EP051

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← EP050 : Who Gets to Keep Togepi?
Original series
EP052 : Princess vs. Princess →
Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden
EP051.png
  EP051  
フシギダネのふしぎのはなぞの
Fushigidane's Mysterious Flower Garden
First broadcast
Japan July 2, 1998
United States April 3, 1999
English themes
Opening Pokémon Theme
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening めざせポケモンマスター
Ending ポケットにファンタジー
Credits
Animation Team Ota
Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka
Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada
Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada
Animation director 玉川明洋 Akihiro Tamagawa
Additional credits

Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden (Japanese: フシギダネのふしぎのはなぞの Fushigidane's Mysterious Flower Garden) is the 51st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on July 2, 1998, and in the United States on April 3, 1999.

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

In the course of his journey, Ash battles a mountaineer Pokémon trainer he encountered in a small wooded area. Ash deploys his Bulbasaur against the mountaineer's Rhyhorn, but Bulbasaur is behaving very strangely, causing even Pikachu to be concerned. In the end, Bulbasaur defeats Rhyhorn, but Ash decides to go immediately to a Pokémon Center and seek help from Joy. What could be the problem with Bulbasaur?

Plot

As they continue their journey towards the Cinnabar Gym, Ash and his friends come across a Hiker who challenges Ash to a battle, which he gladly accepts. The Hiker sends out his Rhyhorn while Ash counters with Bulbasaur. Rhyhorn executes a Take Down, the ground shaking as it charges right at Ash's Bulbasaur, with Pikachu not liking the outcome. Ash commands Bulbasaur to use Leech Seed, but Rhyhorn closes in and sends Bulbasaur flying before the attack is launched. Ash tries to recall Bulbasaur, but Bulbasaur refuses. Brock states that it will not back down until it wins and it seems that Bulbasaur really wants to battle it. The Hiker says that Ash must be a bad Trainer if his own Pokémon does not listen when told to return it to its Poké Ball. Rhyhorn charges again, but Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf attack stops its rampage and follows it up with a Vine Whip. Rhyhorn collapses, giving Ash the victory, and the Hiker commends Ash for training his Bulbasaur well. Ash then notices that his Bulbasaur cannot get up and its bulb begins pulsating with a blue glow.

They rush Bulbasaur to the nearest Pokémon Center, where Ash informs Nurse Joy of the situation. Nurse Joy eventually informs him that Bulbasaur is not sick at all and is instead almost ready to evolve. Bulbasaur appears disgruntled despite Ash's enthusiasm. Nurse Joy tells Ash that it will evolve at a special festival.

As everyone is asleep at the Pokémon Center, a long line of Bulbasaur appears outside. Ash's Bulbasaur gets up and walks outside, watching the view of the sparkling flowers and the full moon, with Pikachu accompanying him. Suddenly, a group of Bulbasaur use their vines and grab Bulbasaur, taking it towards the forest. Pikachu initially gives chase, though its efforts prove fruitless. At Bulbasaur's request, Pikachu then heads back to the Pokémon Center to wake up Ash and the others. Pikachu informs them of what happened and they decide to follow him to find Bulbasaur.

Elsewhere, Jessie enjoys the view of sparkling flowers, but James disagrees as he has allergies. Suddenly, they walk right past the group of Bulbasaur holding Ash's. Jessie says they should capture them, but they all hit them with their vines and send the trio blasting off.

As the group continues to follow Pikachu, Brock notices a trail of pollen and suggests they follow it, with the hope that it will lead to Ash's Bulbasaur. Suddenly, the roots of a group of trees start thrashing around and then tangle together to form a barrier. Getting through it, the group gazes upon the garden, where they find thousands of Bulbasaur. They chant and the central tree's branches grow, complete with foliage. The tree's hollow then glows intensely and a Venusaur emerges and climbs on a tree stump. The gang searches for Ash's Bulbasaur, with Misty pointing out that it has a bandage on its head. They manage to find it, but Brock reminds Ash that humans have never been in this garden before. All of the Bulbasaur are happy except for Ash's. The Venusaur roars and the Bulbasaur follow suit. This continues several times before all of the Bulbasaur's bulbs begin to glow.

Team Rocket reappears, though they cannot get through the wall of vines. James asks Meowth to scratch his way through, though Meowth says that he just had his claws filed. Jessie and James promptly get out an ax and a saw, whilst Meowth holds a pair of scythes. However, the vines begin to attack and chase them away.

In the garden, the Bulbasaur begin to evolve into Ivysaur. Brock comments that people have always disagreed about whether Bulbasaur is a plant or an animal, and says that Bulbasaur might be a symbol that all life on Earth is connected. Just then, Ash notices that his Bulbasaur is struggling to refuse the evolution, which enrages Venusaur and all of the Ivysaur. Venusaur is about to hit Bulbasaur with its Vine Whip, but Ash rushes in front of it and takes the hit to his shoulders. Ash apologizes for coming to their festival but states that Bulbasaur is his friend. He asks if they are mad that Bulbasaur will not evolve, and they all nod. Ash says that if Bulbasaur does not want to evolve, they cannot force it to. Venusaur roars, sending pollen to the tree, which bursts out in red flowers, the vibrant display easily impressing Ash and his friends. Misty points out that it was manipulating nature and points out to Bulbasaur that if it evolves, it could do that too, but it still refuses to evolve. Ash apologizes to Bulbasaur for not considering its feelings on the matter, and it smiles at the acknowledgment.

Suddenly, Team Rocket arrives in their balloon and begins sucking up the Ivysaur into a bag. Pikachu begins to fly upwards, but Bulbasaur catches him with its vine and pulls him to safety. Ash tells Bulbasaur to knock Team Rocket out of the sky, and Bulbasaur tries using Razor Leaf, but it fails. James asks if they should get Bulbasaur, and Jessie and Meowth just laugh, saying Bulbasaur is a wimp. Bulbasaur shouts and the sun suddenly rises over the horizon, its rays entering through the opening on the top of its bulb. Ash consults with his Pokédex, which says that it is getting ready to use Solar Beam. Bulbasaur then releases a beam of energy toward Team Rocket, hitting the vacuum bag first before piercing the balloon. It explodes, and Bulbasaur frees all of the Ivysaur with Razor Leaf, while Team Rocket falls to the ground in their basket. All of the Pokémon strike Team Rocket all at once with their vines, sending them blasting off again.

Ash says Bulbasaur did great, with Venusaur agreeing, before smiling and extending a vine. Bulbasaur extends its vine and connects with Venusaur as a sign of respect. The vine barrier pulls away, and as Ash and the others are about to leave, they notice that the garden has disappeared. They then wave goodbye to Venusaur and Ivysaur.

Major events

Ash's Bulbasaur resisting evolution
For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Ivysaur


Trivia

The English title card
  • The episode's Japanese title is a pun on Bulbasaur's Japanese name, Fushigidane; where fushigi means "mysterious".
    • Additionally, this episode's English title is a direct translation of the Japanese title with the word "flower" removed.
  • The Bulbagarden network itself was named after this episode.
  • Although it never aired while syndicated on Cartoon Network in 2003, the episode made its debut on September 13, 2007 at 6:30 AM EDT, during a Pokémon marathon of every episode at that point.
  • This episode is currently unavailable for purchase on Prime Video, despite being available on the iTunes Store and Google Play, and the rest of Pokémon: Indigo League being available for purchase on all three services.
  • This episode is followed by different episodes between the original Japanese version and the international dubbed version. The episode is followed by Princess vs. Princess in the original Japanese version and by The Case of the K-9 Caper! in the dub version.
  • This episode marks the first time that Pikachu does imitations; in this case, he imitated Bulbasaur.
  • James breaks the fourth wall by saying that "our fans have come to expect it" when referring to the Team Rocket motto.
  • This episode is featured on Volume 7: Bulbasaur from Viz Media's Pokémon All-Stars series.
  • A shot in this episode was reanimated and reused in a flashback in Alola, Kanto!.
  • This was the last episode of the original series where the Who's That Pokémon? segment featured one of the main Pokémon of the episode in the English dub. All original series episodes following this one have a random Pokémon appear in the segment, with any future instances of the Pokémon featured in the segment matching one of the episode's main Pokémon, such as Pallet Party Panic, being coincidental. When the segment returned in the English dub of the Pokémon the Series: Black & White, the Pokémon that played a prominent role in the episode would consistently appear in the segment again, starting with A Sandile Gusher of Change!.
  • Some Venusaur lines from this episode can be heard in Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee. In Super Smash Bros., they can be heard in Saffron City after Venusaur appears from the Silph Co. door. In Melee, they can be heard after Venusaur is summoned via the Poké Ball.

Errors

The balloon error
  • In multiple shots, prior to the Bulbasaur evolving, while Ash, Misty, and Brock are watching the festival begin, Ivysaur can be seen instead of Bulbasaur.
  • During the motto, the tail of the Meowth Balloon is not fully colored in.
  • Right before Team Rocket is hit with Vine Whip, Bulbasaur's ear turns the same shade of green as its bulb for a few frames.
  • In the Cartoon Network airing of this episode, a bumper from when Pokémon: The Series was in syndication can be seen briefly, showing a scene of Pikachu with a Poké Ball on its head from the original Japanese credits with the words "Now Back To The Show!" in the fade between the two parts of Who's That Pokémon?.
  • In the Polish dub, when saying farewell, Ash refers to Venusaur in plural.
  • In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Razor Leaf is constantly referred to as Ataque Furacão, which means "Hurricane". While the actual reason for this is unknown, it is probably due to the way the move is depicted in this episode.

Dub edits

  • Kanto Pokérap: Day 1 (Version 2)
  • In the first Italian dub, and in the French, Polish, and Swedish dubs, the parts where Pikachu and Bulbasaur are talking are interpreted by the narrator.
  • When Ash talks in his sleep in the Japanese version, he says, "I can't eat anymore." In the English dub, he talks about getting a thousand Badges instead.
  • When Team Rocket comes across the wall of vines in the Japanese version, instead of asking Meowth to scratch through them, James instead laments the fact that Meowth can't learn Cut, and Meowth replies "Well, excuse me", instead of refusing to try.

In other languages



← EP050 : Who Gets to Keep Togepi?
Original series
EP052 : Princess vs. Princess →
Project Anime logo.png This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.
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