Gloom · Neo Genesis, what to know.
About the Gloom card
Gloom sits at #36 in Neo Genesis, the eighth of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita was the original Pokémon TCG illustrator and the artist behind the Base Set Charizard. His vintage-era art has a painterly quality that distinguishes it from the cleaner reference-style work of the Sugimori cards. In the games, Gloom evolves from Oddish, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.
The flavor text on the card reads: "What appears to be drool is actually sweet honey. It is very sticky and clings stubbornly if touched." Pokédex entries from this era are short and often quirky, written by the original Japanese localization team for a specific stat-block layout that no longer exists in modern cards.
About Gloom in the Pokémon world
The middle Oddish stage. Splits into Vileplume or Bellossom depending on evolution method. Middle-stage card with thin demand.
Print variants and how to spot them
Neo Genesis shipped in 1st Edition (stamped) and Unlimited prints. The 1st Edition stamp convention is identical to earlier Wizards sets. No Shadowless variant exists for the Neo era and no widely-recognized error prints.
Grading and condition
Uncommons grade more forgivingly than Rare Holos but the same centering and edge requirements apply. Raw copies in pack-fresh condition are easy to find. A PSA 10 submission on a clean Uncommon is a low-cost way to learn how the grading process scores Wizards-era cardstock.
If you are buying this card
Raw copies of this card are inexpensive enough that the grading math rarely justifies submission unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completionists, picking up a clean raw copy and sleeving it is the practical move.
