Bulbasaur's Bad Day: Difference between revisions

Bulbasaur's Bad Day
ISBN:	0439154278
Published:	June 2000
Publisher:	Scholastic
Author:	Bill Michaels
Preceded By:	Save Our Squirtle!
Succeeded By:	Two of a Kind

Bulbasaur's Bad Day is the fourth book in the "Pokémon Junior" series. It takes place in the Orange Islands. It was written by Bill Michaels and was published by Scholastic. It is 47 pages long.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

The story begins in Celadon City with Ash, Misty and Tracey along with their Pokémon Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Marill, Togepi and Squirtle who are stuck inside a Trainers' Hostel due to the rain. Bulbasaur is grumpy because of the bad weather. Eventually the rain stops and the Pokémon wonder if their Trainers will take them outside. Ash then tells the Pokémon that his Pokédex is broken, and that he must see Professor Oak so that he can fix it. He tells the Pokémon it would be safer if they stayed in the Hostel, however Misty brings her Togepi with her. The Trainers had allowed their Pokémon to visit the Celadon Gym that night. The Pokémon joke with each other on their way to the Gym. Once inside, they watch a Pokémon battle between Articuno and Butterfree. Butterfree won the match by using its Sleep Powder attack. A Psyduck approaches the group, and tells them a joke. The Pokémon cannot stop laughing, except for Squirtle, who doesn't understand it. They say goodbye to Psyduck and leave the Gym. On the way back, Pikachu explains the joke to Squirtle. Bulbasaur suggests that the group take a shortcut back to the Hostel through the forest. Reluctantly the other Pokémon agree. Once in the forest, Marill points out a Weedle munching on some leaves. As the other Pokémon watch, Bulbasaur continues walking ahead. The other Pokémon rush to catch up. Bulbasaur has a moment of indecision before choosing a path to follow. Bulbasaur then walks straight into a pit. After the other Pokémon have checked that Bulbasaur is okay, a storm begins to brew. After a while, rain begins to pour. Bulbasaur admits it won't be able to get out of the pit on its own. Squirtle tries to slow down the rain with its Bubble attack, but to no avail. Squirtle then goes back to the Hostel to call for help. After it had left, Meowth steps forward from the forest. Meowth mocks Bulbasaur, and the other Pokémon conclude that he is responsible for the pit. Arbok and Gastly then appear and continue to mock Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur attacks Team Rocket's Pokémon with its Leech Seed. Arbok counters with a Poison Sting attack and Gastly used its Night Shade. Pikachu tried to use its ThunderShock attack, but it failed because it was raining too hard. The pit begins to fill up with water. Squirtle then reappears, along with Charizard. Charizard uses its Rage, Growl and Flamethrower attacks. Bulbasaur then uses its Razor Leaf, and Pikachu uses a Thunder Wave. Gastly, Arbok and Meowth run away into the forest. The water is now up to Bulbasaur's neck. Squirtle, Pikachu and Marill worked together to come up with a plan. The Pokémon wait for a lighning bolt to strikes. When one does, Pikachu uses its ThunderShock and Agility to guide the lightning bolt into a tree. The tree then falls into the pit, forming a ramp for Bulbasaur. A group of Mankey, who were in the tree that fell down, help to bring Bulbasaur to safety. The other Pokémon were happy to see their friend was safe. The Mankey run back into the forest after Pikachu and its friends thank them. Bulbasaur apologises for leading the other Pokémon into danger. The other Pokémon forgive it, and the group heads out of the forest and back to the Hostel. The Trainers return the next morning and are glad to see their Pokémon again.

Blurb

Can Bulbasaur escape Team Rocket's trap? Some days are just plain bad. Others are the pits. Just ask Bulbasaur. The Grass Pokémon falls into a big pit- one of Team Rocket's traps. None of Bulbasaur's battle techniques can help. And now Meowth is on the attack! Can Bulbasaur defend itself from Team Rocket- alone?

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Tracey
• Misty

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's)
• Charizard (Ash's)
• Squirtle (Ash's)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Marill (Tracey's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Articuno
• Butterfree
• Psyduck
• Weedle
• Gastly
• Mankey

Trivia

• This is one of two Pokémon Junior books to not be based on an anime episode. The other one is Save Our Squirtle!.
• The Trainers stay at a Trainer's Hostel, rather than at a Pokémon Center.
• Butterfree and Articuno were the only Pokémon battling in the Gym, however, neither of them are Grass types.

Errors

• Butterfree won the Pokémon battle against Articuno by using Sleep Powder. However, this only put Articuno to sleep and did not knock it out. This has been used in the anime before; for example, in Friend and Foe Alike.
• Gastly replaces Weezing as one of Team Rocket's Pokémon.
• Pikachu's ThunderShock attack failed because of the rain. If anything, it should have made the attack more powerful.
• On page 34, one of the sentences is missing the word "the".
• The plural of Mankey is written as "Mankeys".

This book article is part of Project Merchandise, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on all Pokémon toys, dolls, books, and collectible merchandise.