Venusaur

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Venusaur
National Ivysaur - Venusaur (#003) - Charmander Johto Ivysaur - Venusaur (#228) - Charmander
Japanese name	Fushigibana
Stage	Stage 2
Evolves from	Ivysaur
Evolves to	None
Generation	First
Species	Seed Pokémon
Type	Grass / Poison
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.0 m)
Weight	220.5 lb (100.0 kg)
Ability	Overgrow

Venusaur (フシギバナ, Fushigibana^?) are one of the 493 fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar^[1] Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. Venusaur are famous for evolving from Bulbasaur, one of the three species of Pokémon players can choose from at the start of their adventure in Pokémon Red and Blue (and their remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen). The main purpose of Venusaur in the games, anime, and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild Pokémon, untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through various environments, and tamed Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.^[2]

The name Venusaur is most likely a portmanteau of "Venus" (known as the "morning sun", a reference to how it absorbs solar energy) and the Greek word "sauros", meaning "lizard" (as in the word "dinosaur"). Its Japanese name, フシギバナ (Fushigibana), can be construed as a combination of the words ふしぎ (fushigi, "mystery") and はな (hana, "flower"). Venusaur are large, reptilian animals that walk on all fours. Like its predecessors, Bulbasaur and Ivysaur, Venusaur have a plant on their backs. The name Venusaur refers to the species as a whole, as well as individual specimens in the games, anime and manga.

Contents 1 Biological characteristics 2 Role 2.1 Pokémon video games 2.2 Pokémon anime 2.3 Pokémon Trading Card Game 2.4 Pokémon manga 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biological characteristics

At this stage of its development, the plant has bloomed into an enormous flower (vaguely resembling a Rafflesia) which Venusaur use to collect energy from sunlight, giving off a pleasant fragrance in the process. Because of this, Venusaur usually move around in an effort to follow the sun; they are more powerful in summer when they are able to absorb more sunlight. The fragrance emitted from its brilliantly-colored flower becalms foes in battle, as well as humans.

Venusaur grow in numbers more rapidly near the warmer and comforting atmosphered places of the world. Venusaur are known to rarely be seen unless seen as the leader of a herd.^[3]

[edit] Role

[edit] Pokémon video games

The Pokémon video games were RPG strategy games created by Satoshi Tajiri, originally in Japanese but translated into other languages, that were originally released on the Nintendo Game Boy. Worldwide, these games, and their sequels, have sold over 143 million units, making them one of Nintendo’s most popular game franchises, second only to the adventures of Mario.^[1] The games are divided by release into generations, each with three or more games, often only subtly different, which follow the same basic plot in different areas of the Pokémon world, each generation building on the game play mechanics with new features. As the main character, the player's task is to direct his or her Pokémon to battle the opponent's Pokémon, creating a scenario, which has been likened to cockfighting. However, in all media, Pokémon emphasizes the nature of these fights as competition rather than brutality.^[4]

One of the consistent aspects of most Pokémon games—spanning from Pokémon Red and Blue on the Nintendo Game Boy to the un-released Nintendo DS game, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl—is the choice of three different Pokémon at the start of the player's adventures; these three are often labeled Starter Pokémon. Players can choose a Water-, Fire-, or Grass-type Pokémon indigenous to that particular region;^[5] an exception to this rule is Pokémon Yellow (a remake of the original games that follows the story of the Pokémon anime), where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise.^[6]

There are seventeen different Pokémon types, a special attribute determining strengths and weaknesses of each species, offsetting each other in a complicated series of rock-paper-scissors relationships. Venusaur are Grass and Poison dual-type Pokémon (though they don’t have the ability to learn any damage-dealing Poison attacks naturally). Their Grass attacks are particularly effective against Ground-, Rock-, and Water-type Pokémon, but Psychic-, Fire-, Ice-, and Flying-type attacks are particularly effective against them. Attacks of the Fighting, Water, Electric, and Grass types do little damage to Venusaur, and Venusaur do little damage to other Poison types, as well as to Fire, Flying, Bug, Steel, or Dragon types. However, Venusaur can use TM36 to learn Sludge Bomb, a poison type attack which is very effective against other Grass-type pokémon. All other types have no particular advantage or disadvantage when facing Venusaur.^[7]

Venusaur can only be obtained in the games by evolving an Ivysaur, which in turn can only be obtained by evolving a Bulbasaur. Therefore, the availability of Bulbasaur, which are not found in the wild, dictates the availability of Venusaur.^[3] Bulbasaur evolve, a metamorphic change within a Pokémon caused by gaining experience in battle,^[8] into Ivysaur, its Stage-1 (middle) form at level 16, and evolves into its Stage-2 (final) form, Venusaur, at Level 32.^[3] Venusaur also have minor cameos in the Super Smash Bros. series; first in Super Smash Bros., as one of the Pokémon that would appear in the Saffron City stage, using Razor Leaf on nearby players,^[9] and as one of several Pokémon which may emerge from thrown Poké balls, attacking surrounding players with Earthquake, in Super Smash Bros. Melee.^[10]

[edit] Pokémon anime

The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game based on the anime storyline). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum^[11]—a Pokémon Master in training—as he and several other companions^[11] travel around the fictitious Pokémon World along with their Pokémon partners, including Pikachu.

In the first season, Ash and company come across a secret garden where Bulbasaur evolve into Ivysaur in Episode 51, "Bulbasaur’s Mysterious Garden". A Venusaur protects this garden against everything except evolving Bulbasaur and Ivysaur. Drake, the Orange League champiom, used a Venusaur against his battle against Ash, but it was defeated by Ash's Tauros. In the Advanced Challenge season, there is an episode titled "Grass Hysteria", which involves a Venusaur guarding a forest of Grass Pokémon. It accepts Ash and May, and later encourages a Bulbasaur to join May.

In Pokémon: The First Movie, Mewtwo clones a Venusaur nicknamed Bruteroot, and uses this clone (along with clones of Charizard and Blastoise) to defeat the trainers it has invited to its island in battle. Mewtwo and the clones eventually give up on conquest and retire to an undisclosed location, but they reappear in the sequel, Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns.

In Uno Articuno, Venusaur was featured in this episode, Venusaur turned out to be Noland's Pokémon, Ash thinks his Venusaur is the strongest one of all, Ash decide to battle with wild Articuno instead of Noland's Venusaur as if it was taken over by Articuno.

In "Ka Boom With A View", the fith Frontier Brain Ash battles has a Venusaur. It manages to defeat Ash's Heracross, but is defeated by Swellow.

[edit] Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game similar in goal to a Pokémon battle in the video game series; players must use cards (with individual strengths and weaknesses) in an attempt to defeat their opponent by "knocking out" all of his cards.^[12] The game was first published in North America by Wizards of the Coast in 1999, until Nintendo USA started publishing the series in 2003.^[13]

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Venusaur cards have been released (always in the limited frequency called "Rare") in the Base Set (included in Base Set 2 and the Legendary Collection), Gym Challenge (as Erika’s Venusaur), Expedition (2 normal cards and a rare holographic version), EX: FireRed and LeafGreen (as Venusaur EX), EX: Crystal Guardians (as a rare version), and as a promotional cards, a promo card Venusaur. Venusaur’s most famous appearance as a card was in the Base Set (pictured), where it was known for the "Energy Trans" Pokémon Power and Solarbeam attack. Its recent appearance as "Venusaur EX" is a beefed-up version of the original, with the same Energy Trans Poké-Power and a more powerful Solarbeam attack that does 90 points of damage.^[14]

[edit] Pokémon manga

In Pokémon Adventures, Red received a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, which he nicknamed "Saur", in Chapter 1, "VS. Mew".^[15] It battled alongside Red when in Chapter 15, "Wartortle Wars", it evolved into an Ivysaur after battling a wild Mankey.^[16] In Chapter 30, "Zap, Zap, Zapdos!", Red used Saur to defeat Lt. Surge's Zapdos, using its Razor Leaf attack to cut the cables that joined the Team Rocket Executive and the legendary bird.^[17] In Chapter 33, "The Winged Legends", Red's Ivysaur evolved into a Venusaur to team up with Blue's Charizard and Green's Blastoise, Turtley, to defeat Sabrina's Zapmolcuno (a merged form of Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno) and destroy Team Rocket's control of Saffron City, splitting the three birds in the process.^[18]

Red's Saur reappeared next in Chapter 40, "A Charizard... and a Champion", during the final match of the Ninth Pokémon League, against his longtime rival, Blue. The battle began with Red's Saur and Blue's Charizard facing each other. Charizard tried using Fire Punch, but was hit by Saur's Poisonpowder, nearly being knocked out, despite the type advantage. As the battle progressed, Blue's Ninetails used Fire Blast to send Red's Pikachu, Pika, and Poliwrath, Poli, upward toward the ceiling. The two trainers then used their first Pokémon to battle again, Saur binding the Charizard, preventing it from attacking. Suddenly, thunderclouds began to form above the battlefield, formed from the attacks of Poli and Pika, and Saur submerged a vine into the cloud, shocking Charizard and knocking it out.^[19]

When the manga started the "FireRed and LeafGreen" volume, Red, Blue and Green, the original protagonists, returned to fight the newly formed Team Rocket and the Deoxys under their power. In Chapter 24, "FireRed and LeafGreen", the three trainers were trapped inside the Trainer Tower in the Sevii Islands, battling the main computer of the building and the Deoxys Divides. Due to the prior battle between Red and Team Rocket, most his team was very weak, causing Blue to trade his Charizard with Red's Saur, since Blue was the person who was leading the fight against the computer, in an attempt to free Mewtwo from the binds. After struggling to coordinate Turtley, Saur and Charizard, the three trainers managed to focus the angle of the three powerful attacks, Blast Burn, Hydro Cannon and Frenzy Plant, to free Mewtwo from the binds, who in turn, destroyed the Trainer Tower.^[20]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Venusaur as a species
• Serebii.net’s 4th Gen Pokédex entry for Venusaur
• Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
• PsyPoke Pokédex entry
• PokeRealm Pokemon Analysis
• WikiKnowledge.net’s entry for Venusaur Previously hosted by Wikibooks