Rayquaza
Quick take
- Shiny (black) recolor of Rayquaza in the Secret Rare slot, number 128/124
- Full-card holo treatment, not a standard full art
- The headline chase card for any Dragons Exalted master set
- One of the most recognizable Secret Rares of the Black & White era
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Dragons Exalted
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 128/124 · $1250.00 — the only variant this card was printed in (no reverse holo or special pattern), so a master set needs just this one copy.
The storyThe Shiny Rayquaza that anchors a Dragons Exalted master set
Dragons Exalted ran on a Dragon-type theme, and the set saved its best for the Secret Rare slot. Card 128/124 is Shiny Rayquaza, the black recolor of the legendary, printed as a full-card holo. If you are building a BW6 master set, this is the card that decides whether the binder feels finished.
“Shiny (black) recolor of Rayquaza in the Secret Rare slot, number 128/124”
Rayquaza already carried weight from the main games and the anime by 2012. Putting the shiny version in the Secret Rare position gave the set a clear headliner. Plenty of collectors who never touch the rest of the set still chase this one card.
It has held that status for over a decade. Among Black & White era Secret Rares, Shiny Rayquaza is one of the first names people bring up, and it stays the marquee pull for the set.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This sits at the top of the Dragons Exalted set in raw value, comfortably a strong three-figure card in clean condition. Within Black & White era Secret Rares it lands in the upper bracket, well above the set's regular full arts.
It has behaved like a stable era chase rather than a hype spike. Demand has been steady for years, with the usual lift that older Black & White cards see as the era ages into nostalgia territory.
A blue-chip era piece rather than a quick flip. A top-tier Pokemon, a shiny treatment, and Secret Rare scarcity give it a durable floor. Condition and grade matter a lot here, so the upside is concentrated in clean, high-grade copies.
Graded copies carry a clear premium over raw, and the gap widens fast at the top of the scale. A high-grade gem commands a large multiple over a played raw copy, while mid grades sit much closer to raw money. Centering and holo surface are the usual gating factors.
Dragons Exalted predates the Scarlet & Violet rarity system, so modern Double Rare and Special Illustration Rare odds do not apply here. Secret Rares from the Black & White era sat at the very bottom of the rarity ladder, well rarer than the set's full arts and holos. In practice, pulling this specific Rayquaza from packs was a long shot measured in many boxes, not many packs. That is a big reason most collectors buy it as a single rather than chase it from sealed product. Worth flagging: this is a Secret Rare, not a Gold Star card, so the vintage Gold Star odds of roughly one per two booster boxes do not describe this card.
For scale, any Special Illustration Rare in a modern Scarlet & Violet set runs around one in 90 packs, and the odds for one specific SIR run far longer than that. This 2012 Secret Rare was scarcer at the pack level, with the added pressure of being more than a decade old and facing a shrinking supply of clean copies.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
5ban Graphics is a Japanese design studio, not a single illustrator, and it handled most of the digitally rendered full-art and Secret Rare cards across the Black & White and XY eras. The style leans on 3D modeling and rendered lighting rather than painted brushwork, which is why these cards read as glossy and metallic.
The card shows the Shiny version of Rayquaza, the dark recolor with its serpentine body coiled across the full card frame. It is a rendered, high-gloss presentation rather than a hand-painted scene, with the Pokemon filling the whole card instead of sitting in a bordered window.
Printed as a full-card holo Secret Rare numbered 128/124, beyond the named set total. The whole surface takes holo treatment, so the foil pattern runs across the entire card rather than a contained art box.
It pairs the franchise's most popular sky legendary with a shiny recolor and the scarcest rarity tier in the set. The 5ban rendered look makes the shiny coloring pop in a way the standard art does not, and that combination is what keeps it in demand.
BackgroundAbout Rayquaza
Rayquaza debuted in Generation III as a Legendary Dragon/Flying Pokemon and the mascot of Pokemon Emerald. It became central to the Hoenn storyline as the sky-high counter to Kyogre and Groudon, and later picked up a Mega form. It has stayed one of the most popular legendaries in the franchise across games, anime, and merchandise.
- ›Mascot status from Pokemon Emerald and a recurring story role in Hoenn
- ›A fan-favorite design that reads instantly even in silhouette
- ›Repeated presence in the TCG across multiple eras
- ›Shiny Rayquaza has its own dedicated following
- ›Box legendary of Pokemon Emerald
- ›Central figure in the Hoenn weather-trio storyline
- ›Mega Rayquaza in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
The Dragons Exalted Rayquaza saw fringe play in its era, but this card is collected for the art and rarity, not for the deck. Treat it as a display and master-set piece.
Own it wellCollector guide
Full-holo Black & White Secret Rares show wear easily. Check the edges and corners for whitening against the dark surface, look for surface scratches in the holo under angled light, and inspect centering since these full-card prints are often off. Print lines can show on the dark background.
Worth grading if the copy is genuinely clean. The high-grade premium is large enough to justify it, and a slab also helps with authentication on a card this valuable. Below mid grade, the premium thins out and raw may make more sense. Read the grading guide →
Sleeve plus a top loader at minimum, and a card saver or graded slab for long-term holds. Keep it out of direct light and away from humidity. The dark surface shows fingerprints, so handle by the edges. See the storage guide →
For real money, buy graded, or buy raw only from sellers with clear, well-lit photos of all four corners and the surface. This card is faked often, so be skeptical of prices that look too good. Compare against recent sold listings, not asking prices. See the singles buying guide →
Run the basic vintage checks. Do a light test to confirm the black core layer that real cards have. Feel for the correct surface texture, watch how the holo behaves when tilted, and check the back swirl gradient against a known-genuine card. The rendered shiny art is hard for fakes to reproduce cleanly, so blurry or flat coloring is a red flag. For serious spend, buy it already graded.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Long regarded as one of the standout Secret Rares of the Black & White era and the face of Dragons Exalted. Collectors who like shiny variants and Rayquaza specifically treat it as a grail-tier target for the period.
It comes up regularly in master-set and Black & White era discussions as a must-have, and shiny Rayquaza in general keeps a steady fan following. Talk centers on condition and centering, given how common flaws are on these full-holo prints.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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