Digital Vault Wiki

Venusaur & Snivy GX card art from Cosmic Eclipse

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Overview

Venusaur & Snivy GX is a TAG TEAM-GX Pokémon card from the Cosmic Eclipse expansion (SM12). This dual-Pokémon card brings together Venusaur and Snivy in a single, powerful entry into the Pokémon TCG. With an exceptionally high HP for a GX card and a combination of disruptive abilities and a two-stage GX attack, it occupies a distinctive niche in Expanded-format play. The card exemplifies the era when the game introduced high-HP TAG TEAM-GX mechanics designed to reward multi-Pokémon synergy and strategic energy management.

Card Information

Name: Venusaur & Snivy GX
Suffix / Type: TAG TEAM-GX, Grass
Rarity: Ultra Rare
Set: Cosmic Eclipse (SM12)
HP: 270
Illustrator: Mitsuhiro Arita
Dex Numbers: 3, 495 (corresponding to Venusaur and Snivy respectively)
Legal in Standard: False
Legal in Expanded: True
Retreat Cost: 3
Weakness: Fire ×2
Attacks:
- Forest Dump — Cost: Grass, Colorless, Colorless, Colorless; Damage: 160
- Solar Plant GX — Cost: Colorless, Colorless, Colorless; Effect: This attack does 50 damage to each of your opponent’s Pokémon. If this Pokémon has at least 2 extra Energy attached to it (in addition to this attack’s cost), heal all damage from all of your Pokémon. Don’t apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon. You can’t use more than 1 GX attack in a game.
Variant availability: holo, normal, reverse (non-first edition; non-promotional)
Illustration credit note: The artwork appears on the Cosmic Eclipse card as a vibrant dual-figure composition common to TAG TEAM designs.

Gameplay and Strategy

As a TAG TEAM-GX card, Venusaur & Snivy GX operates as a high-HP bulwark with two integrated Pokémon in one card. Its abilities and attacks are designed to tempo-control the opponent’s board while enabling decisive finishes with the GX move. The following aspects outline its core gameplay dynamics in Expanded format:

Shining Vine (Ability): Once during your turn, if this Pokémon is your Active Pokémon, when you attach a Grass Energy card from your hand to it, you may switch 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon with their Active Pokémon. This ability provides a strategic tool for disrupting your opponent’s board state, potentially forcing unfavorable matchups for your opponent’s active attacker and enabling favorable sequences for your own attacks.
Forest Dump (Attack): For a five-energy combination (Grass, Colorless, Colorless, Colorless), this 160-damaging attack offers significant damage potential against many single-prize or two-prize targets. It serves as the primary straight-damage engine for the card, leveraging its high HP to stay in play while delivering a high-pressure hit.
Solar Plant GX (GX Attack): This GX attack deals 50 damage to each of your opponent’s Pokémon. If Venusaur & Snivy GX has at least 2 additional Energy attached to it beyond the GX cost, you heal all damage from all of your Pokémon. This healing condition makes Solar Plant GX a potent late-game reset tool in decks capable of accelerating Energy to the TAG TEAM-GX and sustaining field presence. However, the rule restricting GX-attacks to one per game requires careful timing and resource management, as over-reliance on a single GX move could leave the player with fewer options in clutch situations.
Energy and tempo considerations: The card’s heavy energy requirements emphasize energy acceleration and recycling strategies common to Grass-type lines. Players often combine Venusaur & Snivy GX with teammates or benched setups that can expedite Grass Energy attachment and maintain pressure through repeated Forest Dump-like bursts.
Evolving and bench management: While the card itself is not a traditional evolution stage in a single line, it represents a convergence of two Pokémon lines (Venusaur from Bulbasaur’s family and Snivy’s evolution line). In practice, players may leverage its effects to control board state, while other Grass-type staples in the deck supply additional evolution and disruption options.
In Expanded format, Venusaur & Snivy GX can interact with a broad rotation of cards that support energy acceleration, damage mitigation, and board manipulation. Its relative fragility to Fire-type threats demands careful deck construction and match-up consideration, particularly given the card’s lack of Standard legality at the time of the data.

Collector and Market Information

The card is categorized as Ultra Rare and originates from Cosmic Eclipse (SM12). The Cosmic Eclipse set itself is notable for featuring extended TAG TEAM content and a wide array of synergy-focused Pokémon combinations, contributing to collector interest in these rarer entries. The card’s holo and non-holo variants provide additional appeal for collectors who seek finish variety and set completeness.

Pricing data reflects market activity from major secondary marketplaces as of late 2025. Cardmarket reports an average price of approximately €16.62 for this card, with a historical low around €4.94 and a price trend near €13.58. At TCGPlayer, holofoil copies show current market behavior with a low around $19.00, mid around $25.98, and a high reaching $100, with the overall market price reported around $24.88 and direct low around $19.99. These figures are subject to change with supply, demand, and set reprints, and should be interpreted as indicative of market position rather than guaranteed value. The data excerpt also notes updated pricing in late 2025, reflecting ongoing market activity.

Art and Lore

The illustration for Venusaur & Snivy GX is credited to Mitsuhiro Arita, a prolific Pokémon TCG artist known for shaping many classic card visuals. Arita’s work on this TAG TEAM-GX entry continues the tradition of dynamic, action-forward imagery that emphasizes the dual nature of the card—combining Venusaur’s bulk and Snivy’s agility within a single battlefield portrayal. The Cosmic Eclipse era situates the artwork within a cosmic-themed frame that often emphasizes fusion of different Pokémon lines and expansive, starry backdrops that evoke the broader set’s interdimensional scope.

Trivia

The card’s Dex numbers (3 and 495) correspond to Venusaur and Snivy in the National Pokédex, underscoring the dual-Pokémon composition of the TAG TEAM-GX card.
Solar Plant GX is a GX attack that delivers global board impact (damage to all of your opponent’s Pokémon) while offering a healing condition that can reset damage across your board, enabling a potential late-game swing.
Despite its impressive 270 HP, the card remains a risk-reward option in Expanded decks due to the energy costs of its attacks and the one-GX-attack-per-game limit, which increases the importance of timing and synergy with other resources.
Venusaur & Snivy GX reflects a broader design philosophy of Cosmic Eclipse, which emphasizes multi-Pokémon interactions and high-variance, high-impact plays that reward thoughtful deck-building and sequencing.
The card’s legal status (Expanded only) reflects the evolving rotation and set legality dynamics that accompany older expanded-meta TAG TEAM cards in the Pokémon TCG ecosystem.

📘 Venusaur & Snivy-GX