In 2023, the official Pokemon × Van Gogh Museum collaboration paired a Snorlax with Van Gogh’s The Bedroom and an Eevee with his Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat. Both pieces came from the same illustrator.
That artist is sowsow.
Born in 1988, sowsow debuted in the Pokemon TCG on Forbidden Light in 2018, and has since built a catalog of 110 main-line cards plus 33 more in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket. This guide covers who sowsow is, the Van Gogh Museum collaboration, and the three sowsow prints currently in our PSA 10 vault — led by a Gengar VMAX special art currently listed at ¥463,500.
sowsow illustrated the Gengar VMAX SA (020/019, SGG High Class Deck), our PSA 10 copy currently listed at ¥463,500. Born in 1988, sowsow debuted with Avalugg, Inkay, and Cubone in Forbidden Light (SM6, 2018), and contributed two pieces to the 2023 official Pokemon × Van Gogh Museum collaboration — a Snorlax after The Bedroom and an Eevee after Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat.
Prices reflect our current PSA 10 graded listings as of August 2026.
Who Is sowsow?
sowsow was born in 1988 and made an official Pokemon TCG debut on Forbidden Light (SM6) in 2018, illustrating Avalugg, Inkay, and Cubone. In the years since, sowsow’s catalog has grown to 110 main-line TCG cards plus 33 cards in Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket; the Limitless database lists 137 Japanese-language prints including reprints.
In 2023, the Pokemon Company and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam announced an official collaboration. sowsow contributed two pieces to the collaboration: a Snorlax reimagined after Van Gogh’s The Bedroom, and an Eevee reimagined after his Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat.
Beyond trading cards, sowsow’s illustration work extends into Pokemon Sleep and, outside the Pokemon franchise, the One Piece Card Game, where sowsow contributed artwork starting in 2022.
Both of sowsow’s pieces correspond to named, identifiable source paintings rather than a general art-style homage — the Snorlax to Van Gogh’s The Bedroom, and the Eevee to his Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat.
That painterly style runs across mainline TCG chase cards, a mobile game, and a second trading card franchise. For other illustrator profiles from our vault, see our Teeziro guide and our kirisAki guide, which covers trainer-portrait work on cards like Marnie and Iono. Our AKIRA EGAWA guide covers a similar pattern of a single illustrator anchoring an entire secret-rare run, which is the shape of sowsow’s own centerpiece card below.
The Centerpiece: Gengar VMAX SA (020/019)
![Gengar VMAX SA [020/019], SGG High Class Deck](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/020-019-SGG-G__1-1.webp)
sowsow’s headline card in our vault is the Gengar VMAX Special Art at 020/019 — the Gengar VMAX SA headlines the SGG High Class Deck list in our vault.
Within our own graded inventory, this is the highest-priced sowsow copy we currently hold, and it sits at the top of the artist’s catalog by a wide margin over the other two prints covered below. For collectors specifically hunting sowsow’s work, it’s the card most worth prioritizing while a graded copy is available.
Our PSA 10 copy of the Gengar VMAX SA is currently listed at ¥463,500.
The Eevee Heroes Connection: Espeon V SA (081/069)
![Espeon V SA [081/069], Eevee Heroes](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/samurai-media/2026/05/4705-fb6140935b47/ljgjpp3sz2uktboxxdmkduqbhauzrnsbnoz25jky-thumb-320.webp)
sowsow also illustrated the Espeon V Special Art at 081/069 from Eevee Heroes (S6a) — the same set our Eevee Heroes S6a card list and box guide covers in full, and the set that also produced the Umbreon V SR SA illustrated by Teeziro. Our full Espeon cards guide ranks it among the best graded Espeon prints available.
Eevee Heroes is built around the Eeveelution family, and sowsow’s Espeon V sits in the set’s special-art run alongside Teeziro’s Umbreon V — two of its secret-rare slots going to artists whose work also appears elsewhere in our vault.
Our PSA 10 copy of the Espeon V SA was last listed at ¥54,734 and is currently out of stock. To be notified when the next graded copy comes in, flag it on our Quick Order page — we’ll confirm availability and notify you when a copy is back.
Pikachu Promo (124/S-P)
![Pikachu [124/S-P], Promo](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/SReVCrwoMLtM0FLNFMSRgFkb1h7KsZGhUCOXSJp8-1.webp)
Rounding out our current sowsow lineup is the Pikachu promo card at 124/S-P, the most affordable entry point into the artist’s graded catalog we stock. It’s a straightforward promo-slot Pikachu rather than a secret rare or special art, but it carries the same painterly rendering that runs through sowsow’s mainline and Van Gogh Museum work alike.
Our PSA 10 copy of the Pikachu promo is currently listed at ¥30,649 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) and in stock.
sowsow in Our Vault
Three graded sowsow prints, spanning a High Class Deck chase card, a mainline set special art, and a promo:
| Card | Set | PSA 10 Price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gengar VMAX SA (020/019) | SGG High Class Deck | ¥463,500 | In Stock |
| Pikachu (124/S-P) | Promo | ¥30,649 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | In Stock |
| Espeon V SA (081/069) | Eevee Heroes (S6a) | Last listed ¥54,734 | Out of Stock — Quick Order |
Beyond what we currently hold, sowsow’s broader catalog includes other notable printings collectors track, among them a Lunatone alternate art from s12a (184), a shiny-rare Charmander from SV4a (210), and a shiny-rare Wooloo from S4a (238) — none currently in our graded inventory, but all part of the same body of work.
Across the three cards we do stock, the price spread runs from just over ¥30,000 to over ¥460,000, which reflects how differently the market treats sowsow’s work depending on the print slot — a promo, a mainline special art, and a High Class Deck chase card all carry very different scarcity even from the same illustrator.
Beyond the Cards: sowsow’s Wider Work
sowsow’s painterly style is literally set into Japanese streets. Per Bulbapedia, sowsow has designed multiple Poke Lids — the official painted Pokemon manhole covers installed by local municipalities — with examples in Machida, Otsu, Kyoto, Fukui, Okinawa, and Miyagi. For a card collector, that’s an unusual credential: the illustrator whose Gengar VMAX anchors this guide has public artwork you can stand on.
The Pokemon Sleep work runs deeper than a single credit, too. Bulbapedia lists sowsow’s seasonal event art for Halloween 2023, Christmas 2023, the game’s first anniversary, and Halloween 2024 — a recurring role rather than a one-off contribution.
On the One Piece Card Game side, sowsow confirmed on the artist’s own X account the Chopper and Laboon SR parallel from Extra Booster Memorial Collection, and the Limitless database credits sowsow with One Piece cards including Uta (ST08-002), Tama (OP01-006), and a Sugar parallel (OP04-024) — so a sowsow shelf can legitimately span two trading card games. Why this matters to collectors: between the Van Gogh Museum pieces, the manhole covers, and the cross-franchise card work, the artist behind these three vault prints is active well beyond any single set list. sowsow maintains an official site at sowsowkoubou.com and runs an X account under @sowsowkoubou.
Where to Buy sowsow Cards from Japan
We ship graded Japanese PSA 10 cards worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. For the sowsow prints covered in this guide:
- PSA 10 Gengar VMAX SA (020/019) — currently listed at ¥463,500
- PSA 10 Pikachu Promo (124/S-P) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) — currently listed at ¥30,649
- PSA 10 Espeon V SA (081/069) — last listed at ¥54,734, flag on Quick Order for restock notification
- Browse the full graded lineup on our PSA 10 collection or the visual PSA 10 card list
Looking for a Lunatone, Charmander, or Wooloo print, or another sowsow card not currently in stock? Flag it on our Quick Order page and we’ll notify you when a graded copy is confirmed. For more illustrator profiles from our vault, see our guides to Naoki Saito and Hideki Ishikawa.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is sowsow?
sowsow is a Pokemon TCG illustrator born in 1988 who debuted on Forbidden Light (SM6) in 2018 with Avalugg, Inkay, and Cubone. sowsow has since illustrated 110 main-line TCG cards plus 33 Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket cards, and also works on Pokemon Sleep and the One Piece Card Game.
What is the Pokemon × Van Gogh Museum collaboration?
In 2023, the Pokemon Company partnered with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam on an official collaboration pairing Pokemon with Van Gogh paintings. sowsow contributed two pieces: a Snorlax reimagined after The Bedroom and an Eevee reimagined after Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat.
What is sowsow’s most valuable card in your vault?
The Gengar VMAX Special Art (020/019) from the SGG High Class Deck, currently listed as a PSA 10 at ¥463,500.
Do you have sowsow’s Espeon V from Eevee Heroes in stock?
Our PSA 10 copy of the Espeon V SA (081/069) is currently out of stock; it last listed at ¥54,734. Flag it on our Quick Order page for restock notification.
What other sowsow cards do you stock?
Beyond the Gengar VMAX SA and Espeon V SA, we hold a PSA 10 Pikachu promo (124/S-P), currently listed at ¥30,649.
Where can I buy graded sowsow cards from Japan?
We ship PSA 10 graded Japanese cards worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. See the product links above, browse our full PSA 10 collection, or flag an out-of-stock sowsow card on our Quick Order page for restock notification.
What else has sowsow worked on?
Per Bulbapedia, sowsow has designed official Poke Lids — painted Pokemon manhole covers — installed in municipalities including Machida, Otsu, Kyoto, Fukui, Okinawa, and Miyagi, and contributed seasonal event art to Pokemon Sleep from Halloween 2023 through Halloween 2024. In the One Piece Card Game, sowsow’s credits include the Chopper and Laboon SR parallel from Extra Booster Memorial Collection, plus cards such as Uta (ST08-002) and Tama (OP01-006).
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