THE BULBASAUR FAMILY

Alllllright, we're doing this Dumb. Welcome to Noche's Pokemon reviews- a ridiculous quest to review ALL THE POKEMON. (And no, I’m not bothering to spell it with the accented E, because I have an American keyboard and can’t remember the alt code for it, lol.)

So! For each Pokemon line, I will do them in roughly numerical order, except all Pokemon from a line will be reviewed at once, regardless of their position in the actual ‘dex. To give an example, this line here was released mostly in Gen 1, but Mega Venusaur came onto the field in Gen 6, and Gmax Venusaur in Gen 8. They will both be reviewed here! This also applies to regional forms and evolutions introduced in other games.

Right, so Bulbasaur. This is my favorite starter from Generation 1, for a variety of reasons. It's probably intended to be a frog, but just came out looking like a nondescript reptilian of some sort. It's a ridiculously charming design with tons of personality, and I've always loved its asymmetrical spots. Interestingly, it's grass/poison, a fact I always manage to forget and one of only two starter Pokemon that’s dual-type from the get-go, instead of gaining its second type later. The only starter to share this unique trait is Rowlet, who we’ll be getting to much, much later.

Put next to Bulbasaur, Ivysaur isn’t really that different- it’s just somewhat bigger, bluer, and angrier, and the green edges of its bulb have peeled off, revealing a pink flower bud. (Also, it has normal pupils now. Would’ve been cool if it kept the white pupils the whole way through.) It's still a very solid design though, and one I'm about as fond of as I am of Bulbasaur. You've also gotta love those classic Gen 1 "mammal ears on a reptile".

One thing I always forget about Ivysaur is that this guy is capable of doing a handstand! This aspect of Ivysaur isn’t really brought up all that often past Gen 1, but you can see it doing it in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in one of its taunts.

Whoo boy, Mr. Sugimori, this is not one of your stronger moments. Venusaur is a pretty alright design- not as good as its prevos, but still good- that the Sugimori art just does not do justice to at all. Looks much better in pretty much every other image of it.

This is the froggiest this line gets, and makes it probably the most obvious that it was probably intended to be one, warts and all. It even hops along when following you in the Let's Go! games! Also, the way one of its leaves drapes over its head is super cute. The only thing I don't really like about Venusaur is that it loses its spots at this point, which I think makes it lose a bit of charm.

Now we’re talking! Mega Venusaur has a really fun design that I enjoy quite a bit more than standard Venusaur, and I feel brings it back up to four-ball quality with its prevos. It looks like the Mega energy went mostly into its plant symbiote, sprouting extra branches, vines and leaves. (And a big flower on its head, which is friggin' adorable.) They even brought back a couple smaller details I liked about Bulbasaur- the spots, and the white pupils! It's really nice!

OH MY LORD.

The Gigantamax forms introduced in the controversial Generation 8 are pretty hit-or-miss overall, but this is one of the biggest hits out of all of them. Gigantamaxing a Venusaur causes its plant to grow disproportionately compared to the rest of its body, its tremendous petals growing to cover its top half entirely, only its snout and its tremendous leaves peeking out from under this cover. You can see one of its eyes through a tear in one of the petals, though, which is SUCH a nice touch and one of my favorite things about this design.

I also really love that its signature pair of vines (a holdover from Bulbasaur) are perpetually extended here, kinda helps it feel more menacing. If I had to pick ONE single thing I didn't like about this design, it'd probably have to be those green spots on its belly. Maybe they'd be better if they were the same dark teal as Bulbasaur's, the green is a little offputting.