Venusaur was card 15 of the very first Pokemon expansion in 1996. Twenty-five years later, Japan reprinted it with a red-and-gold foil treatment and gave it a new number: 002/025.
That second number is the key to understanding this card. It is not a reprint of the whole set — it is one of twenty-five cards issued specifically to mark the Pokemon TCG’s 25th anniversary, pulled from a pack that most collectors outside Japan never see on shelves. If you are looking at a PSA10 slab labelled “Venusaur 002/025 PROMO” and wondering what you are actually holding, this guide covers the original 1996 card, the 2021 promo pack it came from, and where it sits today against the two cards it shares that pack with — Charizard and Blastoise.
PSA10 Venusaur 002/025 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) reprints the original 1996 Base Set 15/102 artwork by Mitsuhiro Arita, issued in Japan’s 2021 Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition (S8a-P). It is currently listed at ¥25,168 (~$158), noticeably below its pack-mate PSA10 Charizard 001/025 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) at ¥111,494. Like every S8a-P card, it carries a Confetti Holofoil finish and etching, and it is not legal for official tournament play.
Prices below are current Samurai Sword Tokyo listings as of August 30, 2026, converted at ¥159/USD.
What Is PSA10 Venusaur 002/025?
“002/025” identifies this card as the second of twenty-five in Japan’s Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition, known by its set code S8a-P. In Japanese, the official product page labels it simply “フシギバナ（1996）” — Venusaur (1996) — dating the card back to the artwork’s original printing year rather than its 2021 reissue.
The card is not a new illustration. It reuses the original 1996 Base Set Venusaur art with the 25th-anniversary treatment applied on top: a Confetti Holofoil background and border, a red-and-gold “25th” graphic, and an etched surface finish. The underlying card — its rarity classification and copyright line — is carried over from the original print; only the anniversary graphic and foil marks the card as an S8a-P promo.
The Original Card: Base Set Venusaur 15/102
The card being celebrated is Venusaur, Base Set 15/102, Rare Holo, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. It comes from Japan’s founding Expansion Pack (“拡張パック”), released October 20, 1996 — the set that launched the Pokemon Trading Card Game.
In the English-language TCG, the same artwork appeared as Base Set 15/102 Rare Holo in 1999, and it was later given its own English 25th-anniversary reprint inside Celebrations, in the Classic Collection subset. Bulbapedia’s Venusaur (Base Set 15) entry cross-references that Celebrations “Rare Classic 15/102” print directly to the Japanese Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition 002/025 — the two are the same anniversary concept executed for two different markets.
Arita is also the illustrator behind the Base Set Charizard, which is part of why these three 1996 starters — Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise — are treated as a set within a set whenever an anniversary reprint comes around.
Inside the Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY Edition
S8a-P is a stand-alone promo release, separate from the main 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION booster set (S8a). It contains 25 cards, numbered 001/025 through 025/025, and released in Japan on October 22, 2021 alongside the main set.
Every card in the pack shares the same visual treatment: a Confetti Holofoil background and border, a red-and-gold “25th” graphic, and an etched finish. None of the S8a-P cards are legal for official tournament play — the official Japanese product page states this directly: “プロモカードパック 25th ANNIVERSARY editionに封入されているカードは公式大会では使えません” (“Cards included in the Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition cannot be used in official tournaments”).
That non-tournament status is common to every card in the pack, from a 1996 starter like Venusaur through to Mewtwo-EX and Reshiram — the pack was built as a commemorative reissue, not a competitive product. For the full 25-card breakdown, see our S8a-P 25th Anniversary Promo Pack guide.
The Base Set Trio: Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise
The Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition opens with the three 1996 Base Set starters in sequence: Charizard at 001/025, Venusaur at 002/025, and Blastoise at 003/025. All three trace back to the same 1996 Expansion Pack, and all three currently carry PSA10 listings at Samurai Sword Tokyo.
| Card | S8a-P number | Illustrator | Current price |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA10 Charizard 001/025 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | 001/025 | Mitsuhiro Arita | ¥111,494 (~$701) |
| PSA10 Venusaur 002/025 | 002/025 | Mitsuhiro Arita | ¥25,168 (~$158) |
| PSA10 Blastoise 003/025 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | 003/025 | Ken Sugimori | ¥29,150 (~$183) |
The gap between the three is worth noting: Venusaur at ¥25,168 (~$158) and Blastoise at ¥29,150 (~$183) sit in a similar band, while Charizard at ¥111,494 (~$701) is priced well above both despite coming from the identical pack, the identical anniversary treatment, and even the same illustrator as Venusaur. The card itself — not the promo or the finish — is doing the work there.
How the 25th Anniversary Promos Reached Collectors
The S8a-P pack was never sold as a standalone product in Japan. The official campaign notice explains the primary route: buy four packs of the 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION booster set (S8a), and participating stores gave a single S8a-P promo pack in return, with one random card inside.
Three other channels also put S8a-P packs into circulation in 2021:
- Five promo packs were bundled inside the 25th ANNIVERSARY GOLDEN BOX, a ¥17,600 premium set containing an all-holo 60-card deck, playmat, dice, coin and case.
- One promo pack came with the 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION Special Set, a ¥1,188 convenience-store bundle of four S8a packs, one S8a-P pack and a coin.
- Pokemon Center Online ran a lottery for sealed S8a booster boxes between August 13–19, 2021, and winners received four additional S8a-P promo packs as a bonus alongside their box.
All four routes fed the same 25-card pool, so a given card — Venusaur included — could come from a booster-purchase promo, a Golden Box, a Special Set, or a lottery bonus pack. None of these distribution channels are running today; the practical way to own the card now is as a graded single.
Confetti Holofoil, Etching and PSA 10 Grading
Every S8a-P card, Venusaur included, uses the same finish: a Confetti Holofoil background and border layered with etching and the red-and-gold “25th” graphic. That is a textured foil surface, and textured foils are generally harder to keep flaw-free through printing, packaging and handling than a plain holo panel — which is one reason graded copies of anniversary promos command more attention from buyers than raw ones.
A “Mirror” variant of the finish exists on some S8a main-set cards (the store’s own Mew: Mirror listing, for example), but that mirror treatment is documented for the numbered S8a booster set, not the S8a-P promo pack — Venusaur 002/025 is a standard Confetti Holofoil promo, not a mirror print.
Beyond the finish, there is no published rarity tier for individual S8a-P cards the way a booster set assigns SR, SAR or UR — every card in the pack is a “P” (promo). What separates their prices, as the trio table above shows, is demand for the underlying character rather than any printed rarity marker.
Where to Buy PSA10 Venusaur 002/025
We ship graded Japanese singles and sealed product out of Tokyo with tracked delivery worldwide. If you want the card discussed in this guide directly, it is currently listed at ¥25,168 (~$158):
For the sealed side of the same anniversary release, the S8a 25th Anniversary Collection booster box is currently listed at ¥74,000 (~$465), and the 25th Anniversary Golden Box — the premium set that originally bundled five S8a-P promo packs — is listed at ¥288,400 (~$1,814). The more accessible 25th Anniversary Collection Special Set sits at ¥29,400 (~$185).
Browse the full run of graded singles in our PSA10 collection, or build a mixed order of singles and sealed product through Quick Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PSA10 Venusaur 002/025?
It is a Japanese promo card from the Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition (S8a-P, released October 22, 2021), reprinting the original 1996 Base Set Venusaur 15/102 artwork with a Confetti Holofoil finish, etching and a red-and-gold “25th” graphic, graded PSA 10 (Gem Mint).
What is the original card behind the 25th Anniversary Venusaur promo?
Base Set Venusaur 15/102, Rare Holo, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, from Japan’s founding Expansion Pack released October 20, 1996. The same artwork was also reprinted in the English-language Celebrations Classic Collection.
How was the Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition originally distributed?
Primarily as a bonus for buying four packs of the 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION booster set (one S8a-P pack per four S8a packs). It was also bundled five packs to a box in the 25th Anniversary Golden Box, one pack in the convenience-store Special Set, and given as a four-pack bonus to Pokemon Center Online S8a booster box lottery winners.
Can the S8a-P Venusaur promo be used in official tournaments?
No. The official Japanese product page states cards from the Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition cannot be used in official tournaments, a restriction that applies to every card in the pack, not just Venusaur.
How much does PSA10 Venusaur 002/025 currently cost?
It is currently listed at Samurai Sword Tokyo at ¥25,168 (about $158 at ¥159/USD), notably below its promo pack-mate PSA10 Charizard 001/025 at ¥111,494.
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