Ho-Oh doesn’t get a starter deck or a mainline evolution line. It shows up once, at the top of a set, most often as a standalone card. Only the 2025 Heat Wave Arena run ties it to a named Trainer, as Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex, printed four separate times in the same set.
This guide walks through every current Japanese Ho-Oh print worth knowing — the Heat Wave Arena run, the Incandescent Arcana V card, the Champion’s Road and Ninja Spinner standard-era versions, and the vintage LEGEND and Neo-era cards that started the character’s card history — and identifies exactly which prints we currently carry as graded singles. We ship Japanese sealed product and singles out of Tokyo every week, and the two graded cards below are drawn straight from that stock.
Ho-Oh has appeared in at least thirteen distinct Japanese card prints since 2000: eleven modern prints across five sets (2018–2026), plus a 2009 LEGEND combo card and a 2000 Neo-era holo. Of those, we currently carry two graded singles from Heat Wave Arena (SV9a): a PSA 10 Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex, 086/063 SAR, currently listed at ¥46,041 (update: uitverkocht — vraag restock aan via Quick Order), and a PSA 10 Ethan’s Adventure, 089/063 SAR, currently listed at ¥22,555 (update: uitverkocht — vraag restock aan via Quick Order). Both are graded, one-of-one stock.
Stock prices reflect our own catalog as of August 2026, converted at ¥163/USD. This guide does not report secondary-market prices for prints outside our current stock — only card identity, set, and rarity.
Every Ho-Oh Print at a Glance
Eleven modern Japanese Ho-Oh prints across five sets (2018–2026), plus two vintage cards covered separately below:
| Kaart | Number | Rarity | Set | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex | SV9a 020/063 | RR | Heat Wave Arena | 2025 |
| Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex | SV9a 077/063 | SR | Heat Wave Arena | 2025 |
| Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex | SV9a 086/063 | SAR | Heat Wave Arena | 2025 |
| Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex | SV9a 090/063 | UR | Heat Wave Arena | 2025 |
| Ethan’s Adventure | SV9a 063/063 | U | Heat Wave Arena | 2025 |
| Ethan’s Adventure | SV9a 089/063 | SAR | Heat Wave Arena | 2025 |
| Ho-Oh V | S11a 055/068 | RR | Incandescent Arcana | 2022 |
| Ho-Oh V | S11a 080/068 | SR | Incandescent Arcana | 2022 |
| Ho-oh | SM6b 048/066 | U | Champion’s Road | 2018 |
| Ho-Oh | M4 010 | U | Ninja Spinner | 2026 |
| Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex (reprint) | M2a 021/193 | RR | Mega Dream ex | 2025 |
That’s the modern list. Two older cards — a 2009 LEGEND combo print and a 2000 Neo-era holo — sit outside it because their full specs haven’t been independently verified for this guide; they’re covered separately below. Only the 2025 Heat Wave Arena run ties Ho-Oh to a named Trainer; every earlier print is a standalone card.
Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex: The Heat Wave Arena Prints
Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex is a Fire-type Basic, 230 HP, and the anchor card of Heat Wave Arena (SV9a), released March 14, 2025. Its ability sets up the rest of the deck: once per turn, it can attach up to two basic Fire Energy from hand to a Benched “Ethan’s Pokemon.” Its attack heals 50 damage from each of your Pokemon in play — a sustain effect built around keeping a Fire-heavy board alive turn after turn.
The same card exists in four printings on the same card number range: a standard RR at 020/063 illustrated by aky CG Works, an SR at 077/063, a Special Art Rare at 086/063 illustrated by Atsushi Furusawa, and an Ultra Rare at 090/063. It was reprinted again as an RR in Mega Dream ex (M2a) on November 28, 2025, keeping the original aky CG Works artwork. For the rest of the set’s headline cards, see our Heat Wave Arena best cards guide.
Because the ability specifically targets a Benched “Ethan’s Pokemon,” Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex functions best alongside the rest of Heat Wave Arena’s Ethan-branded support cast rather than as a standalone attacker — which is exactly where Ethan’s Adventure, the Supporter card covered next, comes in.
020, 077, 086, and 090 are the same card with four different treatments — same ability, same attack, same HP. The number in the corner and the border style are the only way to tell an RR from a Special Art Rare at a glance. For more on how SAR fits into the wider rarity system, see our SA / Special Art Rare Japanese cards guide.
Ethan’s Adventure: The Support Card Behind the Push
Ethan’s Adventure is the Supporter card that makes Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex playable on schedule: it searches your deck for “Ethan’s Pokemon” and basic Fire Energy, up to three cards combined, and adds them to your hand. It’s a consistency piece rather than an attacker, but it’s the reason the Ho-Oh ex deck can reliably assemble its board.
The standard U print at 063/063 is illustrated by Iori Suzuki; the Special Art Rare at 089/063 is illustrated by Kariya, with an entirely different composition built around the character artwork rather than the game board. It was later reprinted in Mega Dream ex (M2a) as card #174. Our PSA 10 copy of the SAR (089/063) is currently listed at ¥22,555 (update: uitverkocht — vraag restock aan via Quick Order).
Ho-Oh V: The Incandescent Arcana Prints
Before Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex, the most recent standalone Ho-Oh was Ho-Oh V from Incandescent Arcana (S11a), released September 2, 2022. It’s a Colorless-type Basic, 230 HP, with an ability called “Blazing Rage”: if it’s in the discard pile, you can put it onto your Bench instead of ending your turn normally, and attach up to four basic Energy cards from the discard pile to it. Its attack, Rainbow Burn, deals 100-plus damage.
The standard RR is at 055/068, illustrated by AKIRA EGAWA; the SR at 080/068 carries a different composition illustrated by N-DESIGN Inc. The English equivalent is Silver Tempest #140 (standard) and #187 (illustration rare). Unlike the 2025 ex card, Ho-Oh V doesn’t lean on a named support line — its own ability is what gets it back into play once it’s already been discarded, which made it a self-sufficient recovery piece in 2022-era decks rather than one built around a Trainer partner.
Champion’s Road and the Current Standard Era
Two other prints bracket the character’s more recent history at opposite ends of the calendar.
The Champion’s Road print (SM6b 048/066, May 3, 2018) is a Colorless Basic, 130 HP, illustrated by Aya Kusube. Its attack is the same Rainbow Burn that later shows up on the Incandescent Arcana V card — base damage 30, plus more per Energy type attached. It’s the direct precursor to the 2022 attack text, four years earlier. The English version is Lost Thunder #160.
The most recent print is in Ninja Spinner (M4 010, March 13, 2026), part of the current Standard-legal rotation. It’s a Fire-type Basic, 130 HP, illustrated by Takumi Wada, with a first attack that puts up to three Basic Pokemon from the discard pile onto the Bench and a second attack for 130 damage. It’s the version of Ho-Oh currently playable in tournament Standard, and the international print is Chaos Rising #10.
Put side by side, the three attack names tell their own story: Rainbow Burn on both the 2018 and 2022 prints, then a full mechanical rework for the 2025 and 2026 cards. The designers return to the same Pokemon roughly every few years, each time with a different job for it to do on the board.
Vintage Roots: LEGEND and the Neo Era
Ho-Oh’s Japanese card history goes back much further than the Scarlet & Violet era. Two vintage prints are worth knowing, even though their full specs sit outside what this guide can confirm.
The first is Ho-Oh LEGEND, from the HeartGold Collection (L1), released October 9, 2009. It’s a two-piece LEGEND card — card numbers 015/070 and 016/070 — that combine from hand into a single Pokemon on the Bench, a mechanic unique to the LEGEND card family from that era.
The second is an older Neo-era holo Ho-Oh, from Pokemon Card Neo Expansion Pack 3, “Awakening Legends,” released in Japan in November 2000 on the old card back. Its English counterpart is Neo Revelation (2001). This print predates the Japanese TCG’s card-numbering system, so its exact HP and attack text haven’t been independently verified here — what’s confirmed is the set and the release window. For more on how to identify cards from this era generally, see our Japanese old-back Pokemon cards guide.
Ho-Oh also has a long-standing tie to the three legendary beasts — Entei, Raikou, and Suicune — going back to the same Johto-era storylines that introduced Ethan as a protagonist. If you’re building out a Johto-legendary collection alongside Ho-Oh, our Legendary Beasts (Entei, Raikou & Suicune) cards guide covers all three in the same detail as this guide covers Ho-Oh.
Currently in Stock: Graded Heat Wave Arena Singles
Of the eleven prints above, two are currently in our graded singles stock — both PSA 10, both from Heat Wave Arena, both one-of-one.
The second is the PSA 10 Ethan’s Adventure, SAR 089/063, currently listed at ¥22,555 (update: uitverkocht — vraag restock aan via Quick Order) — the Supporter card that pairs with Ho-Oh ex in the same deck. Because these are graded singles rather than sealed product, each listing represents exactly one card; once it sells, the listing comes down.
Where to Buy Japanese Ho-Oh Cards
We ship Japanese sealed product and singles worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. For Ho-Oh specifically, our current graded stock covers the Heat Wave Arena Special Art Rare pair — Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex 086/063 (update: uitverkocht — vraag restock aan via Quick Order) and Ethan’s Adventure 089/063 (update: uitverkocht — vraag restock aan via Quick Order). For other prints from the same set, or for the Incandescent Arcana, Champion’s Road, and Ninja Spinner versions, our Quick Order page is the fastest way to check current availability and build a mixed order.
Veelgestelde vragen
What is the most recent Ho-Oh Pokemon card?
The most recent Ho-Oh print is from Ninja Spinner (M4 010), released March 13, 2026. Before that, Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex from Heat Wave Arena (SV9a), released March 14, 2025, was printed in RR, SR, SAR, and UR versions, and reprinted as an RR in Mega Dream ex (M2a) on November 28, 2025.
How much is the PSA 10 Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex SAR?
Our graded copy of Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex, SV9a 086/063 SAR, is currently listed at ¥46,041. As a graded single it’s one-of-one stock, so the listing comes down once it sells.
What’s the difference between Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex and Ho-Oh V?
They’re different cards from different sets. Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex (Heat Wave Arena, 2025) is a Fire-type ex tied to the “Ethan’s Pokemon” support line, with an Energy-attaching ability and a team-healing attack. Ho-Oh V (Incandescent Arcana, 2022) is a Colorless-type V card with a “Blazing Rage” ability that returns it from the discard pile, and a Rainbow Burn attack that also appears, at lower damage, on the 2018 Champion’s Road print.
Is there a vintage Ho-Oh Pokemon card?
Yes. Ho-Oh LEGEND (HeartGold Collection, L1, 2009) is a two-card LEGEND combo print, and an earlier holo Ho-Oh appeared on the old card back in Pokemon Card Neo Expansion Pack 3, “Awakening Legends,” in November 2000. Full stats for the 2000 print haven’t been independently verified for this guide — only the set and release window are confirmed.
Where can I buy Japanese Ho-Oh Pokemon cards?
We ship Japanese sealed product and singles worldwide from Tokyo. Two graded PSA 10 singles from Heat Wave Arena — Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex 086/063 SAR and Ethan’s Adventure 089/063 SAR — are currently listed on our site, and our Quick Order page covers sourcing for other prints.
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