Blaine's Vulpix

Numbered 66 of 132 in Gym Challenge, released in October 2000, Blaine's Vulpix is a Common, a Basic Fire-type carrying 50 HP.

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

Blaine is the Fire-type Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island, the quiz-loving scientist behind the island's lab. Blaine's Vulpix 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 six-tailed fox Pokémon. Fire-type. Evolves with a Fire Stone. Common card with broad anime-driven appeal. Cheap raw entry point.

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

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