Pokemon Go Bulbasaur Community Day, start time, how to catch a shiny and more

(Image credit: Niantic)

The Pokemon Go Bulbasaur Community Day is one of two Community Day events Niantic is giving players two January. The first highlighted Spheal and the one beginning this weekend will feature the first Pokemon in the PokeDex, Bulbasaur.

Bulbasaur is the Grass-type Starter Pokemon from the Kanto region and while it was the featured Pokemon in the very first Community Day in Pokemon Go, enough time has passed for newer trainers to try and catch as many Shiny Bulbasaur and power up their Venusaurs in Pokemon Go.

We’ve compiled this handy guide to everything trainers need to know about the upcoming Bulbasaur Community Day.

Bulbasaur Community Day Start Time

The Bulbasaur Community Day event in Pokemon Go begins Saturday, January 22 from 2-5 p.m. local time.

How to Catch Shiny Bulbasaur in Pokemon Go

Bulbasaur will automatically appear in the Pokemon Go overworld. Simply booting up the app will cause them to appear near your avatar. Of course, walking around will increase the number of Bulbasaur that trainers encounter in the wild, and in turn, increase the chances of finding a Shiny Bulbasaur.

The rate of a particular Shiny Pokemon appearing during a Community Day is proven to be increased during the event. According to the Pokemon Go community site, The Silph Road the Shiny odds for any given Pokemon is approximately 1 in 500. However, certain events like Community Day will increase those odds. The Silph Road confirms that the chance of finding a specific Pokemon during its own Community Day is a very doable 1 in 25.

To catch a Shiny Bulbasaur in Pokemon Go during Community Day, trainers simply have to encounter every one of the Grass-type found in the wild during the three-hour window. Once a trainer is taken to the capture screen, they will find out if they have found a Shiny or not.

To identify a Shiny Bulbasaur, trainers will see the Grass-type with different coloration. Shiny Bulbasaur changes from its usual green color to a lighter green. Any trainer who has trouble identifying a Shiny Bulbasaur can find the Shiny symbol next to the Pokemon’s name during the capture portion of the encounter to make sure.

Trainers can also increase the number of Bulbasaur they encounter by using an Incense or traveling near Gyms or PokeStops.

How to get Venusaur with Frenzy Plant

Frenzy Plant is one of the best Grass-type attacks in all of Pokemon Go. And since only the Grass-type Starter Pokemon can learn it through Community Days, this upcoming Bulbasaur event should pique many trainers’ interests.

The Grass-type Charged attack deals 100 power in PVE and PVP battles and gives Venusaur its best STAB attack. This attack is especially powerful when Venusaur Mega Evolves. Use Frenzy Plant Venusaur to help take down powerful Water and Rock-type Pokemon.

To get Venusaur with Frenzy Plant, trainers simply need to evolve Ivysaur (the middle staged evolution) into Venusaur by 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, January 22. Trainers don’t need to evolve Bulbasaur caught during the event, so if there’s a powerful Pokemon you have been saving up to evolve this is the time to do so.

Trainers who miss the deadline can use an Elite Charged TM to choose Frenzy Plant for their Venusaur, however, since those items are hard to come by trainers should try and get this move for free.

Bulbasaur Community Day In-Game Bonuses

The following in-game bonuses will also be activated during the Bulbasaur Community Day event:

Three times the catch XP
Lure Modules and Incense last for three hours
Trainers can encounter Bulbasaur by taking snapshots
There’ll be a special one-time-purchase Community Day Box available for 1,280 PokéCoins, featuring 50 Ultra Balls, five Lucky Eggs, five Star Pieces, and an Elite Charged TM.
30 Ultra Balls will be available in the shop at no cost. Be sure to pick them up during the event!