Where To Get Bellsprout, Weepinbell & Victreebel (Pokémon HG/SS)

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Walking with Victreebel on Route 32 (HGSS)

In Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver, Bellsprout can be found in many places across Johto and Kanto, with the earliest locations being on Routes 31 and 32 (even before your 1st gym badge).

To get Weepinbell, simply train your Bellsprout until it reaches level 21. After that, you’ll need a Leaf Stone to evolve it into a Victreebel.

We’ll go into more detail below on other locations & some moveset ideas.

Catching Your Bellsprout

Adding a Bellsprout to your team couldn’t be easier.

They appear in the tall grass in the following areas:

Route 31 (20% of all Pokémon)
Route 32 (30% of all Pokémon in the morning and day, 20% at night)
Route 44 (20% of all Pokémon)
Route 5 (30% of all Pokémon in the morning and day, 20% at night)
Route 6 (30% of all Pokémon in the morning and day, 20% at night)
Route 24 (60% of all Pokémon in the morning, 35% in the day, 5% at night)
Route 25 (30% of all Pokémon in the morning and day, 5% at night)
The Forest Area of the Safari Zone, and the Wasteland Area after placing 3 Forest Blocks

Route 31, your earliest opportunity to catch a Bellsprout / Pokémon HGSS — Route 31, your earliest opportunity to catch a Bellsprout

Bellsprout have a high catch rate and aren’t particularly powerful, so catching one should be no problem.

Evolving Your Bellsprout

Bellsprout evolves into Weepinbell starting at level 21.

Bellsprout evolving into Weepinbell / Pokémon HGSS — Bellsprout evolving into Weepinbell

Alternatively, if you want to avoid training a Bellsprout, you can find wild Weepinbell in the long grass in the following locations:

Route 44 (35% of all Pokémon)
Route 24 (15% of all Pokémon in the morning and day, 10% at night)
Route 25 (5% of all Pokémon)
The Forest Area of the Safari Zone, after adding 8 Forest Blocks

Route 44, where you can find wild Weepinbell / Pokémon HGSS — Route 44, where you can find wild Weepinbell

To evolve your Weepinbell into a Victreebel you’ll need to use a Leaf Stone on it.

Unfortunately, Victreebel can’t be found in the wild, so evolution is your only option.

Leaf Stones can be hard to come by, especially early in the game. The table below shows all your options for getting a leaf stone.

Method	Distance Through Game	Repeatable?
Received as a random phone call gift after defeating Picnicker Gina on Route 34	After 2nd gym badge	Yes
Bought for 2,500 points at the Pokéathlon Dome on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays	After 3rd gym badge	Yes
Potential prize for winning the Bug-Catching Contest after unlocking the National Pokédex	After defeating the Elite Four	Yes
Reward for showing Bill’s grandfather in Sea Cottage above Cerulean City an Oddish	After defeating the Elite Four and traveling to Kanto	No
Found on the ground in south-west corner of Viridian Forest	After defeating the Elite Four and exploring most of Kanto	No

The Leaf Stone on the ground in Viridian Forest / Pokémon HGSS — The Leaf Stone on the ground in Viridian Forest

Once you’ve got your Leaf Stone, simply go into your bag and ‘use’ it on your Weepinbell to make it evolve.

A fully-evolved Victreebel / Pokémon HGSS — A fully-evolved Victreebel

Warning: What level you choose to evolve your Weepinbell with a Leaf Stone will impact the moves it learns.

Victreebel doesn’t learn any moves by leveling up, apart from Leaf Storm and Leaf Blade at level 47.

So, if you want Victreebel to have any of the following moves, let Weepinbell reach that level before evolving it:

Knock Off – level 27
Sweet Scent – level 29
Gastro Acid – level 35
Razor Leaf – level 39
Slam – level 41
Wring Out – level 47

Unfortunately, if you evolve Weepinbell into Victreebel after level 46, you’ll need to use the Move Reminder in Blackthorn City to teach it Leaf Storm/Leaf Blade. This will cost you a Heart Scale per move.

Tips & Useful Moveset Ideas

The Bellsprout evolution line is full of mixed attackers, meaning both physical and special attacks are viable choices.

Their most powerful attacks include:

Attack Name	Power	Effect	Type	How To Learn
Leaf Storm	140	Halves user’s Special Attack stat	Grass	Victreebel reaches level 47
Solar Beam	120	Charges on first turn, attacks on second (instant during strong sunlight)	Grass	TM22, purchased for $3000 at Goldenrod Department Store
Sludge Bomb	90	30% chance of poisoning target	Poison	TM36, received from the toll guard on Route 43 after defeating Team Rocket, or purchased for 80BP at the Battle Frontier
Leaf Blade	90	Increased chance of critical hits	Grass	Victreebel reaches level 47
Slam	80	None	Normal	Weepinbell reaches level 41
Giga Drain	60	Restores HP equal to half the damage inflicted	Grass	TM19, received after defeating Gym Leader Erika

The Bellsprout line also learn a few useful utility moves while leveling up.

Sleep Powder, PoisonPowder, and Stun Spore allow you to inflict status effects on opposing Pokémon, making them easier to catch or defeat.

Knock Off will allow you to remove an opposing Pokémon’s held item.

Acid has a chance of lowering the opponent’s Special Defense, as well as doing damage. This can be useful for wearing down bulky Pokémon.

Gastro Acid removes the opposing Pokémon’s ability, which can be helpful in some tough battles.

Finally, Sweet Scent can be used in the overworld to attract wild Pokémon.

Outside of this, their defenses, HP, and speed are all pretty average, so they risk getting knocked out quite quickly. The exception is if you use a Sunny Day strategy, which we’ll explain in more detail in the next section.

The Chlorophyll + Sunny Day + Solar Beam Strategy

The Bellsprout line’s average HP, defensive stats, and speed mean they can be quickly worn down by faster Pokémon or knocked out by strong attacks.

However, their ability Chlorophyll doubles their speed during the strong sunlight caused by Sunny Day.

Strong sunlight also eliminates Solar Beam’s need to charge for a turn, giving you an instant-use 120 power move with no downsides.

Combine these two to wreak some serious havoc. Just bear in mind that Sunny Day also increases the power of Fire-Type moves, which the Bellsprout line are already weak to.

A Victreebel using Sunny Day to temporarily double its speed / Pokémon HGSS — A Victreebel using Sunny Day to temporarily double its speed

You can get the TM11 for Sunny Day from a lady on the third floor of Goldenrod Radio Tower after defeating Team Rock there.

If you have a Pokéwalker, you can also find them using the Dowsing Machine after taking 5,000+ real-life steps on the Blue Lake course.

The lady on the third floor of Goldenrod Radio Tower, who gives you TM11 after you defeat Team Rocket / Pokémon HGSS — The lady on the third floor of Goldenrod Radio Tower, who gives you TM11 after you defeat Team Rocket

TM22 for Solar Beam can be bought from the fifth floor of Goldenrod Department Store for $3000.

The vendor on the fifth floor of Goldenrod Department Store, who sells TM22 / Pokémon HGSS — The vendor on the fifth floor of Goldenrod Department Store, who sells TM22

Pro-Tip: You could even give your Bellsprout/Weepinbell/Victreebel a Heat Rock to extend the duration of Sunny Day.

Unfortunately, the only way to get a Heat Rock in HG/SS is by using the Dowsing Machine on the Icy Mountain Rd. Pokéwalker course after taking 3000+ real-life steps, or by trading it from Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum.

Louie Neale

Full-time freelance copywriter and long-time Pokémon trainer, currently rediscovering my childhood love for the classic games by bringing you all the info you need.