Mana Ibe has illustrated exactly five Pokemon TCG cards in her career. This isn’t a partial catalog — it’s the whole thing: Limitless TCG’s artist search returns four cards in its English database and four in its Japanese database for “Mana Ibe,” and Bulbapedia’s own tally confirms the union of both comes to five cards as of this writing.
What makes that tiny catalog worth a guide of its own isn’t the card count. It’s what Ibe has been doing on the other side of the franchise. She’s credited as a Pokemon species designer going back to Black and White, and as of 2022 she was appointed art director on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet — her most senior credit on the series to date. Five cards from someone with that job title is a strange kind of scarcity, and it’s the reason this catalog reads differently than a typical illustrator’s.
This guide walks through all five Mana Ibe cards, the Sky Legend TR trio that anchors her TCG output, and the game-design career that makes the small catalog worth paying attention to — plus the one PSA 10 copy currently in our vault.
Mana Ibe has illustrated only five Pokemon TCG cards in her career, but she’s also a Pokemon species designer credited with Victini, Herdier, Stunfisk, and Klefki — and was appointed art director of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in 2022. Our PSA 10 Lillie TR (SM10b 053/054) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) is the only Ibe card currently in stock, currently listed at ¥11,227 — the only graded copy we hold.
Who Is Mana Ibe?
Mana Ibe (井部真那) was born November 27, 1985 in Tokyo, and works as a graphic designer. Her earliest documented connection to the Pokemon franchise is a “Special Thanks” credit on Pokemon Platinum, released in 2008 — a game-side credit that predates her first Pokemon TCG card by roughly a year.
That TCG debut came in 2009, when Manectric appeared in the Arceus expansion (English release, November 4, 2009), credited to Ibe as illustrator. Her next TCG credits arrived years later: the Sky Legend TR trio of Gladion, Lillie, and Lusamine, followed by N’s Resolve. Across those five cards, Ibe’s TCG output has stayed almost entirely concentrated in a single trainer-card cluster, with Manectric standing alone as an earlier, unrelated entry.
Bulbapedia refers to Ibe using she/her pronouns throughout its record of her career, and the page doesn’t list any public social media accounts for her — consistent with a career built primarily on the game-development side of the franchise rather than on card art or a public illustrator following.
If Ibe’s Sky Legend trio interests you, it sits alongside other designer-to-illustrator crossovers we track, including Megumi Mizutani, another designer-turned-illustrator we cover separately, and Atsuko Nishida, whose design credits run across nearly every generation.
The Sky Legend TR Trio: Gladion, Lillie & Lusamine
Three of Ibe’s five cards come from the same Japanese set: Sky Legend (SM10b), where she illustrated a trainer-card trio built around Gladion, Lillie, and Lusamine — three of the recurring human characters from the Alola story arc. Japanese shops, including our own listings, catalog all three as TR prints; the Limitless database entry for this trio doesn’t surface an official rarity field, so we’re describing them the way they’re commonly sold rather than citing a rarity string sourced directly from the Pokemon Company.
Lillie SM10b 053/054 is the card we currently carry, and it’s the anchor of this guide: our PSA 10 copy is currently listed at ¥11,227 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), and it’s a one-of-one — the only graded copy we hold. Limitless’s individual card page confirms Ibe as the credited illustrator directly on the Lillie SM10b 053 listing, which makes this the most cleanly sourced card in her entire catalog.
Gladion SM10b 052/054 and Lusamine SM10b 054/054 complete the trio, numbered directly alongside Lillie in the Sky Legend set. Neither is currently in our vault. It’s worth flagging two easy mix-ups here: a separate SR-rarity Lusamine print (055/050) and a separate SR-rarity Gladion print (SM4S 055/050) both exist in the wider market, and neither is Ibe’s work — her Gladion and Lusamine are specifically the Sky Legend SM10b 052 and 054 prints, not those other numbers.
The Bookends: Manectric and N’s Resolve
Ibe’s TCG debut was Manectric, printed as AR 22 in the English-language Arceus expansion, released November 4, 2009, and marked Rare. It’s her earliest credited card, and it stands apart from the rest of her catalog in both timing and subject — a wild Pokemon illustration rather than the human-character trainer art that would define the rest of her (extremely short) TCG career.
N’s Resolve is the fifth card in Ibe’s catalog. In Japan it was printed as SM11b 066, marked Secret Rare; the English-language print appeared in Cosmic Eclipse as CEC 232, Ultra Rare. It’s a Supporter card built around N, one of the more prominent human characters from the Black and White storyline — a natural companion piece to the Alola-cast trio in Sky Legend, even though the two releases sit years apart. Neither Manectric nor N’s Resolve currently has a PSA 10 copy in our vault.
Beyond the Cards: From Species Designer to Art Director
Five TCG credits is a small footprint for an illustrator page. It’s a much smaller footprint once you know what else Ibe has been doing inside the Pokemon games themselves.
Bulbapedia credits Ibe as a Pokemon species designer starting with Black and White, with confirmed design work on Victini, Herdier, and Stunfisk from that generation, plus Klefki from Generation VI. Bulbapedia adds that she designed roughly ten additional Pokemon for Black and White beyond those, though it doesn’t name which ones. Herdier is listed as her favorite Pokemon — a detail that lines up neatly with her having designed it herself.
Her role on the series grew from there. Bulbapedia traces her credited path from “Pokemon Designer” on Black and White, through a “3D Map Graphics (Lead)” credit on later titles, to a much bigger title: as of 2022, Ibe was appointed art director of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, described as her most senior role on the series to date.
That’s the frame worth holding onto when you look at her five-card TCG catalog. This isn’t an illustrator who dabbled in game design on the side — it’s a working Pokemon species designer and, more recently, an art director on a mainline generation, whose card-illustration work is a small side catalog next to her game-side credits. A five-card catalog from someone with that resume reads less like an overlooked illustrator and more like a compact, sharply defined set for anyone trying to collect her card work specifically.
All Five Mana Ibe Cards: The Complete Catalog
Because Ibe’s entire TCG output is only five cards, this table is the complete catalog rather than a curated highlight reel — every card she’s ever illustrated, in one place.
| # | Card | Number / Set | Status | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lillie (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | 053/054, Sky Legend (SM10b) | In Stock (1 of 1) | ¥11,227 |
| 2 | Gladion | 052/054, Sky Legend (SM10b) | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | — |
| 3 | Lusamine | 054/054, Sky Legend (SM10b) | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | — |
| 4 | N’s Resolve | SM11b 066 (JP) / CEC 232 (EN) | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | — |
| 5 | Manectric | AR 22, Arceus | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | — |
Only Lillie is currently in our PSA 10 vault, and it’s a one-of-one — we don’t hold a second graded copy of any Mana Ibe card. For the other four, the Quick Order page is the way to flag interest for when a copy surfaces and gets graded.
Where to Buy Mana Ibe Cards from Japan
We source and grade Japanese PSA 10 singles out of Tokyo, and Lillie SM10b 053/054 is currently the only Mana Ibe card we have in stock — and the only one of her five-card catalog you can buy from us today.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
For the wider catalog, browse our PSA 10 card list to filter by set and price, or use the Quick Order page to request Gladion, Lusamine, Manectric, or N’s Resolve if you’re chasing the full five-card set. If Ibe’s crossover from card art to game design is what brought you here, our guides on Megumi Mizutani and Atsuko Nishida cover two more illustrators whose Pokemon careers run well beyond the card catalog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Mana Ibe?
Mana Ibe (井部真那) is a Japanese graphic designer, born November 27, 1985 in Tokyo. She has illustrated only five Pokemon TCG cards, and separately works as a Pokemon species designer, most recently as art director of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as of 2022.
How many Pokemon cards has Mana Ibe illustrated?
Five, in total, across her entire TCG career: Manectric (Arceus, AR 22), Gladion, Lillie, and Lusamine (all Sky Legend, SM10b), and N’s Resolve (SM11b in Japan, printed as Cosmic Eclipse CEC 232 in English).
What is the Lillie SM10b 053/054 card and why is it collectible?
Lillie SM10b 053/054 is part of Ibe’s Sky Legend TR trio, alongside Gladion and Lusamine. Our PSA 10 copy is currently listed at ¥11,227 and is a one-of-one — the only graded copy we hold, and the only Mana Ibe card currently in stock.
Which Pokemon has Mana Ibe designed for the games?
Bulbapedia credits Ibe with designing Victini, Herdier, and Stunfisk in Generation V, and Klefki in Generation VI, along with roughly ten additional unnamed Pokemon for Black and White. Herdier is listed as her favorite Pokemon.
Is Mana Ibe the art director of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?
Yes. As of 2022, Ibe was appointed art director of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, described as her most senior role on the series to date, following earlier credits as a Pokemon designer on Black and White and a 3D Map Graphics lead on later titles.
Are all five Mana Ibe cards currently in stock?
No. Only Lillie SM10b 053/054 is currently in our PSA 10 vault, as a one-of-one. Gladion, Lusamine, Manectric, and N’s Resolve are not currently in stock and can be requested through our Quick Order page.
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