What are ex Pokémon cards, and how do they differ from the V, GX, EX and LEGEND cards that came before them? The Japanese Entei (エンテイ) is a useful test case, because the official card database lists Entei in several card types, and each type prints its own rule text. This guide sets them side by side using only the official card text (given here as a rendering of the Japanese) and the official rules page.
One point first: none of the 31 Entei entries in the official database is a lower-case ex card. The only Entei with ex in its name is the upper-case エンテイEX (BW4-B 009/069). The lower-case ex rule box is therefore shown below on a beast card from the same family, Raikou ex (ライコウex) from Storm Emeralda (M6), and described as that card only.
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- The official database lists 31 Entei entries (as fetched on October 29, 2026). Among them: plain エンテイ, エンテイV, エンテイGX, エンテイEX and two LEGEND cards that pair Entei with Raikou or Suicune.
- The V, GX, EX and LEGEND texts each name 2 Prize cards when that Pokémon is knocked out. The rendered text of the plain prints has no special-rule entry.
- HP in the database runs from 80 on the older cards to 230 on エンテイV. EX and GX are both 180; the LEGEND pair is 140 and 160.
- We currently list the Ancient Trait print PSA10 Entei [XY 011/171] at ¥41,088 (~$267) and offer the Entei V print as a PSA 10 back order at ¥15,525 (~$101) — sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms.
The Card Types Side by Side
The table gives one example print per type. Every effect is a rendering of the official Japanese text in the card database on pokemon-card.com, not a quotation, and it describes that card only.
| Type | Example print | HP | Special rule (rendering) | Ability and attacks (rendering) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain Entei | M2a 020/193 | 140 | None in the text | フレアフォール30＋: 30 damage, plus 90 more if you have 4 or more Energy in play. |
| Plain Entei with an Ability | SV4a 028/190 | 130 | None in the text | Ability プレッシャー; attack ブレイズボール60＋ (60 plus 20 per attached Energy). |
| Level card | DP3 DPBP#294 | 80 | LV. 43 is printed | Poké-Body もえるけなみ; attack ほのおのおたけび60. |
| LEGEND | L2-B 063/080 and 064/080 | 140 | Two cards combined on the Bench; 2 Prize cards | ばくごうのうず90; サンダーフォール. |
| EX | BW4-B 009/069 | 180 | Pokémon-EX knocked out: opponent takes 2 Prize cards | ほのおのキバ30; グランドフレイム90. |
| Ancient Trait | XY 011/171 | 130 | None in the text | 古代能力 Θ（シータ）ダブル; フレイムバリア30; ヒートタックル130. |
| GX | SM3p 011/072 | 180 | Pokémon-GX knocked out: opponent takes 2 Prize cards | かえん50; ほのおのキバ100; GX attack ブレイブバーンGX. |
| V | S12a 213/172 | 230 | Pokémon V knocked out: opponent takes 2 Prize cards | Ability しゅんそく; attack バーニングロンド20＋. |
Two things stand out. First, the special-rule line is what separates the rule-box cards from the rest: the four rule-box types each spell out how many Prize cards the opponent takes, while the plain prints print nothing in that slot. Second, HP is not a type label. A plain Entei prints 80 to 140 HP and the rule-box cards print 140 to 230, but the number alone does not tell you the type; the name suffix and the special-rule text do.
Plain Entei: Attacks, Sometimes One Ability
A plain Entei has no suffix after the name and no special-rule text. The newest regular print in the database is エンテイ M2a 020/193, illustrated by Kazumasa Yasukuni, with 140 HP and one attack, フレアフォール30＋ (Flare Fall, rendering): 30 damage, plus 90 more if you have 4 or more Energy in play.
Other plain prints add a twist in the rendered text. The table lists the ones that differ from each other.
| Illustrator | HP | Text, rendered | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SV3 016/108, SV4a 028/190, SVJL 005/021 | toriyufu | 130 | Ability プレッシャー: while this Pokémon is in the Active Spot, damage from the opponent’s Active Pokémon’s attacks is reduced by 20. Attack ブレイズボール60＋: plus 20 for each Energy attached to it. |
| S5I 009/070, SI 055/414, SO 008/030 | kodama | 130 | ヒートダッシュ30: you may attach an Energy from your hand to this Pokémon. ほのおのキバ90: the opponent’s Active Pokémon is Burned. |
| S11a 014/068 | Nisota Niso | 120 | Ability ばくねつダッシュ: if Energy is attached, this Pokémon has no retreat cost. Attack ツメできりさく90. |
| SD 014/127, SM11a 011/064 | Shin Nagasawa | 130 | まきかえす30＋: 90 more damage if one of your Pokémon was knocked out by attack damage during the opponent’s previous turn. ほのおのたてがみ100. |
| SM8 022/095 | kawayoo | 130 | ほのおのキバ20 (Burn). ふんか80＋: both players trash the top card of their deck; 60 more damage for each Energy among those cards. |
Each print above is a separate card with its own text, so a plain Entei cannot be identified from the name alone. The set code, the number and the HP are the first three things to read. The S6a 014/069 print (NC Empire) and the XY7-B 014/081 and CP4 016/131 prints (Naoki Saito) also carry their own attacks, listed in the official database under their own numbers.
Older Cards: LV. and Poké-Body Text
The oldest Entei entries in the database use rule text that later cards dropped. エンテイ DP3 DPBP#294 (Ryo Ueda) prints LV. 43, 80 HP and a Poké-Body, もえるけなみ (rendering): each time this Pokémon’s attack knocks out one of the opponent’s Pokémon, the top 3 cards of the opponent’s deck are trashed. Its attack ほのおのおたけび60 also does 20 damage to one of the opponent’s Benched Pokémon, and on a tails result you trash 2 of your Energy.
Two L-P entries from Yuri Umemura show the same period. エンテイ LP 062/L-P (90 HP) carries the Poké-Body しんそく, which lowers the retreat cost by the number of Energy attached, and the attack やまかじ70 trashes the top 3 cards of your own deck. エンテイ LP 059/L-P (80 HP) has a single attack, フレアドライブ80, which trashes all Energy attached to it. The promo 結晶塔のエンテイ (80 HP, Kagemaru Himeno) has ほえる, which switches the opponent’s Active Pokémon with a Benched Pokémon of the opponent’s choosing, and ほのおのうず70, which trashes 2 of your basic Energy (the attack fails if you cannot).
These cards show why the word “type” matters. Poké-Power and Poké-Body are text categories printed on the card, much like the Ability slot on the newer cards, and they sit on cards that have no rule box at all. Pre-database cards, such as the neo-era old-back Entei, are not in the official database; our legendary beasts card value guide covers them.
Entei LEGEND: Two Cards, One Pokémon
The LEGEND cards in the L2-B set use an unusual rule format. The special-rule line of エンテイ&ライコウLEGEND (063/080 top, 064/080 bottom) reads, in rendering: combine the 2 Entei & Raikou LEGEND cards from your hand and put them on the Bench; if this Pokémon is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards. The card also states that a LEGEND Pokémon card is used by combining the top (上) and bottom (下) halves. Illustrator: Shinji Higuchi.
| LEGEND card | Numbers | HP | Attacks, rendered |
|---|---|---|---|
| エンテイ&ライコウLEGEND | 063/080 (上), 064/080 (下) | 140 | ばくごうのうず90: trash 1 Energy attached to this Pokémon. サンダーフォール: trash all Energy attached, then 80 damage to every Pokémon with a Poké-Power on both sides; weakness and resistance are not applied. |
| スイクン&エンテイLEGEND | 065/080 (上), 066/080 (下) | 160 | げきりゅうのやいば: return 2 Energy to your hand, then 100 damage to 1 of the opponent’s Benched Pokémon (weakness and resistance not applied to Bench damage). バーストインフェルノ80: the opponent’s Active Pokémon is Burned. |
Our legendary beasts guide gives the L2 Reviving Legends release as Thursday, February 11, 2010, and explains that both halves must be on the Bench. The wider format, including the earlier single-Pokémon LEGEND cards, is explained in our Pokémon LEGEND cards guide. That guide does not discuss the three beast LEGEND pairs, so the card text above comes from the database rows themselves.
Entei EX: The Upper-Case Card
エンテイEX, BW4-B 009/069, is the one Entei in the database whose name ends in an EX suffix. The database credits shizurow and prints 180 HP. Our Entei guide gives the set as Dark Rush, released Friday, December 16, 2011, with the print listed as a Rare.
Its special-rule line reads, in rendering: when a Pokémon-EX is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards. The two attacks are ほのおのキバ30 (30 damage, the opponent’s Active Pokémon is Burned) and グランドフレイム90 (90 damage, then choose an Energy from your discard pile and attach it to a Benched Pokémon). Note the capital letters: the card text uses ポケモンEX, which is the EX card type, and it is a separate printing style from the lower-case ex discussed further down.
We cover this card on its own in the Entei EX BW4 009/069 guide.
Ancient Trait: Entei XY 011/171
Not every card variation is a rule-box type. エンテイ XY 011/171, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, prints 130 HP, no special rule, and a line the database labels 古代能力 (Ancient Trait): Θ（シータ）ダブル (rendering: this Pokémon can have up to 2 Pokémon Tools attached). Its attacks are フレイムバリア30 (during the opponent’s next turn, damage this Pokémon takes from attacks is reduced by 30) and ヒートタックル130 (flip a coin; on tails this Pokémon also takes 30 damage).
The database holds two entries printed XY 011/171 (card IDs 33563 and 33732) with the same text, and the XY7-B 015/081 print by the same illustrator repeats the text with a different number. The related XY7-B 014/081 print is a different card, credited to Naoki Saito, with the attacks もえるほうこう and コンバットブレイズ20＋. Our Entei XY 011/171 PSA 10 guide looks at the print itself.
Entei GX: The GX Attack
エンテイGX appears as SM3p 011/072 and as the secret-numbered 073/072; both credit 5ban Graphics, print 180 HP and carry identical text. The special-rule line reads, in rendering: when a Pokémon-GX is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
What the GX type adds is a separate attack category. The card prints かえん50 and ほのおのキバ100 (the opponent’s Active Pokémon is Burned) as ordinary attacks, and a line headed GXワザ (GX attack): ブレイブバーンGX does 150 damage to 1 of the opponent’s Benched Pokémon, with no weakness or resistance applied on the Bench. The same text adds that you can use only one GX attack per game.
Entei V: Ability and Two Prizes
エンテイV has four database rows with the same text: S12a 019/172 (PLANETA Mochizuki), S12a 213/172 (Shigenori Negishi), and two separate entries both printed SI 056/414 (PLANETA Mochizuki). All print 230 HP. S12a, VSTAR Universe, was released on Friday, December 2, 2022, per our Entei V PSA 10 guide.
The Ability しゅんそく (rendering) can be used once during your turn if this Pokémon is in the Active Spot: draw 1 card from your deck. The attack バーニングロンド20＋ adds 20 damage for each Benched Pokémon on both sides. The special-rule line says that when a Pokémon V is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
The 213/172 print is numbered above the set’s 172, which is how collectors recognise the secret-numbered art print; our listing names it “SAR” (as our listing names it), and the database does not print a rarity. We offer that print as a PSA 10 back order at ¥15,525 (~$101) — sourced to order; the product page shows the current terms. More detail is in the Entei V PSA 10 guide.
The Lower-Case ex Rule Box
The lower-case ex type shows up in the database on Raikou, but not on Entei. One example in this family is ライコウex M6 024/076, illustrated by aky CG Works. It prints 200 HP, and its special-rule line reads, in rendering: when a Pokémon ex is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards.
The attacks are いかずちをまとう (rendering: this attack can be used even on the first player’s first turn; choose an Energy from your deck, attach it to this Pokémon, then shuffle) and パワーラッシュ200 (flip a coin; on tails, this Pokémon cannot attack on your next turn). The database lists the same text on the 092/076 and 108/076 prints, which are numbered above the set’s 76. None of that text applies to Entei, and none of it should be copied over to the older EX type.
For Entei itself, our legendary beasts guide mentions two EX-era singles from 2003 to 2005 that it names Rocket’s Entei ex and Entei ex, with English-set numbering and Japanese counterparts given there. Those predate the database, so their card text is not rendered here. No lower-case Entei ex exists among the database entries (DP era onward).
What the Official Rules Page Says
The card text names Prize cards, so a short note on how they fit into a game helps. The table below uses the wording on the official how-to-play page at pokemon-card.com; the full procedure for taking Prize cards is on that page, and we do not extend it beyond what it says. For a plain-English walk-through of a first game, see our beginner how-to-play guide.
| Rule | Official wording (Japanese) | In English |
|---|---|---|
| Deck size | 60枚のカードを組み合わせた「デッキ」を、ひとり1個使います。 | Each player uses one deck of 60 cards. |
| Same-name limit | 同じ名前のカードは4枚まで。 | Up to 4 cards with the same name; the page gives ピカチュウ and ピカチュウex as different names. |
| Basic Energy | 基本エネルギーカードはデッキに何枚でも入れることができます。 | Any number of basic Energy cards may go in the deck. |
| Prize cards | 先にサイドを6枚とれば勝ち！ | The player who takes 6 Prize cards first wins. |
| Bench | ベンチは5匹まで置けます。 | Up to 5 Pokémon on the Bench. |
The rule-box lines in the card text above fit into that framework in one way only: a V, GX, EX or LEGEND knockout is worded as giving the opponent 2 of those Prize cards. Whether that is an advantage or a risk in a given deck is a strategy question, and we make no claim about it. The page gives ピカチュウ and ピカチュウex as an example of different names for the 4-card limit; check the rules page before applying that to any other pair of cards.
For the full official rules, read the official how-to-play page (in Japanese).
Which Entei Type Do You Hold
Three details on the card are enough to place it.
| What the card shows | Type it points to |
|---|---|
| Name エンテイ with nothing after it, no special-rule box | Plain Entei (or the Ancient Trait print if it carries 古代能力) |
| Name ending in V and the line “ポケモンV” in the special rule | Entei V |
| Name ending in GX and a GXワザ line | Entei GX |
| Name ending in upper-case EX and “ポケモンEX” in the special rule | Entei EX |
| Two half-cards marked 上 and 下 | LEGEND pair |
| LV. followed by a number, Poké-Power or Poké-Body | An older level card |
For the wider family, including the Raikou and Suicune printings by era, see our legendary beasts guide.
Where to Buy Entei Cards from Japan
These are the Entei listings we currently carry, with their own prices. Each is a graded PSA 10 card; the back orders are sourced to order, and the product pages show the current terms.
| Listing (as named by us) | Card type | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| PSA10 Entei [XY 011/171] (High Class Pack “The Best of XY”) | Ancient Trait print | Currently listed at ¥41,088 (~$267) |
| PSA10 Entei V SAR [s12a 213/172] (High Class Pack “VSTAR Universe”) | V | PSA 10 back order at ¥15,525 (~$101) |
| PSA10 Entei LV.24 : Old Back [PRMF-3 No.244] (Pokemon Card neo “Premium File 3”) | Old-back level card | PSA 10 back order at ¥66,340 (~$431) |
| PSA10 Entei [PCG 001/009] (PokePark Premium File “Blue Sheet”) | Promo file card | PSA 10 back order at ¥239,200 (~$1,553) |
| PSA10 Entei: 1ED [PCG4 019/106] (Expansion Pack “Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean”) | The 019/106 print our listing carries | PSA 10 back order at ¥2,570,400 (~$16,691) |
Browse the card list hub for the sets we carry, and send sourcing requests for a specific card to Quick Order. The Entei EX, Entei GX and LEGEND prints discussed above are not on our current list.
On October 29, 2026 fan sites reported a Japanese trademark filing for 「マグマの鼓動」, which collectors read as a possible Entei set; nothing is announced. Our Magma Heartbeat trademark article (working English translation of マグマの鼓動; no official English name exists) explains what is confirmed and what is not, and the ex★ 2027 sets round-up covers the other marks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are ex Pokémon cards?
In the official database the lower-case ex type is shown by a name ending in ex and a special-rule line that, on Raikou ex M6 024/076, reads (rendering): when a Pokémon ex is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards. That is a description of that card; none of the 31 Entei entries is a lower-case ex.
Is there an Entei ex card?
The official database lists one Entei with ex in the name: the upper-case エンテイEX, BW4-B 009/069 (shizurow, 180 HP). No Entei entry is a lower-case ex. Our legendary beasts guide mentions two 2003 to 2005 EX-era singles with ex in the name, which predate the database.
How many Prize cards does an Entei V give up?
The special-rule line of エンテイV (S12a 213/172) reads, in rendering: when a Pokémon V is knocked out, the opponent takes 2 Prize cards. The official rules page says the first player to take 6 Prize cards wins; read that page for the full procedure.
What is the difference between Entei GX and Entei V?
By the card text: Entei GX (SM3p 011/072) has 180 HP, two regular attacks and a GX attack that can be used once per game; Entei V (S12a 213/172) has 230 HP, the Ability しゅんそく and one attack. Both name 2 Prize cards on a knockout.
What is an Entei LEGEND card?
A LEGEND Pokémon is printed on two cards, top (上) and bottom (下), that are combined on the Bench. The database lists エンテイ&ライコウ (063/080 and 064/080) and スイクン&エンテイ (065/080 and 066/080), both illustrated by Shinji Higuchi, and both name 2 Prize cards on a knockout.
Which Entei cards do you list?
We list the Ancient Trait print PSA10 Entei [XY 011/171] at ¥41,088 (~$267), and offer PSA 10 back orders for the Entei V print at ¥15,525 (~$101), the old-back LV.24 print at ¥66,340 (~$431), the PCG 001/009 promo at ¥239,200 (~$1,553) and the PCG4 019/106 print at ¥2,570,400 (~$16,691); the back orders are sourced to order and each product page shows the current terms. Sourcing requests for other prints go through Quick Order.
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