Treecko ★
Team Rocket Returns · #109/109 · Rare Holo Star · 2004
Price history
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Graded values
Grades 1–6 are estimates modeled from the raw price — PSA/CGC/BGS 7–10 and Ungraded are live tracked market values.
PSA 10 chart is building — graded values are tracked nightly, a new point appears each day.
Graded population census · updated 2026-07-07
Population data from PriceCharting, updated monthly.
CardPrice Score A-TIER
An iconic Gold Star chase with a marquee artist, real one-per-box scarcity, and a low gem rate — everything that sustains long-term demand lives here.
- A Gold Star chase from the format that introduced the tier to English collectors.
- Masakazu Fukuda art — the artist collectors chase across the Gold Star run.
- Grass-type starter Treecko wearing the coveted ★ symbol, one-per-box thin supply.
- A gem rate low enough that clean copies punch well above raw.
- Tier A on our chase score for good reason: iconic subset, real scarcity, deep demand.
This analysis covers every printing of Treecko ★ — the score and live figures use our primary tracked printing, and the price panels above follow whichever printing you have selected.
Where Treecko ★ fits in the hobby
**Team Rocket Returns** landed in 2004 as the English adaptation of Japan's *Rocket Gang Strikes Back*, and it carried one of the most beloved subsets the hobby has ever produced: the Gold Stars. The ★ symbol next to a Pokémon's name marked an alternate-art holo pulled at roughly one per booster box — a rarity tier that instantly separated it from every other card in the set.
Treecko ★ is the Hoenn grass starter given the Gold Star treatment. The Star cards used a distinctive cosmos-style holo foil and shiny-Pokémon color palettes, so Treecko arrives in a look no ordinary print of the line ever wore. As a Basic Pokémon it slots into the run alongside its evolution-line siblings, making it a natural target for players building the full Gold Star set rather than a one-off grab.
The Gold Star era is short — the tier existed only across a handful of sets in the EX series — which is exactly why it holds such a firm place in collector consciousness. These are the cards that defined "chase" for a generation of players who opened this era live. Treecko ★ sits squarely in that legacy: a recognizable starter, a genuinely scarce pull, and a subset that never lost its shine.
Market read
This is a blue-chip vintage chase, and it behaves like one. Gold Stars from the EX era command a serious premium over everything around them, and Treecko ★ benefits from both the tier's built-in scarcity and the enduring pull of starter Pokémon. Raw copies sit firmly in the higher end of the market, and clean examples are the ones buyers fight over.
The grading picture tells the real story: with a low gem rate, high-grade copies are genuinely tough to come by, and the gap between a raw card and a top-graded one is wide. Supply at the top of the scale is thin, demand is steady from set-builders and Gold Star specialists alike, and that combination is what keeps this card's floor sturdy.
- Gold Star tier — the most iconic chase subset of the EX era, one-per-box scarce.
- Masakazu Fukuda's name carries weight across the Gold Star run.
- Grass starter Treecko draws Hoenn and starter-line collectors on top of subset chasers.
- Low gem rate makes high-grade copies genuinely scarce and keeps clean cards in demand.
- Short-lived era means no reprints in this style — supply only tightens.
Exact figures — price, population, gem rate, grading EV — are live in the panels above and refresh nightly.
Why the art matters
Masakazu Fukuda is one of the most collected illustrators in the hobby, and his work across the Gold Star subset is a big reason the tier is so revered. His clean, expressive Pokémon renders paired beautifully with the Star cards' shiny palettes and cosmos-foil treatment.
Here Treecko is depicted in its Gold Star coloring rather than its standard green — the alternate palette that signals a shiny Pokémon, framed against the distinctive holofoil the ★ cards used. It's an instantly recognizable look for anyone who chased this era, and it's a major part of why these cards read as trophies rather than filler.
Collector guide
Gold Stars from this era are notorious for showing wear. Inspect the holofoil surface for scratches and print lines, check all four corners under light, and watch the edges for the whitening that plagues dark-bordered EX-era cards. Centering varies copy to copy, so eyeball the borders before you commit.
The gem rate here is low, which means grading carries real upside on a clean copy — but that same fragility cuts both ways. A card that looks near-mint raw can come back capped by a surface scratch or off-center print. Grade the strong ones; think twice on anything with visible edge wear.
Sleeve and toploader at minimum for a card in this value band; a graded slab is the safer long-term home. Keep it out of direct light and stable in temperature and humidity to protect the holofoil. For raw copies, a penny sleeve inside a snug fit prevents the corner and edge dings these cards attract.
Confirm the ★ symbol beside the name and the Gold Star-specific holo pattern — this is a subset frequently targeted by counterfeits. Verify the set symbol, card number, and Fukuda's illustrator credit, and when in doubt lean on a reputable grader's authentication.
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Frequently asked questions
How much is Treecko ★ #109/109 worth today?
As of August 14, 2026, a raw Treecko ★ #109/109 trades around $2,400.00, and a PSA 10 copy around $32,790.00. Prices update nightly from live market data — the chart above has the full history.
Is Treecko ★ worth grading right now?
Yes, the math currently works: after buying a raw copy and paying ~$25 in grading fees, the expected value of grading is about $7,936.21 positive, based on live PSA 10/9 prices and this card's real gem rate.
What makes Treecko ★ a Gold Star card?
The ★ symbol next to the Pokémon's name marks it as part of the Gold Star subset, an ultra-rare tier from the EX era pulled at roughly one per booster box. These cards feature shiny-Pokémon color palettes and a distinctive holofoil, which is why Treecko appears in an alternate coloring rather than its usual green.
Why is the Gold Star subset so collected?
Gold Stars existed only across a short run of EX-era sets, so the tier has a hard ceiling on supply and no reprints in this style. They defined the idea of a 'chase card' for players who opened this era, and that nostalgia plus genuine scarcity keeps demand firm across the whole subset.
Is Treecko ★ hard to grade well?
Yes. The gem rate on this card is low, largely because the dark-bordered holofoil surface shows scratches, print lines, and edge whitening easily. Many copies that look clean raw come back with grades capped by surface or centering issues.
Who illustrated Treecko ★?
Masakazu Fukuda, one of the most sought-after illustrators in the hobby and a name closely tied to the Gold Star run. His work is a significant part of why these cards carry the reputation they do.
What should I watch for when buying a raw copy?
Check the holofoil surface for scratches, inspect corners and edges for whitening, and assess centering carefully. This is also a heavily counterfeited subset, so verify the ★ symbol, set details, and holo pattern — or buy graded from a trusted source.
Attacks
How much is Treecko ★ #109/109 worth?
Treecko ★ #109/109 is a Rare Holo Star card from Team Rocket Returns (2004) — today it trades at roughly $2,400.00 ungraded.
Grading changes the math on this one: a PSA 10 is valued around $32,790.00, roughly 13.7x the raw price, while a PSA 9 sits near $9,374.50. 1,234 copies have been graded to date, and 4% of them came back a 10 — worth knowing before you pay grading fees.
These figures come from nightly market-data syncs verified against completed sales. Use the chart above to see the trend before you buy or sell.