Venusaur

Numbered 18 of 110 in Legendary Collection, released in May 2002, Venusaur is a Rare Holo, a Stage 2 Grass-type carrying 100 HP.

It evolves from Ivysaur, so Venusaur is a later-stage card that set-builders usually slot into a full evolution run rather than buy alone.

Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita painted the Base Set Charizard and much of the early holo run, and his work has a painterly weight that set the visual tone of the Wizards era.

Printed on the card, the Venusaur Pokédex entry reads: "This plant blooms when it is absorbing solar energy. It stays on the move to seek sunlight."

The fully evolved grass starter. A heavy-set quadruped with a large pink flower on its back. Tank archetype in the games. The grass Charizard equivalent in Base Set. Holo run dominates collector demand and Venusaur is the value play of the original three starters, with 1st Edition prices appreciating faster than Blastoise over the last 18 months.

Venusaur is a holo rare, one of the cards that holds Legendary Collection's value. The print variant decides most of it: a 1st Edition copy in high grade commands a large premium over a Shadowless or Unlimited one. In top-grade 1st Edition, Legendary Collection holos range from the mid hundreds for the lesser cards up to the set's marquee chase; raw and Unlimited copies trade for a fraction of that. The live market price above shows the current figure by grade.

Confirm the print and finish on Venusaur before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.

Venusaur lives and dies on its holo surface in grading. The grass foil catches light at angles that hide hairlines in a flat photo, so tilt it under a lamp, then measure the borders, where Wizards-era centering is the second-most-common grade cap.

For Venusaur, variant comes before condition. A 1st Edition and an Unlimited Venusaur are different markets for the same art, so settle the print before you negotiate. Demand a clear photo of the Venusaur holo for any raw purchase.