Image credits to The Pokémon Company
The Japanese Pokémon Trading Card Game (or TCG) set, Battle Partners, brings back Owner’s Pokémon for the first time in almost a decade; even then, they haven’t been seen in larger numbers in a set for nearly 20 years.
Given their lack of presence in Pokémon sets for such a long time, you may not even know what Owner’s Pokémon even are. Simply put, they’re special types of Pokémon which are “owned” by a specific trainer or organization, which is part of the card’s name. With that in mind, you’re going to see a lot of Owner’s Pokémon on the list of the most wanted cards from Battle Partners.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at which cards fans are most keen to get their hands on from this set!
10. Furret – Art Rare, 110/100
Do I need to explain why this card makes it to the list of the most wanted cards from Pokémon’s Battle Partners set? Just look at how beautiful the card art is, and how adorable Furret looks!
Furret isn’t going to be a card you’ll see pop up in many decks. It’s a Stage 1 card with two cheap, but incredibly basic attacks (one which simply deals 40 damage for the cost of one Colorless Energy, the other dealing 70 damage for two Colorless Energy), but it seems obvious that the appeal of this card is definitely that beautiful artwork.
9. N’s Zorua – Art Rare, 108/100
Here we are with the first of the Owner’s Pokémon on this list, with N’s Zorua. You may think that a Pokémon trainer named N is a bit odd, but that’s nothing compared to his full name, which is (and I’m not joking about this, I assure you) Natural Harmonia Gropius.
So, N’s Zorua is a Basic Pokémon, which uses one Darkness Energy for an attack that deals 20 damage. With only 70 HP itself, N’s Zorua is another card which is unlikely to have appeal for its in-game usefulness; instead, this Art Rare is (like pretty much all cards on this list) so highly sought after due to its gorgeous illustration, which captures the bond between Pokémon and Trainer beautifully.
8. Wailord – Art Rare, 103/100
Evolving from Wailmer, this Wailord is a Stage 1 Pokémon which has a pretty cool attack. Hydro Pump costs four Colorless Energy and deals 10 damage, plus a further 50 HP of damage for each Water Energy attached to Wailord. Not bad, right?
Of course, the vibrant, beautifully colorful artwork is a bonus, and it’s easy to see why this particular Art Rare variant of the card makes it to the most wanted Battle Partners card list.
7. Hop’s Zacian ex – Super Rare, 118/100
The first non-Art Rare card on this list, Hop’s Zacian ex is a Super Rare; these cards are known for more minimal illustrations, which do a great job of showcasing the special foil treatment.
Though its first attack only deals 30 damage, it only costs one Colorless Energy; it’s also worth noting that it additionally deals 30 damage to one of the opponent’s Benched Pokémon. Its second attack is much more expensive (costing three Metal Energy and one Colorless), but deals a massive 240 HP of damage, though it can’t be used two turns in a row.
6. Iono’s Kilowattrel – Art Rare, 104/100
Another card which features a charming scene of a trainer and their Pokémon bonding (in this case, eating a snack together), Iono’s Kilowattrel is a pretty useful card.
Its ability, Flash Draw, allows you to discard a Lightning Energy card from this Pokémon, once per turn, in order to draw cards until you have six in your hand. With card draw sometimes being a big problem for Pokémon TCG players, this can be invaluable; particularly if you have an Energy card to replace the one used. Note that Iono’s Kilowattrel doesn’t need to be in the Active Spot in order for this to be used.
Its attack is fairly basic however, and only deals 70 HP of damage, for the cost of one Lightning and two Colorless Energy. Still, it’s another card that we can see is more sought after for its artwork (and scarcity!) than its usefulness in-game.
5. Articuno – Art Rare, 102/100
One of the first three Legendary Pokémon in the series, Articuno has been popular since the very beginning, debuting in Game Boy titles Pokémon Red and Blue in the mid-’90s. Here’s something interesting that you may not be aware of: have you ever noticed that the names of the three Legendary Pokémon, from Pokémon Red and Blue, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, have ‘uno’, ‘dos’ and ‘tres’ in their names?
Anyway, I digress. Articuno’s Battle Partners Art Rare is another beautiful card, and it’s also a very good card to have in-game. Though its first “attack” deals no damage, it costs just one Colorless Energy and allows you to search your deck for, and attach, two Water Energy cards to Articuno.
That will then give you enough Energy to use its main attack on the following turn, which deals 110 damage. Though it’s not the strongest attack in the game by any means, the speed at which it can be used is very useful indeed!
4. Iono’s Bellibolt ex – Super Rare, 114/100
Another Iono card, and the last of the two Super Rare cards to make it to this list, Iono’s Bellibolt ex is one which is desirable for more than just its artwork.
In this case, the Pokémon’s ability allows its player to attach a Lightning Energy card from their hand to one of their ‘Iono’s’ Pokémon. Note that this means you can attach a Lightning Energy card to multiple Pokémon per turn, and it doesn’t have to be a Bellibolt ex either; it can be any Pokémon owned by Iono.
Iono’s Bellibolt ex also has a 230 HP attack, costing three Lightning and one Colorless Energy to use. Though using this stops the Bellibolt from attacking at all on the player’s following turn, 230 HP of damage is definitely pretty hard hitting!
3. Lillie’s Ribombee – Art Rare, 105/100
Of course, you haven’t seen the end of cards showing trainer and Pokémon bonding, and here’s another with an incredibly cute illustration, featuring Lillie and her adorable Ribombee.
As a Psychic type Pokémon, Lillie’s Ribombee has a great way of messing with your opponent’s plans, in the form of its ability. When you evolve Cutiefly into the Stage 1 Ribombee, you’re able to look at your opponent’s hand and put any number of Basic Pokémon they’re holding directly onto their Bench.
Though it also has a basic, one Psychic Energy attack which deals 50 HP of damage, it’s the evolution ability which makes Lillie’s Ribombee so appealing in-game, but its value to Pokémon fans is much more likely to be its beautiful art.
2. Iris’s Fighting Spirit – Super Rare, 121/100
As we head towards the top of our most wanted Battle Partners card list, we have our one and only Trainer/Supporter card, with Iris’s Fighting Spirit. It’s a card which performs a function not unlike the staple Professor’s Research; Iris’s Fighting Spirit will allow you to draw cards until you have six in your hand, as long as you discard one card first.
Of course, just like all other cards on this list, cheaper and more plentiful variants of Iris’s Fighting Spirit are available in the Battle Partners set, if players really want this card for their deck. It’s a card that can be added to a very long list of Supporter cards which have proven very popular over the years; as the only solo female Supporter card in Battle Partners, it’s no surprise at all to see this one ranked so highly!
1. N’s Reshiram – Art Rare, 109/100
Let’s welcome back our friend N, in the top spot of the most wanted cards from Pokémon’s Battle Partners set. It’s very easy to see why this particular card has sparked so much interest from fans; it features an absolutely beautiful illustration, with N and his Reshiram high above the world, bathed in the light from god rays among the clouds, with a spectrum of colorful light surrounding them.
With N’s Reshiram being a Dragon type Pokémon, its attacks require more than one type of Energy (not unlike Stellar Pokémon, which always use three types of Energy for one of their attacks); in Reshiram’s case, it needs Fire and Lightning type Energy.
First up is an attack which only requires one each of Fire and Lightning Energy to use, dealing 20 damage per damage counter on N’s Reshiram (with a maximum of 12 counters possible, as each damage counter equals 10 HP, and N’s Reshiram has 130 HP). This means that there’s a huge 240 damage which can be dealt with this attack, though of course it’s a big risk to have so many damage counters on your Pokémon!
Finally, the second attack deals 170 damage with no further effects, though you’ll need two Fire, one Lightning, and one Colorless Energy in order to use it.
With that artwork and the card’s excellent attacks, it’s clear why N’s Reshiram is the top choice for Pokémon fans looking to get their hands on cards from the Battle Partners set.
Want to see more Battle Partners cards? Check out our full list of cards from the Battle Partners set. Or why not take a look at the latest English language cards, in our Prismatic Evolutions card list.
