Venusaur is the final evolution of the adorable Kanto starter Bulbasaur. Unlike Bulbasaur – and even Ivysaur – Venusaur is no cutie but a beast and a force to be reckoned with on the Pokémon battlefield!
A Venusaur with the right amount of training and the right moveset will be the perfect defensive cornerstone to any Pokémon team.
But have you ever wondered where the name “Venusaur” comes from? Or how many games Venusaur has been in? Or what about where its design inspiration comes from?
Well, find out all that and more in these 30 Facts About Venusaur!
Venusaur is the Mascot for two Pokémon games.
These games are Pokémon Green and Pokémon Leaf Green – and you’ll find Venusaur on the boxart for both of these games!
Venusaur has a catch rate similar to Legendary Pokémon.
Whilst you will never find a Venusaur in the wild (hacks and Pokémon Go notwithstanding), it has an incredibly low catch rate of only 11.9%.
Most Legendary Pokémon have catch rates varying from 1% – 15%.
This means that, if you ever were to run into a wild Venusaur, then you’d have to have a heck-ton of Pokéballs on you!
Venusaur is taller than the average man!
When fully grown, a Venusaur can be as tall as 6 foot 7 inches – that’s 10 inches taller than the average male height!
What’s more, a Mega Venusaur stands at an imposing height of 7 feet 10 inches!
Venusaur is the heaviest of the Kanto starter Pokémon.
Weighing in at 220.5 lbs when fully-grown, Venusaur is a behemoth that outweighs both Charizard and Blastoise.
It is a full 21 lbs heavier than Charizard, and 31 lbs heavier than Blastoise.
And yes, you read that correctly, Charizard does weigh more than Blastoise!
Venusaur’s English name means “Venus fly trap lizard”.
In English, the name is a combination of the “Ven” from a “Venus” Fly Trap, and the Greek word “saur” meaning “lizard”.
Venusaurs are more likely to be male.
Like all starter Pokémon, and all of its previous evolutions, Venusaur eggs only have a 12.5% chance of being born female, as opposed to their whopping 87.5% chance of being born male!
Female Venusaurs can be identified by sight.
This is because there is a little golden seed sitting in the center of their large flower.
This indicates visually that the Venusaur is a female.
However, this interesting little bit of visual art was only introduced in Generation IV, across the games Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, as well as HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Venusaurs can close their big bulb.
Although this is something never seen in the games or the anime, in the manga Pokémon Pocket Monsters, Erika’s Venusaur is seen with its bulb closed.
Venusaurs can manipulate nature.
This is something that has been seen in the anime, when Venusaur is able to make damaged grasslands grow green again.
Venusaurs help Bulbasaurs and Ivysaurs evolve.
In the anime episode, Bulbasaur’s Mysterious Garden, a Venusaur is seen leading an evolution ceremony for Bulbasaurs and Ivysaurs in the wild.
The scent from Venusaur’s flower gets stronger after rain.
The scent from a Venusaur’s flower is described as being sweet smelling and has the ability to calm down agitated Pokémon and sometimes even people.
It is said in the Pokémon Black and White Pokédex entry that “After a rainy day, the flower on its back smells stronger”.
Venusaur gets its energy from its flower.
In Venusaur’s Pokédex entries it states that “The flower on its back catches the sun’s rays. The sunlight is then absorbed and used for energy”.
Because of this, wild Venusaurs always stay on the move so they can absorb as much sunlight as possible.
Venusaur’s flower gets brighter the more sunlight it absorbs.
This was revealed in the Pokédex entry for Pokémon Emerald which said “Venusaur’s flower is said to take on vivid colors if it gets plenty of nutrition and sunlight”.
Venusaur has appeared in games other than Pokémon games.
It has appeared in both the Nintendo games Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee. and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.
A Venusaur also appeared in the Detective Pikachu game – but not the movie, because the realistic Venusaur drawn for the film was just a little too freaky!
Venusaur has two different Chinese names.
It has a Cantonese Chinese name, Kèihyihfā, which translates as “Unusual Flower”, and a Mandarin Chinese name, Miàowāhuā, which translates as “Wonderful Flower Frog”!
Venusaur has a base stat of 525.
As a starter Pokémon, it is graced with some pretty brilliant base stats, with a total of 525.
That’s equal to several very strong Pokémon including Lucario, Jolteon and Torterra.
Shiny Venusaurs have a golden flower.
A shiny Venusaur has a brighter green skin color rather than the teal color of its normal counterpart, and has a shining yellowy-golden flower on its back instead the usual pinkish-red flower.
Venusaur and Tropius are the exact same size.
Despite having rather distinct silhouettes when it comes to “Who’s that Pokémon?”, both Venusaur and Tropius are 6 foot 7 inches tall and both weigh 220.5 lbs!
Venusaur’s Pokédex number is the same in all Pokédexe’s.
For both the National Pokédex and the Fiore Browser, used in the Pokémon Ranger games, Venusaur’s number is 003.
Venusaur didn’t appear in the anime for 43 episodes!
The episode March of the Exeggutor Squad was the first episode to physically feature a Venusaur!
In Generation V, a Venusaur with an English name couldn’t be traded on the GTS.
This is because the “sau” from “Venusaur” can be translated as “swine” in German and it is considered as an offensive nickname.
Venusaur’s Japanese name means “strange flower.”
Its Japanese name, Fushigibana, is a pun on the Japanese term “fushigi na hana” which means “strange flower”.
Spencer’s Venusaur has the most anime appearances for a single Venusaur.
It first appeared in the episode Cutting the Ties that Bind, then next in the episode Ka Boom with a View! where it defeated Ash’s Heracross, before being bested by Ash’s Swellow.
It made its third appearance in a flashback sequence in the episode King and Queen for a Day!
Venusaur only shares its Pokémon category with three other Pokémon.
These three Pokémon are Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Sunkern, and all four of these Pokémon are categorized as Seed Pokémon.
Mega Venusaur has the highest stats of all Poison type Pokémon.
Coming in with a huge Stat total of 625, Mega Venusaur towers over the next highest Poison type Pokémon, Mega Gengar, with its Stat total of 600.
It’s impossible to get a Venusaur in your Pokédex if you start with Charmander.
In Pokémon Red, Blue, FireRed and LeafGreen, no NPC has a Venusaur in the game if the player chooses a Charmander to begin with – making it impossible to fill out your Pokédex!
Venusaur is Ken Sugimori’s least favorite Pokémon.
Ken Sugimori is the beautifully creative mind behind most of all the Pokémon designs. And, much like all the other Kanto starters, Venusaur is one of Ken Sugimori’s designs.
However, it is his least favorite design. But why?
Well, that’s because he finds Venusaur to be one of the hardest Pokémon to draw!
Venusaur has appeared in over 65 games!
That’s not a surprising figure, given that Venusaur is one of the original 150 Pokémon and has been staring in Pokémon games since 1996!
Venusaur is based on a frog.
Ken Sugimori stated that Venusaur was “a creature that is something like a frog”, saying that “The experience of keeping small animals such as frogs (Bulbasaur), lizards (Charmander), and baby turtles (Squirtle) as pets gives the game a sense of reality and makes it easier to get into the game.”
Sugimori thought that players might have a harder time relating to the starter Pokémon if they were all tough-looking beasts, which is why the three starters are little cuties to begin with and eventually evolve into big ferocious beasts!
The flower on Venusaur’s back is based on a real plant.
Named the Rafflesia arnoldii, and also known as the Corpse Lily, this plant produces the largest flowering plant on Earth.
In stark contrast to a Venusaur’s flower, this Rafflesia flower produces a highly unpleasant odor that smells like rotting flesh!
Did you know that the Pokémon Venusaur didn’t appear in the anime for the first 43 episodes?
