The Best Starter! - Bulbasaur Only - Pokemon Yellow

Rules:
1. Only my starter in battle
2. No items in battle, except held items
3. No glitches, exploits, save states, or RNG manipulation
4. No evasion moves before level 100*
Rule details:
-- *In gen1, evasion boosting is allowed if the Pokemon does it through means other than learning the move by level up or TM. For example, using Mimic or Mirror Move to boost evasion is allowed. (This exception is to keep ranking consistent with my legacy videos.)
-- I am allowed to manipulate my starter
-- I play the game at 4x game speed
-- For fair comparisons all my Pokemon have perfect (or near perfect) DVs / IVs
-- I am allowed to catch HM users - I can use all field moves
-- All in-battle glitches are allowed in generation 1
-- In generation 1, I'm allowed to skip Marowak with the Poke Doll
-- Surge's trash-can-puzzle is automatically solved
-- The bike is allowed in gen1, banned in gen2, and allowed for bypassing terrain in gen3
-- Saving between league members is allowed
-- If the solo Pokemon faints and I choose to blackout it counts towards my reset counter
-- I can pause the game and timer to take breaks
-- The footage is sped up / slowed down to match the pace of my narration
-- The ability Pickup can only be used if the starter has it
Patreon: / scottsthoughts
KZbin memberships:
/ @scottsthoughtspokemon
Twitter: / psychicflying
Twitch: / scottsthoughtspokemon
Illustrations by / sarinavail
Thumbnail art by / brianlsart
STAB: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
DVs / IVs: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Damage Calculations: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Gen1 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen1.php
Gen2 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/pkmn/stat_gen2.php
Gen1 Crit Rates: www.smogon.com/rb/articles/cr...
Learnsets: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...
Base Stats: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wi...)

[@TastyMeerkat]

Let's be real. Anyone who doesn't love this adorable little plant frog is a villain in the making.

[@SJtheMFZB]

Shaddup. Bulba and Ivy do fine, but no one asked for that final-stage abomination. 🙄

[@alexzander2211]

""villain in the making" - thats an odd way to say charizard fans.

[@sussybaka-9796]

⁠@@SJtheMFZBVenusaur is an absolute treasure, you take that back (ง'̀-'́)ง

[@Ozgarthefighter]

​@@SJtheMFZBDo not disrespect the toad king.

[@n64_kfp]

I like bulba, but I'm squirtle squad all the way!

[@pjanderson4876]

Bulbasaur is definitely my favorite Gen 1 starter too!

[@jostafro4967]

He is so cool.

[@gambleralex5083]

BASED

[@djcalli1205]

Good luck with the daily uploads this month man. I am rooting for some justice for your subscriber count… you are the best creator of this type of content on KZbin and it’s not even close.

[@mauricioguerra1794]

You're entitled to have your opinion but "not even close" it's pushing it 😔

[@ZerglingOne1]

He's steadily grown since I started watching him. I joined around 50k, he's over 60k now. Also, his number of direct supporters should give you a good idea of how much we enjoy his content.

[@willysmith2990]

“Jrose entered the chat”

[@remydirt3158]

It would be great to see Scott hit 100k by the new year

[@Fierylunar]

​@@willysmith2990I'm subscribed to both. Jrose was first and the inspiration for this channel if memory serves. This channel takes the idea and greatly enhances it with better editing, a detailed layout on what is happening, and more optimized approach with the second playthrough, which Jrose doesn't do. You may think of the content what you will, but I have more fun watching these vids and more faith in the resulting Gen 1 tier list.

[@Austin007]

I'm super happy the training strategies panned out! Bulbasaur's early game was pretty worrisome at first. I also can't believe the rng you got at the end. It's really cool to see one of my runs featured as a cameo! ♥The starters were so much fun and I'm so glad you posted the challenge and put all the work you did into the overlay to make that possible.

[@kevinsips3658]

“She sends in Gloom, it hits acid” lol

[@kieferdunbar5041]

So do I lol

[@AllonBachuth]

I was hoping to see the glitch with Toxic and Leech Seed since I don't think that's made it into a run, but I'm more than satisfied to see that Bulbasaur can be such a beast that it doesn't need that tanky strat! Great results, great video! Now for me to move on to the Charmander one.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

While... neat, it's not exactly a fast strategy.

[@wusstunes]

Love the other gens but the yellow runs definitely have a certain something special to them. The way the game's "broken" systems can be utilized in tandem to do things that otherwise would be impossible makes the runs feel much more unique than those in later gens, which while cool feel more confined to the intentions of the developer.

[@jonathanfrank9207]

I noticed that for some trainers that you usually discuss, you had played the trainer music for all of them, but for certain ones that aren't as important to the specific run you're doing, you let the overworld music continue. I found it very helpful to let the whole video flow.

[@jakeofjohto8285]

I always take a second to ask myself if bulbasaur being my favorite starter is nostalgia, but then i just look at it and like, nah he is just a cute little toad and goddang do I love toads

[@Rubbly]

Scott with the high-effort Pokemon content as always! Love the runs and the community you're fostering!

[@Xeraser2]

The first reset in the second run was pretty painful, I think you should've just restarted in that case especially after the elemental punch trio race.

[@pigeonfog]

Venusaur is going to be S tier for sure. Also I'm sure a modern bellsprout would be a teir right there with bulby.

[@kode-man23]

When he does solo Venusaur it should be S-tier. It's only downfall is that it has to take a while to put things to sleep and set up, but it's functionally the same as Victribell. Also it has that inexplicable Gen 1 poison type buff going for it haha.

[@Naxhus2]

@@kode-man23 I am fascinated to see how it goes compared with victreebel. When you look at the stat spread it's functionally probably more favourable (less attack which I don't think is as important in a grass type with swords dance access, but more speed and bulk). The biggest difference I see is the level at which Venosaur gets razor leaf, but I wonder if that's even that big a deal given how well grass types clean up the early game and how overpowered final-stage pokemon are in the early game (so like Venosaur will be able to muscle through Viridian Forest bug types with tackle no problems for example). It does not get sleep powder until very late but it does get Growth (which is not as important when your best damage dealing move is high crit). We might see the vaunted growth-mega drain-swords dance-body slam set!

[@SJtheMFZB]

@@Naxhus2 Hate to break it to ya, lad, but Venusaur isn't looking just a little slower than #1. Victreebel just isn't the first name to come to mind when you think 'stomps Gen 1', then you see it starts with Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf, and super effective damage for early bugs, only to continue rubbing Venu's nose in it with Wrap at lv 13 for Zubats and an 18- base Attack lead. The hare's got it if he stays awake this time.

[@jimmiewoodsjw]

Super excited for the daily uploads this month. You have no idea how much I appreciate the quality and joyfulness your videos bring. Thanks Scott!

[@bastion_92]

Some of the best relaxing pokemon content. Played the games so much growing up that the narration just plays a movie you can see in your head like counting sheep. 12/10 overall!

[@optortoise202]

I hope you get a lot of new viewers this December!! You got me attached from last years daily December but now I’m a lot busier so I’ll do my best to watch these all!

[@florianwiese97]

I do not play Pokemon anymore, nor do I watch any other Pokemon content. But somehow I love your content. Keep up the great work und uploads. The additional information for us viewers is simply amazing. Greetings from Germany

[@Shawnzy1]

Scott , Your vids have really been helping me take my mind off of my depression and anxiety . Thank you 😊

[@BestMFBrazil]

I was having a terrible bored saturday thank you so much for this release

[@shimmianNS]

On the second day of December, Scott's Thoughts gave to me: A garden lizard's leech seed And those three weirdo mons punching

[@vfranceschini]

I also love fushigidane xD favourite starter ever :p ty for the content as always! All the best! Cheers

[@beardedbastard4990]

Squirtle is just the best empirically. Water is awesome and the Squirtle squad is awesome lol

[@manuelpavanello90]

Bulbasaur was my first starter ever and will be forever in my ❤️

[@henrymars6626]

Since the OG Red days it's been the same. Think about how our first game's starters are our first Pokémon EVER. Best babie boi

[@apollobro91]

....I am in awe at Agatha's AI switching out to remove the Substitute on Gengar to then switch Gengar back in.

[@banditrests]

I’m always so happy when mimic lick works out in a run, it’s so funny if you have SD that you take advantage of ghost being physical.

[@blakeschwab7518]

glad you realized the power of razor leaf on the 2nd playthrough! this was a fun one, bulbasaur is a beast

[@somectguy17]

This might be a dumb question going to the evolution screen and having to hit B every time Bulbasaur levels up must add a decent chunk of time to the end result right? I wonder how much time it adds versus pokemon that don't evolve.

[@sam8789]

This this an interesting point for sure

[@louc.6735]

You know, I've been subscribed for about 2/3 years, using your videos as a way to relax, and one thing i have noticed: the nicknamed trainers are hardly ever game overs anymore. You've gotten so much better at these optimizations. Or maybe I haven't watched Zubat in a while. But yeah, you've become a master at gen one.

[@Lucifers-Stepdad]

Bulba is definitely the best kanto starter. That's why he's number 1!

[@arronfrasier4466]

Scott churning out videos like crazy. Let’s enjoy this wonderful time of year

[@frostedbyte0759]

Great video dude!

[@codymays9943]

My god dude, I just noticed the subscribers you have now. Seems like 18ish months ago you were still so small a channel. Well done!

[@perkypenguin1663]

Grass starters are my favorite starters, so seeing Bulbasaur destroy was satisfying to see! One thing I wonder is if it would make sense to use Rare Candies before Sabrina so that you outspeed her Abra and potentially prevent Flash. Then again, you wouldn’t have those candies for later to prevent mid battle level ups in the E4, so I’m not sure which approach is better. Either way, I enjoyed this video :)

[@Nelphean]

Honestly, I keep coming back because I like your overlay.

[@IGamebreadI]

Had to drop a like before the vid even starts for that " The Best Starter" in the title.

[@blinkspot2667]

I did a Yellow-Bulbasaur run about a year ago. It was a very interesting playthrough, I kind of want to do it again, but letting it evolve this time, haha.

[@Pepega580]

Bro, that back sprite looks so funny. Bulbasaur looks like the Sadge Pepe frog. Hahahaha 🤣

[@bigsmoke44gaming44]

Toxic + Leech Seed makes this beautiful lettuce frog so strong but slow. I love it so much 🥰

[@ofox716]

Fun fact, and some jank you could take advantage of. In gen 1, toxic and leech seed ran off the same counter. So, if you applied toxic and then leech seed, the stacks pile up twice as fast. And the nature of the move toxic meant that the damage went up each time, with leech seed also reading the stack, it drains more. The only fully evolved pokemon that can do this is executor and venosaur.

[@naraiceylob]

I know that December ad money is better on youtube but going daily is some massive dedication. I presume that getting ready for this is a project that takes the full year.

[@bryandauzat293]

I do love the grass type starters, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko/Torchic, Turtwig, Snivy, Froakie, ... I haven't played the latest games and have little to no opinion on the rest

[@veghesther3204]

About that really only Bulbasaur is the only good one Torchic is really the only good one to use in the Gen 3 games and Chikorita is pure CRAP even on the DS remake.

[@C_Train74]

I always spammed Leech Seed with Bulbasaur, sometimes to my detriment.

[@mickgorro]

Scott: There will be a Charmander video tomorrow. Me: Joke's on you, I've already watched it :).

[@patriots-wu2qs]

This guy is a legend

[@lamiaprincess6371]

Wowie that's such a fantastic time! And of course you are extremely correct in Bulbasaur being the best starter, except where Chikorita is the best starter. Bulbasaur is a close second :p Swords Dance being the best strat is something I predicted pretty early on actually. Turn economy is really important in going fast and often six uses of Growth is a bit overkill. One thing I got curious about when I was reminded of Lovely Kiss, is there going to be a Yellow tradeback series? I was reminded of this because Nidoking actually gets Lovely Kiss via a Gen II event which would make it even more ridiculously powerful in a solo playthrough.

[@chrisdixon7377]

Bulbasaur I'm pretty sure is actually the fastest of the starters when it comes to a first form starter in gen 1 for a solo playthrough

[@trombaritone86]

Scott, have you considered filtering the tier list by different criteria like type, evolution, growth rate, etc? It would be interesting to visually see how different pokemon matching those descriptions perform

[@Dullstar2XQT]

Bulbasaur is adorable for sure; from a pure aesthetic perspective all the Gen 1 starters are so cute, and I think it's one of the generations where it's hardest to pick a favorite first stage starter design; while Squirtle is my favorite by a small margin, it's hard to say if I like Bulbasaur's design or Charmander's design better; all three of them are so cute; I'd say they're all definitely in my top 10 first stage designs, and I think all 3 of them together could make top 5 (look, it's hard to choose, okay?), with their main competitors for those slots being Mudkip, Sprigatito, Cyndaquil, and Totodile. The first-stage Kanto starters are so tightly packed in terms of quality; I think the gap between the best and the worst is way smaller than the gap between the best and the middle in a typical generation. I do think that Bulbasaur line is the hardest starter to use after the second gym -- possibly the most versatile, since it's got some pretty good bulk, recovery other than Rest through Leech Seed, and access to 3 of the 5 non-volatile status conditions; but in a full team where you're not going to be as overleveled due to the spread experience I think it performs better as a support Pokemon, while the other two starters make better mains.

[@MrMacdaddymcfly]

Lets gooooo can't wait! :D

[@hYRo144]

This run makes me excited for the venosaur run

[@hiei248]

Based Scott with based bulb choice

[@midge2946]

Always been more of a Charmander guy, but you definitely can't go wrong with any of the Kanto starters. They're all such little lads.

[@Matt-Glover]

I'm glad it's not just me who has a hard time watching the cinnabar mansion color scheme. I get a headache as well. However; Scott is usually pretty quick with it. Unless something major happens I'm cool with him not showing it.

[@pancakes838]

The most accurate title I have ever seen.

[@PegasusPablo]

The Pokémon Mansion tiles sure are aggressive on the eyes!

[@rafilosofo]

Just in the end at Oak you don't had the speed tie against Gyarados. Your speed became the same just after the Leer badge boost glitch raise your stats. Love you videos, Bulbasaur was awesome in the playthrought.

[@cuneyta.3371]

Are you going to upload every day a new video until Christmas like last year ^^. I hope, so you will make my holiday days more joyfull ^^

[@LTDextel]

The first Pokémon! Gl fren

[@manuelcheeser8935]

Love it!

[@pudgeboyardee32]

Thats Dr. Poke-bone to you good sir!

[@emeraldbeedrill]

The only thing I'll say is I'm more of an Ivysaur enjoyer.

[@riccardomosena4162]

comparing this with the fully evolved starters a few years ago, it's funny how bulbasaur demolished everyone xD base forms did way better than their final forms, can't wait for a rematch in the future (also venusaur had razorleaf while bulbasaur used earathquake)

[@shikishinobi]

SO CLOSE! I wanted my buddy Bulbasaur in A tier, to show it is damned awesomeness. But never mind, it leads the B tier and leaves a thin margin for anyone to get ahead. Looking forward to the other two starters, as it will be interesting to see if Squirtle can out perform like Blastoise did in the major competition.

[@henriolivier3930]

Hi there ! Nice video as usual. I never comment as I usually don't really have anything to say 😅 But I'm watching from France and I have been watching your videos quite a lot lately ! I just had a question today, maybe you have answered this many times before so sorry for that, but, is the toxic + leech seed gen 1 glicth too slow for this kind of challenge? Because it gives Bulbasaur (and it's evolutionary line) a great answer to Pokemon that would block them (at least non poison types). I guess it is fast enough not to need to use it, same for Victreebell... I was just wondering. Have a nice day ☺

[@NativeGolfer10]

Love the Bulbasaur line! Do you think Venusaur can challenge Victrebell since they have the same typing or is Acid and a higher base attack too much to overcome?

[@Jackbakker95]

Love to see the little Bulby boi make a good time. It'll be interesting to see if you redo Venusaur that it might get a S rank time, maybe comprable to Victreebel

[@anthonypeterman959]

It's always odd to me to see swords dance perform better than growth. I always had the impression that special moves tended to be better than physical in gen 1, especially since special wasn't split yet, but it's neat to see that swords dance is just better a lot of the time like with bulbasaur

[@Alector12]

Just goes to show what a good move body slam is. That move alone, especially with some boosts, invalidates Sabrina who otherwise might be scary.

[@SJtheMFZB]

It's easy to figure without a major offensive disparity, that two-stage boost, and Body Slam, but let's not gloss over the best Grass-move in the game critting most of the time and ignoring said Growth boosts, as well as Grass having quite a few more prominent resists than Normal. Greed says, "I want more badge boosts," but logic says, "I want to beat the game faster, and 6 turns of setup ain't it."

[@tehy123]

Well, Growth is for grass types and grass types do not get a lot of good moves.

[@bigkirbyhj666]

Yay the best gen 1 starter! I still have my bulbasaur plushie

[@garryfischer3679]

Great video Scott! Do you ever run the toxic+leech seed combo in gen 1?

[@TogashiJack]

Scott is talking about Sword's Dance boosted Razor Leaf, where here I am saying Razor Leaf is Special in Gen 1 and not boosted by SD's attack boost (aside from BBG)

[@Retrodan680]

Great idea if you havent thought about it yet a pokemon vs itself video like how does it do in gen 1 red vs fire red gen 3

[@BamadeusTTV]

This isn't a solo challenge, this is a me playing Pokémon blue as a kid simulator

[@kiertopaz]

7 seconds in and scott spitting straight facts

[@Naxhus2]

Cards on the table - as a child I was a Blastoise enjoyer and I still enjoy aesthetically and emotionally Blastoise to Venosaur. But as an adult, if I were to do my own playthough, I think it might be Bulbasaur for me. That back sprite is definitely an S-tier back sprite and leech seed is probably my favourite move in all of pokemon.

[@ryomaanime4563]

And gen1 has the leech seed-toxik bug that makes it even better

[@pommyadam]

my core memory of using Bulbasaur was basically stalling out the super-nerd in MtMoon (in likely Yellow, but maybe blue), because most of my party was dead and I had hit a leech seed and was slowly whittling it down (leech seed for HP regen, and then growling it to nothingness) interesting to see that grass types are at the top of most tier lists (S, B, C, F and Surge)

[@mauricioguerra1794]

Blue for sure because in yellow you can only access Bulbasaur in cerulean - unless you traded or used gameshark

[@SCEzeric]

Weird question, is it possible to add the critical damage to the moves in like parenthesis based on current lv? It's not super helpful, but might be fun to see

[@TJF588]

Could the overlay show Moves' critical hit modified power, perhaps in parentheses after the regular calculation?

[@simonb4588]

Isn't spore the best sleep inducing move accuracy wise in gen 1? Or did it not exist yet?

[@shammy7098]

I am historically a water starter guy, but Bulbasuar is #001 for a reason!

[@patonosequecosa]

Hey Scott, i don't want to put presure on you or something but i was wondering if you could make runs with the midle stages of the starters in yellow

[@MattWarb]

You said CUPOKE! I remember suggesting that 😁

[@kiertopaz]

looking at the move list i remeber teaching one of the saurs dig.. i guess he was able to learn it in later gens? (haven't played gen one since 99)

[@musiqlyme123]

Bulbasaur is good, tho a charmander run would be really good with access to SD, dig and body slam. I got charmander into the hall of fame at level 63 with an in game time of 3:37

[@TheDawn15]

Bulbasaur is best boi of all time. I love Bulbasaur as it is one of my favorites of all time. Though Scizor is my absolute favorite pokemon.

[@SwaxMain4u]

Bulbasaur was def my favorite starter back in gen 1, but I never evolved him past ivysaur though because i hated venasuars back sprite that much lol

[@joshforbes1320]

This line is definitely the best, however, my favorite will always be the squirtle line in gen 1

[@Pikachutwo2]

That Growth time skip edit on Giovanni messed with me. I thought Dugtrio woke up right away from sleep, but then I looked in the corner after it was defeated and you were at plus 5.

[@Badger_666]

Hey, just wanted to point out the fact that Pokémon that evolve by level have a pretty decently sizable disadvantage. At 23:28 you can see that you had to cancel an evolution and the clock ticked down, while higher stage evos wouldn’t have to deal with this. It looks like it wastes almost 2 real time seconds, and if you have to do this around 40 times, like with bulbasaur, you’re losing a full minute. I’m not sure if this is intentional or not though, lmk!

[@dragonslayerz2220]

He's said it's intended a few times.

[@MrMovees87]

I wish I had remembered Mimic for my own solo Bulbasaur series I did years ago 😅😂

[@renatoramos8834]

He is even better in my fangame, since plant types are also super effective against electric. But soloing the game is impossible.

[@Spudmay]

Glad I stayed all the way!

[@draykenly8418]

Hey Scott what is interacting with bulbasaurs leech seed vs ekans wrap?

[@CoffeeFlavoredMilk]

Its hilarious to me that Bulbasaur performs better than SEVERAL fully evolved Pokemon, and not even just the ones you expect it to be better than.

[@mikewilkinson5753]

I took heat on another Poketuber video claiming Bulbasaur is the superior Gen 1 starter. I'm glad to see someone with credibility share my opinion lol

[@luizbezerra4373]

My favorite starter ever :’)

[@PokeMaster22222]

Honestly, I like the balance between Grass, Fire and Water in Kanto; Grass has an easier time at first, beating the first three Gyms (and Viridian) with relative ease, but struggling with three later Gyms (Saffron, Cinnabar, Fuchsia). Fire struggles with the first two and Viridian, is strong against Celadon and Fuchsia, and is okay with the others. Water is also good against Brock and Giovanni, along with Blaine, but not against Erika or Lt. Surge or Misty. It also helps that all three are pretty good at attacking - unlike, say, the stall-only Chikorita or Snivy, or the slow-as-molasses Emboar or Chesnaught. Oh, and Emboar also lacks a good Fighting-type move (either Brick Break or Superpower), as does Gen 3 Blaziken (Brick Break, Double Kick, or Lv. 50+ Sky Uppercut), so...not great. Plus, Bulbasaur also has the great Growth and Sleep Powder, to make up for not having Charmander's or especially Squirtle's move diversity.

[@remydirt3158]

Crits in gen 1 are a double edge sword you want to use a crit boosting move but with badge boost you don't gen 1 is great and so nostalgic but damn this game is held together by duct tape and dreams

[@gambleralex5083]

Bulbasaur is the best starter for sure in my opinion

[@redreoicy6698]

The champ reset is karma for using sleep powder on exeggcutor. 😅 The odds to crit were much less than the odds to miss sleep powder, plus sleep powder could be an immediate wake up, plus the crit body slam has additional chances to paralyze to save you that sleep powder miss doesn't have. Plus 1 extra turn in the successful case.

[@Ozgarthefighter]

Bulbasaur has always been an underappreciated starter.

[@RejonMunchausen]

the performance doesn't matter, Bulbasaur will always be the best starter to me