Charmeleon rarely gets its own spotlight. Charmander sells the evolution line and Charizard closes it out, which leaves the middle stage easy to overlook — this guide features five Japanese prints we’ve verified in detail, spanning three decades of a much longer print history that runs back to 1996.
Our anchor listing is the Charmeleon (リザード) 004/032, Common, Pokekyun Collection (CP3) — specifically the 1st Edition print variant of that January 2016 concept pack, graded PSA 10. It is currently listed at ¥35,420 (~$223).
This guide covers that card in detail — illustrator, set position, and what “1st Edition” actually refers to here — then walks through the other four Japanese Charmeleon prints we can verify, from the original 1996 Expansion Pack through the 2022–23 Scarlet & Violet era.
Our anchor is the PSA 10 Charmeleon 004/032, 1st Edition, Pokekyun Collection (CP3), currently listed at ¥35,420 (~$223). The same 1st Edition CP3 set also produced a Charmander 003/032, Common — same illustrator, same print run, part of our wider PSA 10 graded card collection. This guide features five Japanese Charmeleon prints we’ve verified card-by-card, spanning 1996 to 2023 out of a much longer Japanese print history, and CP3’s “1st Edition” distinction comes from secondary marketplace sourcing rather than Limitless or Bulbapedia’s card database.
The Card: Charmeleon 004/032 Common
The anchor print is Charmeleon (リザード) — No. 004/032, illustrated by Akira Komayama, from Pokekyun Collection (CP3), a Concept Pack released in Japan on 29 January 2016. On the card it carries 90 HP and the Fire type, and sits at Common rarity — the base tier for the set.
Our listing is specifically the 1st Edition variant of this print. That label doesn’t appear as a separate card entry on Limitless or Bulbapedia — both catalogue CP3 004/032 as a single card with one set of artwork and one number. The “1st Edition” distinction instead comes from the box the card was pulled from: multiple independent marketplace listings (eBay, Phurion) confirm a 1st Edition-stamped print run of CP3 packs existed alongside the standard run from the same January 2016 release. We’re flagging that clearly because it’s a print-run distinction sourced from the secondary market, not from Limitless or Bulbapedia’s primary card data.
CP3 also produced a sibling card from the same evolution line in the same 1st Edition run: Charmander (ヒトカゲ) 003/032, Common, HP 70, also illustrated by Akira Komayama. It’s the card directly before this one in the set’s numbering, and it’s part of our own PSA 10 graded catalogue alongside the Charmeleon.
Other Japanese Charmeleon Prints: Five We’ve Verified
Charmeleon’s Japanese print history runs back to 1996 and includes far more releases than any single guide can cover card-by-card. Here we’ve verified five prints in detail, including the CP3 anchor above, spanning three decades. Here are the other four, oldest first.
1996 — The Original Expansion Pack
Charmeleon’s first Japanese print comes from the original 1996 Expansion Pack — Japan’s base set — at Uncommon rarity, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, with 80 HP. Bulbapedia catalogues it as card 24 in its Base Set listing. A Japan-specific release date of 20 October 1996 is commonly cited across secondary sources, but Bulbapedia’s own Base Set page doesn’t give a Japan-specific date, so we’re marking that date as unverified rather than confirmed.
2022 — Pokémon GO (S10b)
Charmeleon returned in the Pokémon GO expansion (S10b) at No. 9 (009/071), Uncommon rarity, illustrated by Shiburingaru, with 90 HP.
2023 — Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a)
The most recent print sits in Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a), and it comes in two rarities from the same set: a base Uncommon at 005/165 (per Bulbapedia’s Charmeleon print list — a secondary source we haven’t independently re-verified card page by card page), and an AR (Art Rare) full-art version at 169/165, illustrated by miki kudo, with 100 HP. The AR sits well above the set’s numbered main run of 165 cards, which is standard practice for SV-era Art Rares.
| Set | Number | Rarity | Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expansion Pack (Base Set) | Base Set 24 (Bulbapedia) | Uncommon | 1996 (JP date unverified) |
| Pokémon GO (S10b) | 009/071 | Uncommon | 2022 |
| Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a) | 005/165 | Uncommon | 2023 |
| Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a) | 169/165 | AR | 2023 |
| Pokekyun Collection (CP3), 1st Edition | 004/032 | Common | 29 Jan 2016 |
Five prints we’ve verified in detail, spanning 1996 to 2023, with no repeats of the same numbering — each from a different era and a different set, out of Charmeleon’s much longer Japanese print history.
The Set: Pokekyun Collection (CP3)
Pokekyun Collection, set code CP3, is a Japanese Concept Pack — a smaller, themed release rather than a full main-series expansion. It came out on 29 January 2016 and contains 32 cards in total, which is why the anchor print carries the “/032” total on its number.
Because Concept Packs are compact and themed, CP3’s card pool is narrow by design — the Charmeleon and Charmander 1st Edition pair above are two of only 32 cards from that release, rather than two entries buried in a 200-plus-card main set.
Where This Print Sits on the Rarity Ladder
Across the five Japanese Charmeleon prints we’ve verified in detail, three sit at the base tiers — the 1996 Expansion Pack Uncommon, the Pokémon GO Uncommon, and the SV2a base Uncommon — while the CP3 anchor sits at Common, one step below those. The outlier is the SV2a AR (Art Rare) print at 169/165, a modern full-art insert slot that sits clearly above the Common/Uncommon tier the other four prints occupy.
By rarity alone, the CP3 Common isn’t a chase card. What sets our specific listing apart within that print is the 1st Edition box variant — a print-run distinction rather than a rarity distinction, and one that (as noted above) comes from marketplace sourcing rather than Limitless or Bulbapedia’s card-level data.
Where to Buy Charmeleon from Tokyo
Our PSA 10 Charmeleon 004/032, 1st Edition, Pokekyun Collection is the card this guide is built around, and it ships from Tokyo with tracked delivery.
The full evolution line is represented across our PSA 10 graded card collection, and we cover the wider Charizard print family — what this line eventually evolves into — in our Charizard cards guide. For the full Pokekyun Collection (CP3) set breakdown, see our Pokekyun Collection (CP3) guide. If you’re after a specific print not listed here, or want to combine it with other Japanese singles, our Quick Order page is the fastest way to build a mixed order.
We’ve covered other single-Pokemon Japanese print histories in the same format — see our Flareon Japanese cards guide and Leafeon Japanese cards guide for comparable evolution-line breakdowns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What set is the PSA 10 Charmeleon 004/032 from?
It’s from Pokekyun Collection (CP3), a 32-card Japanese Concept Pack released on 29 January 2016. Our listing is the 1st Edition print variant of that release, Common rarity, illustrated by Akira Komayama.
What does “1st Edition” mean on this card?
It refers to a print-run variant of CP3 packs confirmed by independent marketplace listings (eBay, Phurion) rather than a separate card entry on Limitless or Bulbapedia. The card art and number (004/032) are the same as the standard print; the 1st Edition marking is a box/print-run distinction from the same January 2016 release.
How many Japanese Charmeleon card prints exist?
Many more than we cover here — Charmeleon’s Japanese print history runs back to 1996 across dozens of sets and promos. This guide features five prints we’ve verified in detail: the 1996 Expansion Pack Uncommon, the 2022 Pokémon GO (S10b) Uncommon at 009/071, the 2023 Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a) base Uncommon at 005/165, the 2023 SV2a Art Rare at 169/165, and the 2016 Pokekyun Collection (CP3) Common at 004/032.
Is there an English version of the CP3 Charmeleon?
Not as a matching set. Pokekyun Collection (CP3) was a Japan-only Concept Pack that was never reprinted as an English set. The closest English equivalent for the same artwork is Generations #RC4, part of the Radiant Collection insert subset, which uses its own separate numbering.
Which Charmeleon print is the rarest by rarity tier?
The 2023 SV2a Art Rare (AR) at 169/165 sits above the other four prints, which are all Common or Uncommon. The CP3 1st Edition anchor is Common by rarity; its collector interest comes from the 1st Edition print-run variant rather than from a higher rarity tier.
Does Pokekyun Collection (CP3) include other cards from the same evolution line?
Yes. Charmander 003/032, Common, is the card immediately before Charmeleon in the CP3 numbering, from the same 1st Edition print run and the same illustrator, Akira Komayama.
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