The Pokemon Trading Card Game has been one of the most popular card games in the world for over two decades. That has a lot to do with how the franchise took the world by storm in Poke Mania and the amazing marketing through various locations ranging from anime to mobile games, adding more with each installment.
One thing that the Pokemon TCG can claim to do better than most other card games is the card art. Some Pokemon cards grab your attention at first glance with full art and holographic designs. While Pokemon can be seen in beautiful pieces of cardboard, a lot of value is also found in Trainer cards, especially Supporter Trainer cards.
Prices taken from tcgplayer.com in September 2022 are subject to change.
10 Erika’s Hospitality – SM – Team Up
Erika is Celadon City’s Grass-type gym leader. The Grass-type master has been around since the beginning and has built up an impressive fan base. Modest and humble, she wears traditional clothing that sets her apart from other more contemporary Gym Leader styles.
Erika’s Hospitality allows you to draw a card for any of your opponent’s Pokemon that are in play, provided you have less than five cards in your hand. So besides looking great, Erika’s Hospitality is a handy draw card suitable for many card games.
9 Misty’s Favor – SM – Unified Minds
Misty is possibly one of the most popular female companions in all anime, let alone Pokemon. With her tomboy-esque attitude and passion for aquatics and competition, she captured the hearts of many fans.
Misty’s Favor, in the TCG, is pretty good too. This allows you to add three supporters to your hand, which is great for setting up a few future turns and planning your route to victory.
8 Cynthia – SM – Ultra Prism
Cynthia is probably the most popular champion in all Pokemon, matched only by Steven or Lance. With her incredible team, intimidating attitude and signature Garchomp, she is a tough lady.
Cynthia in the TCM is a simple but effective card. This will allow you to shuffle your hand in the deck and draw six new cards so you can hopefully find some key cards. The art is smooth, with Cynthia in an excited, enthusiastic pose, and the colors are just amazing.
7 Iris – Plasma Blast
Unlike many other Pokemon characters, Iris has become more popular thanks to the anime. Since she was a central character during the generation five anime, many fans became attached to her and felt close to the young champion. Her ambitions to become a champion at such a young age were also admirable.
Unfortunately, in the TCM, Iris is a little underwhelming in terms of strength. She lets you deal ten extra damage to your opponent’s Pokemon for every price card they take for a turn. This was never substantial, to be honest. However, it became valuable because of the beautiful art and the fact that it is a semi-ancient card, which almost always increases its value.
6 Professor Juniper – Plasma Freeze
The Pokemon TCG has printed several professor cards throughout its history. Many of them have a similar or quite the same effect. Sure, Professor Oak was the first to do it, but Professor Juniper was the first modern print of the classic professor card that had you discard your hand and draw seven cards. It has several years under its belt, which makes it more valuable.
Almost every new generation comes out with one of these professor cards these days, but few make the splash that Juniper did. The effect is already impressive, but the art on this card doesn’t fall short. Juniper looks bright, colorful and clean and has arguably the most beautiful Pokemon card among the professors.
5 Bianca – Boundaries Crossed
In keeping with the generation five train, we have Bianca, another iconic female character from the Black & White era. She was a rather well-written and deep character, struggling with family pressures, insecurities and self-doubt.
The card itself is handy, causing you to draw until you have six cards in your hand. Besides such a strong draw effect, the art on this card is also impeccable. Featuring a cute, almost shy-looking Bianca with pops of color, it’s a coveted collection piece.
4 Rosa – SM – Cosmic Eclipse
Rosa is the one and only playable protagonist on this list, and for good reason. She is one of the best self-righteous lead characters in design, with fantastic clothes and a very memorable haircut. However, that’s not the only reason this card is valuable.
The effect is pretty good in a vacuum, allowing you to add a Pokemon, a Trainer, and a base energy, pretty much ready for an explosive turn. Unfortunately, you can only use it if your Pokemon was knocked out on the last turn, which prevented this card from becoming a staple. However, it is certainly one of the first cards to look for a collection.
3 Lisia – SM – Heavenly storm
Lisia is an interesting character to get her own full art card, to be honest. She is not a protagonist, villain, champion or even a gym leader. She’s just a Pokemon coordinator from Sootopolis City.
To be fair, her design is pretty good, with cues from the contest star Altaria, who is also her Pokemon in-game. Her card effect isn’t bad either, allowing you to add two Prism Star cards from the stock at hand. This includes Prism Star Trainer cards, of course, making it an excellent option for the right deck.
2 Skyla – Boundaries Crossed
Skyla is another character whose fanbase loves the design. At least Skyla has some fame as the Mistralton City gym leader. She has an excellent team and is a very bubbly yet confident character, making her a fan favorite.
Skyla has a simple effect, add a Trainer card from your deck to your hand. Unfortunately, this has since crawled through Rosa, interestingly enough, making Skyla a competitive relic. However, she is gaining in value, thanks to her incredible art capturing her atmosphere and the fact that it is now a decade old.
1 Lillie – SM – Ultra Prism
The most valuable title of the full Trainer card goes to Lillie. Lillie is a fan favorite for a reason. She has the sweet aura of Lisia, the depth of Bianca’s story, and later gains the trust of Skyla. She really is the best Poke girl out there.
Interestingly enough, Lillie is not a particularly strong card. She draws cards for you until you have six in your hand, or eight if it’s the first turn. It’s not that old card either, as it was released in 2018. After all, Lillie is proof of what character attachment and incredibly well-drawn map art can do for the price of it.
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