A Game Freak graphic designer’s fingerprints show up in places collectors rarely notice — character sheets, internal art direction, the occasional promo illustration that never gets a byline outside a database search. Kanako Eo has been on staff at Game Freak since at least 2002, and alongside that game-side career she has quietly built a Pokemon TCG illustration catalog that runs from a common Shroomish print to the Sylveon-EX Error Version currently sitting at the top of our vault as the only copy we hold.
That top card is the Sylveon EX CP3 026/032 Error Version — a special holofoil print from the Japanese Pokékyun Collection, the only copy in our vault, currently listed at ¥451,116. It anchors a small but distinctive Eo catalog in our PSA 10 vault, alongside two Trainer cards, Lana and Lady, that are currently out of stock but worth flagging for a restock request.
This guide covers who Kanako Eo is, what the Sylveon EX Error Version actually is (and isn’t), the rest of her catalog in our vault, and where her card art fits inside her much longer career at Game Freak.
Kanako Eo is a Game Freak graphic designer whose Pokemon TCG illustrations date back to Shroomish in EX Deoxys, with 97 English-language prints and 82 Japanese prints on record at Limitless (Bulbapedia separately credits 105 TCG illustrations). We currently hold a single copy of her Sylveon EX CP3 026/032 Error Version (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), currently listed at ¥451,116, plus two out-of-stock Trainer cards, Lana SR and Lady SR, available to request via Quick Order.
Who Is Kanako Eo?
Kanako Eo is a graphic designer who has been on staff at Game Freak since at least 2002, per Bulbapedia. Her video game credits span Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire in 2002 through Pokemon Sword & Shield in 2019, working in Pokemon design and graphic design roles across GBA, DS, 3DS, and Switch titles — a run spanning four hardware generations. Outside the games, she is sometimes credited as “Kanako Eoh” in film work, a spelling variant worth knowing if you’re cross-referencing older credits.
Her first Pokemon TCG card was Shroomish, printed in EX Deoxys — a modest common-rarity debut for an artist whose catalog would eventually include an error print listed at hundreds of thousands of yen. That gap between the first card and the most valuable one is part of what makes an illustrator-specific vault interesting to build: the same hand behind a common Shroomish also ended up behind Trainer cards like Ghetsis, Professor Juniper, and Colress, plus a Sylveon-EX print that stands alone in our inventory.
Bulbapedia’s page on Eo uses she/her, which we follow here. Beyond the illustration credits and the video game work, verified biographical detail is thin — no confirmed birth year, education, or interview record turned up in the sources we checked, so we’re sticking to what’s documented rather than filling gaps.
The Sylveon EX Error Version: Our Top Anchor Card
The card driving this guide is Sylveon EX CP3 026/032, officially Sylveon-EX (ニンフィアEX) from the Japanese Pokékyun Collection set. It’s a special holofoil RR (Double Rare) print with a gloss coating and a charm motif worked into the artwork — not a Full Art. That distinction matters: Pokékyun Collection is a set that, per Bulbapedia, did not feature Full Art cards at all, so any description of 026/032 as a “Full Art Sylveon-EX” is simply wrong for this set. The correct framing is a special holofoil RR print, and that’s the print Kanako Eo illustrated.
Our copy is the error-version print in our vault, graded PSA 10 and one of one in our inventory. It’s currently listed at ¥451,116 — by a wide margin the most valuable Kanako Eo card we carry, and the anchor for this entire guide. You can view the full listing on the Sylveon EX CP3 026/032 Error Version product page (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order).
It’s worth noting that 026/032 isn’t the only Sylveon-EX print to come out of Pokékyun Collection. The set’s regular-rarity 025/032 Sylveon-EX print was illustrated by a different artist, sui — a two-artist split on the same character within the same set, which is exactly the kind of detail illustrator-focused collecting turns up. If you’re tracking that side of the catalog, our sui illustrator guide covers the regular print and the rest of that artist’s work.
Beyond Sylveon: Lana, Lady, and the Trainer Card Legacy
Sylveon EX isn’t the only Kanako Eo card that has passed through our PSA 10 vault. Two Trainer-class Secret Rares round out the current catalog, and both are presently out of stock.
Lana (スイレン) 118/114 is a Secret Rare from GX Battle Boost, verified on its individual card page as a Kanako Eo illustration. Our PSA 10 copy was last listed at ¥238,033 and is currently out of stock; if you’re after this one specifically, requesting it through Quick Order is the way to flag interest for the next copy that comes through grading. Lana also has an English-language Ultra Rare print, numbered 150 in Ultra Prism, though that’s a separate print from the SM4P Secret Rare pictured here.
Lady (おじょうさま) 100/094 is a Secret Rare from Forbidden Light, also individually verified as a Kanako Eo print. Our PSA 10 copy was last listed at ¥59,534, making it the most accessible entry point into her catalog when it’s in stock — it’s currently out of stock as well, and the same Quick Order request path applies. Like Lana, Lady has a separate English-language Ultra Rare print (Hidden Fates Shiny Vault, numbered SV86).
Neither Lana nor Lady are the whole story on the Trainer side of Eo’s catalog. Limitless credits her with a run of Ultra Rare Supporter and Trainer illustrations from the Black & White era, including Ghetsis (Plasma Freeze 115), Professor Juniper (Plasma Freeze 116), Colress (Plasma Storm 135), and Skyla (Boundaries Crossed 149). None of these four are currently in our PSA 10 vault, but they’re part of the same illustrator’s body of work that produced Lana and Lady, and they show that her Trainer-card period wasn’t a one-off — it was a recurring assignment across several consecutive Black & White-era sets.
The Kanako Eo Vault: Every Card We Carry
Three Kanako Eo cards make up our current PSA 10 vault for this artist, ranked by price. One is in stock; two are out of stock and available to request.
| # | Card | Number / Set | Status | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sylveon EX (Error Version) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | CP3 026/032, Pokékyun Collection | In Stock | ¥451,116 |
| 2 | Lana | SM4P 118/114, GX Battle Boost | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | last listed ¥238,033 |
| 3 | Lady | SM6 100/094, Forbidden Light | Out of Stock — request via Quick Order | last listed ¥59,534 |
The spread here — from ¥451,116 down to ¥59,534 — reflects how much a single error print can dominate an illustrator’s pricing inside our vault. Sylveon EX alone accounts for roughly 60% of the combined listed prices across these three cards. Because this is a small, focused catalog rather than a broad one, we expect it to move: if Lana or Lady come back through grading, or if another verified Kanako Eo card surfaces in the Japanese secondary market, this table is the page to check back on.
Beyond the Cards: Kanako Eo’s Wider Work
The TCG catalog is a side project relative to Eo’s main career. Limitless’s English-language database returns 97 TCG cards under her name, with none of them from Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket; the Japanese database separately returns 82 JP prints. Bulbapedia credits her with 105 TCG illustrations and 16 Pokemon TCG Pocket cards on top of that — two different counting methods from two different sources, and we’re keeping them separate rather than adding them together or presenting either as a single all-time total.
Inside the wider Pokemon franchise, Bulbapedia records Eo’s participation in conceptual character design for several Pokemon movies, with animation work spanning films released between 2003 and 2010. She also illustrated the Pokemon Tales book Mysterious Pirate Ship. Combined with her Game Freak design credits running from Ruby & Sapphire through Sword & Shield, the picture that emerges is an artist whose card illustrations are one visible slice of a much longer in-house career — closer to the profile of a staff designer who occasionally illustrates cards than a dedicated freelance TCG artist.
We haven’t found verified confirmation that she is still working at Game Freak today; her documented credits run through Sword & Shield in 2019, and we’re not extending that timeline past what the sources actually state.
Where to Buy Kanako Eo Cards from Japan
We source and grade Japanese PSA 10 singles out of Tokyo, and the Sylveon EX CP3 026/032 Error Version is currently the only Kanako Eo card available at the top of the vault.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
For the wider PSA 10 catalog, browse the PSA 10 card list to filter by set and price. If you’re specifically after Lana or Lady while they’re out of stock, the Quick Order page is the fastest way to flag interest for when a graded copy comes back through the vault.
Kanako Eo’s catalog sits alongside other illustrators we track closely who also touch the Pokékyun Collection and Sylveon corner of the TCG. Our sui illustrator guide covers the regular-print 025/032 Sylveon-EX from the same set, and our Atsuko Nishida guide profiles another Game Freak-linked illustrator whose card work we carry in the same PSA 10 vault.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Kanako Eo?
Kanako Eo is a graphic designer who has been on staff at Game Freak since at least 2002, with video game credits from Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire through Pokemon Sword & Shield. Alongside that career, she has illustrated Pokemon TCG cards since her debut with Shroomish in EX Deoxys, including Trainer cards and the Sylveon EX CP3 026/032 Error Version.
What is the Sylveon EX CP3 026/032 Error Version and why is it valuable?
It’s a special holofoil RR print of Sylveon-EX (we hold a single PSA 10 copy) from the Japanese Pokékyun Collection set, illustrated by Kanako Eo. Our PSA 10 copy, the error-version print in our vault, is currently listed at ¥451,116, the highest-priced Kanako Eo card we carry.
Is the CP3 Sylveon-EX a Full Art card?
No. Pokékyun Collection did not feature Full Art cards. The 026/032 print is a special holofoil RR with a gloss coating and a charm motif, not a Full Art — a distinct print from the set’s regular-rarity 025/032 Sylveon-EX, which was illustrated by a different artist, sui.
What other Kanako Eo cards are in your vault?
Beyond the Sylveon EX Error Version, Lana SM4P 118/114 SR from GX Battle Boost and Lady SM6 100/094 SR have both passed through our vault; they are from Forbidden Light. Both are currently out of stock.
Are Lana and Lady currently in stock?
No. Lana was last listed at ¥238,033 and Lady was last listed at ¥59,534; both are currently out of stock. Requests for either card can be made through our Quick Order page.
What else has Kanako Eo worked on beyond the TCG?
Per Bulbapedia, Eo participated in conceptual character design for several Pokemon movies with animation work spanning 2003 to 2010, and illustrated the Pokemon Tales book Mysterious Pirate Ship. Her main career has been as a Game Freak graphic designer, with video game credits running from Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire through Pokemon Sword & Shield.
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