Melanie's the main character in "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village," a pivotal early episode where Ash gets one of his most iconic team members. She's voiced by Mako Hyōdō in Japanese and Tara Jayne in English.
The episode kicks off when Ash, Misty, and Brock are heading toward Vermilion City. Misty spots an Oddish and goes for a catch, but a Bulbasaur cuts her off with Vine Whip—the same Bulbasaur that later escapes after Ash tries to catch it too. The trio keeps moving, but Melanie's got other plans. She's set up a series of traps—a collapsing bridge, pits, nets, the works—designed to keep people away from the Pokémon in her care. Brock ends up in the river during all this chaos, and that's where Melanie saves him, introducing herself as someone who's dedicated to looking after abandoned and sick Pokémon deep in the forest.
She lets them into her Hidden Village under one condition: no catching Pokémon. Bulbasaur's the protector of the group, though it takes time for the grass-type to warm up to Ash and Misty. When Team Rocket inevitably shows up to raid the place, Bulbasaur and Ash work together to drive them off.
After that, Melanie realizes the Pokémon are getting too comfortable under Bulbasaur's care—they're not growing stronger, and they need real experience. She pushes Ash to take Bulbasaur with him. The two battle, Ash wins, and Bulbasaur joins his team.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
