What does Bulbasaur evolve into?

Ivysaur at level 16 is the mid-stage. Push through to Venusaur at level 32 for the final form. 318 BST right now won't cut it long-term.

At what level does Bulbasaur evolve?

Level 16 gets you Ivysaur . Quick enough that Bulbasaur barely slows you down.

Should I use Bulbasaur?

For Sword & Shield, you can run Bulbasaur through the first few routes without issues. 318 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Ivysaur as fast as you can.

Where can you catch Bulbasaur?

You can find Bulbasaur in Sword & Shield. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.

Bulbasaur - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Utility

Balanced

DTier

45Speed · Slow

Stats & Training

An unusually even spread gives Bulbasaur flexibility. Sp. Atk barely edges ahead. But HP isn't far off. Tough to catch and follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve. Yields 1 Sp. Atk EV.

Base Stats

Avg

HP45

Attack49

Defense49

Sp. Atk65

Sp. Def65

Speed45

Total318

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging45 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height0.7 m

Weight6.9 kg

Base XP64

Abilities

OvergrowPopular

Strengthens grass moves to inflict 1.5× damage at 1/3 max HP or less.

ChlorophyllHAPopular

Doubles Speed during strong sunlight.

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+1SpDSpe

Special Attack training source

Pokedex Entries

There is a plant seed on its back right from the day this Pokémon is born. The seed slowly grows larger.

Bulbasaur Weakness

Fire, Ice, Flying, and Psychic moves hit Bulbasaur for super-effective damage. 5 resistances help offset the weaknesses. Standard number of weaknesses for the Grass/Poison typing.

Bulbasaur Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Fire, Ice, Flying, Psychic
0.5x (Resist)	Water, Electric, Fighting, Fairy
0.25x (Resist)	Grass

Type ChartVulnerable

4Weak

5Resist

0Immune

Score-2

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Fire Ice Flying Psychic

½xResist

Water Electric Fighting Fairy

¼xResist

Grass

0xImmune

None

STAB (5)

Water Ground Rock Grass Fairy

How to Beat Bulbasaur in Sword & Shield (Best Counters)

In Sword & Shield, Volcarona's Psychic hits Bulbasaur for 71-84%. Hatterene threatens a KO with Psychic (108-128%).

Volcarona BugFire	A
Recommended Build AbilityFlame Body ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureModest Moves Quiver Dance Bug Buzz Psychic Fiery Dance Damage vs Bulbasaur Psychic 2x 71-84% View Volcarona builds →
Hatterene PsychicFairy	A
Recommended Build AbilityMagic Bounce ItemLeftovers NatureQuiet Moves Dazzling Gleam Trick Room PsychicSTAB ProtectPriority Damage vs Bulbasaur Dazzling Gleam 24-29% Psychic 2x 108-128%KO View Hatterene builds →
Skarmory SteelFlying	B
Recommended Build AbilitySturdy ItemRocky Helmet NatureImpish Moves RoostRecovery Body Press SpikesHazard Iron Defense View Skarmory builds →
Mamoswine IceGround	B
Recommended Build AbilityThickfat ItemLife Orb NatureJolly Moves EarthquakeSTAB Icicle Crash Ice Shard Knock Off Damage vs Bulbasaur Earthquake 85-101%KO Ice Shard 2x 70-82% Knock Off 37-44% View Mamoswine builds →
Arcanine Fire	B
Recommended Build AbilityIntimidate ItemLeftovers NatureJolly Moves Extreme Speed Burn Up Flare Blitz Will O Wisp Damage vs Bulbasaur Extreme Speed 31-37% Flare Blitz 2x 139-164%KO View Arcanine builds →

Sword & Shield Evolution

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

3 Forms

#001Bulbasaur

Level 16

#002Ivysaur

Level 32

#003Venusaur

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Bulbasaur

GrassPoison

Ivysaur

GrassPoison

Venusaur

GrassPoison

60+15

80+20

ATK

62+13

82+20

DEF

63+14

83+20

SP.ATK

80+15

100+20

SP.DEF

80+15

100+20

SPE

60+15

80+20

BST

318C-Tier

405D-Tier+87

525B-Tier+120

ROLE

Balanced

Attacker

TYPE

Utility

Special

Mixed

Breeding

Easy

Breed Bulbasaur easily with 50 breeding partners from the Plant and Monster egg groups. Pass egg moves like Curse, Ingrain, Nature Power and 3 more to offspring.

Egg Groups

PlantMonster

Gender

♂87.5%♀12.5%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

6moves

Breed With (best first)

Sword & Shield Bulbasaur Best Moveset

Eviolite turns Bulbasaur into a wall that rivals fully evolved options. Chlorophyll and Jolly nature stack with max HP and Speed EVs to create a surprisingly tough defensive core.

Best Build

Experimental

Support

Ability

Chlorophyll

Item

EvioliteBULK

Best Nature for Bulbasaur

Jolly+SPE

Bulbasaur best EVs are HP and Speed

EVs

Atk

Spe

Support Moveset

Leech SeedSTAB
ProtectFAST +4
ToxicUtility
Knock Off

Recommended Teammates

PikachuGood

SquirtleGood

Moves

Don't skip the egg moves. Bulbasaur picks up Curse and Ingrain only through breeding, and both fill gaps the natural movepool can't. STAB runs through Leaf Storm and Solar Beam while Normal coverage adds range.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Growl

——10040Normal

Lv 1

Tackle

D4010035Normal

Lv 3

Vine Whip

—4510025Grass

Lv 6

Growth

C——20Normal

Lv 9

Leech Seed

C—9010Grass

Lv 12

Razor Leaf

—559525Grass

Lv 15

Poison Powder

D—7535Poison

Lv 15

Sleep Powder

B—7515Grass

Lv 18

Seed Bomb

D8010015Grass

Lv 21

Take Down

D908520Normal

Lv 24

Sweet Scent

——10020Normal

Lv 27

Synthesis

C——5Grass

Lv 30

Worry Seed

D—10010Grass

Lv 33

Double-Edge

D12010015Normal

Lv 36

Solar Beam

C12010010Grass

TM Moves

TR17

Amnesia

C——20Psychic

TM31

Attract

C—10015Normal

TR01

Body Slam

D8510015Normal

TM50

Bullet Seed

D2510030Grass

TM29

Charm

C—10020Fairy

TR26

Endure+4

C——10Normal

TR65

Energy Ball

C9010010Grass

TM39

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM94

False Swipe

D4010040Normal

TM28

Giga Drain

S7510010Grass

TR77

Grass Knot

D—10020Grass

TM88

Grassy Terrain

———10Grass

TM41

Helping Hand+5

C——20Normal

TR71

Leaf Storm

C130905Grass

TM17

Light Screen

C——30Psychic

TM10

Magical Leaf

D60—20Grass

TR72

Power Whip

C1208510Grass

TM25

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM21

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM76

Round

D6010015Normal

TM19

Safeguard

C——25Normal

TR59

Seed Bomb

D8010015Grass

TR27

Sleep Talk

C——10Normal

TR22

Sludge Bomb

S9010010Poison

TM24

Snore

—5010015Normal

TM11

Solar Beam

C12010010Grass

TR20

Substitute

S——10Normal

TM34

Sunny Day

B——5Fire

Swords Dance

C——20Normal

TM74

Venoshock

C6510010Poison

TM46

Weather Ball

S5010010Normal

TR85

Work Up

D——30Normal

Egg Moves

Egg

Curse

C——10Ghost

Egg

Ingrain

———20Grass

Egg

Nature Power

D——20Normal

Egg

Petal Dance

C12010010Grass

Egg

Skull Bash

—13010010Normal

Egg

Toxic

C—9010Poison

Tutor Moves

Tut

Tutor

Grassy Glide

D7010020Grass

How to Get Bulbasaur in Sword & Shield

No wild encounters for Bulbasaur in Sword & Shield. It's available in Red, Yellow, or Brilliant Diamond and can be transferred over. The details below show where to find it.

Bulbasaur is not available as a wild encounter in this game.

Catch in the wild in:

Brilliant DiamondWalking · Grassland Cave · After National Dex obtained

Then trade to Sword & Shield.

Also found in:

Red Yellow FireRed HeartGold X Ultra Sun

Bulbasaur Guide

Ivysaur at level 16 is the mid-stage. Push through to Venusaur at level 32 for the final form. 318 BST right now won't cut it long-term.
Level 16 gets you Ivysaur. Quick enough that Bulbasaur barely slows you down.
For Sword & Shield, you can run Bulbasaur through the first few routes without issues. 318 BST won't carry you far though. Get it to Ivysaur as fast as you can.
You can find Bulbasaur in Sword & Shield. The Locations section has the full breakdown of routes and encounter details. It also appears in 20 other games across the series.

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

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