Across the Simplified Chinese sets Articuno is 5 products, with cs3bC alone printing 4 of the 13 cards. The top card is Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #173 at $325.53, and it carries 44 percent of the graded value on its own.
What makes the shape worth reading is where the cards sit. 4 of the 13 Articuno cards come out of cs3bC as a run from #58 to #154, and that one line supplies 1 of the 5 ranked cards. The top of the list is not from that line at all: Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX from CSM2cC takes first place at $325.53.
How this list was built
Three rules, applied in this order.
- The card has to sit in a Chinese-only set. Every card below carries a set code ending in C — cs3bC, 151C, CSM2cC, csv10C and CSM2aC. That trailing letter marks a Simplified Chinese print run, and it is the dependable way to tell a Chinese-only card from a card that merely happens to be printed in Chinese. Reading a Chinese set code from end to end covers the whole system.
- The card has to have a tracked PSA 10 value. 13 Articuno cards exist across these sets and 5 have a PSA 10 price on record. The 8 that do not are Articuno [Master Ball] #144, Articuno [Reverse] #144 and 6 more — none of them has a graded sold record yet, and a card with no price cannot be ranked.
- The card has to be a Pokémon card. Sealed product, trainer cards and energy are out of scope.
One exclusion applies here as it does to every character ranking we publish. Promo printings of Articuno exist in Chinese and they are not on this list. Promo numbering is shared across the Chinese branches — the same promo number appears in Traditional Chinese product as well — so a promo number on its own cannot establish which branch a card came from. Everything below sits inside a numbered set whose code ends in C, which is unambiguous.
The five, ranked
1. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #173 — CSM2cC — $325.53
Raw $136.42 · grade 9 $113.50
The highest-priced Articuno card in these sets and the one entry from outside the cs3bC line. There is $127 between it and the card below. Grading multiplies this one only 2.4 times, with $136.42 already in the raw card.
2. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #185 — CSM2cC — $198.34
Raw $51
Number 2 of 5 and one of the CSM2cC prints that sits outside the cs3bC group. The next card down is $93 behind it. The raw-to-graded multiple is a modest 3.9.
3. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #104 — CSM2cC — $105.24
Raw $17.89 · grade 9 $26
Sitting at 3 of 5 and a CSM2cC print outside the main line. It holds a $30 lead over the card beneath. Raw to graded is only 5.9 times, since $17.89 raw already carries part of the premium.
4. Galarian Articuno V #135 — cs3bC — $74.75
Raw $30.15 · grade 9 $23.27
Ranked 4 of 5 and a cs3bC card inside the #58 to #154 run. The step below it is $42, wider than any other gap on the page. The multiple is barely 2.5, because a raw copy already costs $30.15.
5. Articuno #144 — Collect 151 (151C) — $33
Raw $1.99 · grade 9 $13.05
The last card on the list and a Collect 151 print outside the main line. The raw-to-graded step here is 16.6 times. Number 144 in Collect 151 is Articuno’s entry in the set of the original 151 Pokémon, the only product where every one of them has a card.
What the ranking shows
Articuno splits into 2 bands across 5 priced cards, and the top band is where the ranking is decided.
| Band | Cards | Combined PSA 10 value | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $198 – $326 — ranked 1 to 2 | 2 | $524 | 71.1% |
| $33 – $105 — ranked 3 to 5 | 3 | $213 | 28.9% |
| Every priced Articuno card | 5 | $737 | 100% |
Two further patterns run across the whole group.
The multiples are not uniform. Raw-to-graded ratios across the list run from 2.4 to 16.6 — a spread that says the raw market and the graded market are pricing these prints off different information.
The band is $293 wide. Between $325.53 at the top and $33 at the bottom, the whole ranked list sits inside a $293 window — narrow enough that assembling the entire run costs close to what the first card costs alone.
Where Articuno is printed
| Product | Set code | Articuno cards | With a PSA 10 value |
|---|---|---|---|
| cs3bC | cs3bC | 4 | 1 |
| Collect 151 | 151C | 3 | 1 |
| CSM2cC | CSM2cC | 3 | 3 |
| Chasing Glory Together | csv10C | 2 | 0 |
| CSM2aC | CSM2aC | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 5 |
cs3bC supplies 4 of the 13 Articuno cards and 10 percent of the $737 total, because the expensive cards are inside that line. Collect 151 prints Articuno as one of the original 151, and those prints are priced generously relative to the Gem Pack foils. 8 of the 13 cards carry no price at all, so the checklist in the table above is longer than the ranking it supports. If the goal is the group rather than the single card, completing a Simplified Chinese set sets out what a full run involves.
If you want one card
- One card, no budget limit: Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #173 from CSM2cC at $325.53. It is the only Articuno card in the language above $198.
- The second line: Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #185 from CSM2cC at $198.34, the second-highest Articuno card in these sets and the next step down from the top.
- The Kanto print: Articuno #144 from Collect 151 at $33 — the character’s entry in the set of the original 151, and the only Articuno card that exists in that product.
- If you want the whole run: the 5 ranked cards come to $737 together, which is close to the cost of the top card alone.
Frequently asked questions
How many Articuno cards are there in Simplified Chinese?
13, across 5 products. 5 of the 13 carry a tracked PSA 10 value.
What is the most valuable Articuno card in Simplified Chinese?
Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #173 from CSM2cC, tracked at $325.53 as a PSA 10 and $136.42 raw. It is the only Articuno card in these sets above $198, and it holds 44 percent of the character’s combined value.
Why is there a Collect 151 Articuno card on the list?
Because Articuno is one of the original 151 Pokémon and Collect 151 prints every one of them. It lands at number 5 at $33. Characters from later generations are not in that set, so they have no Kanto print to break a Gem Pack run.
Is a PSA 10 worth the premium over a raw card?
Raw-to-graded multiples across the list run from 2.4 to 16.6, so on most cards the graded premium is real. Where the multiple is lowest, the raw price already carries most of the value. Grading outcomes are never certain, and nothing here is a prediction about what any individual card will grade at.
Do the Collect 151 prints come in more than one treatment?
Yes. A number in Collect 151 exists as a plain card, a reverse holo and a Master Ball reverse holo. Only the plain print usually trades enough to have a price attached. The series guide explains the two reverse holo patterns.
Other character rankings
Each character with a full five or ten-card ranking has its own page: Ceruledge, Charizard, Eevee, Espeon, Flareon, Floragato, Gengar, Glaceon, Jolteon, Leafeon, Mew, Pikachu, Sylveon, Umbreon, Vaporeon, and among the shorter runs Alakazam, Applin, Blastoise, Captain Pikachu, Chandelure, Chansey, Charmander, Clefable, Crocalor, Cubone, Fuecoco, Growlithe.
Beyond the single character, the ten most popular Chinese-exclusive cards ranks across Pokémon, the price ladder sorts the same catalogue into bands, and the collector’s index lists every Pokémon that appears in the Chinese-only sets with its card count, priced count and top value.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- PriceCharting — Pokémon Chinese console listings, including cs3bC, Collect 151 (151C), CSM2cC, Chasing Glory Together (csv10C), CSM2aC. PSA 10 values retrieved 25 September 2026.
- PriceCharting — individual card pages for the Articuno prints listed above, across 13 numbered cards.
- CardSpicy — How to read a Simplified Chinese Pokémon set code, on the trailing C and the secret-rare numbering convention.
Prices quoted are secondary-market observations at the dates cited and move quickly; nothing here is a valuation or an investment recommendation. Our own asking prices for the cards we hold are on each product page.