In the early days of the Pokémon TCG’s ninth generation, Pokémon-ex were at an absolute premium with just 12 in total—six apiece in both the Scarlet ex [SV1S] and Violet ex [SV1V] expansion sets. Accounting for this, Creatures Inc. released the Triplet Beat [SV1a] subset soon after. Highlights of the set included Pokémon-ex forms of the ninth-generation starter trio—such as this Meowscarada ex card.

Prior to the release of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet video games, Meowscarada’s Basic form Sprigatito was the most memed of all three starters.

In particular, a running joke among the Pokémon fanbase was that Sprigatito should not “stand up”—implying that many didn’t want it to evolve into a bipedal Pokémon. When its final form Meowscarada did indeed turn out to be bipedal, it unsurprisingly shot to fame (some would say infamy) almost instantly, becoming easily the most popular final-form starter of Gen 9.

This Special Art Rare (SAR) card from the Triplet Beat [SV1a] subset is of notable value as it’s the first Pokémon-ex and SAR card featuring the generation’s most popular starter. The illustration showing Meowscarada’s cape blowing upwards in the breeze as it stands atop a tree trunk encapsulates the general vibe of the Grass/Dark-type Pokémon.

Additionally, the very fact that Meowscarada is so polarizing will likely ensure that it continues to remain one of the, if not the single, best-known ninth-generation Pokémon for quite some time—something that will only serve to increase this card’s appeal.

This card was released in English as card 256/193 of the Paldea Evolved [PAL] expansion set.

A Meowscarada ex (Triplet Beat [SV1a] 096/073) card of the SAR rarity has a sale price of ¥8,900 (~US$60).

In other TCG-related news, check out the Yubel card from Phantom Nightmare +1 Bonus Pack. Alternatively, you can also head over to the SNKRDUNK App via the banner below and find the top trending and latest single cards and boxes.