It has finally happened Pokémon fans. Bulbasaur is now attainable directly in Sword & Shield through The Isle of Armor expansion.
While the Kanto Starters were brought to Galar for a limited-time through past raid events, Bulbasaur’s official debut came with the first of the two-part Expansion Pass on June 17th. The expansion-exclusive Pokémon is capable of Gigantamaxing, so trainers will no doubt want to claim one for themselves. Read on to discover how!
Bulbasaur’s Isle Debut
Acquiring Bulbasaur through the Expansion Pass is a simple matter of following the story, which leads trainers to the Master Dojo. Here trainers are sent to round up three exceptionally speedy Galarian Slowpokes. After capturing the escapees and returning to the Dojo, Honey calls out a Bulbasaur and Squirtle and suggests the trainer choose one to train with.
Outside of the campaign, Bulbasaur’s final evolution, Venusaur, will be a possible encounter in both Max Raids and Gigantamax Raids in the Forest of Focus and Training Lowlands regions of the new map.
For trainers who aren’t continuing their adventures into The Isle of Armor, there are several options to transfer Bulbasaur into Sword & Shield by using Pokémon Home.
Evolution, Gigantamax, and Battle Tactics
Bulbasaur’s evolution occurs naturally, the same way it has since the series’ origins. Simply train Bulbasaur to level 16, then Ivysaur to level 36 to evolve it into Venusaur. If it’s the Bulbasaur from the Master Dojo, it’s final form will be able to Gigantamax which includes a unique set of superpowered moves.
Learned Moves & Move Tutors
Petal Blizzard and Solar Beam are both among Venusaur’s potent learned moves. Still, trainers could build an extremely devastating move set by taking their Pokémon to the Move Tutors – both in the base game and The Isle of Armor expansion.
Sword & Shield’s Move Tutor can teach Venusaur Frenzy Plant, which hits with a special value of 150, incapacitating the user on its next turn. Venusaur can also learn Grass Pledge here, which increases its power when paired with the water-type equivalent.
The Isle of Armor Move Tutor can teach Venusaur the normal-type move Terrain Pulse, which fluctuates in power depending on the current terrain. The Isle’s Move Tutor also offers Grassy Glide, which will always allow a first strike on grassy terrain.
Dynamax & Gigantamax Moves
It’s tactful to stack Venusaur’s move-set with normal and grass-type moves because they translate into Dynamax and Gigantamax Venusaur’s strongest Max moves. Normal-type moves turn into Max Strike, which hits with both a physical and special damage power of 150. Upon dynamaxing, Venusaur’s grass-type moves become Max Overgrowth, which deals a value of 140 physical damage and 150 special damage, along with turning the battlefield to grassy terrain for five turns. With a Gigantamax Venusaur, grass-type moves become G-Max Vine Lash, which deals the same damage value as Max Overgrowth, but also persists for the next four turns.
The Isle of Armor is available now on the Nintendo Switch for $29.99.
READ NEXT: All the Pokémon Returning In The Isle Of Armor DLC
Source: Serebii
