with a decent partner pool via two egg groups. The evolved forms gain up to 207 total stats over Bulbasaur. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Bulbasaur easily with 45 breeding partners from the Plant and Monster egg groups. Pass egg moves like Amnesia, Charm, Curse and 9 more to offspring.
BDSP Bulbasaur Best Moveset
Hidden AbilityChlorophyll doubles Speed in sun, a tool that didn't exist in the original Gen 4. 65 Sp. Atk at 45 Speed still can't capitalize on the boost. The moveset waits for Venusaur where that same sun synergy reaches A-tier.
Best Build
Bulbasaur best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Sweeper Moveset
- Sludge Bomb
- Weather Ball
- Giga Drain
- Substitute
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Bulbasaur picks up Amnesia and Charm only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Leaf Storm and Solar Beam while Normal and Fighting coverage adds range.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
For some time after its birth, it grows by taking nourishment from the seed on its back.
Bulbasaur Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Guide
For Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, you can run Bulbasaur through the first few routes without issues. 318 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Ivysaur as fast as you can.
Game Availability
One of the original 151, Bulbasaur has appeared in 21 games — nearly every mainline game. From Red & Blue through the latest titles, it's rarely been left out of a regional Pokedex.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RBDebut
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves