The AviaChar Academy has produced a multitude of winners, including current PokéOlympic champion, Aaliyah Roboteau, and her Charizard, Aariana. Image Credit: peerimagesca
In my Charizard Guide page, I spoke about the Charizard racing circuits and how entering your Charizard into these is a great way to get rid of some of that pent-up energy. I thought I would dedicate some time to tell you about some of these races and the services available.
Before I begin, let me give you a little bit more detail about the Charizard stage of the Charmander-Charmeleon-Charizard lifecycle. As you know, wild Charizard typically have two modes: sleeping and flying. There is actually a deeper, biological reason for this. As soon as they evolve from Charmeleon, Charizard go through a number of changes (not just its wings!). For one, they get a sudden urge to want to find a mate. Pokémon can breed at any stage of their cycle, so it is unknown why the Charizard stage warrants this kind of reaction, but it does cause them a few problems.
Firstly, Charizard are rare, so finding a mate will mean a lot of searching. However, during its Charmander and Charmeleon stages, the Charizard would have formed close ties with its pack. This causes huge stress in early Charizard life, where it has many internal battles: does it stay with its family, or does it leave to seek out love and a life of its own? Nature decides to, somewhat cruelly, enforce its view of this decision by making it practically impossible for Charizard to stay in one place. Firstly, its metabolism goes into hyperdrive and it can no longer rely on the occasional hunt for food. Biologists believe this is designed to spur them to leave the nest and find a mate. Secondly, females’ eyes start to become sensitive to light and they lose fat ratio, so it is harder for them to stay warm (urging them to seek out volcanic caves). In the meanwhile, males begin to develop a deficiency for ‘kaolin-group mineral’. This mineral is a naturally occurring substance that the Charmander-Charmeleon stages produce to help protect against skin infections. A deficiency can be quite brutal for male Charizard, as any abrasions from fights have a greater chance of leading to infection. Kaolin-group mineral is found in volcanic rock, so both males and females are drawn to volcanic caves!
So, you may be wondering what this has to do with racing. Well, with dietary supplements and Pokémedicines, we can greatly reduce many of those natural changes to make life a little easier for your Charizard. However, despite these interventions, your Charizard will still be very restless and have natural instincts to fly. You, therefore, will likely need an outlet. What better than some healthy competition?
History of Charizard Racing
The first recorded Charizard race was part of the PokéOlympics in Ancient Greece, and both saddle-mounted and bareback races were popular in the Roman Empire. The precise beginnings of organized racing is unknown, but there is some evidence that early civilisations such as the Clovis people (Ancient peoples of North America), the Yayoi-era peoples of Ancient Japan, and the ancestors of the Shailendra dynasty in Java, Indonesia, had close bonds with Charizard due to the higher number of volcanoes in the region, and may have conducted Charizard racing.
Charizard Racing Today
Charizard racing is a very common sport in Charizard circles and these races are often highly popular parts of PokéSport Events and—of course—the PokéOlympics. They come in many forms but most commonly comprise single races (without a rider), saddle-mounted (with a rider), or relay races, where Charizard transports a rider for the majority of the race but the last leg is performed by the rider, who uses a glider to descend to the finishing line (usually while the Charizard performs some sort of creative element).
Charizard Flight Schools
Due to the popularity of Charizard racing, many schools have been founded worldwide to help develop the skills of both Charizard and rider. One of the most prestigious, The AviaChar Academy, is based in Italy and trains 10 students a year. Places are fiercely fought for, as this academy has produced a multitude of winners, including the current PokéOlympic champion: Belizean rider, Aaliyah Roboteau and her Charizard, Aariana. Many famous Charizard riders open their own gyms, similar to the Pokémon gyms found in traditional Pokémon battling, and Charizard trainers may challenge them to a race.
I decided to run an agony aunt column. Image Credit: Braintechinc
At one point in my career, I was receiving so many letters from people asking for help with their Pokémon, I decided to run an agony aunt column. Here a couple of my Charmeleon-related questions and answers:
Dear Elizabeth,
I have a Charmeleon called Andy that I raised from a Charmander. He was my first Pokémon and he was so well behaved when he was a Charmander. He’d sleep at the end of my bed, walk me to school with my mum and even help out with the chores while I was at school. However, ever since he evolved, he just hasn’t been himself. We made him his own little outhouse in the yard but he slashed at it with his claws in a rage like I’ve never seen before. He has also ruined mum’s garden and he stands outside my window all night yowling at me. Funny thing is, though, that he is absolutely fine at behaviour classes. The teacher is astounded when I tell him about what a terror he is at night. Please can you help, as my mum is near giving up and I really don’t want to get rid of him.
Yours, Edna
Dear Edna,
This sounds like a classic case of anxiety disorder. You obviously love your Pokémon very much and very rightly gave your Charmander plenty of attention. You slept together, played together, and in the day he had your mum to help out. However, when he evolved, he was moved to an outhouse. Outhouses can be great ideas for some Pokémon that evolve to be too large for living in the house. However, Charmeleon is very much a pack animal. To you and your mum, the outhouse was both a loving gesture – building him a special place just for him to stay. However, to your Charmeleon, it feels as if he is being cast outside, away from his pack.
My advice would be to make every attempt to move Charmeleon’s living quarters indoors. Do you have a spare room? Or a large storage cupboard that you could repurpose? Once he has a space within the emotional safety of the family home, you can set some boundaries such as when he should stay in there and when he can come out. Set specific slots where you spend time together – preferably make this a few hours of training or exercise. Remind him that someone is always nearby – if everyone needs to leave the house, it’d be best to take him with you rather than leave him alone.
If there is no way for Charmeleon to live indoors, I would suggest finding a partner for your Pokémon. It doesn’t really matter what type of Pokémon, but preferably someone that is his level and someone he can get along with. Camp outside with your Charmeleon and his new pal for at least two weeks. Next, step this down to three nights a week for a further two weeks, and finally one night per week for a final two weeks. By this end of this gradual adjustment period, your Charmeleon’s confidence in his space should grow.
Best of luck, Elizabeth
*
Dear Elizabeth,
I have had my Charmeleon for five years now. He was a rescue from an abandoned Pokémon shelter; I think he is about 30 years old but we’re not sure. We used to train together, but he started to get less and less energy as he got older – this is normal, right?! – so I don’t particularly train him anymore. He is more of a family member and spends his days hunting rabbits in our field and his nights guarding the grain store – this was Pappa’s idea of ways to keep him active and give him a purpose. We haven’t got a room for him, but Pappa lets him sleep on the couch.
We got a new couch not too long ago and ever since, Charmeleon has been scratching it. Its made Pappa really mad, as it cost a fair bit and it is in tatters now. Why is Charmeleon scratching the new couch?
Thanks George
Hi George!
Thanks for writing in, I’m glad you decided to give Charmeleon such a loving home. Have you considered taking Charmeleon to the Pokémon Centre just to get him a check over? Charmeleon can be quite lazy, but 30-35 isn’t too old for a Charmeleon, so I’d be surprised if his fatigue was age related. If he is getting tired a lot, he may be being overworked (hunting at night then guarding in the day would be strenuous on anyone!). The destructive behaviour you described seems like a reaction to frustration. His tiredness might be causing him some stress. This may also be exacerbated by only having the couch to sleep on – he would have to wait until everyone went to bed before he could get complete peace for deep sleep. Space is often an issue for Pokémon owners, but it would be best if you could find a quiet place such as a cupboard where he can get some alone time.
Tears start to form at his eyes. He closes them and, for a second, almost seems to stop struggling. Image credit: @lebgar
Both lizards are hunched over, heads extended, eyes locked with each other. The brilliantly burning flames on the tips of the tails are angled in front of the body. The male lizard is mostly bright orange; the cream on his torso is covered in scratch marks and mild burns. The electric blue eyes are narrowed, fixed on the other lizard.
She’s different; her eyes are more focused with a tint of green, and her scaly skin from head to toe is a dazzling gold. There is a slight sparkle to her: even her flame seems brighter. Like her opponent, her eyes are unmoving. She flexes her feet; her claws crunch into the hot, dusty gravel.
He draws himself up to his full height,
pulling back his tail. His eyes stretch out into a leer. Her arm twitches and
her head drops for a split second. He moves to take a step forward just as she
brings her head back up and utters a growl; he now takes a step back. The two
Charmander are still locked at the eyes, about ten metres apart.
The silence presses in. The lizards remain motionless. The female’s arm twitches again: she lifts her other arm to scratch her neck and, finally, turns to move away from her orange opponent. Just as he starts to step forward again, she strikes. Turning with the speed of a Weavile, she spits a jet of golden flame. He drops his head again and allows the flame to hit him, keeping his eyes fixed forwards. As he absorbs the oncoming flames, the claws on her right arm extend, transforming from gold into a light, shiny grey.
As she readies her metal claw, his fangs start to extend with bright orange flames erupting from his gums. With the solid white daggers now fully extended from his mouth, entirely layered with orange fire, he flexes his claws and waits. As quickly as she fired her flamethrower, she lets up: they both charge at once.
Both Charmander are sprinting at each
other the ferocity of Rhyhorn; metal claw and fire fang at the ready. They get
to about five metres apart before they leap. Her arm is extended out above her
head, while his head is reared forward, with his mouth wide open.
CRUNCH!
Her metallic arm is caught in his mouth,
while his fangs have pierced deep beneath her skin. She spasms; flinching from
the depth of his bite. Pressing his advantage, he lets go, then extends his
fangs again. This time the fire around them seems even more fierce. He bites
again. Grey smoke starts to seep out of her twice bitten arm. She wails in pain
and tries desperately to pull herself free. This time, he doesn’t stop biting,
and his own claws on both arms extend into a scratch attack. He uses his claws
to hook her arm into her place and continues to sink the fire fang deeper
beneath her skin.
She continues to cry in pain, but the
orange Charmander still keeps his jaws firmly on her arm. Her own fangs start
to extend, layering themselves with the same type of golden flame that she spat
at him earlier. His right eye travels up to see a fully formed fire fang.
CRUNCH!
This one is more sickening than the
first. He has taken a critical hit from a fire fang to the back of the neck
and, like she did after his first attack, he has spasmed into a flinch. Unlike
him, she does not let go and bite again: instead, she pulls her arm out of his
mouth, while forming her claws into a scratch attack. She hooks one arm onto
his head, and another over his back to hold him, while continuing to press her
fire fang into the back of his neck. His mouth is wide open, and his eyes are
wide, yet he is not making a sound. He’s on all fours, desperately trying to
pull away, but her fangs have got him locked into place.
Tears start to form at his eyes. He
closes them and, for a second, almost seems to stop struggling. She slightly
loosens her grip on his neck. Then the smoke erupts from his mouth, travelling
up, engulfing the pair. Instinctively, she closes her eyes and pulls away.
She attempts to jog away from the brawl,
but her left foot catches the back of her right foot, and she falls to the
ground. Her throat is burning. She coughs hard, but more thick billowing smoke
creeps in. For a while, all she can do is lie there, spluttering to try and
work the smoke out of her system. Her right arm that took the fire fang from
the male Charmander is twitching.
The ground beneath her seems to rumble.
She lifts her head up, but keeps her mouth and eyes closed. Almost silence:
there is only the light licks of her golden, shimmering flame, whispering to
the humid, clouded air. She goes to stand, gingerly pushing herself up, but the
rumble comes back. This time it’s more intense; like a mild earthquake. She
starts to feel queasy and drops back to the floor, covering her head with her
arms. She lies there cowering, but still the rumble continues, increasing with
intensity with every passing second. She opens her mouth to cry out, still
keeping her eyes firmly shut, with her arms covering her head.
The rumbling stops. Several small
pebbles seem to have gone flying, not too far from where she lies. A couple of
them bounce of the top of her head. Slowly, she lifts her head up and finally
opens her eyes.
The smoke is a lot less thick; it now more resembles a thin cloud of dust. Something is moving along the ground.
Water gun fights, paddling pools, and sprinklers can be a nice gentle start, but move on to swimming pools and more natural settings as soon as your Charmander is ready.Image Credit: Faiahaato
There are a multitude of benefits and limitations you get from different Pokémon. This SWOT analysis helps you decide whether to include Charmander to your battle team, and includes specialist advice for both breeder and catcher, as well as combatants facing this Pokémon in battle.
Strengths
Charmander is an excellent choice for a fire trainer, or someone looking to add some heat to their team. Its Ember is a strong move that is learned relatively early in the Charmander lifecycle. There are many fire types that don’t get their first fire-related move until much later, so this early development means plenty of practice time. Therefore, Charmander often have a stronger flame, higher flame quality, and greater stamina than others. Dragon breath, which is learned just before the Charmeleon evolution, is also a great addition to a Charmander moveset as it brings that edge against dragon types—importantly, without being weak to dragon-type moves itself. Outside of the fire-related moves, Charmander has versatile, sharp claws and it is naturally stealthy.
Charmander grow strong bonds with their team mates (especially other fire types). They are fiercely loyal and protective, and looking after others is a big motivator for growth. This high self-motivation makes them relatively easy Pokémon to train. One thing to keep in mind is that they enjoy routine and structure, but this is often seen in a positive light in the early days as young Pokémon must be dedicated if they want to achieve the levels of power needed for competitions.
Besides stealth, Charmander are also surprisingly speedy. It uses its head and arms for steerage, enabling it to manoeuvre well on the battlefield. Its no Doduo, and won’t win any races, but these head-first charges can add some additional scare-factor to the flame attacks.
Weaknesses
Charmander is an extremely effective communicator with other Charmander, using tail position, vocalisation and eye contact to synchronise. However, team a Charmander up with a Pokémon that isn’t Charmander, and it can quickly become frustrated. It would take years of focused training for many Pokémon to be able to read Charmander’s body language as well as another Charmander could, so—unless you’re a multi-trainer (a trainer that likes to use multiple of the same Pokémon)—I’d recommend not using Charmander for team battles.
Charmander is a creature of habit and routine. While this brings many benefits (dedication to consistent training and practicing skills being just two examples), it makes them rather inflexible. For example, say you decide a good general strategy for most Pokémon is a Tackle, followed by an Ember, so you practice this pattern with Charmander. However, you get to a battle and you find you’re against a water, fire or rock type—that fire isn’t going to help much! However, because training has taught Charmander to combine these moves, it may be a touch stubborn and refuse to drop the Ember, simply because it is it’s habit to use it. This leads many Charmander trainers to have to spend significant time on routine training Charmander with enough move sets to cover all likely scenarios. This is a huge time sink: that time would have been best spent elsewhere.
While they have caught the public’s attention, trainers often do not have a good understanding of Charmander behaviour. In fact, there are many false beliefs around Charmander that should be addressed. For example, many think that Charmander are easy Pokémon for first timers (I wouldn’t say so…), many think they’re rather independent (they are very much pack Pokémon), and many believe that wild Charmander will quickly adapt to home life (very much not true, it can be tough even with bred Charmander). These rumours are easily correctable, but they often lead to some dissatisfaction and frustration in trainers—especially inexperienced trainers just starting out on their journey.
Charmander have an intense fear of water, which includes rain, snow and any water body (sea, lake, river etc). In their natural environment, they get the water they need via their prey or by licking the small streams that run down cave walls. Therefore, rainfall can be very unnatural to them. Trainers should ensure Charmander is introduced to water and taught how to combat it, or risk deeply ingrained weaknesses to water moves. Their flame tail is particularly vulnerable in the early years, and a Charmander can become severely injured if its flame is dowsed.
Opportunities
While many trainers focus on its fire moves (not that this is a bad strategy, the high stamina means Charmander likely has enough flame for the entire battle), I would like to see more trainers utilising Charmander’s stealth. Smokescreen can be a great environmental attack to give Charmander that edge. Charmander can see well in smoky environments, due to their natural affinity with volcanoes and fire, and it is worthwhile using this move steadily throughout a battle.
Agility in Charmander is a largely overlooked ability, especially in breeder circles. Speed training tends to come in at the Charmeleon stage, but it is often set aside for more flame training in Charmander. I would like to see more time dedicated to speed and agility, preparing for more creative moves on the field. Similarly, intelligence training would be beneficial. This is not usually high up on the list because Charmander isn’t always the sharpest knife in the draw. However, they’re interested and quick learners because they love any one-on-one time. I’ve known one or two where this has been very beneficial—including where a Charmander was part of a detective agency.
Threats
There is an unfortunate rise in urban Charmander. Many are illegally bred or escaped from inexperienced trainers and take to living in cities on the streets. This is an unnatural environment for a Charmander, and the harshness of street life can quickly make them hostile to humans. In Los Angeles, where there is a particularly high number on the streets, it is thought that 50% of arson cases are perpetrated by rogue Charmander. The Meleon Menders society charity in LA is doing important work to try and make positive contact with the Charmander (and Charmeleon) gangs in LA and to help rehabilitate its members.
Charmander has poor defence, and, while its fire attacks are very powerful, sometimes Charmander trainers forget that not all opponents are as ill equipped. This is one of the reasons why Charmander tends to have trouble with rock and ground types: their trainers go all out on flame moves but rock/ground types endure it well enough that they cut through the beam. Consistency and strength are good, but not always enough.
With leagues getting more and more flexible in terms of arena construction, more opponents are honing in on weaknesses when it comes to battle environment choice. Charmander’s weakness to water can be a big disadvantage here. While arena management do have rules for the amount of land mass that must be available in heavy water-based arenas, you must learn to make good use of what you are given.
Breeders
While fire development is important, remember areas such as intelligence and speed. This will help trainers be more creative in battles and better prepare Charmander for its Charmeleon phase. Enrol your Charmander up for ballet and chess clubs to keep them well socialised while they train.
Be particularly responsible when finding trainers for Charmander. Always be mindful that these Charmander are likely to be evolved into Charmeleon in the future. Trainers seeking Charmander are likely dazzled by their potential power, but if they are not dedicated or skilled enough, this could lead to frustration and abandonment. We want to avoid contributing to Charmeleon gangs.
The focus on Charmander’s flame can be a great opportunity to experiment with different diets and natural supplements to identify the best combination. There are a couple fire type mini leagues where different breeders and trainers get together and discuss Charmander health, and events like this can really help you refine your techniques, ingredient mixes and (best of all) try out your Charmander against others. Its a good day out for all.
Combatants
Charmander has low defence that is tricky to counter without relying on team work. If your Pokémon are tough enough to withstand the flame attacks, push through to make direct hits, or focus on agility to dodge the fire and get in some quick hits.
Charmander can be a little unsteady on its feet, so any moves that shake the ground or cause tripping hazards can be useful to stop Charmander in its tracks long enough to get some hits in
Heat tolerance training is essential when battling Charmander. Its attacks tend to be much stronger than other base-level fire Pokémon, so don’t underestimate its strength. If you’d usually heat tolerate to a particular temperature, add on 10 degrees to be safe.
Trainers
Be creative when it comes to water training to ensure you’re not caught out by water arenas. Water gun fights, paddling pools, and sprinklers can be a nice gentle start, but move on to swimming pools and more natural settings as soon as your Charmander is ready.
Charmeleon can have issues with anger, so it is good preparation to teach Charmander anger management techniques ahead of time. There are some great Pokémon Behaviourists that can provide healthy routines and mental health support.
Do what you can at leagues and events to do your part in teaching Charmander responsibility. Work with your local firefighters to find out if there is any fire safety messages you can help spread.
Its not uncommon for a Venusaur to fall asleep mid battle after using up its major moveset once or twice. Image credit: Shizukahanari
There are a multitude of benefits and limitations you get from different Pokémon. This SWOT analysis helps you decide whether to include Venusaur to your battle team, and includes specialist advice for both breeder and catcher, as well as combatants facing this Pokémon in battle.
Strengths
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: Venusaur’s immense size, strength, and pure might. Venusaur is the fifth most powerful grass-type Pokémon in the world (known to date) and they can be pure powerhouses on the field. They dominate most team battles in mid-to-high battle arenas, and are incredibly intimidating foes to face.
One thing that contributes to this power is that Venusaur is incredibly in tune with its environment and has a very deep understanding of the natural world. This can be very useful for certain battle arenas. For example, your Venusaur can use its vines to chop up a lake and make it harder for water Pokémon to navigate, they can manipulate air waves and create a deafening sound to disorientate a foe, or they can speak to plants and spur rapid movement of root systems, branches, thorns and spores. If you ever see a Venusaur fighting in a forest-based arena, it is a pure spectacle and nigh impossible to beat. Unfortunately, most trainers know this and (if they have the choice) they will constantly challenge you with more urban arenas that are void of all plant life. Either way, there are very few environments where your Venusaur can’t have a little fun with.
When Venusaur’s types were last assessed (they re-test each Pokémon’s abilities every couple of centuries or so to see if they have developed any new type abilities), my grandfather told me that he advised the assessment board to add psychic to its type listings due to their ability to uncannily “know” an opponent’s next move. Subsequent testing has found that it is not a psychic ability, but simply a highly developed empathy and understanding of psychology. Venusaur are, indeed, very attune to Pokémon’s body language and even audible clues that give away their next movements. This counterbalances Venusaur’s slower speed and is tricky to battle against.
Weaknesses
A disadvantage of Venusaur’s size is that it is inevitably immobile. Venusaur can move around, but it expends a lot of energy doing so, and this only gets worse with age. Venusaur are slow growers, but they never actually stop growing. At one point, they’re reclassified as ‘Mega’ or ‘Gigantamax’, but (unlike other Pokémon that can undertake this transformation) Venusaur can achieve these sizes naturally with time. This phenomenon is actually thought to be part of their natural lifecycle: they get so huge that they stop being able to take care of themselves and their bodies become part of the forest—which is quite darkly poetic, if you think about it. However, with the invention of the Pokéball and modern Pokémedicine, trainers can set up a successful care routine so that Venusaur can survive much longer than they do in the wild. But, the larger they grow, the slower and less agile they will be in battle.
Venusaur is so closely tied with its environment that it really suffers if its living conditions are less than ideal, and this can drastically affect its performance in the field. There are very strict rules in the larger leagues as to what condition your Venusaur must be in before it can even sign up for a competition, including the quality of Venusaur’s leaves and tree bark, the colour of its flower, and even tooth, claw and skin condition. Many trainers opt to keep their Venusaur in a nature preserve, rather than keeping them at home, but the rising pollution of forests is making things tougher. For those that want to regularly use moves such as Solar Beam also need PLENTY of sun time (usually with additional vitamins and heat lamps, which come with their own risks).
Another downside to being environmentally sensitive is that Venusaur often have an acute fear of fire. It is thought that this comes from something called ‘tree memory’, where Venusaur taps into the memories of the forest and feels the hurt and pain caused by wildfires. This can be very distracting to Venusaur who are in the middle of a particularly fiery battle and cause it to let down its defenses.
Opportunities
Due to their rarity, Venusaur has a lot of fans. There are whole groups dedicated to attending every single arena Venusaur battle—I attended their meets once or twice over the years, they’re a good bunch! This fandom can easily help raise the profile of any trainer that places Venusaur in a high-ranking position in their battle team. A higher profile means more sponsors, and more sponsors mean a higher chance in getting a ticket to the more prestigious leagues. Any Venusaur trainer must learn to work with fans, but I say see it as a positive experience: interact with them, be kind to them, enjoy them.
Venusaur’s natural moveset does not include any poison-based moves, but it has capacity to learn some (Sludge Bomb and Venoshock to name a few). Manually teaching these moves could be a great differentiating factor for your Venusaur and give you the edge against fairy and grass types.
Threats
Deforestation and pollution are massive threats for Venusaur health. They don’t tend to do to well in more urban areas, as a connection to nature is quintessential to Venusaur happiness. Similarly, in battle, some arenas will dramatically affect your Venusaur’s performance (especially for strategies that use a lot of environmental effects). Concrete floors, metal walls, brick buildings, and glass pyramids (like the infamous Abbey Stadium) are a challenge.
Older Venusaur will need to find ways to keep up defense and attack flexibly from one spot—especially if your strategy does not include environmental manipulation. Venusaur can be at risk from medium-to-high speed Pokémon without specific training to counter such attack styles.
Breeders
Maintain Venusaur’s connection with nature as part of its daily routine. It is preferable if you live near a wooded area (that isn’t already a Bulbasaur territory). In addition, try to get Venusaur involved in charity work: working in a human or Pokémon community would do.
It is essential that you offer extensive one-to-one training with trainers wanting to own a Venusaur who have not had any previous experience with the Bulbasaur-Ivysaur-Venusaur line before. Ideally, you would make it mandatory that they have had previous experience, but I understand that this can’t always be the case. Cover nutrition, health and environment as core requirements—especially when it comes to ageing.
Venusaur can get a little bad tempered as they grow older, so teach emotion coaching to allow new trainers to maintain an open communication about thoughts and feelings with their Pokémon
Combatants
High speed will usually be a good tactic against a Venusaur, and more effective the older (and larger) they are. Consider all attack angles available on the battlefield (attacks from above, below, behind, to the side, and straight on), and vary up attack patterns. Attacks such as Decoy and Substitute can be effectively used alongside.
If you can dodge its vines, you may be able to get into a big Venusaur blindspot to its rear, giving you a major advantage.
Venusaur often have little stamina, so aim to keep dodging attacks to wear them out. Its not uncommon for a Venusaur to fall asleep mid battle after using up its major moveset once or twice—especially if its trainer didn’t ensure it got enough sun time.
Trainers
Don’t forget that Venusaur is part poison type. If fed the right foods, Venusaur’s skin can secrete a toxic substance. This can cause slight poison damage when your opponents attack with certain moves (for example, Bite, Peck, and Lick). Ask your local breeder for the best diets (remember to keep them safely away from non-poison type Pokémon, children, and pets if you go down this route, however).
Sunbathe, sunbathe, sunbathe. This is especially important if you intend on using high-energy moves such as Hyperbeam. Consider Hyperbeam use very carefully in battle, because it is a big energy sapper. Many battles are over too soon because the trainer used the big move too early.
Make environment use a key part of your training and your battle plans. You’ll need to be flexible, to account for all possible arena types, but a strong environment manipulation can be a huge counter to your limited movement and can be very effective.
Love Venusaur? Check out the Guide posts on how to catch and look after Bulbsaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur
My Ivysaur’s favourite snack is nuts, especially pistachios. Image credit: Jozanto Soe Aung
Ivysaur has bounds of energy – so much so that he rarely sits still. One of the reasons for his get-up-and-go attitude is that he has two energy sources: metabolism and photosynthesis. This article will look at these two methods and how Ivysaur uses them to get moving.
Using the Light
Ivysaur uses photosynthesis to create sugar using the Sun’s energy. This technique is used by all plants, from mosses to trees. Here is how it works:
Ivysaur’s leaves are filled with a substance called chlorophyll (that’s what makes his leaves green). This substance holds many piles of small discs called chloroplasts. As sunlight hits the chloroplasts, it activates a protein in the leaf cell called an enzyme
Enzymes speed up chemical reactions for many different processes. The enzymes used in photosynthesis break up water molecules into oxygen, hydrogen and electrons. Ivysaur gets water by drinking, like you and me, while typical plants get water from their roots
The hydrogen released from the water molecule teams up with some electrons to transform chemical NADP into NADPH. This then reacts with other chemicals in the plant to form sugar
The oxygen released from the water escapes from the leaf into the atmosphere. We breathe oxygen, which is one reason why photosynthesising Pokémon and plants are so important!
Food for thought
Ivysaur’s second method of getting energy is eating, like you and me. Ivysaur is an omnivore, which means he eats both plants and animals. My Ivysaur’s favourite snack is nuts, especially pistachios. I don’t know where he got it from as I’m not a nut fan! Wild Ivysaur are opportunists and their natural diet includes nuts, berries, vegetables, leafy greens, grasses, flowers, snakes, frogs, eggs and birds. It is best to try and reflect this diet as closely as possible, mainly focusing on vegetables. Here is how Ivysaur gets his energy from eating:
First (Ivysaur’s favouritepart, he tells me), Ivysaur chooses something to eat. My guess is pistachios! As he eats, he chews the food with his teeth. An Ivysaur has two types of teeth: molars and canines. Canines are pointy, designed for ripping and tearing. They are situated at the front of the jaw. Ivysaur’s molars are larger and flatter, located at the back of the mouth. These are used for grinding down plants and breaking up food
As Ivysaur chews, his mouth produces saliva. Spit is filled with enzymes that are specialised at breaking down sugars
Once it has been chewed, food is then swallowed. It travels down the oesophagus (a muscly tube in his neck) and travels into the stomach
The stomach is a muscular sac that contains acid. The stomach vigorously moves food around, while mixing it with the acid and breaks it down to a pulp. As the food is pulverised, specific sugar-processing enzymes continue the job of breaking down sugar into a simpler sugar, glucose
The pulpy food moves from the stomach into the intestines. The glucose is transferred into the body cells through the intestines, which are lined with a series of bumps that ‘catch’ the food
The body uses insulin to tell cells to let glucose in. The cells then use glucose to create energy
Ivysaur have a high drive and almost dogged persistence. Image Credit: faiahaato
There are a multitude of benefits and limitations you get from different Pokémon. This SWOT analysis helps you decide whether to include Ivysaur to your battle team, and includes specialist advice for both breeder and catcher, as well as combatants facing this Pokémon in battle.
Strengths
Similar to its predecessor, Ivysaur has a sharp mind and a deep understanding of the natural environment. Except, now, he has the stamina and dexterity to boot. I’ve always said the army could go a long way by recruiting more Ivysaur as tacticians, as their battle planning is highly developed. In fact, they are regularly recruited by security firms and police forces.
Ivysaur have a high drive and almost dogged persistence. If you ask it to do something, it will do whatever it takes to get it done, or die trying. This can often get it into a spot of bother, but their hardiness pulls them through 9 times of out 10. This determination makes Ivysaur very reliable.
The flower on an Ivysaur’s back is now developed enough to contribute towards powder and seed growth, meaning these can be much more potent. While it takes some time to master, these attacks can be powerful tools in battle. They can also have uses outside of battle. For example, there was an interesting case a few years ago where a game preserve had some trouble with its fencing and a herd of elephants slipped through the net and were headed straight for a village. Relations between the village and reservation had been iffy at best, so the reservation rangers were very keen to get the elephants swiftly rounded up before they troubled the villagers. I knew an Ivysaur breeder nearby, who gladly helped. Her team of around 5 Ivysaur used their sleep powder to send the elephants into a doze. From there, they could be safely sedated properly without the herd getting startled and running.
Weaknesses
Ivysaur often finds itself torn between wanting to please its trainer and wanting to push boundaries, which can lead to some miscommunication and disagreement in battle. For example, I was once battling a Pidgeotto with an Ivysaur in my care, who was ever so eager to try out its powder moves as it had overheard my discussions with its trainer around powder potency. I’d told Ivysaur that, for this battle, we were going to re-practice vine work, but he wasn’t having any of it. He puffed out his chest, strutted out to the field—one eye on its trainer—and out came the sleep powder, which flurried its way over to Pidgeotto…. but, boy, did Ivysaur’s rising pride get an abrupt shock as the Pidgeotto swiftly used Gust and blew those spores back at us! Luckily, Pidgeotto’s aim was a touch off and the majority missed us, but it did float over to my recreation garden and put an unsuspecting Weedle and Mankey to sleep. They missed out on the vegetable growing contest that year because of that, bless them.
Ivysaur’s high determination can give it a kind of tunnel vision, where it neglects or disregards anything that doesn’t contribute towards the goal at hand. In battle, this means it might forget to maintain defence when attacking, it may act too hastily in unexpected terrains, and it has a tendency to fight down to its very last remaining strength—making it difficult to judge at what point to swap them out. There can be ramifications in non-battle life, too. Ivysaur might be so determined to train, for example, that it forgets to eat and rest. In fact, this Pokémon finds it very difficult to rest at all—tricky when it needs a certain amount of sun basking each day.
Opportunities
I would like to see more trainers putting trust in this Pokémon’s abilities. Especially in the low-to-mid battling ranges, Ivysaur should be up front and center—as opposed to being used as support, which I often see. With its powders and seeds focused on stat attacks, I can certainly see why Ivysaur isn’t seen as the hard hitter it is, but its Seed Bomb and Take Down attacks aren’t something to treat lightly (not to mention its well-practiced Vine Whip).
Ivysaur gives us more in flexibility, compared to Bulbasaur, and many miss this opportunity. They tend to keep Ivysaur in one place—using a similar battle plan to Bulbasaur. While I can see the argument that keeping Ivysaur stationary is good preparation training for its Venusaur stage, keeping prone isn’t using Ivysaur to its best ability for this stage of its evolution cycle. This ‘mon has energy! Let him use it. I want to see running, leaping… hell, even swinging on its vines is possible. Your opponents sure won’t be expecting that.
Threats
Ivysaur can be a bit of a forgotten stage in the Bulbasaur-Ivysaur-Venusaur line and, as a result, trainers don’t plan effectively for it. When someone gets a Bulbasaur, they have big visions of either the cute, little companion, or the hulking great power. They don’t want the awkward teenager. This, unfortunately, leads to rushed or enforced evolution—which is bad for many reasons: unseasoned, unruly Venusaur being only one—and also huge Ivysaur abandonment when trainers come to realise that not all Ivysaur can evolve. In the wild, there is a special ceremony where a Venusaur is chosen. Not too much is known about it (much more research is needed), but the legends go that only one Venusaur is selected every 100 years, and this Venusaur’s duty is to protect the forest. The selected Ivysaur has to have the right temperament and have made a big impact on its community. Its a position of honour and respect just as much as it is training and time.
The potential for malnutrition is a huge threat for Ivysaur. These Pokémon are eager to be active, they don’t want to sit and bask in the sun. Some don’t even want to sit down long enough to eat a good meal. It is imperative for an Ivysaur trainer to be strict and strong willed. Not only must you enforce sun time, but you should firmly teach Ivysaur how to safely slough off energy while also maintaining self-care. Either that, or you will be run ragged trying to tear after him with nutrition supplements. Try to make healthcare a position of pride or a puzzle to solve: How do we make sure your leaves keep green and strong? How do we maintain petal health? However, don’t overdo it, either. I have seen one or two cases where Ivysaur have needed to be treated for self esteem. Keep health in mind at all times.
Breeders
Start Ivysaur preparation during the Bulbasaur years, where possible. Flower and leaf care, activity planning, and time management can all be taught at the Bulbasaur stage. Get Bulbasaur involved in helping other Ivysaurs, if possible, as this will be great for team bonding and emulate a wild Bulbasaur-Ivysaur-Venusaur society.
Get Ivysaur involved in as much sport as you can. Solo sports, team sports and training will all go a long way in building Ivysaur’s strength and stamina.
Do some Ivysaur awareness campaigns: taking them to events, sharing leaflets, taking part in charities, and touring schools are some ideas. We must play our part in demystifying Ivysaur and sharing what we know of its folklore.
Combatants
Facing an Ivysaur can be quite daunting as it will just keep coming at you! If you’re in a multi battle, distraction techniques work very well (getting one Pokémon with high speed or high defence to draw Ivysaur’s attention, then using a second Pokémon to deal the damage), because Ivysaur can be so focused, he often falls for misdirection.
Those powders can be very debilitating—especially with older Ivysaur that have had more time to practice. Avoid them at all costs. Some possibilities are to go underground at the time of attack, use flying Pokémon that understand wind direction, or use moves that can re-direct the spores. The more creative you can be the better, as a good trainer will try to expect your reaction and respond.
A busy Ivysaur is not a thinking Ivysaur, so it is best to keep the attacks coming. Their resilience isn’t too strong, so some consistent, well-paced attacks shouldn’t take too long to chip away at their defences.
Trainers
Use the lack of understanding to your advantage. People tend to think of Ivysaur as slow and lumbering, like Venusaur, so train for speed and agility to surprise them.
Ensure you have a deep understanding of Bulbasaur-Ivysaur-Venusaur relations, history and physiology before undertaking Ivysaur care. Especially when it comes to mythology and evolution lines. If you’re wanting to evolve Ivysaur into a Venusaur, do your genetics research and ensure you get Ivysaur involved in community and charity work alongside training.
Ivysaur is happiest in a cool forest environment, and is thus not too comfortable in extreme environments. This aversion to fire and ice can become obsessive and turn to fear if not kept in check.
Breeders should communicate with trainers to show how diet and basking can impact seeds and powders. Image credit: Faiahaato
There are a multitude of benefits and limitations you get from different Pokémon. This SWOT analysis helps you decide whether to include Bulbasaur to your battle team, and includes specialist advice for both breeder and catcher, as well as combatants facing this Pokémon in battle.
Strengths
Bulbasaur’s particular affinity with nature can be a great strength to its battle prowess. I saw a great battle tactic once, in a multi-Pokémon duel between a Bulbasaur-Lapras pairing and a Minun-Plusle pair. The Minun and Plusle were extremely quick—these Pokémon have such a close connection generally, but the coordination here was astonishing—and they were dodging all of Lapras’s attacks as she just couldn’t move her head fast enough. To counter, Bulbasaur positioned himself right in front of Lapras, so his head was just under hers, and he placed one of his vines flat out on the floor while the other cut into Lapras’s Water Gun stream. Bulbasaur then used the tiny vibrations he picked up from the ground and grass as Minun and Plusle ran around to allow it to re-direct Lapras’s water attacks to meet their movements—sometimes splitting it into several streams. This made it much harder to dodge and forced the Pokémon to change tactic. Once they’d stopped, Bulbasaur hit them with a Sleep Powder.
Bulbasaur is actually a great support Pokémon in battle. Although it can have strong attacks itself, its intelligence and creativity can be of great assistance to the more ‘big hitters’. Leech Seed is also an especially useful support mechanism for a team battle. Bulbasaur may be a little reserved when it comes to sharing these out (they take a lot of energy to make), but the energy transference properties of those small seeds can go a long way in tipping the scale of a hairy battle. There are perfectly natural ways of making the seeds more potent, but the intricacies of that are way too deep for this entry. A good starting place is ensuring a nutritiously rich diet and plenty of sun basking time.
Weaknesses
This may be surprising to many, but one of Bulbasaur’s major weaknesses is its powders. I see many trainers just expecting Bulbasaur to use its Sleep and Poison powders from day #1, but it actually takes Bulbasaur a long while to brew these, and a lot more time to learn how to distribute them in a way that is effective in battle. There is a lot of timing involved, a limited window where they are at their most potent, and Bulbasaur must have a great understanding of the environmental effects on its powders before they are particularly useful. In fact, I often advise trainers that, while Bulbasaur can use the powders to an extent, they are primarily an Ivysaur technique and it is better to focus on its vine work when battling.
A second, perhaps more evident, weakness is its speed. Those short, stubby legs are no good for rapid movement, and Bulbasaur definitively feels more at home with all four feet planted squarely on the ground. Vines can compensate for this a lot of the time, when it comes to attack work, but defence can take a big hit.
Opportunities
Trainers can often be mistaken in thinking their primary role as a trainer is to be in charge of grand strategy, but this doesn’t always have to be the case. Your Pokémon can bring a whole new perspective on battle plans, and this is particularly relevant when you have a Bulbasaur due to its empathy and cunning. They can also be used in the training of other Pokémon as they are naturally personable and commanding—a pairing that is hard to achieve.
Trainers often aim for the more exciting powder-based attacks and disregard its vine work. This is a big mistake, as the vines can be extremely powerful and used in a number of unique ways. I’d like to see more creative uses of them on the field: not just whipping but catching, energy re-direction (as in the example I mentioned earlier but this can also be used defensively), and manipulation of the environment for offensive/defensive means.
Threats
Bulbasaur’s popularity can be a problem. As they’re such an all rounder, and some famous trainers have had them in their teams, more and more people are seeking them out. As the breeders are inundated with requests, trainers are then turning to the wild. However, in the wild, these Pokémon are part of quite delicate ecosystems and form close social groups. Some particularly impatient trainers don’t do their research and simply crash in to the forests—ruining the habitat in the process. This mis-match in ‘supply and demand’ is leading Bulbasaur-Ivysaur-Venusaur groups to become more elusive and move into deeper parts of the forest. I’d recommend that trainers leave the wild Bulbasaur to the researchers, and instead get your name down on the waiting list for a breeder.
A second threat to Bulbasaur is its Grass/Poison type. People often forget about the poison part, and treat Bulbasaur like a pure grass Pokémon. This can cause difficulties as they are put up against ground and psychic types, to which they are vulnerable. Trainers also forget to train up resistance to these types of attacks. Psychic can be particularly damaging because Bulbasaur’s high empathy means it can be easily confused and mentally manipulated.
Breeders
Encourage Bulbasaur broods to be independent. Their empathy is great for cooperation, but they are at risk of becoming too dependent on either other Pokémon or their trainers—which make for less confident battlers.
Better communicate with trainers to show how diet and basking can impact seeds and powders. This should reduce the expectancy that these things will just work and reduce frustration between Pokémon and trainer
Start vine training as early as possible. Ask babies to pick things off shelves, give them puzzles to do, play catch… anything that builds dexterity and strength.
Combatants
Take advantage of Bulbasaur’s reduced movement and focus on moves that use high speed or affect the ground underneath them, so they have to keep moving. They’ll tire much more quickly if they’re moving around as many have low endurance
Use environment attacks where possible: make it cold, block out the sun, block access to bare earth/grass. Even better, push for a water, fire, metal or ice-floored arena.
Bulbasaur are very courageous but quite weak-minded. Intimidation tactics, mental manipulation and staging will go a long way to knock Bulbasaur’s confidence. Isolation from team makes can be useful in team battles, as Bulbasaur is a strong leader so cutting them off will weaken the team as a whole.
Trainers
Respect the Bulbasaur’s environment and family if catching from the wild. They have a complex and sensitive society, so be understanding and look for opportunities to convince a Bulbasaur to come with you, as opposed to the traditional Pokéball capture.
Encourage smart thinking and understand that a Bulbasaur’s strategic suggestions and management abilities are a benefit to you, not a threat to you.
Understand that powder work is no quick win, and likely won’t bring fruit until your Bulbasaur evolves. Do extensive reading and experimenting with different diets and ingredients so you’re prepared for when the time comes that these are useful in battle.
A Breeder's Guide to Pokémon 