The EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken Holo (#3/109, 2003) is a mid-tier vintage chase card whose value depends almost entirely on grade. A graded PSA 9 copy recently changed hands at roughly $344, according to the Sports Card Investor price guide, while the broader auction record paints a more sobering picture: across 19 recorded PSA sales spanning all grades, the card has totaled about $1,477, or an average of roughly $77.74 per sale. In other words, a top-grade example commands a premium, but the typical graded copy that crosses the block sells for well under $100. That gap is the single most important thing to understand before buying or selling this card.
A pristine, high-grade Blaziken and a played, lower-grade Blaziken share the same artwork and the same set, but they are effectively different products at the register. For example, the reverse holo variant of the same #3/109 in raw Near Mint condition has a last recorded sale near $30, a fraction of the graded holo’s high-grade price. Knowing where a specific copy falls on that spectrum is what separates a fair deal from an overpay. This card also carries some historical weight: it comes from the 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire set, the first English release in the long-running “EX” series. That status gives it collector appeal beyond the Blaziken name alone, but it does not by itself guarantee a high price, since print runs from that era were substantial.
Table of Contents
- What Does Price Charting for EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken Holo Actually Tell You?
- How Grade Drives the Value of the 2003 Blaziken Holo #3/109
- Standard Holo vs. Reverse Holo: Two Different #3/109 Cards
- Where to Check Prices: Comparing PSA, Sports Card Investor, TCGplayer, and Cardmarket
- Common Pitfalls When Pricing the EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken
- Why the 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire Set Adds Collector Interest
- Reading a Specific Listing Before You Buy
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Price Charting for EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken Holo Actually Tell You?
“price charting” for a card like the Blaziken Holo #3/109 refers to tracking recorded sale prices over time rather than relying on a single asking price. The most useful figures are sold data points: the PSA 9 last sale near $344, and the PSA auction aggregate of 19 sales totaling $1,477. The aggregate matters because one number alone can mislead. A single $344 sale tells you what one PSA 9 did; the $77.74 average across all grades tells you what a randomly graded copy tends to fetch. The practical lesson is to read the grade attached to every price.
A chart that blends PSA 10, PSA 9, PSA 8, and raw copies into one line will produce an “average” that describes no actual card you can buy. For comparison, the PSA 8 example currently listed on GameStop’s graded marketplace sits below the PSA 9 tier, and a raw reverse holo near $30 sits below that. Each is a legitimate price for its own condition, and lumping them together flattens out exactly the information you need. When you see a price guide quote a number for this card, ask which source and which grade it reflects. The Sports Card Investor guide separates the standard holo (#003/109) from the reverse holo (#003/109) precisely because they trade at different levels, and confusing the two is one of the easiest mistakes to make.
How Grade Drives the Value of the 2003 Blaziken Holo #3/109
Grade is the dominant variable for this card, and the spread is wide. A PSA 9 recently sold for about $344, while the all-grades PSA average sits near $77.74. That means a PSA 9 can be worth roughly four to five times what a mid-grade or raw copy brings. The card is a holo rare, number 3/109, and holo surfaces from the 2003 EX era are notoriously prone to scratching and edge wear, which is exactly why high grades are scarce and command a premium. The warning here is straightforward: do not assume a raw copy will grade well.
EX-era holos frequently show surface scratches under bright light and whitening on the back edges, both of which can cap a card at PSA 8 or lower. Paying a PSA 9 price for a raw card on the hope it grades a 9 is a gamble, and grading fees plus shipping add to the cost whether or not the grade comes back high. A raw copy that returns a PSA 7 may be worth less after grading than the seller paid for the card plus the grading service. It is also worth remembering that the recorded PSA 9 sale near $344 is a point-in-time figure, not a standing offer. The 19-sale aggregate shows how thin the trading volume can be for any single grade, which means the “market price” for a PSA 9 may rest on only a handful of comparable sales.
Standard Holo vs. Reverse Holo: Two Different #3/109 Cards
The EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken exists in more than one form, and price charting must keep them separate. The standard holo #3/109 is the card behind the PSA 9 figure near $344. The reverse holo #3/109, where the card body rather than the artwork window carries the holo pattern, last sold raw in Near Mint condition for around $30.
Same Pokemon, same number, very different market. For a concrete example, imagine two listings side by side: one labeled “Blaziken 3/109 Holo” and one labeled “Blaziken 3/109 Reverse Holo.” A buyer skimming quickly might treat them as interchangeable, but the reverse holo’s raw value is roughly a tenth of the standard holo’s high-grade price. Reading the full title, and ideally confirming the holo pattern in the photo, prevents an expensive mix-up in either direction, whether you are buying or pricing your own copy to sell.
Where to Check Prices: Comparing PSA, Sports Card Investor, TCGplayer, and Cardmarket
No single source gives a complete picture, so the practical move is to triangulate. PSA’s auction price data is the strongest record of sold graded copies, since it ties each sale to a verified grade and gives you the 19-sale aggregate. Sports Card Investor’s guide is useful for quick last-sale figures broken out by variant, such as the standard holo near $344 and the reverse holo near $30. TCGplayer (product #83903) reflects the U.S. raw and graded marketplace, while Cardmarket, where the single is cataloged under product code RS3, is the better window into European pricing.
The tradeoff is currency, audience, and freshness. Cardmarket prices are in euros and reflect European supply, which can diverge from U.S. levels; TCGplayer skews toward American buyers; and price-guide last sales can lag the live market during a hot or cold streak. A graded inventory listing, such as the PSA 8 copy on GameStop’s marketplace, shows an asking price rather than a sold price, so it tells you what a seller hopes to get, not what a buyer paid. Cross-referencing two or three of these sources before a transaction is the cheapest insurance against paying yesterday’s price. If PSA’s sold data and Sports Card Investor’s guide roughly agree, you can trust the range; if they diverge sharply, that usually signals thin recent volume or a condition mismatch worth investigating before you commit.
Common Pitfalls When Pricing the EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken
The most common pricing error is anchoring on the best-case number. Seeing the PSA 9 sale near $344 and assuming any Blaziken Holo is worth that much ignores the $77.74 all-grades average and the roughly $30 raw reverse holo last sale. The high figure applies to a specific grade in a specific variant, and most copies in the wild are neither. A second pitfall is ignoring asking-versus-sold prices. A live listing, like the PSA 8 on GameStop, advertises what the seller wants; it is not proof of market value until something actually sells at that number.
Treat open listings as the ceiling of seller hopes and sold data as the floor of reality, and weight the sold data more heavily. Be especially cautious with raw copies described as “mint” by sellers, since EX-era holo wear is easy to miss in a low-resolution photo and grading often reveals scratches that drop the grade. Finally, watch for thin sample sizes. With only 19 recorded PSA sales across all grades, a single unusually high or low result can swing an “average” noticeably. When the data is this sparse, a single anomalous sale should not be mistaken for a new market level, and it is safer to look at the cluster of recent comparable sales than to fixate on the most recent one.
Why the 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire Set Adds Collector Interest
Part of this Blaziken’s appeal is its place in Pokemon history. The 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire set was the first English entry in the “EX” series, the line that introduced powerful Pokemon-ex cards and a new design era. That first-of-its-kind status gives cards from the set a nostalgia premium that newer reprints lack, and Blaziken as a popular fire-type starter evolution carries its own fanbase.
As an example of how that interest shows up in the market, the card is tracked across multiple regional platforms, from TCGplayer in the U.S. (product #83903) to Cardmarket in Europe (product code RS3). A card with only local demand rarely earns catalog entries on both sides of the Atlantic, so the dual listings are a small signal of sustained, broad collector attention rather than a one-region fad.
Reading a Specific Listing Before You Buy
Before committing to any single copy, match the listing details against the verified facts. Confirm the card number reads 3/109, that the set is 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire, and that the rarity is holo rare rather than the reverse holo variant.
Then check whether the price is a sold result or an open ask, and which grade it carries, since a PSA 9 near $344 and a raw reverse holo near $30 are both accurate prices for entirely different cards. For a worked example: a PSA 8 copy listed on GameStop’s graded marketplace should be priced below the roughly $344 PSA 9 last sale but above a raw copy, and a buyer can sanity-check that asking price against PSA’s sold-auction record for the same grade. If the listing sits far above comparable sold data, the gap is the seller’s optimism, and the burden is on the listing to justify it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the EX Ruby & Sapphire Blaziken Holo #3/109 worth?
It depends heavily on grade. A PSA 9 recently sold for about $344, while the average across 19 recorded PSA sales of all grades is roughly $77.74 per sale.
What is the difference between the holo and reverse holo Blaziken 3/109?
They are separate cards with the same number. The standard holo is the higher-value version, while the raw reverse holo #3/109 last sold near $30 in Near Mint condition.
Is the raw (ungraded) Blaziken Holo a good buy?
Raw copies sell for substantially less than high-grade PSA examples, but EX-era holos scratch easily, so a raw card may not grade as high as it looks. Factor in grading fees and risk before paying a premium.
Where can I check current prices for this card?
Cross-reference PSA auction prices, the Sports Card Investor guide, TCGplayer (product #83903), and Cardmarket (product code RS3) for European pricing. No single source is definitive.
Why is this card collectible beyond the Blaziken name?
It comes from the 2003 EX Ruby & Sapphire set, the first English release in the “EX” series, which gives it added historical appeal among Pokemon collectors.
