Magikarp and Wailord GX Alternate Full Art
Quick take
- Alternate full art (161/181) illustrated by OOYAMA, separate from the 5ban Graphics standard full art (160/181)
- The lighthearted Magikarp-and-Wailord pairing drives most of the collector demand
- One of the most recognizable alt arts of the Sun & Moon era
- The de facto chase card of Team Up for master set builders
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in SM - Team Up
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 161/181 · $896.86 — 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 collector-favorite chase of Team Up
Team Up was the Tag Team set. Reshiram & Charizard, Pikachu & Zekrom, Gardevoir & Sylveon. Magikarp & Wailord was the joke entry, and it turned into the one a lot of people actually wanted. Pairing the weakest Pokemon in the game with one of the largest is a gag, and the card leans all the way into it. That charm is most of the reason this alt art outperforms its play value.
“Alternate full art (161/181) illustrated by OOYAMA, separate from the 5ban Graphics standard full art (160/181)”
There are two full art versions of this Tag Team in the set. Card 160 is the standard full art by 5ban Graphics. Card 161 is the OOYAMA painting, the alternate full art, and that is the version collectors chase. The difference matters when you buy, so confirm which card you are looking at before paying alt-art money.
For master set builders, this is the trophy card. It is the piece that decides whether a Team Up binder feels finished.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This sits at the top of Team Up alongside the set's other big Tag Team alt arts. It carries a clear premium over the standard 5ban full art of the same pair, and over most other Ultra Rares in the set. The live market price on this page is the number to trust. Treat anything here as relative context.
Prices have been steady to firm over the long run, helped by nostalgia for the Sun & Moon era and the card's reputation as a recognized favorite rather than a competitive staple. Sun & Moon alt arts as a group have held up well as that era ages out of print.
Demand here comes from affection for the card, not tournament use, which tends to make for sticky long-term value. The main risk is condition. This is a full art with dark borders that show wear easily, so clean copies and high grades carry the value. Buy the best condition you can rather than chasing the cheapest raw copy.
Gem Mint copies command a meaningful step up over raw near mint, and PSA 10 is the grade collectors target. The gap between a clean raw copy and a graded gem widens as you move up the scale, so condition is where the money is on this card.
Team Up predates the Scarlet & Violet rarity system, so it does not follow modern Double Rare or Special Illustration Rare odds. It is a Sun & Moon era full art Ultra Rare, the kind of card that sits near the top of the rarity ladder for the set and was pulled far less often than the holo rares and standard GX cards. Because there are two full art versions of this Tag Team, supply of the OOYAMA alternate art (161) is separate from the more common 5ban Graphics full art (160), which is part of why it carries the premium it does.
Within Team Up it ranks among the toughest and most desirable pulls, alongside the set's other Tag Team alt arts and rainbow rares, well above the base holos and standard GX cards in both scarcity and demand.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
OOYAMA is credited on the alternate full art of this card (161/181). The standard full art (160/181) was handled by 5ban Graphics, and the earlier SM Promo printing of the pair was painted by Mitsuhiro Arita. Make sure you are matching the OOYAMA alt art when you buy.
The art puts the two Pokemon together in a water scene and plays the size gag for everything it is worth. The small, perpetually unimpressive Magikarp sits next to the enormous bulk of Wailord. It is a warm, friendly composition rather than a battle pose, and that is a big part of why it reads as a fan favorite instead of a competitive card.
This is a full art Ultra Rare, so the holo treatment and texturing run across the whole card face rather than just an art window. The dark, busy borders typical of Sun & Moon full arts make edge whitening and surface scratches easy to spot, which is why grades cluster and clean copies stand out.
Most Tag Team alt arts in this era went to powerhouse legendaries. Handing the alternate art slot to a joke duo, and having it land as one of the most loved cards in the set, is what sets this one apart.
BackgroundAbout Magikarp and Wailord GX Alternate Full Art
Magikarp is the running joke of the franchise, famous for flopping around and learning almost nothing until it evolves into Gyarados. Wailord sits at the other extreme as one of the largest Pokemon by size in the dex. Putting them on one card is the entire premise, and Team Up's Tag Team mechanic gave it a home.
- ›Magikarp's long-running underdog reputation across games and anime
- ›The visual comedy of the smallest fish paired with one of the biggest Pokemon
- ›Tag Team nostalgia from the Sun & Moon competitive era
- ›Crossover appeal to casual fans who recognize both Pokemon instantly
- ›Magikarp is a staple gag Pokemon throughout the games and anime, most famously sold by the Magikarp Salesman
- ›The Tag Team GX mechanic that defined Team Up and the late Sun & Moon competitive format
This is a 300 HP Water Tag Team GX whose headline attack, Towering Splash-GX, threatens benched Pokemon when loaded with extra Water Energy. It saw fringe and casual play during the Sun & Moon era but was never a top-tier deck. Its value today is collector-driven, not competitive.
Own it wellCollector guide
The full art surface and the dark borders are the weak points. Check all four corners for whitening, look across the holo for print lines and scratches, and inspect the edges under good light. Sun & Moon full arts are notorious for showing edge wear, so a copy that looks clean in a listing photo may not hold up in hand.
Worth grading if the copy is genuinely clean, since the graded premium is real and PSA 10 is the grade collectors want. If a raw card has visible edge wear or surface scratches, it will likely come back a 9 or lower, so grade selectively rather than reflexively. Read the grading guide →
Sleeve and toploader immediately, or use a sealed semi-rigid for submission. Keep it out of direct light and away from humidity. For a card where condition is most of the value, a one-touch or a graded slab is the safe long-term home. See the storage guide →
Confirm you are buying the OOYAMA alternate full art (161) and not the 5ban Graphics standard full art (160) or the Arita promo, because the price difference is large. For raw copies, ask for clear in-hand photos of corners and edges. For serious money, buy graded from a reputable seller to sidestep condition surprises. See the singles buying guide →
Use the standard modern-era checks. A genuine card fails the light test because the inner black core layer blocks light, the holo pattern and texture should match known real copies, and the back coloring and font should look correct. Fakes of popular Sun & Moon alt arts exist, so for high-value purchases buy graded or buy from sellers with a strong track record.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
This is one of the most fondly remembered cards of the Sun & Moon era. Collectors consistently rank it among the most charming Tag Team alt arts, and it shows up on want lists for people who otherwise do not chase the set.
The card has a meme-adjacent following thanks to the Magikarp-and-Wailord pairing, which keeps it circulating in collector conversation well beyond its competitive footprint.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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