Charizard ex
Quick take
- The headline chase card and most valuable single in Paldean Fates
- The shiny black form of Akira Egawa's Tera Charizard ex
- A full-art Special Illustration Rare of the most collected Pokemon in the hobby
- Fronted one of the set's promo tins
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Paldean Fates
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 234/91 · $255.18 — 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 chase card of Paldean Fates
Paldean Fates is a shiny set, and the Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare is its headliner. This is the Tera Charizard, here in its shiny black form, which is the version collectors chase hardest. Charizard already pulls the most demand in the hobby. Make it shiny and Tera and you get one of the most wanted Special Illustration Rares of the whole Scarlet and Violet run.
“The headline chase card and most valuable single in Paldean Fates”
The artwork is not brand new to this card. Akira Egawa first painted a Charizard ex SIR for Obsidian Flames in 2023, and Paldean Fates brings the same artist's Charizard back as a shiny variant. The reuse does not seem to have hurt demand. If anything, the shiny treatment gave the painting a second life and a higher ceiling.
The card also fronted one of the Paldean Fates tins, so the shiny Charizard was the face of the set's marketing. That kept eyes on it from day one and made it the first card most people checked their pulls against.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This sits at the very top of the Paldean Fates set, clear of the other shiny Special Illustration Rares. It is a strong, high-end SV-era Charizard SIR, the kind of card that anchors a binder page.
Prices ran hot at release when tin supply could not keep up with demand, then settled as Paldean Fates got reprinted heavily. It has held its spot as the set's most valuable card since launch, and graded copies carry the real premium.
Charizard SIRs tend to be steady long-term holds because the demand never really cools. The catch here is supply. Paldean Fates was printed in large quantities, so raw copies are not scarce. The value lives in clean, high-grade examples, and that is where a buyer's money is best spent.
A clean PSA or CGC gem mint copy commands a large premium over a raw card, and the gap is wider here than on a typical SIR because so many buyers want this one slabbed. Centering and surface are the usual culprits that keep copies out of the top grade.
In Scarlet and Violet sets, a Special Illustration Rare of any kind shows up around 1 in 90 packs. That is the rate for landing any SIR, not this specific one. Because each set has several SIRs, the realistic odds for one named card like this Charizard run much longer, often into the hundreds of packs. For reference, the easier hits sit far above it: any Double Rare is roughly 1 in 5 packs, any Illustration Rare about 1 in 12, and any Ultra Rare near 1 in 15. Most collectors buy this one as a single rather than trying to pull it.
It is the rarest and most wanted full-art in the set's chase tier. Paldean Fates was printed in high volume, so raw copies are findable, but pulling this exact card from packs is a long shot relative to the lower rarities.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
Akira Egawa is the illustrator behind some of the most recognizable modern Charizard cards, including the Tera Charizard ex SIR from Obsidian Flames and this shiny print in Paldean Fates. Egawa works in a painterly, dramatic style that suits big set-anchor Pokemon, and collectors now link the name with high-end Charizard art.
Charizard fills the frame in a dynamic, mid-action pose, painted rather than rendered flat. On this print the body wears the dark, near-black coloring of shiny Charizard instead of the usual orange, which shifts the whole mood of the piece. The full-art layout lets the illustration run edge to edge with no box around it.
Special Illustration Rare full-art layout with textured holo foil. The art extends to the borders and the SIR treatment gives the print a heavier, more tactile foil pattern than a standard holo. Card number 234/091, which falls in the secret-numbered range above the set's printed total.
It is Egawa's celebrated Charizard composition turned shiny. The dark body is the detail that sells it, and it is why plenty of collectors who already own the Obsidian Flames version still chase this one too.
BackgroundAbout Charizard ex
Charizard has been the flagship of Pokemon TCG collecting since Base Set, and that has never changed. The Scarlet and Violet era leaned into it with several high-profile Charizard ex cards, and the shiny Tera version in Paldean Fates is one of the most prized of the bunch. A shiny Charizard carries extra weight because the alternate coloring is rare in the games and instantly readable on a card.
- ›Charizard is the default grail for new and lifelong collectors alike
- ›Shiny coloring is a long-standing collector favorite
- ›Tera Charizard ex was a competitively relevant card in its prime
- ›Akira Egawa's art carries its own following
- ›Tera Charizard ex anchored Obsidian Flames in 2023 as a Standard-format staple
- ›Shiny Tera Charizard ex was one of the Paldean Fates promo tin faces
The underlying Tera Charizard ex saw real Standard play in its era. The Infernal Reign ability ramps Fire energy out of the deck when it evolves, and Burning Darkness scales its damage off the prize cards the opponent has taken. By the time this Paldean Fates print landed, most buyers wanted it for the binder rather than the deck, but that competitive past still adds to its name recognition.
Own it wellCollector guide
SIR full-arts show edge whitening and surface scratches easily because the foil runs to the border. Inspect the corners and the holo surface under angled light before buying. On the dark shiny body, scuffs and print lines are easier to spot than on a bright orange card.
Worth grading if the card is clean. The graded premium on this one is large enough to justify the fee on a well-centered, sharp copy. Check centering front and back first, since off-center cuts are the most common reason these miss the top grade. Read the grading guide →
Sleeve it in a penny sleeve plus a top loader or one-touch right away. Keep it out of direct light and away from humidity. For a card you may grade later, handle by the edges and avoid sliding it in and out of sleeves repeatedly. See the storage guide →
Decide raw or graded before you shop. Raw copies are plentiful thanks to the heavy print run, so take your time and buy a clean one rather than the cheapest listing. For serious money, buy graded from a reputable seller so you are paying for a verified grade, not a hopeful guess. See the singles buying guide →
Modern SV-era cards are faked far less than vintage, but counterfeits exist for a card this popular. Check the texture of the SIR foil, the crispness of the small text, and the back coloring against a card you know is genuine. For high-value purchases, prefer slabbed copies from PSA, CGC, or BGS.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Collectors treated this as the obvious chase the moment Paldean Fates was revealed. The shiny version of Egawa's Charizard was the card people most wanted to pull, and it stayed the headline of the set through release.
Discussion centered on tin scarcity at launch and on which print collectors preferred, the original Obsidian Flames orange version or this shiny black one. Plenty of people who owned the first one bought this too, which says a lot about how the shiny variant landed.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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