Empoleon29/108 · Dark Explorers Price & Value
Market value · Near Mint · Holofoil
- PSA 8$15pop 13
- PSA 9$40modelled · pop 24
- PSA 10$861 sold · 90d · modelled · pop 5
Make sure you have the right card
Every price on this page is for Dark Explorers #29/108, 2012. Check yours against the tells below before you buy, sell or grade.
Everything except the illustration window is foiled — the mirror image of a normal holo, where only the picture shines.
The picture itself is foiled and the card body is flat. This is the standard holo.
No foil anywhere — the non-holo printing.
What's your copy worth?
✨ Is it worth it?
An AI market read of this card — value, momentum, grading economics, liquidity. It lays out the data; you decide.
Empoleon is a Rare Holo Pokémon card from Dark Explorers (#29, released 2012), illustrated by Naoki Saito. It's a Stage 2 Water-type Pokémon with 140 HP, evolving from Prinplup, weak to Lightning ×2. It's listed among our holo rares. Prices below are aggregated across marketplaces — raw and graded, updated daily and shown in your local currency.
Prices last updated 9 September 2026.
Empoleon price history & recent sales
Price history · Raw
We'll email you when this card's value crosses your target.
Verified sales history
Medium confidence17 sales in 90 days, but prices vary widely. · Liquid — Sells regularly
Real completed eBay sales, refreshed periodically. Grade read from the listing title. Implausibly priced listings (lots, proxies, empty slabs) and wrong-variant sales are filtered out. Links to eBay are affiliate links — we may earn a commission.
By grade
- Raw$4.2522 sales · 17 in 90d, sells regularly
- PSA 8$14.503 sales
- PSA 10$1283 sales · 1 in 90d, rare
- PSA 9$40.982 sales
- PSA 7$8.502 sales
- PSA 6$6.001 sale
- CGC 8.5$8.001 sale · 1 in 90d, rare
- CGC 8$8.001 sale · 1 in 90d, rare
Is Empoleon worth grading?
Most copies come back PSA 9 — worth $40 against the $76 you put in, a $36 loss. The money is in the 1 in 2 that reach PSA 9 or 10 and sell for $40–$86. Averaged over every outcome that is −$43 a card.
That is the average submitted copy. Tell us about yours and the verdict re-prices — most cards stop being worth grading here. Not sure? Grade it from a photo →
These are set to a flawless copy — the answer above. Change any of them to re-price it for the card in your hand.
Compare graders, and the live market
The verdict above is PSA's — the grader the population report, the ROI table and the price ladder on this page all use. Trader prices all three graders against each other and adds what the asking market is doing right now.
- PSA, CGC and Beckett side by side — each on its own population and its own fees, with Beckett scored on the 9.5 its market actually pays for.
- Lightly and moderately played — the same expected return for a copy that cannot gem.
- Ask vs sold — what the live listings want, against what copies have really closed at.
- Momentum — the 30-day median against the 90-day, per grade.
- Where it sells higher — the Fanatics-versus-eBay premium, with the sale counts behind it.
- Population history — the weekly PSA census, so you can see how fast 10s are arriving before you post the card.
The odds
Empoleon is a Holo / V / ex in Dark Explorers — the pack's hit slot lands on Holo / V / ex 27.9% of the time, split across 15 holo / v / ex cards in the set, so pulling this exact card is roughly 1 in 54 packs.
Estimates only. Pack odds come from CardTrack's pack model (the same one behind the pack simulator) — not an official rate. Grading odds are the real cumulative PSA population, which skews toward nicer, resubmitted copies, so it overstates the true first-submission gem rate. Full grade-by-grade breakdown below.
Grade-by-grade ROI & risk-adjusted outcomesNet vs raw per target grade, plus the probability-weighted distribution
| Target grade | Est. value | Grading fee | Net vs raw | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | $85.81 | $71 | +$9 | 14.5× |
| PSA 9 | $39.98 | $70 | −$36 | 6.8× |
| PSA 8 | $14.50 | $70 | −$62 | 2.5× |
⚖️ Risk-adjusted return
Best case isn't the whole story. Weighting every grade by how often it actually happens, across 48 PSA-graded copies:
| Outcome | Chance | Value |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | 10.4% | $85.81 |
| PSA 9 — typical | 50% | $39.98 |
| PSA 8 | 27.1% | $14.50 |
| PSA 7 | 10.4% | $7.02 |
| PSA 6 | 2.1% | $6.00 |
Net = graded value − raw value − grading cost (tier fee + ~$20 round-trip shipping), using PSA fees as of 2026-08-26; the paused PSA Value tier is excluded so this isn't overstated. Gem rate is estimated from cumulative PSA population, which skews toward nicer, resubmitted copies — so it overstates the true grade rate. Treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.
Population across gradersPSA, CGC, BGS & TAG — every grade, with gem rates
5 of the 48 PSA-graded Empoleon copies came back a gem-mint 10 — 10%. The rest graded lower.
Bar length is relative to this grader's most common grade; the figure on the right is the share of all 48.
Bar length is relative to this grader's most common grade; the figure on the right is the share of all 33.
Real graded population from PSA, CGC, BGS & TAG — a lower gem rate means a Empoleon 10 is harder to pull.
Copies for sale right now
POKEMON EMPOLEON 29/108 RARE HOLOFOIL DARK EXPLORERS HP CARDRaw · eBay$2.00
Empoleon Non-Holo Shadows Deck 29/108 2012 Dark Explorers NMRaw · eBay$2.16
Empoleon 29/108 - Dark Explorers Set - Pokemon Card - Very Good ConditionRaw · eBay$2.48
EMPOLEON 29/108 HOLO DARK EXPLORERS MP Pokemon TCGRaw · eBay$2.50
Empoleon 29/108 BW Dark Explorers Non Holo Rare Pokemon DMGRaw · eBay$2.67
Empoleon Holo Pokemon Black & White Dark Explorers #29 READ 2f4Raw · eBay$2.82Cheapest raw copy $2.16 — 63% below our near-mint estimate of $6
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All grades & conditions
Every grade we pricePSA / CGC / BGS ladder with per-grade population
| Grade | Relative value | Price |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10pop 5 | modelled$86$86–$86 | |
| PSA 9pop 24 | modelled$40$40–$40 | |
| PSA 8pop 13 | $15$12–$17 | |
| PSA 7pop 5 | modelled$7$7–$10 | |
| PSA 6pop 1 | modelled$6$6–$6 |
Raw condition ladderNM → damaged, with real sold medians where we have them
Price by printingBase vs reverse holo vs 1st edition — priced separately
Price by variant
TCGplayer market price per printing — reverse holo, 1st edition and unlimited often differ sharply.
Market dataCross-market spread, EU price, momentum & community buzz
Cross-market prices
15% spreadCurrently 15% cheaper on PriceCharting than TCGplayer. These are independent market prices for the same card — a wide gap can mean a buying opportunity. Informational only, not arbitrage advice.
Market signal
Derived from this card's 90-day price history, recent trend and cross-market price gap. Informational, not advice.
Card textAttacks, abilities, weakness / resistance / retreat
Evolves from Prinplup.
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may discard 1 card from your hand. If you do, draw 2 cards.
Does 10 damage times the number of Pokémon in play (both yours and your opponent's).
“If anyone were to hurt its pride, it would slash them with wings that can cleave through an ice floe.”
About the PokémonSpecies, generation, evolution line
Card detailsSet, rarity, artist, Pokédex & specs
Other Empoleon cards
There are 13 different Empoleon printings — make sure you're valuing the right one. This is Dark Explorers #29 (Rare Holo). The most valuable 7 are below.
More from Dark Explorers
Frequently asked questions
How much is Empoleon (Dark Explorers #29) worth?
As of 9 September 2026, Empoleon from Dark Explorers is worth approximately $5.91 ungraded (near-mint), and around $86 in PSA 10 gem mint. Values are blended from real Cardmarket, eBay sold and TCGplayer prices and update daily.
What is the PSA 10 price for Empoleon?
A PSA 10 (gem mint) Empoleon from Dark Explorers is worth around $86 — roughly 15× the raw ungraded value of $5.91.
Should I grade my Empoleon?
Grading is worth it when the PSA 10 premium comfortably beats the grading fee and the card is clean enough to have a real shot at a 10 — the "Should you grade it?" estimate above works that out per grade, net of the current fee.
Is Empoleon rare?
Empoleon is a Rare Holo card from Dark Explorers (card #29).
How do I know if my Empoleon is Reverse Holo?
The card body, not the picture: Everything except the illustration window is foiled — the mirror image of a normal holo, where only the picture shines.
How do I know if my Empoleon is Holofoil?
The illustration window: The picture itself is foiled and the card body is flat. This is the standard holo.
Cite & embed this card
Free to use with attribution to CardTrack.
Empoleon (Dark Explorers #29) — Pokémon market value $5.91, PSA 10 $85.81. Source: CardTrack, https://cardtrack.com/pokemon/card/dark-explorers/empoleon-29<iframe src="https://cardtrack.com/embed/card?id=bw5-29" width="100%" height="160" style="border:0;max-width:460px" title="Empoleon price — CardTrack" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p style="font:12px system-ui">Source: <a href="https://cardtrack.com">CardTrack</a></p>