Treecko Star
Quick take
- Card 109 in EX Team Rocket Returns (2004), the top of the official numbering
- Gold Star rarity, showing the shiny alternate-color Treecko
- One of three Hoenn starter Gold Stars in the set, alongside Mudkip 107 and Torchic 108
- Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda, a name tied to many of the era's best Gold Stars
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in EX Team Rocket Returns
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 109/109 · $2400.00 — the only variant this card was printed in (no reverse holo or special pattern), so a master set needs just this one copy.
The storyA Hoenn starter Gold Star, the Grass leg of the set's most-chased trio
Treecko Star is card 109 in EX Team Rocket Returns, the highest number in the official count before the set's secret cards. Gold Stars sat at the top of the rarity ladder, showing the shiny, alternate-color version of a Pokemon with art that broke the usual card frame. Treecko got the blue-green shiny treatment from Masakazu Fukuda.
“Card 109 in EX Team Rocket Returns (2004), the top of the official numbering”
It does not travel alone. Team Rocket Returns shipped all three Hoenn starters as Gold Stars: Mudkip at 107, Torchic at 108, and Treecko at 109. Collectors chase the trio together, and most people building this master set treat the three starters as the real finish line. Treecko is the Grass leg of that group, which keeps it in steady demand even though it is not the headline name.
The card itself is a plain Basic with 70 HP. Nobody is buying it to play. The value is about the era, the Gold Star treatment, and finishing a set that a lot of people grew up with.
By the numbersMarket analysis
Treecko is usually the most affordable of the three Hoenn starter Gold Stars, sitting below Torchic and well below the headline names of the era. It still commands a solid vintage price for any clean copy. Raw centered examples carry a premium over the off-center ones that are common from this print run.
Gold Stars as a class have trended up over the long run as EX-era vintage matured into a recognized collecting category. Treecko follows the set rather than leading it. When sealed Team Rocket Returns product moves, or a high grade trades, the whole starter trio tends to get pulled along.
Steady rather than explosive. Treecko is the entry point into the starter trio, so it tends to be the first one collectors buy and the easiest to flip. Graded gem copies are the part of the market with the most room, since raw centering on this print is hit or miss. Treat it as a long-hold vintage piece, not a quick mover.
High grades carry a meaningful premium here because so many copies came out soft-cornered or off-center. A clean high grade sits well above raw, and gem copies jump again. For anything beyond pocket money, buy it already graded.
Gold Stars from the EX era were brutally rare. Across most sets they landed at roughly one per two booster boxes, which works out to around 1 in 72 packs for any Gold Star at all. Team Rocket Returns followed that pattern. Pulling this specific Treecko was far longer odds, since any box that did cough up a Gold Star was just as likely to hand you Mudkip or Torchic instead. For reference, EX Power Keepers later ran hotter, closer to one or two Gold Stars per box. Treecko was not that generous. Most copies in the market today came from singles buyers and graders, not from someone opening packs.
Within Team Rocket Returns, Treecko is usually the most common of the three starter Gold Stars to find for sale and the cheapest, but that is relative. Against the modern Scarlet and Violet rarity ladder, a Gold Star sits in a different universe. A current Special Illustration Rare might appear around 1 in 90 packs and a Hyper Rare somewhere in the hundreds, but those sets print many cards at each tier. A 2004 Gold Star is a single shiny card pulled at roughly box-pair odds, with twenty years of attrition behind it.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
Masakazu Fukuda is one of the most recognized illustrators of the EX era and drew a large share of its Gold Stars. His work is a big reason this run of cards holds up so well with collectors, and his name on a Gold Star is part of the appeal.
The card shows the shiny version of Treecko, which swaps the usual green for a cooler blue-green body. Fukuda poses the little gecko in a clean, bright composition that lets the shiny coloring carry the card. The gold star marker sits next to the name, the cue that separates this from a normal holo.
Gold Star holo pattern with the frame-breaking art style of the era. The shiny color shift is the point of the card, so the holo and the alternate palette do the heavy lifting. Print quality on Team Rocket Returns was inconsistent, which is why centering matters so much on surviving copies.
It is the closest thing the TCG had to a shiny hunt in 2004. A Gold Star meant the recolored version of a Pokemon you knew, drawn by a top illustrator, in the rarest slot of the set. Treecko being a starter makes it land with anyone who picked Grass in Ruby and Sapphire.
BackgroundAbout Treecko Star
Treecko is the Grass-type starter from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, the Generation III games set in Hoenn. It evolves into Grovyle and then Sceptile. As a starter, it carries the same built-in fanbase every starter does, the players who picked it first and stuck with it.
- ›Generation III Grass starter with a loyal player base
- ›Part of the Hoenn starter trio that defines this set for collectors
- ›Shiny Treecko is a recognizable and desirable color variant
- ›Treecko's design has aged well and stays popular in fan art and merch
- ›Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire as the Grass-type starter choice
- ›Ash's Treecko in the Pokemon anime's Advanced Generation series
None to speak of. This is a 70 HP Basic, printed as a collector chase rather than a playable card. It was never a competitive piece even in its own era.
Own it wellCollector guide
Centering and corners are the weak points on Team Rocket Returns Gold Stars. A lot of copies came off-center left to right, and the dark border shows whitening fast. Check the holo for scratches under good light, since the Gold Star surface marks easily. Edge wear and print lines are common on this run.
Worth grading if the copy is clean. Centering is the gate, so inspect it hard before paying for a slab or submitting. A high grade is where the value separates from raw, and gem copies are scarce enough to reward a good submission. For buying, prefer PSA or CGC graded for anything beyond a placeholder. Read the grading guide →
Sleeve in a perfect-fit inner, then a penny sleeve, then a top loader or a graded slab. Keep it out of direct light to protect the holo and the shiny coloring, and store upright in a stable, dry spot. Vintage cardstock does not love humidity swings. See the storage guide →
This is one of the most counterfeited vintage cards going, so authentication comes first. Do the light test to confirm the black core layer between the cardstock plies, since a fake usually fails this. Feel for the correct surface texture, watch how the holo moves, and check the back swirl gradient against a known-good card. Buy graded from a reputable seller for any serious money. If you want the whole starter set, Treecko is often the easiest of the three to land, so it makes a sensible first buy. See the singles buying guide →
Run the light test for the black core layer that genuine cards have between the front and back plies. Confirm the holo pattern and shiny coloring match reference images, inspect the back swirl gradient and font weight, and compare the gold star marker placement. When in doubt, only trust a PSA or CGC slab.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Collectors view the Hoenn starter Gold Stars as a clean, attainable goal inside one of the better-loved EX sets. Treecko gets affection as the Grass pick and as the friendliest entry price of the three, even if it rarely tops anyone's grail list on its own.
Most chatter frames Treecko alongside Torchic and Mudkip as a goal you finish as a trio rather than a single hero card. The shiny coloring and Fukuda's art come up as reasons people like it, and the affordability relative to the other Gold Stars makes it a common recommendation for someone starting EX-era collecting.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
Keep collectingRelated cards
Plan your Other EX Team Rocket Returns master set
Track every card, see what you're missing, and lay out your binder page by page.
