Is Bulbasaur Good in Crystal Playthrough?
Trade or breed from Gen 1, same as Gold and Silver. Crystal doesn't add any new way to get the Kanto starters. Meganium is the only native Grass option and it struggles through most gym matchups. If you can trade a Bulbasaur in, it fills a genuine gap in Crystal's roster.
Falkner's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Bugsy's typing presses Bulbasaur's defenses.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Morty's team.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Clair's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Lt. Surge's team.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Sabrina's team.
Erika's typing presses Bulbasaur's defenses.
Janine's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Bulbasaur has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Bulbasaur resists most of Brock's coverage and hits back hard.
Blaine's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Blue's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Will's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Koga's Pokemon outpace and outclass Bulbasaur here.
Bulbasaur trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Karen's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Lance's team hits Bulbasaur's weaknesses hard.
Trade
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.
Recommended Moves
- After Falkner
- HM01NormalCutPower 50Accuracy 95%PP 30Ilex Forest
- LV 10GrassVine WhipPower 53Accuracy 100%PP 10
- LV 15GrassSleep PowderPower —Accuracy 75%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM02NormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a man in Ilex Forest
- LV 20GrassRazor LeafPower 83Accuracy 95%PP 25
- After Jasmine
- TM10NormalHidden PowerPower 60Accuracy 100%PP 15Gift from a fisherman in a house at Lake of Rage
- LV 46GrassSolar BeamPower 180Accuracy 100%PP 10
- After Lt. Surge
- TM19GrassGiga DrainPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 5Prize for defeating Erika
How to Get Bulbasaur in Crystal
Bulbasaur isn't a wild catch in Crystal. Professor Oak hands you one of the three Kanto starters in Pallet Town, but only after you beat the Elite Four and cross into Kanto.
How to Obtain Bulbasaur in C
- Step 1Bulbasaur ✓LATER APPEARANCEfrom Red & BlueNot TradeableAppears in Red & Blue via Gift · Pallet Town · Starter Pokémon. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom YellowNot TradeableAppears in Yellow via Gift · Cerulean City · Requires high Pikachu friendship. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom FireRed & LeafGreenNot TradeableAppears in FireRed & LeafGreen via Gift · Pallet Town · Starter Pokémon. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in HeartGold & SoulSilver via Gift · Pallet Town · Gift from Professor Oak (post-Red). Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCEfrom X & YNot TradeableAppears in X & Y via Gift · Lumiose City · Gift from Professor Sycamore. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.LATER APPEARANCENot TradeableAppears in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon via Walking · Route 2 · Island Scan; Friday. Forward-only transfer — no path back to this game from a later one.
- Step 2Evolve into Ivysaur
- Step 3Evolve into Venusaur
How to Get Shiny Bulbasaur in Crystal
Bulbasaur isn't part of Crystal's roster, so there's no catching or breeding one here. A shiny can only be traded in from a title that actually offers it. See every game where Shiny Bulbasaur can be hunted
Bulbasaur Weakness
Fire, Ice, Flying, and Psychic moves hit Bulbasaur for super-effective damage. 4 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 |
| 0.25x (Resist) | Grass |
- Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
- Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
- Special stat split into Sp.Atk and Sp.Def
What is Bulbasaur Weak Against
VulnerableBest Pokemon Against Bulbasaur
 Ho-Oh Fire | S | |
Obtain MethodTin Tower Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Ho-Oh builds →Fire Blast 2x174-205%KO Fly 2x145-171%KO Dream Eater 2x96-114%KO | ||
 Lugia Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodWhirl Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Lugia builds →Dream Eater 2x123-146%KO Aeroblast 2x152-180%KO Blizzard 2x98-115%KO | ||
 Typhlosion Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Cyndaquil (New Bark Town Gift) | ||
 Entei Fire | B | |
 Arcanine Fire | B | |
 Kadabra Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Kadabra builds →Future Sight 2x188-222%KO Fire Punch 2x79-93% Ice Punch 2x79-93% | ||
 Celebi PsychicGrass | C | |
Obtain MethodIlex Forest Interact Encounter Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Celebi builds →Future Sight 2x161-190%KO | ||
 Houndoom DarkFire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Houndoom builds →Fire Blast 2x174-205%KO Dream Eater 2x96-114%KO | ||
 Dragonite Dragon | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dragonair (Dragons Den Super Rod) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Dragonite builds →Fly 2x149-175%KO Fire Blast 2x108-127%KO Blizzard 2x108-127%KO | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Jynx builds →Dream Eater 2x151-177%KO Blizzard 2x181-213%KO | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x154-182%KO Fly 2x93-110%KO | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Magmar builds →Fire Blast 2x161-190%KO Psychic 2x81-96% | ||
 Scyther Bug | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Scyther builds →Wing Attack 2x108-127%KO | ||
 Skarmory Steel | A | |
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 23 breeding partners from the Grass and Monster egg groups. Pass egg moves like Light Screen, Petal Dance, Razor Wind and 2 more to offspring.
C Bulbasaur Best Moveset
Pre-evolution Grass/Poison heading toward Venusaur, where MoveSleep Powder and MoveLeech Seed create one of the stronger Grass support roles. The stats here can't contribute to competitive play. Two evolutions before anything works.
Best Build
Support Moveset
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Swords Dance
- Body Slam
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Don't skip the egg moves. Bulbasaur picks up Light Screen and Petal Dance only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Solar Beam and Petal Dance while Normal and Bug 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.
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
18 of 23 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
While it is young, it uses the nutrients that are stored in the seeds on its back in order to grow.
Bulbasaur Crystal Guide
In Crystal, Bulbasaur has 318 BST and evolves into Ivysaur. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
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 7Let's Go
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
Explore
Where to go next after Bulbasaur.
Keep playing · CrystalCrystal Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Crystal Tier List