
Scyther — ストライク (Sutoraiku) in Japanese — has a long Japanese print history, including an early “ex”-tier treatment back in the 2003–2004 EX era. Within the ten more recent prints this guide verifies in detail — running from the higher-numbered SM8b print through a run of Scarlet & Violet-block Commons — none reaches a full-art or secret-illustration chase tier, and the card sitting behind our own currently listed sealed box is one of the plainer entries on that list: a straightforward Common from SV3, “Ruler of the Black Flame.”
This guide lays out every print we’ve verified, sorted by the block it belongs to, and explains what separates the rarity tiers stated here — Common, Uncommon and Shiny Rare. No single Scyther card is currently listed on our site; the practical route for anyone chasing a specific print runs through either the listed SV3 box or a Quick Order sourcing request.
Ten Japanese Scyther prints are verified in this guide, spanning the Sun & Moon, Sword & Shield, and Scarlet & Violet blocks. The anchor print is the SV3 #4 Common from SV3 “Ruler of the Black Flame”, currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108, converted at ¥159/USD, September 2026). No Scyther single is currently listed on our site — sourcing requests for any print go through Quick Order, and the wider Japanese Pokemon booster box collection covers everything else we currently list.
Prices reflect our own current listing only, converted at ¥159/USD (September 2026). No third-party market prices are used in this guide.
The Japanese Scyther Prints We’ve Verified
Ten Scyther prints verified in this guide, across five illustrators and three TCG blocks:
| Set | # | Rarity | Illustrator | EN equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SV3 (anchor) | 4 | Common | Shin Nagasawa | Obsidian Flames #4 / Pokemon 151 #95 |
| SV4a | 4 | Common (reprint, same illustration) | Shin Nagasawa | Obsidian Flames #4 / Pokemon 151 #95 |
| SV4a | 194 | Shiny Rare | Hitoshi Ariga | Obsidian Flames #4 / Pokemon 151 #95 |
| SVG | 4 | Pokemon Card Gym promo | Hideki Ishikawa | Pokemon 151 #123 |
| SV2a | 123 | Uncommon | Hideki Ishikawa | Pokemon 151 #123 |
| MC | 15 | Start Deck 100 reprint | Dsuke | Temporal Forces #1 |
| SV5M | 1 | Common | Dsuke | Temporal Forces #1 |
| S11a | 1 | Common | Narumi Sato | Crown Zenith #6 |
| S9a | 4 | Common | Uta | Astral Radiance #5 |
| SM8b | 161 | Not stated here | Shigenori Negishi | Celestial Storm #4 |
The pattern across the table: six of the ten prints are confirmed Common or Uncommon, and two more — the SVG promo and the MC starter-deck print — don’t display a rarity symbol on their source pages, so no tier is stated for them here. The SV4a Shiny Rare is the clearly identified alternative treatment in the table; this guide does not spell out a rarity name for SM8b #161. A card database search for Scyther across all Japanese prints returns 17 results in total; the seven not listed here are older reprints of cards already covered above, and we’ve left them out to keep this guide to prints we can attach full illustrator and set detail to.
Before Scarlet & Violet: SM8b, S9a and S11a
The oldest verified print in this table sits in the Sun & Moon block: SM8b #161, illustrated by Shigenori Negishi and corresponding to Celestial Storm #4 in English. Its rarity name is not stated in this guide.
The Sword & Shield block carries two further Commons. S9a #4, illustrated by Uta, corresponds to Astral Radiance #5 in English. S11a #1, illustrated by Narumi Sato, corresponds to Crown Zenith #6. Both sit at the standard Common tier — straightforward set-filler prints rather than chase cards, but each one is a distinct illustration tied to its own Sword & Shield-block set.
None of these three prints has a verified image in this guide, and none is tied to a box we currently list — sourcing requests for any of them go through Ordine rapido.
The Pokemon Card 151 Crossover: SVG and SV2a


Scyther’s entry in the SV2a “Pokemon Card 151” set sits at #123, Uncommon — a rarity tier none of the other nine prints in this guide share — and corresponds to Pokemon 151 #123 in English. The same illustration by Hideki Ishikawa was also issued through the SVG “Pokemon Card Gym” promo tier at #4, distributed alongside the SV2a release rather than through a standard booster box. Both prints share the same illustrator and the same English-side equivalent, which is why they’re grouped together here rather than treated as unrelated sets.
The SV3 Anchor Print and Its Direct Reprints

SV3, released in Japan as “Ruler of the Black Flame” (黒炎の支配者) on 28 July 2023, is a 141-card set and the source of our anchor print: Scyther #4, Common, illustrated by Shin Nagasawa. This is the print behind the SV3 booster box we currently list. On the English side, SV3’s Scyther corresponds to Obsidian Flames #4.

SV4a “Shiny Treasure ex” reprinted the same Shin Nagasawa illustration at the same card number, #4, shortly after SV3. But SV4a also gave Scyther a second, separate treatment:

Card #194 is a Shiny Rare, a different illustration by Hitoshi Ariga rather than a recolour of the Nagasawa artwork. Shiny Treasure ex is built around exactly this kind of pairing — a standard-illustration reprint of an existing card sitting alongside a dedicated Shiny Rare treatment of the same Pokemon, drawn from scratch. It’s the highest rarity tier Scyther has received inside the current Scarlet & Violet block.
For the rest of SV3’s card list and pull-rate breakdown, see our Ruler of the Black Flame card list and SV3 best cards guide. For how the SV3 box compares to its sister release, see our SV3 vs SV3a box guide. On the English-equivalent side, our Obsidian Flames chase cards and Obsidian Flames Japanese card list guides cover the sets behind this print in more depth.
Later Reprints: MC and SV5M

Two further prints, both illustrated by Dsuke and both corresponding to Temporal Forces #1 in English, round out the Scarlet & Violet-block reprints. MC #15 comes from the “Start Deck 100 Battle Collection” starter product, and SV5M #1 is a standard Common print. Neither is tied to a box we currently list.
Chase Prints and What Makes Them Collectible
Scyther did receive an “ex”-tier treatment much earlier in the card’s history — a Japanese print called Rocket’s Scyther ex, from the “Rocket Gang Strikes Back” release (English equivalent: EX Team Rocket Returns) during the 2003–2004 EX era. That older print sits outside the modern Limitless search this guide otherwise draws from, so it isn’t documented in the table above. Among the ten prints verified here, none carries a full-art, alternate-art, or ex/GX treatment. The clearly identified non-standard treatment in the table is the SV4a Shiny Rare; the SM8b #161 rarity name is left unstated.
Shiny Rare (SV4a #194) is a Scarlet & Violet-block tier reserved for alternate-colour reprints with their own dedicated illustration, distinct from the standard-colour version of the same card in the same set. It is not a full-art or secret-illustration treatment.
The SV2a Uncommon (#123) sits a step above the five Common prints in the table above and below the Shiny Rare.
Which Japanese Boxes to Open for Scyther
Only one Scyther-carrying box is currently listed on our site:
- SV3 “Ruler of the Black Flame” Booster Box (Japanese) — currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108) — carries the anchor Common print, #4, illustrated by Shin Nagasawa.
The boxes tied to the other nine prints — SV4a “Shiny Treasure ex,” the SVG and SV2a Pokemon Card 151 crossover, MC’s Start Deck 100 product, SV5M, S9a, S11a, and SM8b — are not listed on our site at the moment. Sourcing requests for any of those prints, or for singles in general, go through Ordine rapido.
Where to Buy Scyther Cards from Tokyo
We ship Japanese sealed product worldwide out of Tokyo with tracked delivery. The SV3 Ruler of the Black Flame Booster Box, currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108), is the direct route to the anchor Common Scyther print covered in this guide.

For any of the other nine prints in this guide, browse the wider Japanese Pokemon booster box collection to see what else is currently listed, or request a quote through our Quick Order page for a specific-print sourcing request.
Domande frequenti
How many Japanese Scyther Pokemon card prints are there?
Ten prints are verified in this guide, spanning the Sun & Moon, Sword & Shield, and Scarlet & Violet TCG blocks. A card database search returns 17 Japanese Scyther prints in total; the remaining seven are older reprints of the cards already covered here.
What is the anchor Scyther print in this guide?
SV3 #4, Common, illustrated by Shin Nagasawa, from “Ruler of the Black Flame” (Japanese release 28 July 2023). It’s the print behind the SV3 booster box currently listed on our site.
Which Scyther print sits at the highest rarity tier?
The clearly identified alternative treatment in this guide is the SV4a Shiny Rare (#194). The SM8b #161 print is listed without a spelled-out rarity name. Neither is presented here as a full-art or secret-illustration treatment.
Can I buy a Scyther Pokemon card directly from samuraiswordtokyo.com?
No Scyther single is currently listed on our site. What we do carry is the SV3 “Ruler of the Black Flame” booster box, currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108), which contains the anchor Common print. Sourcing requests for any of the other prints go through Quick Order.
Which Japanese booster box should I open for a Scyther card?
SV3 “Ruler of the Black Flame” is the box currently listed on our site and the source of the anchor Common print. The boxes behind the other nine prints in this guide — SV4a, SVG, SV2a, MC, SV5M, S9a, S11a, and SM8b — are not currently listed, and sourcing for those runs through Quick Order.
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