Misty's Poliwag

Numbered 87 of 132 in Gym Heroes, released in August 2000, Misty's Poliwag is a Common, a Basic Water-type carrying 50 HP.

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

Misty is the Water-type Gym Leader of Cerulean City and one of Ash's earliest traveling companions. Misty's Poliwag 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.

A water-type tadpole Pokémon. The spiral pattern on its belly is one of the most recognized Pokémon designs. Base Set Common. Easy and cheap.

Misty's Poliwag 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 Misty's Poliwag carries the Edition 1 stamp and a premium over Unlimited in matching grade.

Misty's Poliwag 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 Misty's Poliwag are inexpensive enough that grading rarely pays unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completion, a clean sleeved Misty's Poliwag is the practical move.