Misty's Poliwrath

Numbered 31 of 132 in Gym Heroes, released in August 2000, Misty's Poliwrath is a Rare, a Stage 2 Water-type carrying 90 HP.

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

Misty is the Water-type Gym Leader of Cerulean City and one of Ash's earliest traveling companions. Misty's Poliwrath 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 Water-Fighting final form of the Poliwag line via Water Stone. Heavy muscled silhouette. Base Set holo Poliwrath is one of the original 16 holos. Quietly traded, with PSA 10 1st Edition appreciating slowly.

Misty's Poliwrath is a non-holo Rare. In Gym Heroes, value concentrates in the holo rares, so a Misty's Poliwrath 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 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 Poliwrath carries the Edition 1 stamp and a premium over Unlimited in matching grade.

On Misty's Poliwrath, look at the corners and the framed border first. Non-holo Rares took more handling than the chase holos, so a sharp, centered copy of Misty's Poliwrath in a true PSA 10 is harder to find than the print run suggests.

For Misty's Poliwrath, 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 Misty's Poliwrath can make sense.