Moltres in the Chinese-only set codes is 4 products, with Collect 151 alone printing 3 of the 10 cards. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #173 leads at $325.53 as a PSA 10, and that one card holds 52 percent of everything the character is worth.
What makes the shape worth reading is where the cards sit. 3 of the 10 Moltres cards come out of Collect 151 at #146, and that one line supplies 0 of the 3 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 — 151C, CSM2cC, csv10C and cs5.5C. 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. 10 Moltres cards exist across these sets and 3 have a PSA 10 price on record. The 7 that do not are Moltres [Reverse] #146, Moltres [Master Ball] #146 and 5 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 Moltres 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 three, ranked
1. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #173 — CSM2cC — $325.53
Raw $136.42 · grade 9 $113.50
The highest-priced Moltres card in these sets and the one entry from outside the Collect 151 line. It holds a $127 lead over the card beneath. The multiple is barely 2.4, because a raw copy already costs $136.42.
2. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #185 — CSM2cC — $198.34
Raw $51
Sitting at 2 of 3 and a CSM2cC print outside the main line. There is $93 between it and the card below. Grading takes this one from $51 to $198.34, a factor of 3.9.
3. Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #104 — CSM2cC — $105.24
Raw $17.89 · grade 9 $26
Number 3 of 3, the lowest-priced entry and one of the CSM2cC prints that sits outside the Collect 151 group. The graded copy is worth 5.9 times the raw one.
What the ranking shows
Moltres splits into 1 bands across 3 priced cards, and the top band is where the ranking is decided.
| Band | Cards | Combined PSA 10 value | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $105 – $326 — ranked 1 to 3 | 3 | $629 | 100.0% |
| Every priced Moltres card | 3 | $629 | 100% |
Two further patterns run across the whole group.
One card holds most of the value. At $325.53 it is 52 percent of everything the character is worth in these sets, and the combined total of the other 2 ranked cards does not reach it.
The band is $220 wide. Between $325.53 at the top and $105.24 at the bottom, the whole ranked list sits inside a $220 window — narrow enough that assembling the entire run costs close to what the first card costs alone.
Where Moltres is printed
| Product | Set code | Moltres cards | With a PSA 10 value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collect 151 | 151C | 3 | 0 |
| CSM2cC | CSM2cC | 3 | 3 |
| Chasing Glory Together | csv10C | 3 | 0 |
| cs5.5C | cs5.5C | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 3 |
Collect 151 supplies 3 of the 10 Moltres cards and none of the $629 total, because the expensive cards are inside that line. Collect 151 prints Moltres as one of the original 151, and those prints are priced generously relative to the Gem Pack foils. 7 of the 10 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 Moltres card in the language above $198.
- The second line: Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX #185 from CSM2cC at $198.34, the second-highest Moltres card in these sets and the next step down from the top.
- If you want the whole run: the 3 ranked cards come to $629 together, which is less than double the cost of the top card alone.
Frequently asked questions
How many Moltres cards are there in Simplified Chinese?
10, across 4 products. 3 of the 10 carry a tracked PSA 10 value.
What is the most valuable Moltres 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 Moltres card in these sets above $198, and it holds 52 percent of the character’s combined value.
Which product holds the expensive Moltres cards?
Collect 151. It supplies 0 of the 3 ranked cards and 0 percent of the combined value, so the rankings follow the product rather than the character.
Is a PSA 10 worth the premium over a raw card?
Raw-to-graded multiples across the list run from 2.4 to 5.9, 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, Articuno, Blastoise, Captain Pikachu, Chandelure, Chansey, Charmander, Clefable, Crocalor, Cubone, Fuecoco.
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 Collect 151 (151C), CSM2cC, Chasing Glory Together (csv10C), cs5.5C. PSA 10 values retrieved 25 September 2026.
- PriceCharting — individual card pages for the Moltres prints listed above, across 10 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.