Empoleon

Empoleon sits at #37 in Brilliant Stars, released in February 2022. Brilliant Stars is part of the modern English Pokémon TCG era and uses the standard contemporary card frame and rarity tiers. Illustration by Kouki Saitou. In the games, Empoleon evolves from Prinplup, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.

The flavor text on the card reads: "The three horns that extend from its beak attest to its power. The leader has the biggest horns." Pokédex entries from this era are short and often quirky, written by the original Japanese localization team for a specific stat-block layout that no longer exists in modern cards.

Brilliant Stars shipped in Holofoil, Reverse Holo, V, VSTAR, Trainer Gallery, and Rainbow Rare. Trainer Gallery cards are numbered TG01 onwards as a parallel subset. The Charizard VSTAR Rainbow Rare is the headline chase.

For graded buyers, modern cards have cleaner cardstock than the Wizards-era prints, so the grading bar is higher. A PSA 10 on a modern holo or alt-art requires close to flawless centering and pristine surface. PSA 9 populations are large; PSA 10 populations on the marquee chases (Special Illustration Rares, alt arts) are the cards that actually move price. Submission math favors clear PSA 10 candidates and stays away from PSA 8 or 9 outcomes.

If you are buying this card, the order of operations is rarity tier first, then condition. Confirm whether you are looking at the standard holo, an alt art / Special Illustration variant, or a Hyper Rare; the price spread between tiers is often 10x or more. For raw purchases on chase-tier modern cards, insist on photo or video showing the holo surface and edges. Modern cardstock is stiffer than Wizards-era stock but the high pull rates mean PSA 10 supply is large; price your buy against PSA 10 population reports.