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Ho-Oh holo card from Celebrations Cel25 with artwork by Kouki Saitou

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Overview

Ho-Oh is a Fire-type Pokémon represented as a basic Pokémon card within the Celebrations expansion, designated Cel25. This holofoil reprint captures the legendary bird in a classic, celebratory frame synonymous with the 25th anniversary release. The card emphasizes Ho-Oh’s traditional role as a powerful, high-HP attacker capable of applying pressure across both opposing Pokémon and the active battlefield. The artwork, credited to Kouki Saitou, presents the majestic phoenix-like creature with radiant, rainbow-colored wings, aligning with Ho-Oh’s in-game lore of spectacle and renewal. In the context of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), this card balances offense and durability, enabling players to contest for Prizes while managing Energy attachment and resource expenditure across key turns.

Card Information

Name: Ho-Oh
Card number / set: cel25-1, Celebrations (Cel25)
Illustrator: Kouki Saitou
Rarity: Rare
Type: Fire
Stage: Basic
HP: 130
Attacks:
- Sacred Fire — Cost: Fire, Colorless. Effect: This attack does 50 damage to 1 of your opponent's Pokémon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokémon.)
- Fire Blast — Cost: Fire, Fire, Colorless. Effect: Discard an Energy from this Pokémon. Damage: 120
Weakness: Lightning ×2
Resistance: Fighting −30
Retreat Cost: 2
Regulation Mark: E
Legal Formats: Expanded: True; Standard: False
Variant/Appearance: Holofoil (as per Cel25 holo variant); First Edition: False; Normal: False; Reverse: False; wPromo: False
Dexterity / Pokédex reference: Dex: 250
Description: “It will reveal itself before a pure-hearted Trainer by shining its bright, rainbow-colored wings.”
Set Symbol: Celebrations symbol, Cel25
Image source: Card image URL provided by the Cel25 set

Gameplay and Strategy

As a basic Fire-type with 130 HP, Ho-Oh presents a solid foundational attacker for mid-to-late game play in Celebrations-legal decks. The two-attack slate provides a versatile approach: Sacred Fire offers a reliable 50-damage option to a single opposing Pokémon, which is often enough to finish weakened Pokémon or apply early pressure to a prized target. The additional rule within Sacred Fire—excluding the application of Weakness and Resistance to Benched Pokémon—can influence decision-making when stacking damage toward a particular threat located on the opponent’s bench or active position.

Fire Blast is the primary finisher in this card’s toolkit. With a substantial 120 damage potential, it serves as a credible option to close out threats or secure a knockout on a target Pokémon. However, the cost of this attack is balanced by the requirement to discard an Energy from Ho-Oh itself, which necessitates careful Energy management and, ideally, energy acceleration or attachment strategies that can sustain Ho-Oh across multiple turns. This dynamic invites synergy with other Fire-energy generators and supportive tools from the broader deck, including Pokémon- and Trainer-based effects that help Ho-Oh maintain attachment consistency or recover energy.

Ho-Oh’s 130 HP and its Water-based meta context in expanded formats offer resilience against some common threats but expose it to Lightning-type attackers due to the ×2 weakness. The vulnerability requires players to navigate risk by leveraging protective strategies, such as applying pressure to the opponent’s board before Ho-Oh becomes the central focus of the matchup, or pairing Ho-Oh with Pokémon and items that guard against fast enemy accelerants. The resistance of −30 to Fighting helps mitigate a portion of common Fighting-type threats, though players should still anticipate aggressive Fighting-type decks in expanded formats.

In practice, Ho-Oh is best utilized in decks that can sustain energy supply while leveraging healing, buffing, or draw support to maintain pressure across multiple turns. Its holo appearance in Celebrations adds collector appeal and can influence deck-building choices in casual play or themed builds where the aesthetic and nostalgia value of a holo-print can contribute to strategic deck acceptance and fan engagement.

Collector and Market Information

Rarity is listed as Rare, and this Ho-Oh print appears as a holofoil variant in the Celebrations Cel25 set, which is known for its assortment of reprints and anniversary-themed designs. The holofoil treatment increases both visual appeal and potential resale value among collectors who prioritize condition and print lineage. The Cel25 set itself is part of a broader celebration of 25 years of Pokémon TCG history, with many cards reimagined in glossy holo finishes to commemorate the milestone.

Pricing data provides a snapshot of market dynamics for this print. Cardmarket shows an average price around €0.18 with a low of €0.02, a trend index near 0.15, and typical mid-range values around €0.11–€0.18 depending on condition and listing. The holo variant on TCGplayer is tracked with a low around $0.01, a mid around $0.29, and a high around $5.30, with market pricing influenced by card condition, demand, and availability in the secondary market. These figures are updated periodically (Cardmarket data as of 2025-10-31 and TCGplayer data the same date), reflecting fluctuations in online markets and collector interest. The card’s official data indicates it is legal in Expanded format, which can impact pricing dynamics as players seek competitive prints for modern-era play while collectors weigh rarity and print status.

Pricing and availability can vary by region and seller, and print runs for Celebrations holo cards may influence both supply and perceived value. For researchers and collectors, monitoring updated market dashboards can provide more precise, time-stamped valuations that reflect current demand and card condition.

Art and Lore

The artwork for this Ho-Oh print emphasizes the creature’s mythic status within the Pokémon universe. Kouki Saitou’s illustration depicts Ho-Oh with its signature rainbow-hued plumage, a visual motif that aligns with the Pokémon’s lore of beauty, fire, and rebirth. The descriptive text on the card—“It will reveal itself before a pure-hearted Trainer by shining its bright, rainbow-colored wings”—ties the artwork to a narrative of revelation and wonder, echoing Ho-Oh’s role as a legendary guardian whose appearance is a moment of significance within the Trainer’s journey. As part of the Celebrations set, the card combines classic card design elements with modern holo fidelity, appealing to both players and collectors who value a connection to Pokémon’s storied past while engaging with contemporary print quality.

Illustrator credits, set symbolism, and the holo treatment collectively reflect the aesthetic priorities of Celebrations: a balance between nostalgia and modern production standards. The combination of fiery type and celebratory iconography underscores Ho-Oh’s enduring resonance across generations of Pokémon media, including video games, anime, and the TCG.

Trivia

The Cel25 Celebrations print marks Ho-Oh as part of a 25th-anniversary reprint series, emphasizing iconic cards from Pokémon’s history.
The card’s attack set includes Sacred Fire and Fire Blast, with Sacred Fire uniquely applying damage to a selected opponent’s Pokémon while exempting Benched Pokémon from Weakness/Resistance calculations in that instance.
Regulation Mark E indicates the card’s presence in Expanded format, while it is not legal in Standard as of the current eligibility data.
Limited first-edition status is not applicable to this holo Cel25 print, consistent with the broader Celebrations reprint lineage.
The card’s market data shows a wide variance in price due to its holo status, with a range of values in both Cardmarket and TCGplayer, reflecting collector interest and print availability.

📘 Ho-Oh (Pokémon TCG Card)