Ampharos never got the spotlight the way Pikachu or Raichu did, but the electric sheep line has quietly picked up seven prints worth tracking across 27 years of the Japanese TCG — including a Mega Evolution card that’s easy to miss.
This guide walks through the Mareep, Flaaffy, and Ampharos cards worth knowing if you’re buying Japanese product: the current-era Flaaffy Character Rare from VMAX Climax, its Blue Sky Stream original, the 2015 Mega Ampharos-EX secret rare, the 2018 Ampharos GX secret rare, and the two newest prints from 2022 and 2026. It also confirms whether a Mega Ampharos card actually exists. We ship Japanese sealed product and singles out of Tokyo every week, and the pricing here reflects the market we trade in.
Seven Mareep-line prints span 1999 to 2026, from Neo Genesis to Ninja Spinner. Yes, Mega Ampharos-EX is a real card — it appeared in 2015’s Bandit Ring. Of the seven, the print we can price with confidence is the PSA 10 Flaaffy CHR (s8b 194/184) from VMAX Climax, currently listed at ¥8,893. If you’re chasing the line through sealed product, our VMAX Climax Booster Box is currently listed at ¥39,900.
Pricing reflects our own catalog as of August 2026, converted at ¥163/USD where noted. Prints without a currently listed price are described by card text and print history only.
Every Mareep-Line Card and What Makes It Different
Seven prints across seven sets, from the line’s 1999 debut to its most recent 2026 appearance:
| Karte | Number | Rarity | Set | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flaaffy | s8b 194/184 | CHR | VMAX Climax | 2021 |
| Flaaffy | S7R 027/067 | U | Blue Sky Stream | 2021 |
| Ampharos | Neo Genesis #1 (EN) | Holo Rare | Gold & Silver debut (JP) / Neo Genesis (EN) | 1999 |
| M Ampharos EX | XY7 086/081 | SR | Bandit Ring | 2015 |
| Ampharos GX | SM8a 053/052 | SR | Dark Order | 2018 |
| Mareep | S12a 209/172 | AR | VSTAR Universe | 2022 |
| Ampharos | M4 088/083 | AR | Ninja Spinner | 2026 |
The card most buyers actually run into is the Flaaffy Character Rare from VMAX Climax — it’s the print with a currently listed price in our catalog, and it’s the one this guide anchors around. The other six span the evolution line’s full print history: a 1999 original, a Mega Evolution secret rare, a GX-era secret rare, and two current-generation alternate-art prints. The sections below cover what separates each one.
The Anchor: Flaaffy CHR from VMAX Climax
![Flaaffy [s8b 194/184] CHR (VMAX Climax)](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/img_ampharos_s8b_194_r_jp_63638539c130-1.webp)
Flaaffy’s entry in VMAX Climax (s8b 194/184) is a Lightning-type, 90 HP, one-stage evolution illustrated by saino misaki. Its ability, Eleki Dynamo (エレキダイナモ, our transliteration — the official English name hasn’t been confirmed here), lets you attach a Lightning Energy from your discard pile to a Bench Pokemon once per turn, and its attack, Electroball, does 50 damage for a Lightning and Colorless Energy.
The artwork pairs Flaaffy with a trainer figure grooming it — a visual pairing consistent with Elesa (Kamitsure) in the Japanese games, though we haven’t confirmed that identification against an official source, so treat it as a visual read rather than a settled fact. VMAX Climax’s Character Rare tier is built around exactly this kind of trainer-and-Pokemon pairing, and it’s a big part of why the subset holds collector interest years after release — our CHR Character Rare cards guide covers the tier across the whole set.
A PSA 10 copy of this print is currently listed at ¥8,893 in our catalog. That puts it inside the range covered by our best PSA 10 Japanese cards under ¥10,000 guide, alongside other graded Character Rares from the same set.
Eleki Dynamo isn’t unique to this printing — it’s carried over from the S7R original below. If a listing just says „Flaaffy“ without a card number, confirm s8b 194/184 against the image before assuming it’s the CHR.
Where the Art Started: Flaaffy from Blue Sky Stream
![Flaaffy [S7R 027/067] U (Blue Sky Stream)](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/img_ampharos_s7r_27_r_jp_07da3d4be8ce-1.webp)
Blue Sky Stream (S7R, 2021) is where the CHR’s card text first appeared — the same Eleki Dynamo ability and Electroball attack, on a standard uncommon print illustrated by OKACHEKE. It’s the version most likely to turn up loose in a bulk box rather than a binder, and it’s a genuinely playable Lightning-deck support card rather than a pure collector’s piece, which is part of why it kept getting reprinted at higher rarity tiers afterward.
If you’re comparing the two, the card text tells you nothing — it’s identical. The card number and the artwork are the only ways to tell a Blue Sky Stream copy from the VMAX Climax CHR above.
The First Ampharos: Neo Genesis, 1999
Ampharos’s first Pokemon TCG card came in Japan’s 1999 Gold & Silver debut set; in English it’s Neo Genesis card #1. It’s a Lightning-type, 80 HP, two-stage evolution illustrated by Ken Sugimori, with an attack called Giga Spark: 40 damage, with the Defending Pokemon Paralyzed on a heads coin flip, plus 10 damage to each Pokemon on the opponent’s Bench.
The Japanese-language printing from the same era used a numbering system that we haven’t been able to independently confirm here, so it isn’t pictured in this guide — we’re describing the card by its confirmed English-language details rather than guessing at a Japanese card number.
Does Mega Ampharos Exist? XY7 Bandit Ring, 2015
![M Ampharos EX [XY7 086/081] SR (Bandit Ring)](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/img_ampharos_xy7_86_r_jp_f6319a4a4bac-1.webp)
Short answer: yes. M Ampharos-EX is a real, confirmed card, printed in Bandit Ring (XY7, 2015) at secret-rare status. It’s a Lightning-type, 220 HP Mega Evolution card that evolves from Ampharos-EX, illustrated by 5ban Graphics. Its single attack hits for 120-plus damage for two Lightning and two Colorless energy.
Bandit Ring printed the full Mega Ampharos family in one set: the base Ampharos-EX (XY7/27), a standard-rarity M Ampharos-EX (XY7/28), and this secret-rare M Ampharos-EX at 086/081. Within the sets verified for this guide, the 2015 XY block is where you’ll find it. For the broader context of EX and Mega EX cards from that period, see our XY-era EX and Mega EX cards guide.
Ampharos GX SR: Dark Order, 2018
![Ampharos GX [SM8a 053/052] SR (Dark Order)](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/img_ampharos_sm8a_53_r_jp_3e17500e0395-1.webp)
Three years after Bandit Ring, Ampharos got the GX treatment in Dark Order (SM8a, 2018) — a Lightning-type, 240 HP, two-stage evolution GX card, also illustrated by 5ban Graphics. Its attack, Impact Volt, does 150 damage and requires discarding all Lightning Energy attached; its GX attack, Elec Station GX, lets you search your deck for up to seven Pokemon and add them to your hand. A separate attack, Power Recharge, returns all „Electropower“ cards from the discard pile to your hand.
A standard-rarity Ampharos GX also exists in the same set at SM8a/6, for anyone comparing print tiers within Dark Order specifically.
The Modern Prints: VSTAR Universe and Ninja Spinner
The two newest entries in the line come from opposite ends of the evolution chain, four years apart.
![Mareep [S12a 209/172] AR (VSTAR Universe)](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/img_ampharos_s12a_209_r_jp_0321ebcda56a-1.webp)
![Ampharos [M4 088/083] AR (Ninja Spinner)](https://samuraiswordtokyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/img_ampharos_m4_88_r_jp_de465ac016c5-1.webp)
Mareep AR (S12a 209/172) is the Basic-stage starting point, from VSTAR Universe (2022), illustrated by Kouki Saitou. It’s a 60 HP Lightning card with two attacks: a 10-damage Back Kick and a 30-damage Electroball.
Ampharos AR (M4 088/083) is the fully evolved end of the same line, from 2026’s Ninja Spinner — the same set that produced our Cinccino ex anchor card — illustrated by saino misaki, the same artist behind the VMAX Climax Flaaffy CHR above. Its ability, Synchro Pulse, adds 80 damage to this Pokemon’s attacks whenever you and your opponent hold the same number of cards in hand, and its attack, Flashing Bolt, does 140 damage but can’t be used again the following turn. Its 160 HP, two-stage evolution build makes it the highest-HP non-EX/GX Ampharos print in this guide.
saino misaki illustrated both the 2021 Flaaffy CHR and the 2026 Ampharos AR — for the CHR subset the Flaaffy comes from, see our VMAX Climax best cards guide.
Chasing the Line Through VMAX Climax Boxes
The Flaaffy CHR is the one print in this guide with real graded stock behind it, and it comes out of VMAX Climax booster boxes alongside the rest of that set’s Character Rare subset.
For the graded Flaaffy CHR itself, or for the other six prints in this guide — Blue Sky Stream, Neo Genesis, Bandit Ring, Dark Order, VSTAR Universe, and Ninja Spinner — our Quick Order page is the fastest way to check current availability and build a mixed order.
Where to Buy Japanese Mareep, Flaaffy, and Ampharos Cards
We ship Japanese sealed product and singles worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. The PSA 10 Flaaffy CHR is currently listed at ¥8,893, and the VMAX Climax Booster Box is currently listed at ¥39,900 if you’d rather chase the CHR subset through sealed product.
For the other six prints in this guide, quote requests and sourcing run through our Quick Order page. For related Japanese pulls, see our CHR Character Rare cards guide and our XY-era EX and Mega EX cards guide.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
Is there a Mega Ampharos Pokemon card?
Yes. M Ampharos-EX is a confirmed secret rare from Bandit Ring (XY7 086/081), released in 2015. Bandit Ring also included a standard-rarity M Ampharos-EX and the base Ampharos-EX it evolves from. Within the sets verified for this guide, the 2015 XY block is where you’ll find it.
What is the rarest Ampharos card from Japan?
Among the prints covered here, the two secret rares — M Ampharos EX SR from Bandit Ring (2015) and Ampharos GX SR from Dark Order (2018) — sit above the Character Rare, Art Rare, and standard prints in rarity tier. We don’t currently carry graded copies of either, so pricing on those two is best checked via Quick Order.
How much is the Flaaffy CHR from VMAX Climax worth?
A PSA 10 copy (s8b 194/184) is currently listed in our catalog at ¥8,893. It’s the only print in this guide with a currently listed price; the other six are available to source via Quick Order.
Where can I buy Japanese Mareep, Flaaffy, and Ampharos cards?
We ship Japanese sealed product and singles worldwide from Tokyo. The PSA 10 Flaaffy CHR is currently listed at ¥8,893, the VMAX Climax Booster Box is currently listed at ¥39,900, and the remaining prints in this guide can be sourced through our Quick Order page.
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