Magikarp’s SV2a Master Ball Mirror print isn’t a secret rare or an alt-art — it’s a plain Common card wearing a rarer foil. The Master Ball Mirror parallel of 129/165 from Pokémon Card 151 puts the everyday flopping fish under the same foil pattern reserved for a small slice of the set’s Commons, Uncommons and Rares, and that contrast between “just a Common” and “hard-to-find foil” is exactly why the card keeps turning up on want lists.
This guide covers what the card is, how the Master Ball Mirror mechanic actually works inside SV2a, where this print sits relative to the set’s more common mirror-holo treatment, and where to find a graded copy — along with the evolution-line and set-mate cards collectors chase alongside it.
Our PSA 10 listing for Magikarp C: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 129/165] is currently listed at ¥32,398 (~$204). It’s a Common-rarity card from Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a, 16 June 2023) that received the rarer Master Ball foil pattern instead of the standard Poké Ball mirror-holo most Commons and Uncommons carry. If you want the evolution line too, we also list a PSA 10 Gyarados R: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 130/165] from the same set.
Prices below are current samuraiswordtokyo.com listings, converted at ¥159/USD (September 2026).
The Card: Magikarp 129/165 Common
Magikarp is コイキング (Koikingu) in Japanese, a Basic, Water-type Pokémon with 30 HP and National Dex #129. Its single attack, はねにはねる (“Splash”), has you flip coins until you get tails and draw a card for each heads — a pure card-advantage effect rather than a damage output. The card carries a Lightning weakness, no Resistance, and a Retreat Cost of 1. The 129/165 print is illustrated by Kouki Saitou.
In the set’s own numbering, Magikarp’s base rarity is a straightforward Common (C). What makes the 129/165 print worth a dedicated guide is the foil it was printed with: a Master Ball Mirror parallel, which SV2a reserves for only a portion of its Commons, Uncommons and Rares rather than handing out to all of them. Our PSA 10 listing of this exact print is at ¥32,398 (~$204).
The Master Ball Mirror Mechanic
Pokémon Card 151 built its mirror-holo system around two foil patterns rather than one. Every Common, Uncommon and Rare card in the set has a standard Poké Ball–pattern mirror holofoil version, and a smaller subset instead carries the rarer Master Ball–pattern foil — same card, same card number, same Common rarity, just a different foil texture on the mirror slot. Magikarp 129/165 is one of the cards that received the Master Ball treatment rather than the Poké Ball one. SV2a’s official documentation doesn’t publish an exact ratio between the two patterns, so we’re not going to invent one here.
Magikarp 129/165 — Common, Master Ball Mirror
| Set | Number | Rarity / Foil | JP Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a) | 129/165 | Common — Master Ball Mirror | 16 Jun 2023 |
This Master Ball Mirror print is the one we’ve verified for Magikarp in this set — we’re not treating it as a separate print tier above Common, since it’s the same card in an alternate foil pattern rather than a distinct rarity slot.
The same mechanic runs through Magikarp’s evolution line in SV2a. We also list a graded copy of its next stage, Gyarados R: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 130/165], from the same set.
Our PSA 10 listing of the Gyarados print is at ¥21,615 (~$136).
The Set: Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a)
Pokémon Card 151 — 強化拡張パック「ポケモンカード151」, the Enhanced Expansion Pack “Pokémon Card 151” — is Japanese set code SV2a, released 16 June 2023. The set runs to 210 cards, and each Japanese booster pack contains 7 cards with 2 guaranteed holofoil cards. For the complete card-by-card breakdown, see our Pokémon 151 (SV2a) card list, and for a look at what else the boosters can pull, our Pokémon Card 151 pull-rates hub covers the set’s best cards more broadly.
Sealed SV2a product — where the Master Ball Mirror foils are pulled from — is available as the SV2A Pokemon 151 Japanese Booster Box currently listed at ¥43,860 (~$276), with a Damaged Box variant at ¥53,760 (~$338) for buyers who don’t mind cosmetic packaging wear. For box-opening strategy specifically, see our Pokémon 151 booster box buying guide.
Where This Print Sits Among Japanese Rarities
Structurally, Magikarp 129/165 stays a Common card — the Master Ball Mirror foil doesn’t move it into a higher printed rarity tier. What changes is which of the set’s two mirror-foil patterns it received: the standard Poké Ball Mirror that most Commons, Uncommons and Rares carry, or the harder-to-find Master Ball Mirror that only a portion of them get. Magikarp’s 129/165 sits in that second, smaller group.
The same Master Ball pattern also lands on higher base-rarity cards within SV2a, including our graded Gyarados R: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 130/165] and Dragonite R: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 149/165] — useful reference points if you’re comparing how the foil treatment reads on a Rare versus a Common.
For the wider Master Ball Mirror mechanic across other Japanese sets that use it, see our Master Ball Mirror Pokémon cards guide. For a different Japanese Magikarp print entirely — the 25th Anniversary shiny version — see our Shining Magikarp 25th Anniversary card guide, and for a broader look at Magikarp and Gyarados prints across eras, our Magikarp & Gyarados cards guide covers both lines.
Where to Buy Magikarp from Tokyo
Our PSA 10 listing of PSA 10 Magikarp C: Master Ball Mirror 129/165 is at ¥32,398 (~$204), shipped from Tokyo with tracked delivery.
If you’re building out the evolution line, our PSA 10 Gyarados R: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 130/165] and PSA 10 Dragonite R: Master Ball Mirror [SV2a 149/165] are both graded to the same PSA 10 standard. For sealed product, the SV2A Pokemon 151 Japanese Booster Box and its Damaged Box option are where these Master Ball Mirror foils come from. For the wider range of graded Japanese singles, browse our PSA 10 graded card collection, or use our Quick Order page to build a mixed order across singles and sealed product.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Magikarp Master Ball Mirror 129/165 card?
It’s the Master Ball Mirror foil print of Magikarp, card 129/165 from the Japanese set Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a), released 16 June 2023. The card’s base rarity is Common; the Master Ball Mirror is the rarer of the set’s two mirror-holo foil patterns. We list a PSA 10 copy currently at ¥32,398 (~$204).
Is the Master Ball Mirror a different rarity from the regular Common Magikarp?
No. It’s still a Common card — the Master Ball Mirror is a foil-pattern parallel of the same Common print, not a separate printed rarity tier above it.
What’s the difference between the Poké Ball Mirror and the Master Ball Mirror?
Every Common, Uncommon and Rare in SV2a has a standard Poké Ball–pattern mirror holofoil version. A smaller subset instead carries the Master Ball–pattern foil, which is the rarer of the two treatments. Magikarp 129/165 is one of the cards that received the Master Ball pattern. SV2a doesn’t publish an exact ratio between the two, so we don’t state a pull rate.
Does Magikarp 129/165 have an English print?
SV2a’s English equivalent set is 151 (Scarlet & Violet—151, also called “MEW”), released September–October 2023, which uses the same Poké Ball/Master Ball Reverse Holo parallel structure. We haven’t verified an exact English card number matching the Japanese 129/165 one-to-one, so treat the two as a set-level equivalence.
Where can I buy a PSA 10 Magikarp Master Ball Mirror from Tokyo?
Our graded 129/165 print is currently listed at ¥32,398 (~$204), shipped from Tokyo with tracked delivery. Sealed SV2A booster boxes are also listed if you’d rather pull your own copy.
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