Over the years, many different trios of Legendary Pokémon have had their time in the spotlight. However, despite not playing a significant role in the storyline of the Pokémon Red and Blue video games in the way Legendary trios from future generations would, the Gen 1 Legendary Bird trio still remain among the most popular of these. Of this trio, Zapdos is the biggest fan-favorite—leading to heightened demand for the Zapdos ex card from the Pokémon TCG set Pokémon Card 151 [SV2a].

This Zapdos ex card of Special Art Rare (SAR) rarity has a Full Art illustration depicting Zapdos ex soaring through the clouds, electricity crackling around its wings. The imagery also shows streams of air surrounding Zapdos ex, highlighting the great speed at which it’s flying.

Those who are well-versed in Pokémon TCG lore will also have noticed that on the left of the card, Moltres and Articuno—the other two members of the Legendary Bird trio—can be seen. On the surface, this is a reference to the Legendary Bird trio as a whole. However, there’s another layer to this in the context of the Pokémon TCG.

On 15 September 1997, the October 1997 issue of CoroCoro was released. That issue came with a free promotional Pokémon TCG card—a jumbo Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos card. That card went on to become among the most memorable and sought-after promotional Pokémon TCG cards of all time. This card’s illustration is likely a call-back to that card.

The English translation of this card is card 202/165 in the 151 [MEW] set.

A Zapdos ex (Pokémon Card 151 [SV2a] 204/165) currently goes for 5,500 JPY (~US$35).

In other TCG-related news, check out the Tama card from 500 Years in the Future [OP-07]. Alternatively, you can also head over to the SNKRDUNK App via the banner below and find the top trending and latest single cards and boxes.