Venusaur

Pokémon and I were born in 1996. Perhaps that is why this Venusaur feels so personal: a small piece of its beginning, finding a place in mine.

Bulbasaur’s final evolution was the face of Pokémon Green, released alongside Red in Japan on February 27, 1996. On October 20 the first Pokémon TCG expansion followed, and Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise became the three familiar faces of a generation’s first choice.

Mitsuhiro Arita, then still in his twenties, illustrated both this Venusaur and Base Set Charizard, beginning a relationship with Pokémon that would last decades. I love the weight he gives Venusaur: its broad body sits low, softly shaded in turquoise, beneath sharp leaves and an enormous red-orange flower. Against the green holographic field it feels powerful, almost ancient, yet strangely approachable.

This copy joined my collection on the morning of January 15, 2026. I had written to a German seller, and our conversation became an honest, friendly negotiation. I remember his straightforwardness as fondly as the card itself. Collecting brings people into the story, too.

Unlike PSA’s single overall grade, this Beckett slab shows four subgrades: centering 9, corners 10, edges 9.5, surface 9.5, for an overall Gem Mint 9.5.

I value that preservation because it lets me enjoy Arita’s work so closely, nearly thirty years after its debut. That is the heart of LLL Collection: choosing art I want to live with, and caring for the history it carries.