Koga's Muk

Numbered 26 of 132 in Gym Challenge, released in October 2000, Koga's Muk is a Rare, a Stage 1 Grass-type carrying 80 HP.

It evolves from Koga's Grimer, so Koga's Muk is a later-stage card that set-builders usually slot into a full evolution run rather than buy alone.

Koga is the Poison-type Gym Leader of Fuchsia City, a ninja who later rises to the Elite Four. Koga's Muk is part of that themed lineup.

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.

The fully evolved Grimer. Larger sludge mound. Fossil holo Muk is a quietly underrated card. Its Pokémon Power 'Toxic Gas' was a tournament-defining mechanic in 1999, which means surviving high-grade copies are scarcer than the print run suggests.

Koga's Muk is a non-holo Rare. In Gym Challenge, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Koga's Muk trades modestly, though a clean, well-centered 1st Edition copy in PSA 10 is scarcer than the print run suggests and carries a real premium. Check the live price above for the figure by grade.

Gym Challenge shipped in 1st Edition and Unlimited, with no Shadowless print. The trainer-prefix naming runs across the set, and the 1st Edition Koga's Muk carries the Edition 1 stamp and a premium over Unlimited in matching grade.

Koga's Muk grades on centering and edges more than surface. The card was played and traded more freely than the holos, so a clean, well-centered Koga's Muk is worth more than collectors assume.

For Koga's Muk, check centering by eye, edge whitening on all four sides, and surface under angled light. Non-holo Rares from this era are cheap enough that a PSA 10 submission on a clean Koga's Muk can make sense.