Altaria

Altaria in the anime: Winona's Gym battle and Drake's rematch

Winona, the Fortree City Gym Leader, used Altaria in "Sky High Gym Battle!", where it lost to Ash's Grovyle during his Gym battle. Grovyle met another Altaria in "Vanity Affair", this one belonging to Drake, and was beaten easily thanks to Altaria's type advantage.

Altaria on cards: Dragon's 2003 holo to Paradox Rift

Altaria's first card is Dragon #2 from November 2003, a holo illustrated by Atsuko Nishida. Emerald (2005) printed Altaria ex, and Dragon Frontiers (2006) followed with Altaria ex δ, a Delta Species card that makes Altaria a Water type.

Boundaries Crossed (2012) hid a secret rare Altaria at #152, above the set's 149 cards, illustrated by 5ban Graphics. Fates Collide (2016) put Mega Altaria on cards as M Altaria EX, and Dragon Majesty (2018) printed Altaria-GX, including a rainbow secret rare at #72. Hidden Fates (2019) gave it two Shiny Vault cards, a shiny Altaria (SV37) and a shiny Altaria-GX (SV77). Paradox Rift (2023) printed Altaria ex three ways, topped by a special illustration rare (#253) by Jiro Sasumo.

Why collectors follow Altaria

Altaria is rarely a set's headliner, but its card run offers real variety for a single-Pokémon binder: an EX-era Delta Species ex, two secret rares, shiny versions from Hidden Fates and a modern special illustration rare.

Cards to know

• Altaria (Dragon #2)

  Altaria's first card, a 2003 holo illustrated by Atsuko Nishida.

• Altaria ex δ (Dragon Frontiers #90)

  A Delta Species card that makes Altaria a Water type.

• Altaria (Boundaries Crossed #152)

  A secret rare from 2012, illustrated by 5ban Graphics.

• Altaria-GX (Hidden Fates Shiny Vault #SV77)

  The shiny Altaria-GX from Hidden Fates' Shiny Vault.

• Altaria ex (Paradox Rift #253)

  A special illustration rare from 2023, illustrated by Jiro Sasumo.