The Most Valuable Cards From Heatwave Arena In Pokemon TCG

Goodness gracious, there is so much delight to uncover in the Pokemon Trading Card Game set Heatwave Arena, a Japanese exclusive set that focuses on the return of Trainer Pokemon cards, ones that feature trainers, champions, and gym leaders with their iconic Pokemon.

Because of the way that the Pokemon Trading Card Game releases cards outside of Japan, these Heatwave Arena cards will be dropping in the Destined Rivals set, which is expected to be released on May 30, 2025. If you can’t wait until then and picked yourself up a few packs, here are the most valuable cards in the set.

10

Cynthia’s Garchomp Ex 80/63

Super Rare – $28.08

The gold motif of the super rare cards looks even better with this Trainer card, with the gold outline of Cynthia hovering behind Garchomp as if guiding them to victory. Cynthia’s Garchomp ex comes with two attacks, both fairly cheap to use at just a couple of Energy each.

For one Fighting-type Energy you can use Screw Drive, which deals an impressive 100 damage and lets you draw cards until you have six in hand. Then there’s Dragon Buster, which deals a huge 260 damage but forces you to discard all Energy attached to the card.

9

Ethan’s Typhlosion 70/63

Art Rare – $34.01

One of the coolest-looking cards in the set, Ethan’s Typhlosion is such a cool card that scales into some huge late-game damage for cheap. Coming from veteran Pokemon TCG artist GIDORA, the artwork for this card features both Ethan and Typholsion seemingly withstanding an attack and launching their counterattack.

The power in this card comes from the one Energy Buddy Blast, which while it starts only dealing 40 damage, upgrades to dealing 280 once you have four copies of Ethan’s Adventure in your discard pile, letting you punch up significantly against your opponent’s Pokemon.

8

Yanmega Ex 85/63

Special Art Rare – $38.98

A bit of a tricky card, Yanmega ex wants to be coming back and forth between the Bench and the Active spot to keep attacking turn after turn. The way Yanmega ex works is that its Buzz Boost ability lets you search your deck for three Grass Energy and attach it to the card when it switches from the Bench to the Active spot.

Then with the Jet Cyclone attack, you get to deal 210 damage but you have to move three Energy from Yanmega ex to another Pokemon on your Bench. The neat thing is that if you have two of them out, you can just keep swapping them back and forth to keep attacking turn after turn.

7

Misty’s Psyduck 71/63

Art Rare – $41.48

One of the most popular characters from the Pokemon anime, Misty, makes her return to the trading card game with Misty’s Psyduck. The beautiful artwork from illustrator OKACHEKE features the two swimming together through a clear pond or lagoon, making for a serene image.

The ability attached to this Psyduck, Panic Jump is a curious one. Once during your turn, if Psyduck is on your bench, you can discard the bottom card of your deck to put Misty’s Psyduck on the top of your deck. It’s weird but has some potential with cards that care about the top card of your deck.

6

Arven’s Mabosstiff Ex 88/63

Special Art Rare – $46.96

The older pupper Pokemon captured our hearts in Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, and now you too can battle with him in the card Arven’s Mabosstiff ex. This Darkness-type Pokemon shows him handing out with Arven, munching on a sandwich, and relaxing around the picnic while the two look at where they want to adventure next.

The power in this card comes from the one Colorless Energy attack Hustle Tackle, dealing 30 damage at its base power, but jumping up to 150 so long as Arven’s Mabosstiff ex doesn’t have any damage on it.

5

Ethan’s Ho-Oh Ex 90/63

Ultra Rare – $78.26

There’s a lot of love to go around for Ho-Oh, being one of the first legendary Pokemon many fans saw back in the day, even if they didn’t know what it was at the time. Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex is a powerhouse in an Ethan-themed deck thanks to its Golden Fire ability.

Once during your turn, you can use the Golden Fire ability to take two Basic Fire Energy cards from your hand and slap them on one of your Benched Ethan’s Pokemon. You can use this ability from the bench, powering up this Ho-Oh to get it to four Fire Energy so you can use it Shining Feather attack, dealing 160 damage and healing all your Pokemon for 50 damage each.

4

Ethan’s Adventure 89/63

Special Art Rare – $86.48

Look at all the wholesome love for adventure with this card! Ethan’s Adventure is a Trainer card that lets you go looking for three Basic Fire Energy cards and Ethan’s Pokemon in any combination you like.

You can dig for whatever you need at any given moment, and if you’re running Ethan’s Typhlosion, you can power up those attacks once you get four in the discard pile. Getting four copies of the Special Art Rare will set you back quite a bit.

3

Cynthia’s Garchomp Ex 91/63

Ultra Rare – $88.56

Cynthia’s Garchomp ex makes a return to the list with the Ultra Rare version, and it isn’t the last we’ll see of this powerful ex card. While very similar to the Super Rare iteration of the card, the Ultra Rare features Cynthia in color instead of shades of gold.

If you find a copy of this Ultra Rare card you’ll have yourself a nice chunk of change, as it goes for almost three times as much as the Super Rare. Just wait until we get to the Special Art Rare and you’ll be opening real gold.

2

Ethan’s Ho-Oh Ex 86/63

Special Art Rare – $220.66

Ho-Oh and Ethan are back with Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex, this time as a Special Art Rare form illustrator Atsushi Furusawa. This card features the legendary Pokemon flying over Ethan, looking down at the trainer as they head off for adventure.

Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex is the first card from the set to break the $100 mark, settling at $220 at the time of this writing. This is because these cards can be found in about one in every 32 packs, leading to their high price.

1

Cynthia’s Garchomp Ex 87/63

Special Art Rare – $317.58

There is so much going on with this incredible Special Art Rare version of Cynthia’s Garchomp ex. Illustrated by HICO KIM, Cynthia’s Garchomp ex is a textured card featuring the two amid a massive tournament battle surrounded by thousands of adoring fans.

The card even features Cynthia being televised on a huge monitor so everyone in the stadium can see the action. If you open one of these Special Art Rare cards you’ll be looking at well over $300 right in your hand, making it a chase card for plenty of players.