Best Dark Starter Trio [POLL]

[banks]

Most trios that I collect are obvious sets. This is not the case for the Dark Kanto Starter Trios because

• The Dark Venusaur line did not release with English and Japanese Team Rocket sets
• No bulbasaur was made to go along with it’s dark evolutions.

I decided to visualize which trio I should collect with a gallery and thought it would be fun to share with y’all. Feel free to vote and discuss your favourite arrangement of the dark trio.

English & Promos

Pros	Cons
1st ed stamps sexy af	1st ed stamps don’t match the promos, unlimited solves this
Requires less effort to read than the other sets for non-native Japanese speakers	Mismatched borders
	No matching EN bulbasaur
	Venusaur is non-holo, breaks 2nd stage evolution pattern

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Japanese & Promos

Pros	Cons
Intro deck bulbasaur is available to us in Japanese	Intro deck bulbasaur already belongs to the intro deck line
Matching borders

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WEB Series

Pros	Cons
Perfect set of 6 in the same style	Missing bulbasaur, charmander, squirtle. Adding the basic trio breaks the web series set

Visualize Basic Starter Trio On Top (Desktop Only)

Which set do you prefer?

• English & Promos
• Japanese & Promos
• Web Series (Set of 6)
• Web Series (Set of 6 + Japanese Basic Starter Trio)
• Other - discuss in comments

Question

Which Bulbasaur would you add to round out your preferred set?

[DarthEevee]

Personally it would bother me that the borders are different, so I have two options for you.

• if you go WEB series, add expedition 95 bulbasaur, 98 charmander, 132 squirtle

• if you go non web, consider vending bulbasaur as your base choice since color wise it’s more similar to the other two. You could switch the charmander and squirtle to vending but having the R makes sense

[kamex]

@DarthEevee

if you go non web, consider vending bulbasaur as your base choice since color wise it’s more similar to the other two.

+1 to this, this would be my preferred arrangement. In addition to the vending series’s blue skin, bulbasaur looks like he already has a bit of an attitude in that artwork which would work nicely.

[decoypalmette]

I like both JP and WEB. I would say that vintage jp feels a little more coherent, since cards share almost the same layout, and it’s the “original” one. Breaking the evolution line is also a pity, so it’s my favorite option.

Wotc unfortunately would be a bit of a mess, with different borders. That’s what I have in my binders though.

[c0ll3ct0r]

WEB + McDonalds

[mrtonyz]

Definitely Web, everything matches, it’s unique enough to tell a story beyond just set cards, plus the holo E series borders adds extra flair. I might actually try for those 3 myself now! Great post.

[banks]

Great suggestions, here is a visualization for those following along:

Web Series + Mcdonalds

Stop making sense @c0ll3ct0r The matching e-series borders are too good. Shame that bulbasaur is the odd man out again

Web Series + Expedition Starters

Rocket Gang + Vending Series Bulbasaur

Initially, I went with Intro Deck Bulbasaur because that is the card they used for the dark line in PTCG 2 Team Great Rocket for the Game Boy, but the addition of Vending Series Bulbasaur really pops.

[decoypalmette]

Vending evil bulba is

[mrbubbles]

You can also go all Japanese promos.

The T-Promos can also be a nice mix and match with WEB since they have the classic e-reader border. So you can have 3 different sets if paired with Vending.

Cheers!

[DarthEevee]

I know it’s tooting my own horn but the vending bulba completes the set I feel

[joponnes]

I agree, they all felt that something isn’t completely right until the vending bulba + rocket gang was there

[codytcas]

Not gonna lie I’m about to steal your idea I have the CD promos on the wall now but I think I might spice it up.

[DarthEevee]

No offense at all, I am very happy to suggest unique personal collections for others

[MidEraCollector]

poor Bulbasaur line always getting the shaft. So many years later, the Squirtle and Charizard from these promos are so iconic but this grass starter line is forgotten

As for Banks question, I’ve always felt that dark chameleon from team rocket is his best card. The middle evolutions stand out to me so I think the Web series looks great but nothing beats the complete Japanese and promos set