A word typically reserved for stoic World War II posters and modern Russian cable TV takes on new meaning with the delightful Pokémon-themed Twitter account Bulbasaur Propaganda.
@BulbaGanda is a nonstop feed of Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur facts, fan art, memes, heartwarming images, and general cheerleading for Pokémon’s vegetation-based starting monster. If ever you had a friend—as many of us do—who doesn’t understand why Bulbasaur is a great starter Pokemon, simply direct them to BulbaGanda’s seemingly endless outpouring of love and affection for the bulb-wearing dinosaur-frog whose Japanese name, Fushigidane, means “Isn’t that weird.”
The account’s owner, a 26-year-old IT worker who prefers to remain anonymous, says Bulbasaur wasn’t even his first starter. It was Charmander. It wasn’t until a decade later, in an argument with a Bulbasaur-loving friend over the best Pokémon starter, that BulbaGanda’s owner was directed to Bulbasaur’s Bulbapedia page. “There were a lot of things about Bulbasaur I never knew,” he told me in a Twitter DM. “I decided to rewatch the anime and read the manga. . . It took me years to understand its character.”
In creating the account, he wanted to “make a change in the Pokémon community,” he said. “I want for Bulbasaur to not be ignored anymore, or disliked unfairly.”
Bulbaganda’s writer describes Bulbasaur as “loyal,” “tough,” and “mature,” but not everyone shares his opinions, he said. Even when he points out that Bulbasaur once protected the Pokémon at Professor Oak’s lab, or when Venusaur turned into a giant god in the manga, his protests often fall on deaf ears. “To this day, the general opinion doesn’t accept Bulbasaur as really good,” he said. “Most… gaming articles, YouTube videos, or memes online make fun of Bulbasaur,” he said, going so far as to call it a “bias.”
A quick scroll through @BulbaGanda shows his efforts to change all that.
There are the memes...
There are interesting facts...
Heartwarming images...
And, of course, miscellaneous Bulbasaur propaganda.
Hopefully, BulbaGanda will turn things around for this maligned starter. For now, its writer is still working on changing minds. “People still don’t give it any justice,” he said, “and quickly push him out with ‘Worst starter’ or ‘it’s just a useless lettuce.’”