Is there a way with a recent game that I can start with Bulbasaur?

Question

I am open to buying whatever game.
I would like to play a "newish" game and use Bulbasaur, mostly but would really enjoy all OGs, as my impromptu starter since hes my fav. Everything I've read says I have to beat scarlet (don't have anything past sword/shield but will buy whatever game that let's me use Bulbasaur) and pay but I would rather just do a fresh journey with my boi
How can I do this?

Any assistance will be appreciated.
Thanks

Comments

You won’t be able to start with bulbasaur, but there’s definitely ways you can get them early on, like trading, and Pokemon home. I heard there’s a glitch to the DLC area in S/V in which you can catch late game Pokemon before even starting, but I don’t know the details of that

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Thank you for the information.
The reading was a little unclear on whether I could still trade early and use him/them without getting the national dex.

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How recent of a game are you talking about, just out of curiosity? The easiest thing to do is just transfer the Hidden Ability one you get from starting Pokémon Home to use in a mainline game, which you can do for free.

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I've been playing yellow. But wanted to try a newer one out. I didn't know about pokemon home but am now happy to say I have a bulbasaur ready to go. Going to try to transfer it to diamond tomorrow. Thank you all for the help!

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If you did LGP/LGE then you could get a Bulbasaur fairly near the beginning. That’s what I did with my little girl. LGP/LGE is the remake of yellow, but for Switch. So it’d be something familiar too. As you can score a Bulbasaur in Viridian Forest, (less than a hour into the story) that’d be my advice!

EDIT: forgot to mention that Pikachu or Eevee does NOT have to remain in your lineup. So realistically, you could make it to Viridian and switch him out for your other “starter.”

Answer 1

The fastest way to obtain a Bulbasaur in any of the Switch titles would simply be transferring in the Hidden Ability Bulbasaur you get when starting Pokémon Home into a save for Sword/Shield, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, and Scarlet/Violet. Though, this Bulbasaur will be disobedient if over-leveled. This isn't an issue for Scarlet/Violet however, as obedience is based entirely on met level in those games instead.

If you're interested in playing a game where Bulbasaur is naturally obtainable at an early point, then Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee is your best bet. You can encounter Bulbasaur as a rare spawn in Viridian Forest before the first gym or, if you'd rather skip the trouble of catching it, receive it as a gift Pokémon in Cerulean City.

If you have the Expansion Pass DLC in Sword/Shield, you can also get a Bulbasaur capable of Gigantamaxing after clearing Mustard's first trial. The Isle of Armor is accessible fairly early into Sword/Shield, so you can likely get this Bulbasaur before playing through most of the game.