| Venusaur | |
|---|---|
National Pokédex Ivysaur - Venusaur (#003) - Charmander |
|
| Series | Pokémon series |
| First game | Pokémon Red and Blue |
| Designed by | Ken Sugimori |
| Voiced by (English) | Michael Haigney(4Kids) Craig Blair (TPCI) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (TV series episode #51, first animated film) Unshō Ishizuka (TV series episode #112) Kenta Miyake (TV series episode #437) |
Venusaur, known in Japan as Fushigibana (フシギバナ), is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Venusaur first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
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Venusaur was one of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken Sugimori for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue.[1][2] Originally called "Fushigibana" in Japanese, which is a combination of the word for mystery (fushigi) and the word for flower (hana). Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children.[3] As a result it was renamed Venusaur, which IGN wrote is a combination of "venus" from the plant venus flytrap and "saur" from dinosaur.[4]
Venusaur, known as the Seed Pokémon, is the final stage in Bulbasaur evolution. The seed finally bloomed into a huge flower, vaguely resembling a Rafflesia. The flower constantly draws in sunlight for nutrition, characterized by vivid colors and a soothing aroma, and power, which is much more substantial in the summer.[5][6] They are always on the move to absorb more sunlight, though they usually remain quiet and still while absorbing it.[7] After it rains, the aroma is much stronger, which attracts other Pokémon.[8] Female Venusaur have a seed coming out of the flower. This makes it the only starter Pokémon to have a difference between genders.[9] Being the final form of Grass starter, Venusaur can learn some of the most powerful moves such as Hyper Beam, Giga Impact and Frenzy Plant.
Venusaur first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and in its remakes Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. It served as the mascot for both LeafGreen and the Japanese exclusive version of Red and Blue titled Pocket Monsters Green. It evolves from Ivysaur which evolves from Bulbasaur, one of the three starting Pokémon available to players in most of the above mentioned games; in Yellow, Bulbasaur was available at a later point in the game. It has since appeared in every main Pokémon title since. Outside of the main series, Venusaur appears in Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Trozei!, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles, the Pokémon Ranger titles, Pokémon Rumble, and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. In Super Smash Bros., it appears in the Saffron City stage and attacks anyone that comes within range of it. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Venusaur appears as a Pokémon that can be summoned from a Poké Ball to attack opponents as well as a collectible trophy.
Venusaur has appeared several times in the anime. A wild one was leading an evolution ceremony for Bulbasaur in Kanto, while another was the ruler of a forest in Hoenn where grass Pokémon lived. May also had a Bulbasaur that evolved into a Venusaur. Besides, Venusaur has been owned by Drake of the Orange Crew, an artist called Gan Gogh, Noland the Factory Head and Spencer the Palace Maven of the Battle Frontier and a business man/guitarist called Jeremy. May also has a Venusaur in which she used to compete in contests. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, the character Red receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, which he nicknames Saur.[10] It ultimately evolves into an Ivysaur,[11] and In Chapter 33, "The Winged Legends", Red's Ivysaur evolves into a Venusaur to team up with Blue's Charizard and Green's Blastoise, to defeat Sabrina's Zapmolcuno (a merged form of Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno) and destroy Team Rocket's control on Saffron City, splitting the three birds in the process.[12]
GamesRadar editor Brett Elston commented that Venusaur sets the standard for evolutions - namely that a Pokémon will start off "cute", and then become an "unsightly beast".[13] He noted, however, that while ugly, Venusaur is also intimidating.[14] GamesRadar noted Venusaur as Bulbasaur's greatest drawback, due to its lack of charm.[15] GamesRadar's Carolyn Gudmundson named Venusaur the Pokémon of the week and called it one of her favourite Pokémon. She stated that she "just likes how ugly Venusaur gets" thought that Venusaur's face looks like a cat's. Another editor commented that the way his teeth stick out is the "manga cliche of how you draw a cat". Another editor commented that he liked the way how Bulbasaur's flower bloomed as it evolved into Ivysaur and then into Venusaur.[9] GamesRadar's Raymond Padilla used Venusaur as an example of a Grass type Pokémon that was superior to the Pokémon Sunflora.[16] IGN's Pokémon of the Day Guy wrote that it was "more powerful and fierce compared to the little Bulbasaur" and that it was "another good beginner Pokémon".[17] IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that since Red and Blue, the Pokémon Charizard had "slightly surpassed Venusaur in terms of popularity".[18] Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll ranked Venusaur as the fifth best Grass type Pokémon.[19] In a poll conducted by IGN, it was voted as the 15th best Pokémon, and the staff stated in response that Venusaur didn't matter as much as Blastoise or Charizard, who ranked #3 and #1 respectively, because "water cannons or flying and breathing fire was more dangerous than… a flower".[20]