Ivysaur

Numbered 30 of 102 in Base Set, released in January 1999, Ivysaur is an Uncommon, a Stage 1 Grass-type carrying 60 HP.

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

Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.

Ivysaur carries this Pokédex flavor text: "When the bulb on its back grows large, the Pokémon seems to lose the ability to stand on its hind legs."

The middle stage of the Bulbasaur line. The bud on its back has swollen and begun to open. The transitional stage in a line collectors usually buy as a set. Almost always purchased as part of a Bulbasaur to Venusaur evolution run rather than as a standalone, which keeps prices honest.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $3.88 to $132 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $224 to $2,230. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $2,230. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-06-06.

Base Set produced three print waves that collectors track separately: 1st Edition (the launch print, with an Edition 1 stamp under the artwork), Shadowless (no stamp and no drop shadow on the right of the frame), and Unlimited (the long-running print with the drop shadow restored). On Ivysaur, the price gap between these prints can run 10x or more, so confirm the variant before any purchase.

Ivysaur grades forgivingly, but the same centering and edge standards apply. Pack-fresh raw copies are easy to find, which makes a clean PSA 10 submission a low-cost way to learn how the cardstock behaves under grading.

Raw copies of Ivysaur are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Ivysaur is the practical move.