Pokémon · Black & White
Empoleon
Dark Explorers · #29 · Rare Holo · 2012
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$5.10
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
- 29 / 111
- Release year
- 2012
- Rarity
- Rare Holo
- HP
- 140
- Subtype
- Stage 2
- Evolves from
- Prinplup
- Retreat cost
- 2 energy
- Illustrator
- Naoki Saito
- Pokédex #
- 395
- Series
- Black & White
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Ability Engine
- Damage efficiency
- 10 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
Also does
Strategy & play
How Empoleon plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- Not a main attacker — its job is Ability-based draw/search. Run it as a consistency hub and protect it, because opponents will target the engine.
- Needs Water Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Water type, weak to Lightning ×2 — a Lightning attacker doing ≥70 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 Prinplup first).
How to beat Empoleon
- Exploit its Lightning weakness — ≥70 damage one-shots it.
- KO it to choke their draw / search engine.
- Gust it before the evolution is set up.
Budget alternatives
Cheaper cards that fill a similar role in Standard decks. Reference prices — most-played option first.
More by Naoki Saito
This card was illustrated by Naoki Saito.
Building around Empoleon?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
"If anyone were to hurt its pride, it would slash them with wings that can cleave through an ice floe."
Ability: Diving Draw
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may discard 1 card from your hand. If you do, draw 2 cards.
WAttack Command — 10×
Does 10 damage times the number of Pokémon in play (both yours and your opponent's).
Weakness:L×2
Retreat cost:CC
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Recent tournament results
View calendar →Tournaments from the past 30 days where Empoleon was legal.
Tournament play
Decklist data from the past 30 days of competitive Pokémon TCG tournaments (sourced from Limitless TCG).
Recent decks
1
ran Empoleon
Tournaments scanned
295
past 30 days
Competitive note
Occasional competitive appearance.
1 top-cut deck · best finish 6th
Top decks running Empoleon
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 2026/06/30| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | $4.50 | $7.24 | $48.10 | $5.10 | — |
| Reverse Holofoil | $12.69 | $55.06 | $96.61 | $9.92 | $96.61 |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/05/01| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €2.00 |
| 7-day average | €1.79 |
| 30-day average | €1.78 |
| Low | €0.10 |
| Trend price | €2.87 |
| Low (excellent+) | €0.45 |
| Reverse holo low | €0.20 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €4.95 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €2.01 |
| averageSellPrice | €1.71 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €2.23 |
| Reverse holo trend | €2.07 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Empoleon is real?
Empoleon 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 Empoleon worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Empoleon is $5.10; 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 Empoleon from?
Empoleon is from the Pokémon set "Dark Explorers" in the Black & White series, released in 2012.
What rarity is Empoleon?
Empoleon is a Rare Holo card in the Dark Explorers set.
Other Empoleon printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
