Ho oh
Quick take
- Final Wizards of the Coast set before Nintendo took the license back
- Crystal Type secret rare with a silver border and full-card rainbow holo
- Numbered 149/144, past the printed set total
- An anchor card for any Skyridge master set
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Skyridge
VariantsCard variants
Reverse Holo 149/144 · $900.00 — 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 last WOTC secret rare, and a Crystal Ho-oh at that
Skyridge shipped in 2003 as the final Pokemon set Wizards of the Coast ever produced. Right after it, Nintendo took the license back. That alone gives every Skyridge secret rare a kind of end-of-an-era weight. Ho-oh sits at 149/144, past the set's printed total, where the Crystal cards live.
“Final Wizards of the Coast set before Nintendo took the license back”
Crystal Pokemon were the headline rarity of the e-Card era. Skyridge had six of them and Ho-oh is one of the most recognizable. The card uses a silver border and a full-card rainbow holo treatment you do not see anywhere else in the era. It also carries the Crystal Type rule printed in red under the art, a mechanic that let the Pokemon change type based on the energy you attached.
For a master set builder, this is the card that decides whether the binder is finished. It is one of the hardest pulls in one of the most collected vintage sets, and gem-grade copies are genuinely scarce.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This sits at the very top tier of the Skyridge set, alongside Crystal Charizard. Even in played condition it trades as a strong four-figure vintage card. It is one of the most expensive cards a Skyridge master set will ever ask you to buy.
Crystal Pokemon have drawn more attention as collectors look past the usual Gold Stars and Charizards for vintage chase pieces. The final-WOTC-set angle keeps the floor firm. Gem-grade copies move on the strength of how few exist.
Blue-chip vintage with a clean story. The supply does not grow, the set is finite, and the WOTC cutoff keeps it relevant to collectors who do not otherwise chase e-Card cards. Condition matters more than usual here. The holo and border both wear quickly.
The jump from raw or low grade up to PSA 9 and especially PSA 10 is steep. Gem copies command a large multiple over played examples because so few survive clean. For serious money, buy it already graded.
Skyridge had six Crystal cards and they were the toughest pulls in the set. Boxes generally yielded only a couple, often somewhere in the one-to-three range, with reverse holo versions turning up about as often as the holos. Per-pack odds for hitting any Crystal land roughly in the 1 in 12 to 1 in 18 range, but that is for any Crystal, not Ho-oh specifically. Pulling Ho-oh in particular runs far longer, since you are splitting those odds across all six Crystals in the set. Skyridge Crystals were still easier to hit than the Aquapolis Crystals before them.
Among Skyridge Crystals, Ho-oh and Charizard are the cards people actually plan their builds around. Most other secret rares in the set ask far less of your budget.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
Hajime Kusajima illustrated cards across the WOTC and early e-Card years. The Crystal cards gave artists a different canvas, since the silver border and rainbow holo change how the art reads in hand.
Ho-oh appears in its classic rainbow-plumed legendary form, set against the Crystal treatment that fills the whole card with shifting holo color. The Crystal Type line sits in red below the image, the signature mark of these cards.
Because this is a Crystal card, the holo covers the entire card face rather than just an art window, and the border is silver instead of the usual yellow. That full-card shine is part of why clean copies are hard to find. Any scratch or print line shows immediately.
The combination is the draw. A top-tier Johto legendary, the rarest card class in the set, and the last hurrah of Wizards of the Coast, all on one piece of cardboard. The Crystal holo looks like nothing printed before or since in that window.
BackgroundAbout Ho oh
Ho-oh is the rainbow legendary of Johto, tied to the Gold and Silver games and to the anime's very first episode. It has stayed a fan favorite for decades, which keeps demand for its cards broad rather than niche.
- ›Iconic Johto legendary with mainstream recognition
- ›Strong tie to the early anime and the Gen 2 games
- ›Rainbow color scheme that fits the Crystal holo perfectly
- ›Carries weight with both Pokemon fans and vintage card collectors
- ›Headline legendary of Pokemon Gold and the Johto region
- ›Featured in the very first episode of the Pokemon anime
- ›Recurring chase Pokemon across multiple TCG eras
As a 2003 Crystal card, Ho-oh has no modern competitive role. Its value is entirely collector-driven, built on rarity, nostalgia, and the WOTC pedigree rather than playability.
Own it wellCollector guide
The full-card holo and silver border punish handling. Look hard at the edges and corners for whitening, and tilt the card under light to catch surface scratches across the holo, which hide in scans. Print lines are common on Crystals.
Worth grading if the copy is clean, and worth buying already graded if you are spending real money. The gem population is thin, so a verified PSA 9 or 10 carries a large premium and takes the authentication guesswork off your plate. Read the grading guide →
Penny sleeve plus a snug top loader, or a graded slab, kept out of sunlight and away from heat and humidity. The holo layer is what you are protecting, so avoid anything that lets the card shift and rub. See the storage guide →
This is a buy-the-card-not-the-deal situation. For raw copies, demand clear well-lit photos of the surface and all four corners. For anything in the higher price range, prefer a reputable graded copy. Counterfeits of valuable vintage cards exist, so verify before you send money. See the singles buying guide →
Run the standard vintage checks. Do a light test for the black core layer that genuine cards have, feel the surface texture, and watch how the holo behaves when tilted, since fakes often get the shine wrong. Compare the back swirl gradient against a known-real card. When in doubt, buy it graded.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Collectors treat Crystal Ho-oh as one of the grail cards of the e-Card era and a defining piece of any Skyridge run. It gets named regularly in lists of the most valuable Skyridge cards.
- ›PSA 10 copies are scarce and trade as a high-end vintage card when they surface
- ›Played raw copies still change hands as a strong four-figure card
There is steady interest in Crystal Pokemon as the vintage market broadens past Gold Stars and base-set Charizards. The final-WOTC-set framing comes up often in discussions of why Skyridge holds its value.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
Keep collectingRelated cards
Plan your Other Skyridge master set
Track every card, see what you're missing, and lay out your binder page by page.
