The 6 Most Iconic and Valuable Pokémon Cards From 2013 Black & White: Plasma Freeze
Pokémon's Black & White era is one of the last generations within the TCG that came and went without any sort of international hype surrounding it. As a matter of fact, towards the tailend of the Black & White run, they weren't that popular and often took a backseat to trendier collectibles such as Funko Pop!s.
Just like every Pokémon TCG set that was once underappreciated, the modern market is treating the Black & White era as a treasure trove of cards with incredible artwork that could even rival the Illustration Rare or Special Illustration Rare of today.
Plasma Freeze has one of the most stacked checklists of any TCG set released in the early 2010s with incredible cards even on the lower-end of the list. Here are the cards that defined 2013's Black & White: Plasma Freeze.
Garbodor Secret Rare
Recent PSA 10 Price: $4,150 (all-time record)
Recent PSA 9 Price: $600
Recent Raw Price: $250 (on average, LP-NM condition)
Total Population of PSA 10: 15
Total Population of PSA 9: 75
The #1 Garbodor card of all time is this Secret Rare piece from Plasma Freeze, and it's really a gorgeous card to behold. Not only does it shine bright with its gold border, but the illustration of Garbodor features the Pokémon's shiny variant as well.
On top of the obvious eye candy, this card was competitively viable thanks to its unique ability Garbotoxin, which essentially removed all other abilities from play.
The most recent PSA 10 sale of this card was back in March where it sold for a record $4,150 through auction. With only 15 of these cards ever receiving a GEM MT 10 grade, it's going to be tough to spot one naturally in the wild.
Latias EX Full Art/Latios EX Full Art
Latias EX Recent PSA 10 Price: $5,500
Total Population of PSA 10: 41
Latios EX Recent PSA 10 Price: $6,175 (all-time record)
Total Population of PSA 10: 45
It's only fair to put these two Pokémon together since they're always shown as a pair in every single piece of media anyway. Both the Latias EX and Latios EX Full Art cards from Plasma Freeze look incredible and are among the best hits from the set, even way back then without the hefty price tags attached.
When placed right next to each other, with the Latios EX on the left and the Latias EX on the right, their artwork appears to be connecting as they're facing each other.
The Latios EX piece is ever so slightly more valuable than the Latias EX card, with its recent $6,175 sale being the all-time record price paid for a PSA 10 copy of this card. The Latias EX isn't that far behind either, and if packaged as a set in one sale, there would certainly be a premium on top of their current market values.
Empoleon Secret Rare
Recent PSA 10 Price: $7,500 (all-time record)
Recent PSA 9 Price: $1,727
Recent Raw Price: $500-700 (on average, varying condition)
Total Population of PSA 10: 34
Total Population of PSA 9: 100
Just like the Garbodor card, another Secret Rare from Plasma Freeze makes its way onto this list. This time, it's of the final evolution from one of the best starters in the entire franchise.
The Empoleon SR from Plasma Freeze is one of the most valuable releases ever for the character, only falling behind two iconic releases from the 2000s.
The most recent sale for a PSA 10 Empoleon Secret Rare from Plasma Freeze ended at $7,500, which is the all-time record for this particular card. With a limited PSA 10 population of just 34 and the enduring popularity of Empoleon as a Pokémon, there's certainly some more upside for this piece.
Garchomp Secret Rare
Recent PSA 10 Price: $9,999
Recent PSA 9 Price: $2,340
Recent Raw Price: $200-300 (on average, MP condition)
Total Population of PSA 10: 29
Total Population of PSA 9: 129
Garchomp is one of the best Pokémon ever introduced to the franchise and no, that's not debatable. Every single thing that makes a Pokémon cool and desirable can be found in Garchomp, and the character's status as an icon of the franchise will never truly go away.
That being said, it's really unsurprising that the Garchomp Secret Rare is one of Plasma Freeze's most valuable cards. With a recent PSA 10 sale of $9,999 and an all-time PSA 10 record of $10,200, it holds a place in history as the second-most valuable Garchomp card of all time.
Deoxys Full Art
Recent PSA 10 Price: $6,700
Recent PSA 9 Price: $2,640
Recent Raw Price: $400-500 (on average, LP condition)
Total Population of PSA 10: 34
Total Population of PSA 9: 165
Sure there are way more expensive Deoxys cards out there, but in terms of pure art alone, this is one of the greatest Deoxys cards to ever come off the printers. The design practically takes up the entire frame and shows Deoxys even stepping out of the borders and into the real world.
The most recent publicly-known sale for this Deoxys card was for $6,700 last December 2025. Since then, the Pokémon TCG market has only gone up and so has the overall valuation for this card.
Ultra Ball Secret Rare
Recent PSA 10 Price: $4,680
Recent PSA 9 Price: $504
Recent Raw Price: $400 (on average, MP condition)
Total Population of PSA 10: 23
Total Population of PSA 9: 68
Never mind the monetary value when comparing the Ultra Ball Secret Rare's spot on this list, when it comes to iconic Pokémon TCG cards, this is truly the one. A competitive TCG player's ultimate flex would be to run four of these in a single deck just to show off, and honestly, it's a natural occurrence especially at the highest level of play.
Ultra Ball is one of the best item cards of all time, and it even might be up there at #1. It's simple, effective, and been in the rotation forever. Both the appeal of this card being a Secret Rare from an incredibly old set and its modern relevance in competition keep prices high.
Since there really won't be a world where the Pokémon TCG will run without having Ultra Ball in the rotation, this card is here to stay forever.
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Joaqin is a journalist with a strong passion for the Hobby. He has published work for HLTV.org, Rappler.com, and DLSU Sports. A decade-long Pokémon TCG collector, he recently shifted into sports cards to collect Lakers, Dodgers and Chargers players with growing PCs of Shohei Ohtani and Justin Herbert.