Character info
The character
Metapod is the Cocoon Pokémon, the evolved form of Caterpie and the stage before Butterfree. It is known for its hardened shell, which conceals a soft and vulnerable body inside as it undergoes metamorphosis. In the games and anime it is often portrayed as having limited offensive ability, relying mostly on defensive tactics while it prepares to evolve.
This card
This is the Metapod card from the Base Set, numbered 54 out of 102, identified as the common shadowless-era printing with the shadowed variant border treatment. The artwork, illustrated by Ken Sugimori, depicts Metapod suspended among tree trunks in a forest setting. The card displays the Pokedex entry describing its soft, vulnerable body beneath its shell.
How it plays
This Stage 1 Grass-type Pokémon has 70 HP and evolves from Caterpie. Its first attack, Stiffen, costs two Colorless Energy and involves a coin flip; on heads, it prevents all damage to Metapod during the opponent's next turn, though other effects still apply. Its second attack, Stun Spore, costs two Grass Energy, deals 20 damage, and on a heads coin flip paralyzes the Defending Pokémon. It is weak to Fire, has no listed resistance, and has a retreat cost of two Colorless Energy.
Written with AI from the card and its catalogue entry, and checked by WinnTCG.
Share this card
An image of the graded card, sized for eBay and social posts. The grade, the certificate number and the verification link travel with it.
Card details confirmed
A card with this name and number exists in the public card catalogue, in Base Set, a set of 102 cards, rarity C. The details on this certificate match it.
Illustrated by Ken Sugimori and published 1999-01-09. Both come from the public catalogue, not from WinnTCG.
A catalogue match is not the authenticity check. It confirms the card is the card it claims to be. Whether it is genuine was checked separately, on the card itself; see Authenticity below.
About this card
#11 in the National Pokédex · a Generation I Pokémon · 99 different cards of it exist · it evolves from Caterpie.
It is vulnerable to attack because its shell is soft, exposing its weak and tender body.
From the card and the public catalogue, not written by WinnTCG.
Authenticity
WinnTCG authenticated this card in hand, on the bench, against genuine Pokémon cards. It was checked four ways: light shone through it to check the core, its weight on a scale, its thickness measured, and its print pattern and surface texture under magnification.
How this card was graded
WinnTCG graded this card in hand, on the bench. The card was in our hands, and we sealed the case ourselves. We photographed it here under controlled light to show which card is in the case and where anything we marked sits on it.
If you are buying this slab: the grade is WinnTCG’s judgement of the card that was in front of us, and WinnTCG sealed this case. The photographs above are of that card. Compare them against what you can see through the case, because a case can be opened by anyone who has held it since.
The working behind this grade
Every grade here is published with its reasoning. The report states what each measurement returned, what the model proposed on each axis, where the grader disagreed with it, and every defect marked on the photographs above.