Bulbasaur

Bulbasaur is card 166 of 207 in Scarlet & Violet 151, released in September 2023, an Illustration Rare. It is a Basic Grass-type with 70 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Bulbasaur needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Illustrated by Yoriyuki Ikegami.

The Pokédex entry printed on Bulbasaur reads: "While it is young, it uses the nutrients that are stored in the seed on its back in order to grow."

The grass starter from Red and Blue. A small quadruped with a plant bulb growing on its back that flowers as it evolves. The first Pokémon in the National Pokédex. Bulbasaur prints sit one tier below the holo starters in collector demand, but the Base Set Bulbasaur sees real movement among set completionists chasing a full 1st Edition run.

Bulbasaur is a holo rare, one of the cards that holds Scarlet & Violet 151's value. The rarity tier decides most of it, since the same card prints at several tiers with very different prices. In top-grade 1st Edition, Scarlet & Violet 151 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 Bulbasaur before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.

On a holo like Bulbasaur, surface is the grade cap. The grass foil shows hairlines under raking light, and the print reveals scratches that flat scans miss. Centering on the left and right borders is the second thing to check.

If you are buying Bulbasaur, work in order: confirm the print variant first, then the grade, then price against recent sales for that exact variant and grade. Price the Bulbasaur against the population report, since modern holo supply is large.