📘 Butterfree V — Pokémon TCG

Category: Pokemon TCG · Created: · Updated:

Overview

Butterfree V is a Grass-type Basic Pokémon V card from the Sword & Shield era, released within the Darkness Ablaze expansion (set code swsh3). As a Basic V, it stands as a powerful, standalone Pokémon in competitive decks that leverage the V mechanic introduced in Sun & Moon onward. The card emphasizes both a status-condition strategy with its first attack and a high-damage option with its second attack, making it a flexible fit for Grass-type build-arounds that seek to apply pressure on the opponent while maintaining a solid HP pool. The holo-foil variant emphasizes its rarity within the set, aligning with the design language of Pokémon TCG V cards released during this period.

Card Information

  • Name: Butterfree V
  • Set: Darkness Ablaze (SwSh3)
  • Card Number: swsh3-1
  • Rarity: Holo Rare V
  • Type: Grass
  • Stage: Basic
  • HP: 190
  • Attacks:
    • Dizzying Poison — Cost: Grass
    • Blasting Wind — Cost: Grass, Grass, Colorless; Damage: 130
  • Weakness: Fire ×2
  • Retreat Cost: 1
  • Illustrator: Saki Hayashiro
  • Evolution: Basic Pokémon V; the card does not list an on-card evolution from a previous form. Butterfree V is part of the broader Butterfree evolutionary line in the Pokémon TCG, which traditionally progresses from Caterpie to Metapod to Butterfree in standard play.
  • Regulation Mark: D
  • Updated: 2025-08-16

Gameplay and Strategy

Butterfree V combines a status-inflicting first attack with a high-damage option, supporting a mid-to-late-game plan that can swing momentum in Grass-centered decks. The Dizzying Poison attack disrupts the opponent by Confusing and Poisoning the Active Pokémon, creating pressure over several turns. This can slow an opponent’s setup and force defensive plays, potentially misaligning the opponent’s energy attachment and attack sequencing.

The second attack, Blasting Wind, requires three energy attachments (Grass, Grass, Colorless) and delivers 130 damage, providing a respectable hit that can threaten most benched or active threats once the opponent has built up energy on their side. When pairings include Grass-energy acceleration and support, Butterfree V can strike a balance between hand disruption (via status effects) and outright damage, enabling it to function in archetypes that rely on tempo and board control.

Deck-building considerations and synergies include:

  • Energy acceleration: Grass-energy acceleration cards can help ensure Butterfree V can access both of its attacks more reliably, especially the 130-damage Blasting Wind.
  • Status-supporting strategies: Supporters or Pokémon with effects that capitalize on opposing Pokémon being Confused or Poisoned can enhance the value of Dizzying Poison.
  • Spread and disruption tools: Complementary Grass-type attackers or supporter lines that keep pressure on the opponent’s Bench can maximize Butterfree V’s tempo-shifting capabilities.
  • Weakness management: With a Fire weakness, defensive play or energy timing should account for potential Fire-type threats common in the format.

In formats where expanded play is allowed, Butterfree V can slot into a range of Grass-themed lists that leverage V-powers and Trainer support to stabilize the early game while threatening heavy damage with Blasting Wind later in the game. Players typically aim to position Butterfree V to exploit the opponent’s bench and to open up aggressive turns that complement other Grass-type attackers in the deck.

Collector and Market Information

Butterfree V is cataloged as a holo variant within the Darkness Ablaze set. The card’s holofoil design marks its rarity among the V-card subset of the set, appealing to collectors who seek foil-driven representations of popular Pokémon. The card features a high-HP stat (190), which often translates into a more robust presence on the battlefield and can influence pricing dynamics for collectors and players alike.

Pricing snapshot (as of the latest data in card-market trackers):

  • Updated 2025-10-31; average price around €1.46; low around €0.35; price trend roughly +1.52 as indicated by market data; additional figures for short-term views (avg1, avg7, avg30) suggest modest variation around €1–€2 for standard holo copies.
  • TCGPlayer (USD): Updated 2025-10-31; holofoil variant shows low around $0.58, mid around $1.13, and high as high as $20; market price about $1.12 with direct-low price near $1.41.

These figures reflect the typical market behavior for holo Grass-type V cards from Darkness Ablaze, where supply, printing runs, and demand from both players and collectors influence price fluctuations. It is common for holo Rare V cards to exhibit broader ranges in the secondary market due to reprints, language variants, and the health of the broader Darkness Ablaze subset in circulation.

Art and Lore

The artwork for Butterfree V, illustrated by Saki Hayashiro, continues the vibrant, dynamic style seen across the Darkness Ablaze subset. Hayashiro’s work on Grass-type Pokémon often emphasizes luminous color palettes and fluid wing patterns, capturing Butterfree’s iconic fluttering movement and delicate wing venation. While the Pokémon TCG art is primarily a product of collaboration with the game’s illustrators, Butterfree’s depiction in this card aligns with the broader thematic emphasis on nature and vitality that characterizes Grass-type imagery in this era.

In the lore sense, Butterfree’s place in the evolution line—from Caterpie to Metapod to Butterfree—has long represented metamorphosis and the opening of new potential. In the context of the Pokémon TCG, Butterfree V reflects the continued expansion of the V-card mechanic, which introduced high-HP and high-impact attacks to diversify deck strategies and to give players more dynamic, high-difficulty choices in battles.

Trivia

  • The card bears the Regulation Mark D, situating it within certain tournament rotation rules and standard-legal windows relative to the card’s release date, aligning it with Expanded formats in some seasons.
  • As swsh3-1, Butterfree V is one of the early-numbered cards in Darkness Ablaze, indicating its place near the start of the set’s card list.
  • Butterfree V’s attacks showcase a mix of status-inducing effects and high-damage potential, illustrating a common design aim for V cards: to provide both control and raw power from a single card.
  • The card’s rarity and holo foil variant emphasize the collectible value associated with V cards from the Darkness Ablaze line, which remains a focal point for collectors seeking complete holo sets from that era.
Butterfree V

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