Pokémon TCG: 10 most valuable Venusaur cards

The Kanto starters are among the most recognizable Pokémon of all time across the entire franchise – the highest-grossing across all media, to boot – and their final evolutions marked some of the most popular and powerful ‘mon from the first generation of games.

In the TCG, Charizard's historical cachet from the original Base Set printing and its many other powerful and rare variants make it the most famous Pokémon card of all time. But what of ‘Zard’s Grass-type rival: Venusaur?

Venusaur debuted back in the TCG’s Base Set in 1999 alongside ‘Zard and Blastoise, and it remains one of the most iconic cards from that release. But what is the most valuable Venusaur card of all time? Frenzy Plant yourself on the couch, and let’s take a look.

Note: All prices are via PriceCharting and TCGPlayer and represent ungraded copies of these cards. Graded copies fetch far higher premiums.

10. Holofoil Venusaur 198/165 (Special Illustration Rare) – Scarlet & Violet 151

Market Price: $77.14

The most recent card on this list is from the eminently popular Scarlet & Violet 151 set from 2023. This set solely featured cards from the first generation of Pokémon games (aka the “original 151”) and had a plethora of special illustration rares, full-art cards, and plenty of other goodies that kept collectors and devoted fans happy.

This stunning SIR Venusaur card is part of a series of nine full-art cards featuring the first nine Pokémon of all time (by Pokedex number, that is): Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Venusaur, Charmander, Charmeleon, Charizard, Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise. All arts are beautiful and thematically linked based on their evolution line – with this gorgeous Venusaur card resting peacefully in a verdant, flowering field. An amazing card that kicks off the list auspiciously.

9. Dark Venusaur #7 (Winner) – Best of Promos

Market Price: $79.29

A massively rare card, this Dark Venusaur marks the only card in the TCG’s history that turns the original Grass-type final starter evolution into an “evil” version of itself. This card is extremely hard to find, as it was only released during BattleZone Pokémon TCG tournaments in May 2003.

This card’s interesting, moody art (I love the yellowish flower atop Venusaur’s back that’s normally pink) and supreme scarcity mean that finding a good-quality copy of this card is quite difficult, let alone a highly-graded one.

8. Holofoil Venusaur EX XY123 – XY Promos

Market Price: $90.47

Another highly rare promo card, this Venusaur represented a reprinting of the Venusaur EX found in the popular XY Evolutions set from 2016. It was included in special-edition “Red & Blue Collection Boxes” alongside various packs from the X&Y era of the TCG.

This card’s gorgeous, action-packed Naoki Saito artwork features a lunging Venusaur smashing through some barrier with a menacing Scyther in flight underneath Venusaur and an excited-looking Vileplume holding onto one of Venusaur’s potent vines. An amazing – and rare – card; it’s no surprise to see its value above $90 on the secondary market nearly 10 years after release.

7. Holofoil Venusaur – Expedition

Market Price: $96.77

The eReader series of Pokémon TCG cards is surely divisive. Whether it be the art style of this era or the huge honking yellow border on cards that was expanded to accommodate the eReader barcode for select Game Boy Advance titles, you either love these cards or hate them.

Regardless of your opinion, cards from the three eReader sets (Expedition, Aquapolis, Skyridge) are worth a premium on the secondary market due to limited print runs, unusual card designs, and striking artwork. All of those traits lead this holo Venusaur card to be worth nearly $100 on the secondary market. Notably, there was a non-holo Venusaur card from this set as well (#67), but, of course, the holographic card is worth far more.

6. Holofoil Venusaur (Shadowless) – Base Set

Market Price: $108.23

The most notable feature of the first two Pokémon TCG sets released was that both boasted a notable misprint. This “shadowless” finish looks starkly different from the regular Base Set cards, and that difference is enough to make shadowless cards among the most valuable in the game’s history.

Certainly, that affects the Base Set printing of Venusaur, as a shadowless version is worth close to double what a non-shadowless version is (about $53). While standard Base Set cards surely look more “complete,” there’s something about the shadowless versions that are tremendously attractive. Perhaps it’s the sky-high price tags!

5. Holofoil Venusaur #13 – Black Star Promos

Market Price: $110.84

The first card featuring Ken Sugimori’s original Venusaur artwork was not the Base Set version – which boasted artwork by legendary Pokémon TCG artist Mitsuhiro Arita – but rather this WoTC Black Star Promo (#13).

Featuring the striking cosmos holofoil finish and an interesting Pokémon Power: Solar Power, this card was only available in the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Official Nintendo Player's Guide, which was released in March 2000—hence its over $110 price point and supreme scarcity today.

4. Holofoil Venusaur ex – Fire Red & Leaf Green

Market Price: $115.50

The Ruby & Sapphire era of the Pokémon TCG introduced high-powered “ex” cards to the game, which have gone through multiple iterations (EX, GX, V, VMAX, etc.) before finally settling once again, in the Scarlet & Violet era, back into the “ex” realm.

The first Venusaur ex card was found in the Fire Red & Leaf Green set from 2004 and boasted some striking computer-generated artwork from Ryo Ueda. Perhaps the most notable feature of the ex cards from this era of the TCG is that the cosmos holofoil method expands all the way to the silver border of the cards – making them both beautiful and valuable collectors’ items.

3. Holofoil Erika’s Venusaur (First Edition) – Gym Challenge

Market Price: $172.50

The first partner Pokémon cards in the TCG were found in the Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge sets. These cards were represented as ‘mon that belonged to specific trainers in the game, such as Misty, Giovanni, Lt. Surge and – most notably for Venusaur – Erika.

Erika, the Celadon City gym leader in Pokémon Red & Blue, Gold & Silver, and other mainline games from the franchise, does not boast a Venusaur in the games themselves but does have a powerful final evolution of Bulbasaur in the TCG. With awesome Ken Sugimori artwork and that eminently valuable “First Edition” symbol, this card’s price point approaches $200 25 years after it released.

2. Reverse Holofoil Venusaur (Fireworks) – Legendary Collection

Market Price: $186.25

As evidenced by the most valuable cards from Legendary Collection, reverse holos from that set (featuring the amazing “fireworks” finish) are among the most valuable cards of all time – and that trend holds true for the Legendary Collection reverse holo version of Venusaur as well.

Grass-types look especially nice with the fireworks holo finish, as there’s something about that mint-green color that pairs perfectly with the cascading holographics of the fireworks holofoil style. While Charizard and Dark Blastoise are the more valuable cards from that set, the Legendary Collection Venusaur is the second-most valuable Venusaur card of all time, behind only…

1. Holofoil Venusaur (First Edition Shadowless) – Base Set

Market Price: $747.64

Unsurprisingly, the most valuable Venusaur card is the First Edition Shadowless copy of the card from the TCG’s first-ever release: Base Set. This card is immediately recognizable and special, as are almost all cards from the set – even lowly trainers such as Defender or Maintenance.

There’s simply something ineffable about Pokémon TCG’s Base Set cards. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, or perhaps it’s the original artwork, but no matter what, getting your hands on a copy of a First Edition Venusaur from Base Set will set you back close to $800. Of course, if you want a graded copy, expect to shell out anywhere from $850 (PSA 5) to – gulp – $30,000 (BGS Black Label 10).

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