One Gym Leader, two Supporter cards, five years apart — and the second one carries a card number that looks like a typo until you know the convention behind it.
Gardenia is the Grass-type Gym Leader of Eterna City in the Sinnoh region, and her name has appeared on two very different Japanese Supporter cards: a straightforward healing effect from 2017’s Ultra Sun, and a VSTAR-era draw-and-attach effect reprinted in VSTAR Universe under the name Gardenia’s Vigor. This guide covers both prints — what each card does, how to tell them apart, and why the second one is numbered 243 out of a set that only lists 172.
Two Gardenia Supporter cards exist: Gardenia SR (070/066, Ultra Sun) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), which restores 80 HP to a Pokemon with a Grass Energy attached, and Gardenia’s Vigor SAR (243/172, VSTAR Universe) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), a VSTAR Power Supporter that draws 2 cards and attaches Grass Energy from hand. The „243/172“ numbering is correct as printed — VSTAR Universe’s Special Art Rares run above the set’s stated card count, which is a normal Japanese TCG convention rather than an error.
Prices are our own listed prices as of September 2026, converted at ¥159/USD.
Who Is Gardenia?
Gardenia is the Grass-type Gym Leader of Eterna Gym in Eterna City, part of the Sinnoh region. In-game, she’s billed as the „Master of Vivid Plant Pokemon“ and awards the Forest Badge to trainers who beat her. Her signature Pokemon is Roserade, and she’s notably averse to Ghost-type Pokemon — a detail that recurs across her in-game dialogue.
She appears across the core Sinnoh games — Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum — as well as the Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl remakes. She resurfaces later at the Pokemon World Tournament in Black 2/White 2, and again in the mobile game Pokemon Masters EX. That long-running presence is part of why she’s shown up on two separate Japanese TCG Supporter cards across different eras of the game.
Both cards below use Gardenia’s Japanese name, ナタネ (Natane), on the card itself. If you’re searching Japanese marketplaces or grading databases, that’s the name to search rather than the English localisation.
Gardenia SR: The Original Ultra Sun Card
Gardenia’s first Supporter card appeared in Ultra Sun (SM5S), released 2017-12-08, as card 070/066, Secret Rare. The illustration is credited to You Iribi.
The effect is straightforward: restore 80 HP to one of your own Pokemon that has a Grass Energy attached. It’s a healing Supporter built around a Grass-type energy requirement, in keeping with Gardenia’s own typing as Eterna Gym’s Grass specialist.
A PSA 10 copy of this print is currently listed at ¥57,058 (~$359) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order).
Gardenia’s Vigor SAR: The VSTAR Universe Reprint
Five years on, Gardenia returned as Gardenia’s Vigor (Japanese name: ナタネの活気), card 243/172, Special Art Rare, in the VSTAR Universe (S12a) set. This printing’s artwork is credited to Yoriyuki Ikegami.
Mechanically it’s a different card entirely, classified as a VSTAR Power Supporter: draw 2 cards, then attach up to 2 Grass Energy cards from your hand to 1 of your Benched Pokemon. That’s a card-advantage-plus-setup effect, distinct from the pure healing role of the original 2017 Gardenia.
Gardenia’s Vigor wasn’t new to VSTAR Universe — the card was originally illustrated by Yuu Nishida for its first Japanese release, in the Astral Radiance-era Time Gazer set. The VSTAR Universe print we sell is a reprint of that card with new Special Art Rare artwork by Ikegami; we’re not listing a Time Gazer card number here because our listed print is specifically the VSTAR Universe 243/172 print.
A PSA 10 copy of the VSTAR Universe SAR is currently listed at ¥13,492 (~$85) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order).
Why Is It Numbered 243/172?
If you’ve never handled a VSTAR Universe card before, „243/172“ looks wrong at first glance — how can a card be numbered higher than the set’s total? It isn’t an error. VSTAR Universe’s Special Art Rare and secret-rare cards are printed with numbers that run above the set’s stated „/172“ denominator, since the set’s full physical print run is larger than the number used in its official name. That’s a standard convention in Japanese TCG numbering for sets with a high-rarity secret tier, not a misprint or a listing mistake.
| Set | Card # | Rarity | Illustrator | Our price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardenia | Ultra Sun (SM5S) | 070/066 | SR | You Iribi | ¥57,058 (~$359) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Gardenia’s Vigor | VSTAR Universe (S12a) | 243/172 | SAR | Yoriyuki Ikegami | ¥13,492 (~$85) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
Both card numbers, once you know the set they came from, tell you exactly which print you’re holding — SM5S 070/066 for the original, S12a 243/172 for the VSTAR-era reprint. There’s no ambiguity between the two once you check the set code printed on the card.
Gardenia Compared to Other Supporter SRs
Gardenia’s two cards sit inside a broader category of Japanese Secret Rare and Special Art Rare Supporter cards — full-art or textured-foil treatments of Trainer-class and named characters across different eras of the Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield-era Japanese sets. A few other examples for reference:
What separates these cards from one another isn’t just artwork — it’s set, print run, and card effect, exactly as with Gardenia’s two prints. If you’re building out a collection of Gym Leader or character Supporter cards, our female Pokemon trainer card roundup and our wider PSA 10 trainer card guide cover more of this category in depth.
For the Special Art Rare tier specifically — which is what Gardenia’s Vigor belongs to — our Japanese alt-art SAR guide explains how that rarity tier fits alongside Secret Rares and Hyper Rares.
Where to Buy Gardenia Cards from Japan
We ship graded and raw Japanese singles out of Tokyo with tracked delivery. Both Gardenia prints covered here are single PSA 10 units currently listed in our shop — here’s the direct route to each.
The VSTAR Universe reprint, PSA 10 Gardenia’s Vigor SAR (243/172) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), is listed separately at ¥13,492 (~$85). Treat both prices as listing snapshots rather than an ongoing supply.
For general grading background on either card, see our Japanese Pokemon card grading guide. For Sinnoh-region product more broadly, our Sinnoh starters card guide is a related starting point. If you’re after other Japanese singles or sealed product to combine into one order, our Quick Order page is the fastest way to build a mixed order.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Who is Gardenia in the Pokemon games?
Gardenia is the Grass-type Gym Leader of Eterna Gym in Eterna City, Sinnoh region. She awards the Forest Badge, her signature Pokemon is Roserade, and she dislikes Ghost-type Pokemon. She appears in Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, the Pokemon World Tournament in Black 2/White 2, and Pokemon Masters EX.
What does the Gardenia SR (070/066) card do?
It restores 80 HP to one of your own Pokemon that has a Grass Energy attached. It’s from Ultra Sun (SM5S), released 2017-12-08, illustrated by You Iribi.
What does Gardenia’s Vigor SAR (243/172) do?
It’s a VSTAR Power Supporter: draw 2 cards, then attach up to 2 Grass Energy cards from your hand to 1 of your Benched Pokemon. It’s from VSTAR Universe (S12a), illustrated by Yoriyuki Ikegami.
Why is Gardenia’s Vigor numbered 243/172 when the set only has 172 cards?
That numbering is correct as printed. VSTAR Universe’s Special Art Rare and secret-rare cards are numbered above the set’s stated „/172“ denominator, which is a normal Japanese TCG convention rather than a printing error.
Is Gardenia’s Vigor a reprint of an earlier card?
Yes. It was originally illustrated by Yuu Nishida for its first Japanese release in the Astral Radiance-era Time Gazer set. The VSTAR Universe 243/172 print is a reprint with new Special Art Rare artwork by Yoriyuki Ikegami.
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