Bulbasaur
Bulbasaur
Bulbasaur ( ), known as Fushigidane (Japanese: フシギダネ) in Japan, is a fictional Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. First introduced in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue, it was created by Atsuko Nishida with the design finalized by Ken Sugimori. Since Bulbasaur's debut, it has appeared in multiple games including Pokémon Go and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as various merchandise and the 1996 anime. In media related to the franchise, Bulbasaur has been voiced by various voice actors, including Megumi Hayashibara in Japanese, and Tara Sands and Michele Knotz in English.
Bulbasaur
Bulbasaur is generally considered one of the most popular and widely liked Pokémon, having ranked highly in official popularity polls. Series producer Junichi Masuda has also specifically mentioned Bulbasaur as one of his favorite Pokémon. Its role in the anime has been suggested to have played a factor into its popularity.
Conception and design
Bulbasaur first appeared as one of three Pokémon the player could choose as their first at the beginning of the initial Game Boy games, Pokémon Red and Blue, released in Japan in 1996. Its Japanese name, Fushigidane, is a combination of the Japanese words for mystery or miracle (fushigi) and seed (tane). While translating the game for English-speaking audiences, Nintendo gave the Pokémon "cleverly descriptive names" related to their appearance or features as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children, with Bulbasaur being named as a portmanteau relating to its dinosaurian appearance and the large garlic-shaped bulb on its back. Both the etymology and appearance of Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur show it getting increasingly more dangerous as it evolves. Bulbasaur can evolve into Ivysaur, which can then evolve into Venusaur. Bulbasaur was created by Atsuko Nishida, a character designer for Pocket Monsters Red and Blue, which she described as "working backwards" by basing it off the established Venusaur design. Afterwards, the design was finalized by lead artist Ken Sugimori who, towards the end of development, drew the promotional art of all the species to give them a unified look and make any last-minute changes.
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