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The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Team Up Part 1: Venusaur & Celebi

Venusaur & Celebi were the first-ever Pokémon TAG TEAM GX from Sun & Moon - Tag Team from Pokémon TCG. Let's take a look back at this classic.


Four years ago, Pokémon TCG released the ninth main series set of the Sun & Moon era. The expansion, Sun & Moon – Team Up, came out on September 9th, 2022. Sun & Moon – Team Up added quite a lot to the hobby, including a special card type that would later become the most sought-after style of chase card in the Sword & Shield era. I'm talking, of course, about Alternate Arts. Sun & Moon – Team Up also introduced TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX, which featured two Pokémon on a single card. These species shared at least one of their typings. TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX were available as standard TEAM TEAM GX cards, Full Arts, Alternate Arts, and Rainbow Rares. Sun & Moon – Team Up was also the last set to include Prism Stars. This English-language expansion was based on the Japanese set Tag Bolt and took inspiration from the Kanto-themed games Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! Let's look back on this influential set and appreciate the artwork that would lay the groundwork for the current Alternate Art-themed era of Sword & Shield and beyond. Today, we begin with the Grass-types of Sun & Moon – Team Up.

 

Team Up cards. Credit: Pokémon TCG
Team Up cards. Credit: Pokémon TCG

We begin with a beautiful Mitsuhiro Arita card as the first-ever Pokémon-GX TAG TEAM. I love how even the standard TAG TEAM cards look like Alternate Arts here as we begin to see Sun & Moon get more and more experimental with the artwork and the layout of sets. Celebi and Venusaur both get that classic Arita treatment that has been elevating Pokémon ever since the first-ever set with the iconic Base Set Charizard. I love the little touches here, too, like Celebi holding Venusaur's vine. A perfect card!

Stay tuned for the journey through this teamwork-themed set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon – Team Up. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of this set.


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Theo DwyerAbout Theo Dwyer

Theo Dwyer writes about comics, film, and games.
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