Venusaur ex has made the impossible possible: healing is a viable strategy in Pokémon TCG (Pocket). While its final attack may not be as powerful as most Stage 2 Pokémon ex, Giant Bloom (GGCC) has the additional effect to heal 30 damage from Venusaur ex on top of its strong 100 damage rate.
Pair this with Trainer cards like Potion (heal 20 damage) and the tailor-made supporter Erika (heal 50 damage from a G Pokémon), and you’ll find yourself dominating a game where your active Venusaur cannot be knocked out. Venusaur ex’s natural bulk (190 HP, the highest among all Pokémon in the Genetic Apex) makes it an especially tough target to knock out—particularly in a metagame where R aren’t the dominant threat of the room.
Venusaur ex - Lilligant variant
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Venusaur ex
◊◊ – Ivysaur, Lilligant, Erika, Sabrina
Booster pack requirements
Bulbasaur line
Erika
Sabrina
Bulbasaur line is hungry on Energy. Lilligant‘s inclusion to the deck aim to speed up the process thank to its Leaf Supply attack while keeping the deck mono G. The mix between Potion, X Speed and Sabrina is up to the player’s discretion.
The Petilil line can be pulled from any Genetic Apex booster pack, making this version easier to build.
Venusaur ex - Exeggutor ex variant
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Venusaur ex, Exeggutor ex
◊◊ – Ivysaur, Erika, Sabrina
Booster pack requirements
Bulbasaur line
Exeggcute line
Erika
Sabrina
Exeggutor ex not only comes early but also needs only 1 G to work, so you can conserve all your Energy drops for powering up a Bulbasaur. This deck version maxes out on X Speed to safely retreat Bulbasaur back to the bench and to lower Exeggutor’s retreat cost, enabling a smooth switch to a powerful Venusaur ex.
Venusaur ex - Caterpie variant
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Venusaur ex
◊◊ – Ivysaur, Erika, Sabrina
Booster pack requirements
Bulbasaur line
Erika
Sabrina
Caterpie
Caterpie is a fantastic opener as it can get you a stage 1 Ivysaur or stage 2 Venusaur ex if you don’t have these in hand. It’s currently the only effect of its kind in Pokémon TCG Pocket. Don’t leave it exposed too long as its frail bulk is threatened by a good variety of attackers. Once the Bulbasaur in the backrow is charged up with enough Energy, or even evolved, use X Speed to retreat Caterpie.
Venusaur ex - Weezing variant
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Venusaur ex
◊◊◊ – Weezing
◊◊ – Ivysaur, Erika, Koga, Sabrina
Booster pack requirements
Bulbasaur line
Koffing line
Koga
Erika
Sabrina
This deck uses the classic Weezing + Koga engine to stall your opponent while you charge up Venusaur ex on the Bench. It also has the option to run D to boost Weezing’s damage output. This version performs better against Pikachu ex as Weezing can withstand a Circle Circuit attack, even when backed by Giovanni.
As the Koffing line comes in the same pack as Venusaur ex, it’s technically more on the budget side as well.
Weaknesses
Venusaur ex’s biggest weakness can be summed up like this: it takes time to set up.
Being a Stage 2, it comes with the inconsistency that often entails.
- All the mainline Pokémon are slow to charge up. Bulbasaur can’t attack until it has 2 Energy and Ivysaur and Venusaur ex require 3 Energy to attack, with Venusaur ex’s Giant Bloom needing 4 Energy.
- No strong damage output. A logical trade-off for its fantastic late game resilience, but it means Venusaur ex cannot one-shot most Stage 2 Pokémon, Basic Pokémon ex and even some Stage 1s.
Being the winner in the late game comes at the cost of an increased vulnerability in the early turns. It can also leave Venusaur ex exposed to some niche strategy such as Gyarados energy destruction.
