Pikachu VSTAR Universe: Complete Guide to the S12a AR

Pikachu in VSTAR Universe is the Pikachu 205/172 card, an AR (Art Rare) from the Japanese Pokémon Card Game Sword & Shield High Class Pack “VSTAR Universe” (set code S12a, also typed s12a). It is a Basic Pokémon with 60 HP, illustrated by Kouki Saitou, and its Ability is Pika Dash.

Updated November 12, 2026

Which Pikachu card is in VSTAR Universe (S12a)?

The Pikachu card this guide covers is number 205 of 172, printed with the AR rarity icon, from the Japanese High Class Pack “VSTAR Universe”. The official card page lists it as ピカチュウ (Pikachu), card number 205 / 172, set S12a, rarity icon AR. Our VSTAR Universe card list shows the whole set, so this article stays on one card.

AR stands for Art Rare. The official set page states that AR and SAR (Special Art Rare) were newly introduced in S12a, and the official card page lists Pikachu 205/172 with the AR rarity icon. The set page gallery shows 17 AR cards and 25 SAR cards.

Other cards in the set sit in different rarity groups. Our S12a chase cards guide covers the Charizard, Mewtwo VSTAR and Rayquaza VMAX cards. As one example from our shop, a PSA 10 Mewtwo VSTAR RRR 051/172 is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥6,708, sourced to order. Pikachu 205/172 is a different card with a different rarity icon, an AR instead of an RRR.

The English name of the card is Pikachu. The phrase “Pikachu VSTAR Universe” combines the Pokémon name with the set name: the set is the High Class Pack “VSTAR Universe”, and the card is Pikachu. The official card page does not mark Pikachu 205/172 as a VSTAR card. It shows a Basic Pokémon with 60 HP.

To keep the entity unambiguous, here are the exact names. The product is the Pokémon Card Game Sword & Shield High Class Pack “VSTAR Universe” (ハイクラスパック「VSTARユニバース」), set code S12a, Japanese edition. The card is Pikachu, 205 / 172, AR. Use all three of those identifiers (set code, number, rarity) when you search or read a listing.

What are the key facts of Pikachu 205/172 AR?

Pikachu 205/172 is an AR, Basic (the official page says たね) Pokémon with 60 HP, illustrated by Kouki Saitou, with the Pokédex entry No. 025 Mouse Pokémon, 0.4 m and 6.0 kg. All of this comes from the official card page for Pikachu 205/172.

The numbers around Pikachu help you place it. Mewtwo V is 050/172 (official card page), Mew AR is 183/172, Mewtwo VSTAR SAR is 221/172 (official card page), and Arceus VSTAR is 262/172 with the UR icon (official card page). Pikachu 205 is numbered after Mew’s 183 and before Mewtwo VSTAR’s 221.

Card numbers in this guide are written as the card’s own number over 172. Keldeo AR 179, Mew AR 183, Pikachu AR 205, Mewtwo VSTAR SAR 221 and Arceus VSTAR UR 262 have a first figure above 172, while Mewtwo V 050, Gengar 048 and Charizard V 013 have lower numbers.

When you read a listing for this card, check three things: the set code (S12a), the full number (205/172) and the rarity (AR). If a listing gives all three, you know it is the Pikachu from this High Class Pack. The card is from the Japanese edition, so it is a Japanese-language card, and the English wording used in this guide is a rendering of the official Japanese card entry.

The same identifiers apply to the cards sold in our shop for this set. Our product names carry the set code and the card number in square brackets, for example “s12a 051/172” for Mewtwo VSTAR, so you can match a product page to an official card page by number.

What does the Pikachu AR do in play, and who illustrated it?

Pikachu 205/172 has the Ability Pika Dash (rendering): if this Pokémon has Energy attached, all the Energy needed to retreat it is removed. The illustrator is Kouki Saitou, and both details are on the official card page.

The card is a Basic Pokémon (たね) with 60 HP. Those two numbers and words are what the official page prints for the card’s type and size. The Pokédex line on the card reads No. 025, Mouse Pokémon, 0.4 m and 6.0 kg.

The illustrator credit is printed on the card page as Kouki Saitou. The official set page for VSTAR Universe also links an interview with 16 illustrators, which is the official place to read about the artists behind the set (official set page). That page does not say which of the 16 illustrators are interviewed, so this guide does not say whether Kouki Saitou is one of them.

For other cards in the set, the official pages credit other illustrators: Mew 183/172 is credited to Ryota Murayama, Mewtwo V 050/172 to Nurikabe, Mewtwo VSTAR SAR 221/172 to GOSSAN and Arceus VSTAR 262/172 to AKIRA EGAWA. That gives a small picture of how many different names appear across the set, using only the cards cited in this guide.

Because the card is Japanese, the text on it is in Japanese. The names used here, Pika Dash and the others marked “(rendering)”, are English renderings of the official Japanese entries so that readers outside Japan can follow the card. Match the card by set code, number and rarity rather than by the English wording of the Ability.

How does Pikachu compare with Mew AR 183/172 in this set?

Mew AR 183/172 shares Pikachu’s AR rarity icon and 60 HP, but it has a different illustrator, Ryota Murayama, and a different Ability. The Mew entry is on its official card page.

Read the table row by row. Rarity and HP match, so those two fields do not separate the cards. Illustrator, Ability and card number do. Mew’s entry lists an Ability, Mysterious Tail, and an attack, Psyshot, which does 30. Pikachu’s entry lists the Ability Pika Dash.

Mew also appears in other forms in this set: the official set page names Mew VMAX and Mew V among its notable cards. Our Mew VSTAR Universe card guide covers the Mew cards in detail.

Keldeo AR 179/172 is also an AR from the same set. That PSA 10 Keldeo is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥7,625, sourced to order.

What is the VSTAR Universe High Class Pack that Pikachu comes from?

VSTAR Universe is a Japanese High Class Pack released on December 2, 2022, sold at 550 yen per pack with 10 randomly inserted cards, and each pack is confirmed to hold a V, VSTAR or VMAX card. This is stated on the official S12a page, which carries the heading that a V, VSTAR or VMAX card is confirmed in each pack.

The official gallery on that page shows 17 AR cards and 25 SAR cards. Notable cards named on the page are Mew VMAX and Mew V, Arceus VMAX and V, Origin Forme Palkia VMAX and V, Giratina VMAX and V, Regigigas VSTAR and V, Hatterene VMAX and V, Simisear VSTAR and V, Radiant Eternatus and the Sky Seal Stone. The two Trainer cards named are Sinnoh’s Companions and Hisui’s Companions.

Pikachu 205/172 is a card from this same set, so everything above applies to where it comes from: a 10-card pack at 550 yen with a V, VSTAR or VMAX card in every pack. The official page gives no pull odds for AR cards, so nothing here should be read as a rate for Pikachu 205/172.

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On December 16 (a Friday), three Jumbo Card Collection products came out: Lapras, Mew and Latias. Each included 2 jumbo cards, 2 card stands and 3 packs of this High Class Pack, with 10 randomly selected cards per pack, at 1,980 yen tax included each (official announcement). Pikachu is not named among those three products.

For a full overview of the set, read our VSTAR Universe (s12a) complete guide, the box guide and the release date and pre-order guide. Our Crown Zenith vs VSTAR Universe comparison sets the two boxes side by side.

Where can I see the full VSTAR Universe card list?

The full list is on our VSTAR Universe Card List page, which covers 262 cards of the Japanese Pokémon TCG set. That page is the place for card-by-card browsing, so this article does not repeat the set table.

On the official site, Arceus VSTAR is numbered 262/172 and carries the UR icon (official card page). That card has HP 280 and the attack Trinity Nova (rendering) with the VSTAR Power Star Birth (rendering).

Mewtwo VSTAR SAR 221/172 has HP 280, the attack Psychic Purge (rendering) at 90× and the VSTAR Power Star Raid (rendering). Mewtwo V 050/172 has HP 220 with the attacks Psychic Force (rendering) at 50 and Trans Break (rendering) at 160. Those three entries show how the same site presents cards of other types in S12a, next to the Pikachu AR.

If you prefer a written walk-through, our article VSTAR Universe (S12a) Complete Card List covers all 262 cards, SARs and URs.

How do I buy Japanese VSTAR Universe cards from Tokyo?

Buy through the product pages linked below, starting with the S12a cards, and read the shipping and payment pages before you check out. The S12a cards here are PSA 10 graded; where a card is a back order, the price shown is for a PSA 10 copy sourced to order. Each product page describes the card as graded PSA 10 (Gem Mint) and notes that the PSA case may have minor scratches or marks on its surface.

These S12a PSA 10 cards are linked from our shop:

PSA10 Radiant Charizard K 015/172 is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥8,580, sourced to order.

The PSA10 Mewtwo VSTAR RRR 051/172 is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥6,708, sourced to order.

PSA10 Charizard VSTAR RRR 014/172 is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥7,150, sourced to order. The matching PSA10 Charizard V RR 013/172 is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥6,930, sourced to order.

The PSA10 Rayquaza VMAX RRR 108/172 is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥6,372, sourced to order. The PSA10 Gengar 048/172 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) has its own product page too.

The shipping policy gives FedEx transit estimates of usually 3-7 business days (Connect Plus) or 2-5 business days (International Priority) after dispatch, with cost calculated at checkout, and says customs delays after handoff to FedEx are outside our control. Most orders are processed within 5 business days after payment clears. Payments are in Japanese yen, and the 5% processing fee applies to every method except Wise (payment methods).

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