Nurse Isabelle and the Kanto Pokédex: the Diary of a Travelling Nurse

#003 Venusaur

Venusaur, the Seed Pokémon. Bulbasaur's final evolution and the evolved form of Ivysaur. Venusaur uses its flower to catch the sun's rays to convert them into energy, which causes the flower to take on colours that are more vibrant. The flower releases a soothing scent that attracts Pokémon. This scent becomes stronger after a rainy day. Venusaur has demonstrated the ability to manipulate nature and lead evolution ceremonies for Bulbasaur and Ivysaur. This Pokémon is rarely found in the wild, but has been known to inhabit grasslands.

Nurse Isabelle remembered clearly when she first encountered the final evolution of the Kanto Grass-type starter, Venusaur. It had been on a rather pleasant day on Route 6. As usual, Izzy allowed Bulbasaur out of his ball. After all, how is one supposed to build a bond with a Pokémon if it's always contained in its ball? Once out of his ball, Bulbasaur seemed to scent something. He gave an excited cry and dashed into the tall grass, making him nearly disappear from view. Only the rustling of the grass where it spread for Bulbasaur's bulky body told Izzy where her Pokémon was. It ran to a clearing, near the lake, where a massive shape could be seen. The soothing scent became stronger as they approached. When they were near, Izzy understood what the shape was. It was a Venusaur and it was quite a bit higher than herself. Venusaur were rare to find in the wild because most Bulbasaur are bred in captivity. The best chance of finding a Venusaur was encountering one that had been freed or abandoned by its trainer.

Near the Venusaur was a bush that caught Isabelle's attention. The yellow, roundish shape of the berries that hung from it was unmistakable. Sitrus berries! She opened her berry case after pulling it out of her backpack. Slowly, she made her way to the berry bush, hoping not to agitate the Pokémon that was not only taller than her but also heavier. Unfortunate, this Venusaur turned out not to be keen on trainers Grunting its species, a blue cloud waved up from his flower. Immediately recognising it as the move Sleep Powder, Isabelle dashed away, out of reach. Cursing softly, she returned to where she thought Bulbasaur was, only to find out that he had gone towards the moody Venusaur. Totally in awe, he looked up at his final evolution, probably imagining the day he looked like that.

Watching the two of them, it became clear that Bulbasaur tried to impress Venusaur by showing off that he, too, could use Sleep Powder, though all he managed was a tiny little puff. Venusaur laughed and demonstrated it again, making sure not to hit the smaller Grass-type.

Since it was becoming quite dangerous to stay near them, Isabelle wandered off a little to look for more Sitrus berries. She desperately wanted to have some since they regenerated health and acted as painkillers. She found a couple, but the bushes they were on had already been plucked by other humans or Pokémon. None of them were as full as the bush near Venusaur.

After half an hour, she returned to the place where she left Bulbasaur. To her surprise, Venusaur was looking rather drowsy with a proud Bulbasaur in front of him. Bulbasaur even held some of the Sitrus berries in his vines, holding them out for her. A brilliant smile curled on Izzy's face and she knelt down in front of Bulbasaur to rub his head thoroughly, whispering the praise he deserved. With his vines, he plucked the berries and gave them to his trainer. Within minutes, her berry case was overflowing with Sitrus berries. Venusaur had fallen asleep while they worked, so Izzy and Bulbasaur left quietly before Venusaur woke up. It would be rather useful for a nurse to have a Pokémon that knows Sleep Powder.