This Raikou Pokemon card guide covers one specific print: the ライコウ 1st Edition numbered e4 039/088, from the e-series Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth”. We list it under the name PSA10 Raikou :1ED [e4 039/088] (Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth”), as a PSA 10 back order currently offered at ¥264,600 (~$1,718).
The e-series is older than the official Pokemon Card Game database on pokemon-card.com, so this card has no database entry to quote. Everything below comes from our listing name and from our earlier guides, and where those sources are silent (illustrator, rarity symbol, release date) the article says so instead of filling the gap. USD figures convert at ¥154/USD, approximate.
- The card is Raikou 1st Edition, e4 039/088, from Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth”. Our listing name marks it “:1ED” and our guides place the e-series (e1 to e5) in the Card e Reader period that began in Japan on Saturday, December 1, 2001.
- It is not in the official Japanese card database, so its illustrator, rarity and release date are “not stated in the official database / our sources”.
- It is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥264,600 (~$1,718) — sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms.
What the Listing Name Says
The name of our listing is the only direct description of this card that we hold, so it is worth reading piece by piece. Each segment below is copied from the listing and explained only as far as our sources allow.
| Segment of the listing name | What it tells you | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| PSA10 | The card is graded PSA 10, as the listing states | The cert number; the slab photo on the product page shows the label |
| Raikou | The Pokemon: ライコウ, the Lightning legendary beast | Nothing about artwork |
| :1ED | 1st Edition (our earlier guides name this listing “Raikou 1st Edition [e4 039/088]”) | How many 1st Edition copies exist |
| [e4 039/088] | Set code e4, card number 039, printed set count 088 | The rarity symbol |
| Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth” | The set: the fourth e-series expansion pack | The release date, which our sources do not give |
The slab we show for this listing is the PSA 10 holder photographed for the product page. The card inside is a 1st Edition Raikou, and the number on the label is the thing to match against the listing name.
Where the e-Series Sits
Our e-Reader and e-Series guide describes the e-series as the five expansions e1 to e5, the only Japanese sets that carry dot-code strips for the Card e Reader. The Card e Reader launched in Japan on Saturday, December 1, 2001, and e1 was released the same day. Vol.4 “Split Earth” is the fourth of those five packs, so it falls inside the range that guide covers.
Two further points from our guides matter for a collector holding an e4 card:
- The e-series cards are generally not old back. Old back means the card back used from the October 1996 launch until the Pokemon VS set on Thursday, July 19, 2001, with the text “ポケットモンスターカードゲーム”, a copyright line at the bottom and a separate red Poke Ball at the top. An e-series card therefore sits on the modern side of that line.
- Our e-series guide names no Entei, Raikou or Suicune card by number. The e4 Raikou is discussed here from our listing name, not from that guide’s card list.
| Period marker | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Old back launch (Media Factory) | October 1996 | Our old back guide |
| Old back ends with Pokemon VS | Thursday, July 19, 2001 | Our old back guide |
| Card e Reader and e1 launch in Japan | Saturday, December 1, 2001 | Our e-series guide |
| e4 “Split Earth” release | Not stated in our sources | — |
The e-series guide linked above covers the format in general; this article stays with the one Raikou print.
Why the Official Database Has No Entry
The official card search on pokemon-card.com lists 24 Raikou entries. They run from the DP3 entry (DPBP#293) and the LP entries through the LEGEND combination card, the BW4 EX, the Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield prints, up to the M6a 162/103 reprint. The e4 Raikou is not among them, and neither are the old back, e-series and PCG-era cards. That is a feature of the database, not a verdict on the card.
The practical consequence is a short list of things we cannot quote. The table separates what is known from what is not.
| Question | Answer from our sources |
|---|---|
| Card name and number | Raikou, e4 039/088 (listing name) |
| Set | Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth” (listing name) |
| Edition mark | 1st Edition, written “:1ED” in the listing name |
| Illustrator | Not stated in the official database / our sources |
| Rarity symbol | Not stated in the official database / our sources |
| HP and attacks | Not stated in the official database / our sources |
| Release date of Vol.4 | Not stated in the official database / our sources |
| Card text | Not stated — read it from the card or the slab photo, not from this guide |
Writing “not stated” is deliberate. A guide for a card at this level should not guess at an illustrator credit, and a rarity symbol that the listing name omits is not something to infer from the set.
What 1ED Means and What It Does Not
In our listing names, “:1ED” stands for 1st Edition. Our old back guide notes one useful boundary: an old back card never carries a 1ED stamp. A card that shows the stamp therefore belongs to the later card back, which is where the e-series sits.
The stamp tells you which printing the card is. It does not, on its own, tell you the rarity symbol or the condition, and it does not replace the PSA label. When you compare listings, read the whole name: set, number, edition mark and grade.
We carry two other listings that use the same convention, which makes the naming easy to compare. They are different cards from different sets, shown here only so the “:1ED” label is familiar.
| Listing (as named by us) | Set | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| PSA10 Raikou :1ED [e4 039/088] | Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth” | PSA 10 back order at ¥264,600 (~$1,718) |
| PSA10 Raikou EX SR :1ED [BW4 071/069] | Expansion Pack “Dark Rush” | PSA 10 back order at ¥148,720 (~$966) |
| PSA10 Entei: 1ED [PCG4 019/106] | Expansion Pack “Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean” | PSA 10 back order at ¥2,570,400 (~$16,691) |
The BW4 listing is the one that names a rarity (“SR”, as our listing names it), because its listing name states it. The e4 listing name does not, which is why this guide does not either. Our Raikou EX Dark Rush guide covers that print.
Raikou Across the Eras
Raikou entered the Pokemon story in Gold and Silver (1999): lightning struck the Brass Tower, three Pokemon were revived by Ho-Oh, and the Burned Tower links lightning to Raikou, fire to Entei and rain to Suicune. On cards, the beast has been printed in many forms since. The table places the e4 print among the Raikou prints our sources document; the third column marks whether the print is in the official database.
| Illustrator | In the official database? | Date or note | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neo Revelation / Awakening Legends (old back) | Ken Sugimori | No | Japanese release Thursday, November 23, 2000 |
| e4 039/088 “Split Earth” (1ED) | Not stated | No | Date not stated |
| PCG4 039/106 Raikou Gold Star | Masakazu Fukuda | No | Japanese release Friday, April 8, 2005 |
| DP3 DPBP#293 | Ryo Ueda | Yes | HP 80 |
| Raikou & Suicune LEGEND L2-B 067/080 and 068/080 | Shinji Higuchi | Yes | HP 160; Reviving Legends, Thursday, February 11, 2010 |
| Raikou EX BW4 025/069 | shizurow | Yes | HP 170 |
| Raikou S3a 015/076 | Hideki Ishikawa | Yes | Legendary Heartbeat, Friday, July 10, 2020 |
| Raikou V S12a 038/172 and 218/172 | PLANETA Mochizuki; nagimiso | Yes | HP 200 |
| Raikou ex M6 024/076, 092/076, 108/076 | aky CG Works; aky CG Works; Oku | Yes | HP 200 |
| Raikou M6a 162/103 | Hideki Ishikawa | Yes | Released Wednesday, September 16, 2026 |
The table puts the e4 card in the middle of the story: after the old back Neo Revelation Raikou and before the 2005 Gold Star. The database rows from DP3 on supply the illustrator and HP facts that the e4 print lacks.
Two of the cards in the table show up again later, because they make useful visual comparisons. The first is the Amazing Rare in Legendary Heartbeat, the only Raikou printed with that rarity in our guides.
The Cards Before and After e4
Before: Neo Revelation (Awakening Legends)
Raikou debuted on cards in Neo Revelation (English, 2001), which Japan knows as Awakening Legends and released on Thursday, November 23, 2000. It was not in Neo Genesis. Our legendary beasts guide gives the English numbering: Raikou #13/64 as the Rare Holo and #22/64 as the Rare, HP 80, Lightning, illustrated by Ken Sugimori, with the scene shared across the Entei, Raikou and Suicune Rare Holos. The Japanese card numbers are not in our sources. These cards are old back cards, so they never carry a 1ED stamp.
The same day, Thursday, November 23, 2000, saw the neo Premium File 3: nine legendary-focused cards, one per card type, including Lugia, Ho-Oh, Entei, Raikou and Suicune. The Premium File 3 Raikou card number is not given in our guides.
After: PCG4 and the Gold Star
The Gold Star trio belongs to the PCG4 expansion pack “Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean”, released in Japan on Friday, April 8, 2005. Our legendary beasts guide gives Raikou★’s Japanese number as 039/106 (English 114/115 in EX Unseen Forces), HP 80, illustrator Masakazu Fukuda. This guide gives no price for it. If you are researching e-series Raikou and PCG-era Raikou together, the two are separated by their set codes and full numbers (e4 039/088 and PCG4 039/106), not by the Pokemon; see our Raikou Gold Star guide.
For any card of this age, compare three things at once: the set code, the number over the set count, and the edition mark. For the e4 listing that is e4, 039/088 and 1ED. A Raikou with a different set code is a different print even if the artwork looks familiar.
Modern Raikou Prints for Comparison
If you are weighing an e-series Raikou against a recent one, the official database gives complete facts for the newer cards. The recent Raikou in the Classic Collection reprint is M6a 162/103, illustrated by Hideki Ishikawa, released as part of M6a 30th CELEBRATION on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. Its number is above the set’s 103, which marks a secret-numbered print; the database does not print a rarity letter. Our Raikou 162/103 guide covers it in depth.
The card text on both S3a 015/076 and M6a 162/103 renders the same way (rendering): the attack アメイジングシュート (Amazing Shot) does 120 damage, and also 120 damage to one of the opponent’s Benched Pokemon, with Bench damage ignoring weakness and resistance. That text belongs to those two cards only; it says nothing about the e4 print.
The other recent Raikou cards are the Raikou V in VSTAR Universe and the three Raikou ex prints in Storm Emeralda. For those, see our Raikou V PSA 10 guide and the M6 card list.
The M6a 30th CELEBRATION booster box in the shop card earlier in this guide is the set that contains the Raikou 162/103 reprint. Nothing in it relates to the e4 print; it is simply the sealed product that carries a Raikou card.
How the PSA 10 Back Order Works
The e4 Raikou is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥264,600 (~$1,718). In plain terms, that means the card is sourced to order, and the product page shows the current terms.
A back order is a different thing from a visible listing. For comparison, the other PSA 10 back orders for Raikou that we currently list are below.
| Listing (as named by us) | Set | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| PSA10 Raikou :1ED [e4 039/088] | Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth” | PSA 10 back order, ¥264,600 (~$1,718) |
| PSA10 Raikou EX SR :1ED [BW4 071/069] | Expansion Pack “Dark Rush” | PSA 10 back order, ¥148,720 (~$966) |
| PSA10 Raikou V SAR [s12a 218/172] | High Class Pack “VSTAR Universe” | PSA 10 back order, ¥18,574 (~$121) |
The three listings cover three very different cards, so the prices reflect different prints and are not a ranking of the Pokemon.
Before you order, check the number on the slab photo against the listing name, check the edition mark, and read the product page for the current terms.
The October 29, 2026 Trademark Report
On October 29, 2026 fan sites reported a Japanese trademark filing for 「イナズマの衝撃」 (working English translation: Lightning Impact; no official English name exists), which collectors read as a possible Raikou set; nothing is announced. Our Lightning Impact trademark guide explains what is confirmed and what is not, and the ex★ 2027 round-up places it alongside the other three reported names.
Where to Buy Raikou Cards from Japan
The e4 Raikou: PSA 10 back order at ¥264,600 (~$1,718), sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms. The other Raikou cards are offered as PSA 10 back orders too, sourced to order: the BW4 071/069 1st Edition SR at ¥148,720 (~$966) and the VSTAR Universe 218/172 SAR at ¥18,574 (~$121). For a sealed box with a Raikou print, the M6a 30th CELEBRATION Booster Box is listed at Sealed ¥23,750 (~$154) / No Shrink ¥23,021 (~$149).
Browse the card list hub for every set we list, and see our legendary beasts guide for the three beasts side by side. Sourcing requests for a card we do not list go through Quick Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Raikou e4 039/088 card?
It is the 1st Edition Raikou numbered 039/088 from the e-series Expansion Pack Vol.4 “Split Earth”, as our listing names it. We offer it as a PSA 10 back order.
What does 1ED mean on the listing?
In our listing names, 1ED stands for 1st Edition. Our old back guide notes that an old back card never carries a 1ED stamp, and our e-series guide says e-series cards are generally not old back.
Is the e4 Raikou in the official card database?
No. The official database on pokemon-card.com lists 24 Raikou entries and none of them is the e4 print, because the database does not hold the e-series. Its illustrator, rarity symbol and release date are not stated in the official database or our sources.
How much is the PSA 10 Raikou e4 039/088?
It is offered as a PSA 10 back order at ¥264,600 (~$1,718), sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms.
Is this card an old back Pokemon card?
Our guides describe old back as the card back used from October 1996 until Pokemon VS on Thursday, July 19, 2001, and say the e-series cards are generally not old back. The e4 Raikou is an e-series card.
How do I order a Raikou card you do not list?
Sourcing requests for a specific card go through Quick Order at samuraiswordtokyo.com/#quick-order. The Raikou back orders we list are on their product pages with the current terms.
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