Venusaur ex (151): What It Is and What It's Worth

The 151 set gave every Kanto starter a full-art ex. Venusaur's copy doesn't move like Charizard's, and that's exactly why it's worth understanding on its own terms.

If you've worked a table since 151 released, you've watched buyers walk straight past the Venusaur ex SIR on their way to the Charizard case. That's normal. It's still a real chase card with its own buyer base, and dealers who price it against Charizard's hype, instead of its own comps, end up either sitting on a copy too long or giving one away. Here's what it is and how to think about its number.

What it is

This is the Special Illustration Rare Venusaur ex from 151 (2023), number 198 in a set whose main run tops out at 165, the standard extended numbering for a secret-rare slot. The full-art illustration puts Venusaur in an open field rather than a battle pose, part of a complete set of Kanto starter SIRs that also includes Charmander's and Squirtle's lines. It's a Double Rare in its standard print and a Special Illustration Rare in this one, two different cards with the same name and very different prices.

Why it's a chase, just a quieter one

151 reprinted the original 150 Kanto Pokemon plus Mew, and the set's SIRs became some of the most collected art in the modern game. Venusaur's shares the same treatment, rarity slot, and release as Charizard's and Blastoise's, but Charizard's name recognition pulls disproportionate demand across the whole hobby, not just this set. Venusaur ends up priced more like what it actually is: a well-illustrated, legitimately scarce card in a set collectors still actively complete, rather than a headline chase. That makes it a steadier mover for a table, even if it never spikes the way its set mate does.

How condition and grade move the number

The figure above is a raw, Near Mint holofoil market reference as of the date shown, not a live quote. Centering on full-art SIRs is usually the first thing that separates grades, since the border runs the whole edge of the card with nothing to hide a shift. A PSA 10 copy has recently traded in a market estimate range around $415, call it roughly four to five times the raw price, which is a meaningful but not extreme grading premium for this tier of card. Treat that as a ballpark, not a comp: check how deep the population actually runs for the grade you're counting on before you factor a grading upcharge into what you pay. Population reports and price covers how to read that data before you commit to sending a card in.

Pricing it at a show

Anchor to recent sold comps for this exact card, not to Charizard's market and not to the highest listing you can find. The raw holofoil market has drifted down roughly 12% over the last 30 days, which is normal drift for a set this far past release and not a reason to panic-price a copy you're holding. If a buyer brings up a stale high comp from closer to release, that's a conversation about timing, not a floor you have to match. When a card like this has thin recent comps at your local show, pricing a card with no recent comps walks through widening the window the right way instead of guessing.