CGC Featured Card of the Month: Simisear VSTAR

Game: Pokémon

Set: Crown Zenith (Galarian Gallery)

Card: Simisear VSTAR

Click images to enlarge.

What makes it special? Simisear VSTAR marks the first time that the titular Pokémon has gotten an alternate art card for itself, with the only other being Simisear (100/086) from White Flare, a set that has yet to release in English. Simisear VSTAR is well-liked in the Pokémon TCG community because of its “derpy” art style — it was illustrated by Nagano, who is the creator of the immensely popular Chiikawa Japanese manga series.

Did you know? In 2016, Japan held a Pokémon General Election to decide who the most popular Pokémon was in the region. Out of all 720 Pokémon (as of Sun and Moon), Simisear proved to be the least popular, gaining the fewest votes from the 562,386 fans who participated in the poll. The Pokémon Company responded by holding incentives to try to raise Simisear’s popularity, including giving away the character in the Sun and Moon games, printing more media based on Simisear (including, eventually, this card) and more.

Total graded by CGC Cards: According to the CGC Cards Population Report, as of June 2025, CGC has certified 541 examples of this Simisear VSTAR from Crown Zenith.

CGC Cards median grade: CGC Gem Mint 10

CGC Cards highest grade: CGC Pristine 10

Sales highlights: A Simisear VSTAR, Pokémon (2023) Crown Zenith – Galarian Gallery Holo graded CGC Gem Mint 10 sold for $60 on Fanatics Collect’s Weekly Auction platform on March 2, 2025.

CGC Cards Registry: An example of Simisear VSTAR is included in Giladadar1’s Crown Zenith set, which holds the highest rank for Crown Zenith – Master Sets in the CGC Cards Registry. There is also an example of Simisear VSTAR in Preston34’s Preston34 set, which is one of the highest-ranking Crown Zenith – Galarian Gallery – V Cards sets in the CGC Cards Registry.