Staryu

Staryu in the anime: one of Misty's original Pokémon

Misty's Staryu is one of the three Pokémon she already had when the anime began, along with Goldeen and Starmie. It debuted in Clefairy and the Moon Stone, blasting Meowth away at Mt. Moon, and fought Ash in the Cerulean Gym battle in the next episode. It never evolved (her Starmie is a separate Pokémon), and it was still with her in Pokémon Journeys, where she used it against Jessie and James in Rocket Revengers!

Staryu on cards: Base Set, Misty's Gym cards and a shiny rare

Staryu's first English card is Base Set #65 from January 1999, illustrated by Keiji Kinebuchi. The Gym sets tied it to its trainer: Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge each carry a Misty's Staryu common, both drawn by Ken Sugimori.

Nearly every Staryu since has been a set common, drawn by artists as varied as Mitsuhiro Arita in Neo Revelation and Midori Harada in Delta Species. The exception is Paldean Fates (2024), where Staryu appears as a shiny rare illustrated by Nisota Niso.

Cards to know

• Staryu (Base Set #65)

  Staryu's first English card, a 1999 common illustrated by Keiji Kinebuchi.

• Misty's Staryu (Gym Heroes #90)

  A Misty's Staryu common from the 2000 Gym Heroes set, tying Staryu to the Cerulean Gym Leader.

• Misty's Staryu (Gym Challenge #92)

  The Gym Challenge Misty's Staryu from later in 2000, again drawn by Ken Sugimori.

• Staryu (Neo Revelation #56)

  A Neo Revelation common illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita.

• Staryu (Paldean Fates #118)

  A shiny rare Staryu from the 2024 Paldean Fates set, illustrated by Nisota Niso.