Starmie · Base Set, what to know.
About the Starmie card
Starmie sits at #64 in Base Set, the first of the Wizards of the Coast print runs. Illustration by Keiji Kinebuchi. Kinebuchi contributed a smaller body of Wizards-era cards but is responsible for several memorable holos. His style runs warmer and more textured than the Sugimori work alongside it. In the games, Starmie evolves from Staryu, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.
The flavor text on the card reads: "Its central core glows with the seven colors of the rainbow. Some people value this core as a gem." 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.
About Starmie in the Pokémon world
The fully evolved Staryu. Two starfishes stacked, faceted center jewel. Fossil Rare with steady demand.
Print variants and how to spot them
Base Set produced three print waves that collectors track separately: 1st Edition (the launch print, with an Edition-1 stamp under the artwork), Shadowless (a transitional print with no stamp and no drop shadow on the right side of the artwork), and Unlimited (the long-running print with the drop shadow restored). The price spread between these prints on the same card name is often 10x or more, which is why variant identification matters before any purchase.
Grading and condition
Commons grade most forgivingly of any tier in the set. Centering is the typical grade cap; the soft Wizards-era cardstock picks up edge whitening easily but the high print runs mean clean copies remain affordable. A first-time grading submission on a Common is the cheapest way to learn what each grading service is actually looking at.
If you are buying this card
Raw copies of this card are inexpensive enough that the grading math rarely justifies submission unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completionists, picking up a clean raw copy and sleeving it is the practical move.
