# Metapod #81/130 — Base Set 2

## Summary

Metapod is a bulk common, a transitional Bug-line card that fills out a binder page but was never a pull anyone chased. Ken Sugimori, the man who designed the original Pokémon, drew it, and that authorship gives an otherwise ordinary common a small, steady appeal for Gen I completionists. At a $0.87 modelled guide, flat over 30 days on 21 copies traded, with 1,910 days of inventory sitting on the board, 78% of this printing’s price is collector premium, since the same card plays for $0.19 out of Journey Together; a PSA 10 brings $95, 109 times raw, but a 21% gem rate against $85 of fees makes grading a losing trade.

## Identity

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Set | Base Set 2 |
| Number | 81/130 |
| Rarity | Common |
| Era | WOTC |
| Illustrator | Ken Sugimori |
| Release date | 2000-02-24 |
| Image | Unavailable |

## Card details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Card type | POKEMON |
| Stage | Stage1 |
| Evolves from | Caterpie |
| HP | 70 |
| Types | Grass |
| Attack: Stiffen | cost Colorless/Colorless — Flip a coin. If heads, prevent all damage done to Metapod during your opponent's next turn. (Any other effects of attacks still happen.) |
| Attack: Stun Spore | cost Grass/Grass — damage 20 — Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now Paralyzed. |
| Weakness | Fire ×2 |
| Retreat | 2 |
| Legal | Standard no · Expanded no |
| Pokédex entry | [Metapod #011](https://cardboardalpha.com/pokemon/pokedex/metapod) |
| Finishes | Normal |
| Languages | EN |

## Current stats

- Headline price: **$0.87** (ITEM_MEDIAN; modelled guide price) — as of 2026-11-01T12:37:43.960Z
- Headline basis: MODELLED_GUIDE — The venue’s published daily market guide, which the venue itself declares MODELLED. Nothing is confirmed to have traded at it, no copy is listed at it, and it is not our estimate — it is theirs.
- 24h change: n/a · 7d change: n/a — as of 2026-11-01T12:37:43.960Z
- Floor delivered ask: $1.88 — as of 2026-11-01T12:37:43.960Z
- Quant score: 53/100, regime MARKUP — as of 2026-11-01T12:37:43.960Z — 5 of 11 inputs · 44% weight · -28% confidence

## Provenance

- Catalog — observed 2000-02-24T00:00:00Z, confidence 98%
- Live ask — observed 2026-10-21T10:04:58.655Z, confidence 90%
- Guide price (modelled) — observed 2026-11-01T00:00:00.000Z, confidence 90%
- Price statistic — observed 2026-10-21T10:04:58.657Z, confidence 90%
- Confirmed sale — observed 2026-10-20T23:16:40.833Z, confidence 85%
- Inventory count — observed 2026-10-21T10:04:58.656Z, confidence 70%
- Population census — observed 2026-10-13T12:58:55.981Z, confidence 60%

## Links

- [View on Cardboard Alpha](https://cardboardalpha.com/pokemon/base-set-2/metapod-81)
- [JSON snapshot](https://cardboardalpha.com/api/terminal/raw~tcgdex%3Abase4-81%3AEN%3ANORMAL~NM)