Caterpie · XY Evolutions, what to know.
About the Caterpie card
Numbered 3 of 113 in XY Evolutions, released in November 2016, Caterpie is a Common, a Basic Grass-type carrying 40 HP.
As a Basic Pokémon, Caterpie needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.
Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.
Caterpie carries this Pokédex flavor text: "It is covered with a green skin. When it grows, it sheds the skin, covers itself with silk, and becomes a cocoon."
About Caterpie in the Pokémon world
The most basic bug Pokémon in the original Pokédex. Used as a tutorial-level catch in the games. A Common card with no special variants. Pack-fresh raw copies are easy to find; centered PSA 10s are not.
What is Caterpie worth?
Caterpie is a Common, so raw copies trade for very little and most of the print run survives. The only real value is in pristine, high-grade copies, where even a Common can reach low triple digits in 1st Edition PSA 10. See the live price above for the current figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Confirm the print and finish on Caterpie before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Caterpie is the most forgiving tier to grade in the set. Centering on the framed border is the usual cap, and the soft cardstock picks up edge whitening easily, but high print runs keep clean copies affordable.
If you are collecting Caterpie
Raw copies of Caterpie are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Caterpie is the practical move.
