Introduced in generation four with the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl games, Roserade is a dual type grass and poison Pokemon. It is the final evolution of Budew, which was introduced in generation four as well as part of Roselia’s evolution line. Roserade is classified by the Pokedex as the “Bouquet Pokemon”. This guide will showcase Roserade’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, and other general facts about Roserade.
About Roserade
Roserade is fairly unique as it was introduced, alongside its base evolution, as an evolution for a Pokemon that was a standalone Pokemon prior to generation four. Roselia had no evolutions in generation three but generation four introduced the world to a base and a final evolution. In order to evolve your Roselia it will require a Shiny Stone to be used to gain access to Roserade. It made its first appearance in the anime with the Diamond and Pearl season in the episode Strategy with a Smile!. The Pokedex labels Roserade as a dancer but it is capable of using poisonous whips to bind, poison, and finish off its prey.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Diamond and Pearl Strategy with a Smile! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Diamond and Pearl |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Evolution | Final evolution of Budew, evolves from Roselia |
| 1st Evo level | Evolves into Roselia when leveled with high friendship during the day. |
| 2nd Evo level | Evolves into Roserade when exposed to a Shiny Stone |
| Pokedex Entry | With the movements of a dancer, it strikes with whips that are densely lined with poison thorns. |
Roserade Base Stats
Roserade received a small 10 stat buff to its defense stats starting from generation six. Its defense stat was already its weakest stat and while a plus 10 can help, it does not make too much of a difference no matter what generation you play.
(Generations 4-5)
| HP | 60 |
| ATTACK | 70 |
| DEFENCE | 55 |
| SP. ATTACK | 125 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 105 |
| SPEED | 90 |
| TOTAL | 505 |
(Generation 6+)
| HP | 60 |
| ATTACK | 70 |
| DEFENCE | 65 |
| SP. ATTACK | 125 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 105 |
| SPEED | 90 |
| TOTAL | 515 |
Appearance
Roserade’s body is mostly green or light green and around its eyes it appears to have a mask similar to what you would see at a masquerade. As the evolution of Roselia, it keeps its flowery hands but instead of individual roses, it appears to be a bouquet of the respective blue and red flowers. Roserade also has what resembles a cape on its back with white tufts on the top of its head to resemble hair. It is fairly short at only 2 feet and 11 inches, or 0.9 meters, tall.
Behavior
Roserade has a reserved personality but is more aligned with grace and talent than shyness. It is particularly loyal to its trainer, and many of Roserade’s depictions involve Pokemon contests. While it enjoys a performance and being a showman, it takes great pride in the ribbons it wins in Pokemon contests. Despite most of its depictions in the anime being centered around popularity, it is also shown to be quite capable in battle.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Roserade gives a much needed buff to Roselia because as a standalone Pokemon, it was only able to dish out damage with its decent special attack with generally mediocre base stats. Roserade on the other hand has a stellar special attack, strong special bulk and a decent speed stat to match. However, its strength still lies in disabling the opponent's Pokemon rather than sweeping an entire team. As a dual type poison and grass Pokemon, Roserade is weak to flying, fire, psychic and ice type moves. It does resist fighting, water, grass, electric, and fairy type moves.
Best Moveset
Unfortunately, Roserade has not aged well with new generations. Despite being top tier in the generation it was released in, with every new passing generation it continues to fall lower in competitive brackets. At its peaks, it was able to shrug off attacks, potentially One Hit KO opposing Pokemon and set up hazards on your opponent’s side of the field. To see success like this, consider running Spikes/Toxic Spikes, Sludge Bomb, Leaf Storm/Giga Drain, and Sleep Powder/Hidden Power Fire. Spikes/Toxic Spikes are interchangeable depending on whether your opponents will benefit from being poisoned. Sludge Bomb, Leaf Storm, and Giga Drain all benefit from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) and function as its main damaging move. Sleep Powder can disable your opponent’s Pokemon, while Hidden Power Fire can help cover types.
| Spikes/Toxic Spikes | Sludge Bomb |
| Leaf Storm/Giga Drain | Sleep Powder/Hidden Power Fire |
How to Catch Roserade in Pokemon Go
Like all fully evolved Pokemon, the easiest way to obtain Roserade in Pokemon Go is to capture as many Budews as possible and eventually evolve it. Budew will spawn where most grass types will spawn, near parks, gardens, farms, golf courses, and other grassy areas. You will need 25 Budew candies to evolve it into Roselia and another 100 candies plus a Sinnoh Stone to unlock Roserade’s evolution. If you want to skip all the candy grinding, Roserade has appeared as a tier three raid boss in Pokemon Gyms. So keep an eye out for either Budews or tier three raids if you want to obtain a Roserade for yourself.
Video
Trivia
- The name Roserade is a combination of the words rose and masquerade.
- In generation eight, Roserade has different eye colors depending on whether it is male or female.
- Despite being part poison type, Roserade still fits into the fairy type egg group.
FAQ
Is Roselia a good Pokemon?
Roselia has never managed to make it out of the lowest brackets of competitive play. It is simply outclassed by many other Pokemon and it is not until Roserade was released, in generation four, that the evolution line began to see play in competitive battles. Roselia can function as a disabler for lower bracket play but there is not much else going for Roselia.
Is Roselia evolving worth it?
It is absolutely worth it. Roserade gains another 100-105 base stat boost which helps its survivability as well as its potential to sweep opposing Pokemon. For just one Shiny Stone, it seems like a good trade off if you want to run the Roselia evolution line on your team. There is not much reason to keep your Roselia instead of evolving it into Roserade, even with the Eviolite held item in mind.
When should I evolve Roselia?
Like most Pokemon that evolve through stones, you should evolve your Roselia once you are satisfied with its moveset. Roserade will not learn any new moves naturally through leveling and you can only teach Roserade new moves through move tutors or TMs/HMs. So evolve your Roselia once you are happy with the moves that it already has.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Bouquet Pokemon”. Roserade has fallen from grace since its debut, in generation four, in terms of competitive battling. But even then, its statline holds up and manages to suffice for casual play or lower competitive brackets. It is also fairly unique as the majority of this evolution line was introduced a generation after its middle stage evolution. Keep a slot open for a Roserade and you may be surprised by how effective this flowery Pokemon can be.
