Pokémon · E-Card
Ampharos
Expedition Base Set · #2 · Rare Holo · 2002
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$175.00
TCGPlayer
Current listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for this card right now.
Card facts
Quick reference for collectors and graders.
- Set position
- 2 / 165
- Release year
- 2002
- Rarity
- Rare Holo
- HP
- 100
- Subtype
- Stage 2
- Evolves from
- Flaaffy
- Retreat cost
- 2 energy
- Illustrator
- Atsuko Nishida
- Pokédex #
- 181
- Series
- E-Card
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Attacker
- Damage efficiency
- 40 damage
- 10 per Energy
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Stage 2
- Needs its evolution line or Rare Candy to set up
Strategy & play
How Ampharos plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- Its main attack (Lightning Strike) needs 4 Energy — a turn-4 swing on manual attachment — you’ll want Energy acceleration to power it up on time.
- Needs Lightning Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Lightning type, weak to Fighting ×2 — a Fighting attacker doing ≥50 effectively one-shots it.
- A single-prize attacker — prize-trade-positive against ex / V decks that give up two at a time.
- A Stage 2 — without Rare Candy you lose ~2 turns setting it up, and it’s gust-bait before it’s online (you must draw Flaaffy first).
How to beat Ampharos
- Exploit its Fighting weakness — ≥50 damage one-shots it.
- Gust it before the evolution is set up.
Competitive performance
From real Standard tournament decks over the last 180 days.
- Meta inclusion
- 0% of decks
- 3.5 copies on average · 4 decks
Budget alternatives
Cheaper cards that fill a similar role in Standard decks. Reference prices — most-played option first.
More by Atsuko Nishida
This card was illustrated by Atsuko Nishida.
Building around Ampharos?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
Poké-Power: Energy Connect
As often as you like during your turn (before your attack), you may take a basic Energy card attached to 1 of your Benched Pokémon and attach it to your Active Pokémon. This power can't be used if Ampharos is affected by a Special Condition.
LLCCLightning Strike — 40
You may discard all Lightning Energy cards attached to Ampharos. If you do, this attack's base damage is 80 instead of 40.
Weakness:F×2
Retreat cost:CC
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Pricing reference
Latest snapshot from the upstream catalog. Actual marketplace prices fluctuate by condition, edition, and grade — use this as a reference, not a quote.
TCGPlayer (USD)
Updated 2026/07/05| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | $158.88 | $179.95 | $1,598.70 | $175.00 | — |
| Reverse Holofoil | $32.98 | $32.99 | $59.98 | $54.62 | — |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/07/01| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €35.00 |
| 7-day average | €65.54 |
| 30-day average | €48.43 |
| Low | €5.00 |
| Trend price | €57.36 |
| Low (excellent+) | €14.00 |
| Reverse holo low | €6.00 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €9.44 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €17.20 |
| reverseHoloSell | €18.33 |
| averageSellPrice | €46.79 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €28.45 |
| Reverse holo trend | €7.30 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Ampharos is real?
Ampharos is not on our list of commonly-counterfeited cards, but counterfeits exist across every set. Check the back-light test (real cards have a black inner layer that blocks light; counterfeits glow through), the rosette dot pattern on the back under magnification, font weight and kerning on the card name, and the holofoil pattern if applicable. For high-value copies we recommend submitting to a professional grader (PSA, BGS, CGC) for tamper-evident authentication.
What is Ampharos worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Ampharos is $175.00; there are no active listings on The Game Traders right now. Actual value depends on condition, grading, edition and printing variant — graded high-condition copies (PSA 9–10) trade at a substantial premium over raw copies.
What set is Ampharos from?
Ampharos is from the Pokémon set "Expedition Base Set" in the E-Card series, released in 2002.
What rarity is Ampharos?
Ampharos is a Rare Holo card in the Expedition Base Set set.
Other Ampharos printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
