Lt. Surge's Spearow

Lt. Surge's Spearow is card 83 of 132 in Gym Heroes, released in August 2000, a Common. It is a Basic Colorless-type with 50 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Spearow needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Lt. Surge is the Electric-type Gym Leader of Vermilion City, a former soldier nicknamed the Lightning American. Lt. Surge's Spearow is part of that themed lineup.

Illustrated by Atsuko Nishida. Nishida is the original designer of Pikachu and many Gen 1 Pokémon, and her card work has a soft, rounded warmth that suits the friendlier creatures.

A small angry brown bird with red plumage. The first wild Pokémon Ash encounters in the anime, which becomes a defining sequence. Common Base Set card. Quietly collectible because of its anime significance.

Lt. Surge's Spearow 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.

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

Lt. Surge's Spearow is the most forgiving tier to grade in the set. Centering on the framed border is the usual cap, and the soft Wizards-era cardstock picks up edge whitening easily, but high print runs keep clean copies affordable.

Raw copies of Lt. Surge's Spearow are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Lt. Surge's Spearow is the practical move.