Ninetales · Obsidian Flames, what to know.
About the Ninetales card
Ninetales sits at #29 in Obsidian Flames, released in August 2023. Obsidian Flames is part of the modern English Pokémon TCG era and uses the standard contemporary card frame and rarity tiers. Illustration by Yoshioka. In the games, Ninetales evolves from Vulpix, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.
The flavor text on the card reads: "Very smart and very vengeful. Grabbing one of its many tails could result in a 1,000-year curse." Pokédex entries from this era are short and often quirky, written by the original Japanese localization team for a specific stat-block layout that no longer exists in modern cards.
About Ninetales in the Pokémon world
The fully evolved Vulpix. Nine tails, mystical Japanese kitsune influence in the design. Base Set holo Ninetales is one of the more aesthetically beloved holos in the set and a steady performer in graded prices.
Print variants and how to spot them
Obsidian Flames shipped in Holofoil, Reverse Holo, ex, Full Art, Special Illustration, and Hyper Rare. The Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare (#215) is the marquee modern chase from the set and a defining card of the early Scarlet & Violet era.
Grading and condition
Modern Uncommons grade cleanly. The secondary market for graded modern Uncommons is mostly set-completionist driven; standalone demand is thin. Useful as a first grading submission to learn the process.
If you are buying this card
Raw copies of this card are inexpensive enough that the grading math rarely justifies submission unless you have a clearly pack-fresh example. For set completionists, picking up a clean raw copy and sleeving it is the practical move.
