Venusaur

Venusaur, known in Japan as Fushigibana (フシギバナ), is a Grass/Poison type 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.

Concept and characteristics

Venusaur was one of 151 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).Unlike its pre-evolutions,there is a huge difference between male and female Venusaur. The female has a seed in the center of its flower while the male does not. 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] Venusaur was given a Mega Evolution about one and a half years into the development of Pokémon X and Y. Bulbasaur (along with Charmander and Squirtle) was added to the game in a significant role in order to allow players to experience its Mega Evolution.^[10]

Appearances

In the video games

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. It also appears in Hey You, Pikachu! where it lives on the Cobalt Coast saying its name in an echoing voice. 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 is one of several Pokémon in Pokémon X and Y that will able to use the new Mega Evolution mechanic, becoming Mega Venusaur.^[11]

In other media

Venusaur has appeared several times in the anime. In Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, a wild one was leading an evolution ceremony for Bulbasaur in Kanto. Another Venusaur 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 used her Venusaur in Pokémon contests. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, the character Red receives a Bulbasaur from Professor Oak, which he nicknames Saur.^[12] It ultimately evolves into an Ivysaur,^[13] 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.^[14]

Reception

Venusaur received fairly positive reception. Complex's Elijah Watson commented, "most of us grew up" with Venusaur.^[15] 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".^[16] He noted, however, that while ugly, Venusaur is also intimidating.^[17] GamesRadar noted Venusaur as Bulbasaur's greatest drawback, due to its lack of charm.^[18] 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" and 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] IGN's Pokémon Chick wrote that since Red and Blue, the Pokémon Charizard had "slightly surpassed Venusaur in terms of popularity".^[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] Author Daniel Bischoff chose to not evolve Bulbasaur into Venusaur and stated that Venusaur "just looked kind of fat."^[21] Series artist Ken Sugimori noted that Venusaur was his least favourite Pokémon due to its complex design.^[22] Official Nintendo Magazine‍ '​s Elizabeth Mo included it on her list of Pokémon she wants to see given a Mega Evolution.^[23] Destructoid's Steven Hansen felt that Venusaur's Mega Evolution looked "stupid."^[24]

References

External links

• Official Pokémon website
• Venusaur on Bulbapedia
• Venusaur at the Internet Movie Database