Blog · Mega Evolution & Modern Sets
Pokémon TCG Obsidian Flames (SV03): The Black Tera Charizard Explained
By Dexhaul Team · August 20, 2026
The most recognizable Pokémon in the game isn't Fire-type on its Obsidian Flames card. It's Darkness.
That single fact sets Scarlet & Violet's third expansion apart from everything that came before it. Released on August 11, 2023, Obsidian Flames (SV03) introduced the Tera mechanic to the Pokémon TCG and immediately used it to do something that surprised a lot of collectors: give Charizard a completely different type.
Three years later, sealed product is still in circulation and the set's signature card remains one of the most searched Charizard variants in the modern era. Here's what you need to understand before buying.
How the Tera Mechanic Actually Works
In the video games, Terastallizing lets a Pokémon change its type temporarily. The Pokémon TCG translated this into a visual and mechanical system. Tera Pokémon ex carry a crystalline frame around their card art, and their Tera type determines their weakness and resistance in gameplay, not their standard typing.
Charizard is normally a Fire and Flying type. In Obsidian Flames, it Terastallizes into a Black Tera Type: Darkness. This is not cosmetic. The card's gameplay type is Darkness, meaning players running it fit it into Darkness-type decks rather than Fire builds. The energy cost, weakness interactions, and synergies all shift accordingly.
For collectors, the type shift matters because it produced a visually distinctive card. The black crystalline frame on the Charizard ex cards replaces the fire-orange palette that defines most Charizard art. At the Special Illustration Rare tier, that contrast becomes the point of the entire illustration.
The Four Charizard ex Cards in This Set
SV03 contains four distinct Charizard ex variants. They occupy different rarity tiers and price points, which matters when you're deciding whether to hunt a specific card from packs or purchase the single outright.
Double Rare (125/197)
The base ex treatment with the black crystal Tera frame. The most common of the four and the most likely to appear from booster pulls. Not a primary collector target for most buyers, but a clean card for players who want the Darkness type in a deck build.
Ultra Rare full art (215/197)
A full-bleed illustration with the Darkness Tera framing. More detailed than the Double Rare but below the Special Illustration Rare in both price and illustration complexity. A strong collector card at a more accessible price point than the 223.
Special Illustration Rare (223/197)
This is the card most people mean when they say "the Obsidian Flames Charizard." The black starfield illustration puts Charizard against a deep space background, making it look nothing like a standard Charizard card. Raw near-mint copies are listed from $88 to $120 across current sellers. A PSA GEM MT 10 copy is currently available at $764.99. For collectors who want to grade, the PSA population report shows healthy circulation of raw NM copies, which supports grading as a legitimate path rather than a speculative one.
Hyper Rare (228/197)
The gold card treatment. Hyper Rares apply a full-gold foil overlay to the card, which some collectors prefer and others find less distinctive than the SIR illustration. Current listings sit around $37 to $40. It's the most affordable of the four variants and still a genuine pull from sealed product.
Other Cards Worth Knowing
The Charizard conversation dominates, but SV03 has other collector targets. Scizor's Illustration Rare at 205/197 is consistently well-regarded: the full-art steel-type composition uses the black Tera frame to striking effect, and at $16 from current listings it's the most accessible illustration rare in the set.
Revavroom ex and Tyranitar ex drove competitive interest at launch. Tyranitar ex saw tournament play for its aggressive damage output; Revavroom ex built entire archetypes around its Scrap Engine ability. Both have settled into their post-rotation positions, but their ex cards still carry collector interest independent of their competitive relevance.
What You Can Actually Buy in 2026
Obsidian Flames sealed product is still available from independent sellers, though the price spread varies considerably depending on format and seller region. Here's where current listings sit.
Single packs run $9.99 to $17. That's the lowest-cost way into the pack experience. At that range, individual packs are also reasonable gifts for collectors who enjoy the pull but aren't chasing the SIR.
3-Pack Blisters range from $34.95 to $49.99. Eevee and Houndstone are the featured promo options on the blisters. Neither promo is a collector priority, but the blister format seals well and travels easily.
The Booster Bundle (6 packs) comes in at $120 to $135 from Trading Card Market. Per-pack cost lands at $20 to $22, which is above single-pack prices but within the range where you're paying for a coherent quantity.
The standard Elite Trainer Box is $319.95 from Sports-card-zone. Nine packs, card sleeves, damage counters, condition markers, a player's guide, and the ETB promo card. The ETB is the format that balances pack count with the accessories most players actually need.
The Pokémon Center Exclusive ETB is a separate product with different box art and a different promo card. It was sold exclusively through Pokémon Center during the initial release window and now circulates from secondary sellers at $729.99 to $749.95. At that price, you're paying almost entirely for the exclusivity: the pack count is the same nine, and the promo is the primary differentiator.
The Booster Box (36 packs) runs from $410 (Trading Card Market) to $525 (Zone 151). At the lower end, that's around $11.40 per pack before shipping. For buyers chasing the Charizard ex 223/197: the SIR sits in the secret rare zone beyond the 197-card base set. Secret rares pull at lower rates than standard ultra rares, so a single booster box does not guarantee the card. Two to three boxes would improve the odds but don't eliminate variance.
Singles vs Sealed: The Practical Decision
If the Charizard ex 223/197 is what you want, buying it as a single is the most direct path. Current raw near-mint listings from $88 to $120 give you a known quantity at a predictable price, without any of the variance that comes with pack pulls.
Sealed product makes sense in three situations. First: you want the full pack-opening experience and the Charizard is a hoped-for pull rather than the primary goal. Second: you're building toward the complete SV03 set, where you need cards across all rarity tiers and sealed product covers that range. Third: it's a gift, and the sealed box is the point.
The PSA GEM MT 10 at $764.99 is for a different buyer entirely: someone who wants a graded slab with a verified condition score from a third-party authority. Raw NM copies from reputable sellers circulate regularly enough that buying raw and submitting to PSA or CGC is a genuine option for collectors who want the grading process as part of their experience with the card.
The Pokémon Center ETB at $729.99 to $749.95 and a PSA 10 slab at $764.99 occupy almost the same price point. That comparison is worth sitting with before committing to either. The ETB is nine packs and a promo card. The slab is one confirmed-grade card. Different things, similar prices, and neither is wrong depending on what you're collecting for.
Search current Obsidian Flames listings from independent sellers at Dexhaul, where booster boxes, ETBs, individual packs, and Charizard ex singles are all searchable in one place. Dexhaul is independent and unofficial, not affiliated with The Pokémon Company.