Is Bulbasaur Good in Gold & Silver Playthrough?
Only available through trading from Red, Blue, or Yellow. Bulbasaur can't be caught anywhere in Gold or Silver. If you trade one in early, Venusaur still holds up against Johto's Water and Ground threats, but you're giving up a team slot that a native Johto Pokemon could fill.
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 Gold & Silver
No wild Bulbasaur in Gold & Silver. Professor Oak hands you one back in Pallet Town after you enter the Hall of Fame, and you pick only one of his three Kanto starters. The other two need a trade.
How to Obtain Bulbasaur in GS
- 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 Gold & Silver
Bulbasaur stays off the Gold and Silver roster because Johto never hands out the Kanto starters, leaving a traded-in copy as the only way to put a shiny on your team. 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 2x145-170%KO Dream Eater 2x97-115%KO | ||
 Lugia Psychic | S | |
Obtain MethodWhirl Islands Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Lugia builds →Dream Eater 2x123-145%KO Aeroblast 2x152-179%KO Blizzard 2x98-116%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 2x188-221%KO Fire Punch 2x79-93% Ice Punch 2x79-93% | ||
 Houndoom DarkFire | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Houndoom builds →Fire Blast 2x174-205%KO Dream Eater 2x97-115%KO | ||
 Dragonite Dragon | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Dragonair (Dragons Den Super Rod) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Dragonite builds →Fly 2x149-176%KO Fire Blast 2x107-127%KO Blizzard 2x107-127%KO | ||
 Jynx IcePsychic | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Jynx builds →Dream Eater 2x151-177%KO Blizzard 2x182-214%KO | ||
 Xatu Psychic | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Xatu builds →Future Sight 2x154-181%KO Fly 2x91-108%KO | ||
 Magmar Fire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Magmar builds →Fire Blast 2x162-190%KO Psychic 2x80-95% | ||
 Scyther Bug | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Bulbasaur View Scyther builds →Wing Attack 2x109-128%KO | ||
 Skarmory Steel | A | |
 Flareon Fire | B | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Eevee (Goldenrod City Gift) | ||
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 Charm, Light Screen, Petal Dance and 3 more to offspring.
GS Bulbasaur Best Moveset
Grass/Poison pre-evolution that can't contribute at competitive levels. MoveSleep Powder exists, but the stats behind it don't survive contact. Venusaur jumps to legitimately threatening in this generation.
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 Charm and Light Screen 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
The seed on its back is filled with nutrients. The seed grows steadily larger as its body grows.
It carries a seed on its back right from birth. As it grows older, the seed also grows larger.
Bulbasaur Gold & Silver Guide
In Gold & Silver, 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 · Gold & SilverGold & Silver Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Gold & Silver Tier List