Special Art Rare (SAR) cards, the rarest and usually most valuable of all Pokémon TCG cards, are understandably the most sought-after cards of any set.

What Are SAR Pokémon TCG Cards?

But first, let’s discuss what SAR Pokémon TCG cards are.

Every Pokémon TCG card has a specific rarity. At the top of the rarity scale are the four Secret Rare rarities: Art Rare (AR), Super Rare (SR), Ultra Rare (UR), and at the absolute peak of the list—SAR.

Ever since the revamping of the Pokémon TCG rarity scale at the beginning of the ninth generation, the vast majority of the biggest pickups from each set have been SAR cards.

Now, with the release of Battle Partners [SV9] approaching, let’s take a closer look at every SAR card in this hotly-anticipated expansion set.

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Every SAR Card in Battle Partners [SV9]

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The following are every SAR card in Battle Partners [SV9] (pending upcoming reveals):

1. TBD

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2. Iono’s Bellibolt ex

This card might become the biggest pull of the entire set—but if it does, with all due respect to the Bellibolt fans out there, it will have almost nothing to do with the EleFrog Pokémon. Instead, this card is almost entirely about Levincia Gym Leader Iono.

Iono’s popularity among the Pokémon TCG fanbase is truly on another level—even when compared to other female characters. At the release of dual set Snow Hazard [SV2P] and Clay Burst [SV2D] in April 2023, Clay Burst [SV2D] sold out just about everywhere almost immediately, while Snow Hazard [SV2P] experienced relatively slow sales and was overshadowed by its counterpart. This happened for one reason and one reason only: the SAR Iono card was in Clay Burst [SV2D].

As such, it came as little surprise that Creatures Inc. selected Iono as one of the four Trainers to be brought into Battle Partners [SV9] following the re-introduction of Trainer’s Pokémon to the Pokémon TCG. With this being a SAR card with the Electric-type specialist shown on it, expect this to be one of the set’s most coveted cards.

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3. Lillie’s Clefairy ex

This card is also a strong contender for the status of the set’s most desired card—and once again, it’s almost completely because of the Trainer who’s depicted on it. While Clefairy is certainly a more popular Pokémon than Bellibolt, this card’s value will almost certainly be carried by Fairy-type specialist Lillie.

Lillie is an iconic character within the Pokémon TCG community because of the Full Art Lillie card from the SM-P Promotional Cards which was distributed at participating stores in Japan during the Extra Battle Day tournaments of October and November 2019. To this day, that card still sells for massive sums of money and is a contender for the title of “greatest Pokémon card of all time”. For that reason, Lillie’s reintroduction to the Pokémon TCG caused quite a stir among the fans—especially when it was revealed that she’d be on an SAR card.

That being said, Clefairy’s presence on the card is also likely to play a role in boosting this card’s value. It should be kept in mind that Clefairy was initially intended by the developers at Game Freak to be the face of the Pokémon franchise before they ultimately settled on Pikachu. Due to Clefairy’s unique status in this regard, it has always occupied a role as something of a “cult favorite” among the fanbase.

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4. TBD

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5. Hop’s Zacian ex

One of the three rival characters in eighth-generation main series video games Pokémon Sword and Shield, Hop encounters and eventually comes to own Legendary Pokémon Zacian (though this is specifically in Pokémon Shield). This card depicts the Warrior Pokémon in its Crowned Sword form, in which it gains the Steel type in addition to its usual Fairy type.

The card has a Full Art illustration that depicts Hop in the Slumbering Weald of the Galar region where Hop is calming Zacian following its battle against the player character’s Zamazenta after Zacian was put into a berserk state after having been exposed to Dynamax energy by Sordward and Shielbert. This would go on to be the incident that led to Hop taking up the position as the assistant of Sonia, a Pokémon Professor.

In addition to this card’s high rarity and appealing Full Art illustration containing a direct reference to the video games, Zacian itself is a Pokémon with an impressive Pokémon TCG history gameplay-wise. The Zacian V card from Sword [S1W] was a crucial part of the Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX/Zacian V deck—one of the most dominant decks, if not the most dominant, in the history of the Pokémon TCG.

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6. Salamence ex

Gen 3 was the only Pokémon generation to debut two pseudo-Legendary Pokémon. One of those two pseudo-Legendaries was Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon Salamence—a Pokémon which over the years has featured on some seriously epic cards. The SAR Salamence ex card from Battle Partners [SV9] is poised to be another megahit.

This card’s Full Art illustration depicts Salamence ex flying through the clouds—a direct reference to several of its Pokédex entries which state that when Salamence sprouts wings upon its evolution from Shelgon, it’s the realization of its lifelong dream to take to the skies. The Pokédex also states that Salamence often spouts flames as it flies in sheer exuberance; this is reflected on this card by the fact that both of its attacks require a Fire Energy card to be used.

In addition to its status as an SAR card, another factor which will draw many collectors to this card is the fact that it’s not only the first Salamence card of Gen 9; it’s also the first time a Salamence card has been printed in more than three years. The last time Salamence was seen in the Pokémon TCG was in Blue Sky Stream [S7R]—a set released in July 2021.

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Now that you’ve read this, why not browse the SNKRDUNK App for our selection of Battle Partners [SV9] cards, packs, and boxes? Whether it’s one of these SAR cards or anything else, we’re sure there’ll be some items on that page that you’ll be taken by and will, therefore, want for your own.

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