The Swampert Holo Rare from EX Ruby & Sapphire is card #13/109, and as of mid-2026 its raw market value is reported at roughly $309.70 according to single-source data from Cardrake. That figure makes it the chase card of the set, but it should be treated as a starting estimate rather than a settled price, because it comes from one source and needs to be cross-checked against recent sold listings before you rely on it. The most important thing to understand before pricing this card is that EX Ruby & Sapphire contains three distinct Swampert listings that are easy to confuse. There is the Holo Rare #13 (the chase card), a Reverse Holo version of #13, and an entirely separate Swampert [Reverse Holo] #23.
The #23 card trades far lower, with raw Near Mint copies around $16.59 to $19.99 and PSA 10 examples near $253. Conflating these is the single most common mistake new collectors make when looking up a price. For context on why this card matters historically: EX Ruby & Sapphire was released June 18, 2003, and it was the first Pokémon TCG set produced under Nintendo, as well as the first to introduce the Pokémon-ex card type. That pedigree is part of why a well-centered Swampert #13 commands the prices it does.
Table of Contents
- What Does Price Charting Show for the EX Ruby & Sapphire Swampert Holo?
- Why the Three Swampert Variants Make Pricing Tricky
- How Grading Changes the Swampert Picture
- Where to Check Prices and How the Sources Compare
- Common Pricing Mistakes and Pitfalls
- The Historical Weight Behind Swampert #13
- Identifying a Genuine Swampert #13/109 Holo
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Price Charting Show for the EX Ruby & Sapphire Swampert Holo?
When you look up price charting data for the Swampert Holo #13, the headline number you will encounter in mid-2026 is approximately $309.70 for a raw (ungraded) copy, sourced from Cardrake’s EX1 set guide. This positions Swampert as one of the more valuable non-ex cards in the set, which is fitting given that it is the Hoenn starter’s final evolution and one of the box-art mascots tied to the Ruby & Sapphire era. The practical issue with any single price-charting figure is that it represents an aggregate or estimate, not a guaranteed sale.
A raw card’s actual value swings widely based on centering, surface scratches on the holo foil, and edge whitening, all of which were common production issues for this 2003 print run. For comparison, the same source showing $309.70 raw does not necessarily reflect what a heavily played copy would fetch, which could be a fraction of that number. Treat the price-charting number as the ceiling for a clean raw copy and work downward from there based on condition. A Swampert #13 with a visible off-center cut or foil scratching will not realize the full estimate, even if a chart lists a single flat value.
Why the Three Swampert Variants Make Pricing Tricky
The biggest trap in pricing this card is variant confusion. EX Ruby & Sapphire includes Swampert #13 as a Holographic Rare (denoted ★H), the same #13 also exists in a Reverse Holo treatment as a separate listing, and there is a completely different card, Swampert [Reverse Holo] #23, that occupies its own slot in the set numbering. These are not interchangeable, and a price lookup that pulls the wrong one will mislead you by an order of magnitude. To put the gap in concrete terms: the Holo Rare #13 sits around $309.70 raw, while the Reverse Holo #23 trades for roughly $16.59 to $19.99 raw.
That is a difference of more than fifteen times the value. A seller who lists a #23 using the #13’s price, whether by mistake or by design, is overpricing the card dramatically, and a buyer who does not check the card number will overpay just as dramatically. The warning here is simple: always verify the collector number printed in the bottom corner of the card before accepting any price. The set name alone (“EX Ruby & Sapphire Swampert holo”) is not enough to identify which of the three listings you are actually looking at.
How Grading Changes the Swampert Picture
Grading transforms the value equation for these cards, and the #23 Reverse Holo offers a clean example. While a raw Near Mint #23 sits in the $16.59 to $19.99 range, a PSA 10 graded copy has been reported near $253. That is roughly a twelvefold premium for the top grade, reflecting how few copies survive in gem-mint condition from a 2003 set that was heavily played and casually stored. This matters for the Holo #13 as well.
Swampert #13 is reported as one of the most-submitted cards from the set for grading, which tells you two things. First, collectors clearly see it as worth the grading fee, and second, the population of graded copies is relatively large, which can suppress the premium for mid-tier grades like PSA 8 or 9 because supply is healthy. The takeaway for the #13 specifically is that a raw $309.70 estimate and a graded price are different conversations. A PSA 10 #13 would likely command a meaningful premium over raw, but a PSA 8 might sell close to or even below the clean-raw estimate once you account for grading costs and the large graded population.
Where to Check Prices and How the Sources Compare
No single price source should be your only reference for this card. Cardrake supplies the $309.70 raw figure for Swampert #13, while Bank TCG provides the detailed breakdown for the #23 Reverse Holo, including both the raw range and the PSA 10 benchmark near $253. CardTrader lists the Holo Rare 13/109 and is also useful for confirming the international versus Japanese distinction. Each source has different strengths, and cross-referencing them protects you from a single bad data point.
The tradeoff between aggregator estimates and live sold listings is worth understanding. Aggregator price charts give you a quick, smoothed number that is convenient but can lag the market or rest on thin sales data. Recent eBay and CardTrader sold listings give you ground truth on what buyers actually paid, but they require more work to interpret because you have to filter by condition, grade, and variant yourself. For a card like Swampert #13 where the headline figure comes from a single source, the recommended approach is to start with the chart estimate, then pull the last several genuine sold listings at matching condition to confirm. If the sold data clusters well below $309.70, trust the sales over the chart.
Common Pricing Mistakes and Pitfalls
The first pitfall, already noted, is confusing the international #13 with the Japanese listing. A separate Japanese EX Ruby & Sapphire Expansion Pack lists Swampert at #16, which is a different card from the international #13/109. If you are buying from an overseas seller or browsing a Japanese marketplace, the number on the card and the set origin both need to match what you think you are buying. The second pitfall is treating the $309.70 figure as fixed. Prices fluctuate, and that number is explicitly a single-source raw market estimate.
Relying on it without checking recent sold listings is risky, especially in a vintage market where a handful of sales can move the reported average. A card that “books” at $309.70 might realistically sell anywhere in a wide band depending on the week and the condition of the specific copy. The third pitfall is ignoring condition entirely. The 2003 holo foil on these cards is prone to scratching and the cards frequently show centering problems straight from the pack. A listing that quotes a chart price but shows photos of a scuffed, off-center card is not actually offering you a $309.70 card, regardless of what the headline number says.
The Historical Weight Behind Swampert #13
Part of what sustains demand for Swampert #13 is its place in Pokémon TCG history. EX Ruby & Sapphire, released June 18, 2003 with 109 cards, was the first set produced under Nintendo’s stewardship and the debut of the Pokémon-ex mechanic.
Collectors who focus on “firsts” treat the entire set as foundational, and the holographic rares from that run carry a premium that purely newer cards do not. As a concrete example of that collector interest, Swampert #13 ranks among the most-submitted cards from the set for professional grading. A card does not accumulate a large graded population unless a steady stream of owners believe it is worth the submission fee, which is itself a signal of sustained demand for the Hoenn starter’s holo.
Identifying a Genuine Swampert #13/109 Holo
To confirm you are looking at the right card, check that the collector number reads 13/109 and that the rarity symbol is the holographic rare mark (★H) rather than a reverse-holo or a different number. The card is part of the 109-card international EX Ruby & Sapphire set, so the “/109” denominator is a quick verification anchor.
If the number reads 23, you are holding the Reverse Holo Swampert that trades in the sub-$20 raw range, not the chase card. If the number reads 16 and the text is Japanese, you have the Japanese Expansion Pack version, which is a separate card from the international #13 entirely. These three quick checks resolve nearly every Swampert pricing question in this set.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the EX Ruby & Sapphire Swampert Holo #13 worth?
As of mid-2026, raw copies are reported around $309.70 per Cardrake, though this is a single-source estimate that should be confirmed against recent sold listings.
Why are there multiple Swampert prices for this set?
The set has three distinct listings: Holo Rare #13 (around $309.70 raw), a Reverse Holo of #13, and Swampert [Reverse Holo] #23 (around $16.59 to $19.99 raw).
What is a PSA 10 Swampert worth from this set?
The Reverse Holo #23 has reported PSA 10 sales near $253, a roughly twelvefold premium over its raw Near Mint value.
When was EX Ruby & Sapphire released?
June 18, 2003. It contained 109 cards and was the first Pokémon TCG set produced under Nintendo, introducing the Pokémon-ex card type.
How do I tell the cards apart?
Check the collector number. The chase card reads 13/109 with a holo rare symbol; #23 is the cheaper Reverse Holo; a Japanese #16 is a separate card entirely.
