Palpitoad · Obsidian Flames, what to know.
About the Palpitoad card
Palpitoad sits at #51 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 sowsow. In the games, Palpitoad evolves from Tympole, which makes it a late-stage card in the line.
The flavor text on the card reads: "On occasion, their cries are sublimely pleasing to the ear. Palpitoad with larger lumps on their bodies can sing with a wider range of sounds." 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.
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 Commons grade easily and trade thinly in graded condition. Raw pack-fresh copies are the practical buy for set completion. PSA 10 submissions on a Common from a modern set rarely return enough premium over raw to justify the service fee.
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.
