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September 29th - October 5th, 2025

Japanese Generations Battle Deck Meowth In Phantasmal Flames? 🤯, Rare Korean Promo Rayquaza Sells $15k 🐉, Mega Evolutions Prices Stay Rising 📈, Trick or Trade Sets Might Be Underrated 🎃

Note: sold listing links sometimes redirect to active listings after some time but should still be discoverable by searching for the listings manually.

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📋 TLDR

📰 TCG News: Pull rates for the new Mega Evolutions set sparked backlash over 1-in-1,260 odds for Mega Hyper Rares, while an unexpected English Meowth surfaced in Phantasmal Flames and Storm Emeralda was teased for January 2026.

🏆 Card of the Week: Torkoal from Twilight Masquerade and Crimson Haze features tranquil, realistic artwork by Masa that beautifully blends Pokémon into everyday human life.

🔢 Card Market Highlights: “Modern vintage” sales surged with a Plasma Blast box at $8.5k, Metal Charizard PSA 10 at $8.4k, and a Korean Rayquaza EX Promo topping $15k.

😴 Potential Sleepers: The Trick or Trade 2024 Pikachu Cosmos Holo is an underrated seasonal card gaining attention for its unique holo pattern and overlooked rarity.

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📰 TCG News

​🔵 TCGPlayer publishes pull rate infographic for new English Mega Evolutions set​

Pull rates for the Mega Evolution have sparked major discussion (for the most part negative) over the extreme rarity of its top chases. Compared to Destined Rivals, Mega Evolution offers slightly higher odds for Ultra Rare and Illustration Rare cards, while Double Rares and Special Illustration Rares appear at roughly the same rates (about 20% and 1% of packs, respectively). On average, collectors can expect a “hit” in roughly one out of every five packs, edging out previous Scarlet & Violet sets. The issue lies with the new Mega Hyper Rare cards, replacing traditional Hyper Rares, which are estimated at 1 in 1,260 packs. With only two cards, Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex, both valued over $500, players and collectors alike are calling them some of the most brutally difficult pulls in Pokémon TCG history, leading many to opt for singles over sealed packs.

Source: TCGplayer

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​🔵 Japanese Generations Battle Deck exclusive Meowth has an English release?​

Multiple users have uploaded images of Meowth #192, originally thought to be a Japanese exclusive (although it did release in Korean as well) to the Generations Battle Set. The English version of this Meowth card came as a complete surprise but not only that, it was pulled in multiple instances from a Phantasmal Flames pack appearing in a Destined Rivals blister pack. Needless to say these were two major surprises wrapped into one for the Pokemon TCG collecting community this past week.

Source: Reddit

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​🔵 Storm Emeralda TCG set might see a January 2026 release​

Japan’s next Pokémon TCG set, likely titled Storm Emeralda, is expected to release on January 23, 2026, as the first major set of the year. According to the official sell sheet, Zygarde will headline the release, almost certainly debuting as Mega Zygarde ex, confirming its new Mega Evolution in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The “Emeralda” name ties neatly to Zygarde’s green coloration and connection to Z-A, though it may also nod to Mega Rayquaza, hinting at dual themes across the Mega Evolution block. Fans speculate the series could culminate in a “High Class Pack” next year featuring shiny Mega Rayquaza ex and shiny Mega Zygarde ex, wrapping up the Z-A and Horizons storylines in style.

Source: PokeBeach

🏆 Card of the Week

Twilight Masquerade - Torkoal #172

Crimson Haze - Torkoal #69

The card of the week this week is Torkoal #172 from English Twilight Masquerade and #69 from Japanese Crimson Haze. The main reason I wanted to highlight the card this week is because of how nice the art is. This is such an underrated card for the way it mixes realism with Pokemon. It delves a bit deeper into (and is also a great representation of) the question of how Pokemon would blend in or be utilized in society in the real world.

This card features Torkoal in a nicely lit pottery setting at the mouth of a pottery kiln (At least I think that’s what it’s called in this instance) with an old man seemingly feeding the pottery kiln with coal. As a matter of personal opinion it’s a great work of art that’s very calming to look at and lets me suspend disbelief and be a bit more immersed. The artist Masa is credited with two other full-art cards featuring Meltan (Temporal Forces) and Pignite (White Flare) in a similar style.

🔢 Card Market Highlights

📦 Sealed Product Market Highlights

🔵 Camerupt Ex tin sells for $4.7k

​Listing​

This Camerupt collector’s tin from 2007 contains a POP Series 3 Ho-Oh Ex promo (~$900 in a PSA 10) as well as 3-4 packs from the Ex Series including Dragon Frontiers, Crystal Guardians, Holon Phantoms. Every one of these packs contains the elusive Gold Star cards, chief of all them being the Gold Star Charizard which as of late goes for around $50k in a PSA 10. All of these packs range from the $500 to $1k range so the sale price is not that surprising given the sealed nature of the product.

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🔵 B&W Plasma Blast booster box sells for $8.5k

​Listing​

The top chases from Plasma Blast from 2013 include the Team Plasma full art Pokemon including Genesect, Palkia, and Dialga, and the Iris Trainer card going for about $2k in a PSA 10. Sales of these booster boxes might become more frequent with the return to the B&W era and Mega Evolutions in the TCG. There was another sale for this booster box at the end of August this year at $6.5k so quite a big jump in value but feasibly due to scarcity and FOMO.

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🔵 Lot of 2 Mega Evolutions booster box cases sells for $4.49k

​Listing​

With the release of Mega Evolutions on September 26th, I thought it would be interesting to highlight Mega Evolutions case sales as a touch point of where prices are currently at. Ignoring the sealed case premium, individual booster boxes retail at about $160. The most recent sales put booster boxes around $320 and booster box case sales around $2.2k (around $366 per case). Will we see a dip with this set or Phantasmal Flames once enough time passes or is this the floor?

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💎 Singles & Graded Cards Highlights

🔵 PSA 10 Evolving Skies Dragonite #192 sells for $1.25k

​Listing​

With Evolving Skies booster boxes at around $2.3k, many of the full art cards are starting to catch up in price. This Dragonite card hasn’t seen any correction over the past couple years and only steadily climbing which leads me to believe that the growth is a bit more genuine compared to the rest of the market.

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🔵 PSA 10 Celebrations Metal Gold Charizard sells for $8.4k

​Listing​

I highlighted this card twice in past reports. The purpose of highlighting again is just to look at the significant jump since June. This and the Gold Metal Pikachu were introduced as a part of the Celebrations Ultra-Premium Collection (UPC). This card has jumped over $5k since April. Where will it start to level out? Pikachu recently crossed $5k in a PSA 10.

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🔵 PSA 10 Korean B&W Rayquaza Promo sells for $15k

​Listing​

In 2012, Pokémon Korea celebrated the release of the sixth Black & White set, Cold Flare, with a special lottery event that required entrants to mail in barcodes from eligible products. 1,000 winners were selected to receive two exclusive full-art promo cards: Rayquaza EX (051/BW Korean Promo) and Giratina EX (052/BW Korean Promo). These mirrored Japan’s own lottery promos, Rayquaza EX (145/BW-P) and Giratina EX (146/BW-P).

Winners received their cards in early 2013 inside a pamphlet designed to hold the pair, which also showcased synergy examples for each card: Eelektrik from Noble Victories to power up Rayquaza’s “Dynamotor” strategy, and Sigilyph from Dragons Exalted to support Giratina’s “Safeguard” ability. The pamphlet congratulated winners on their lottery prize and included an advertisement for an upcoming preconstructed deck set to release on February 14.

This sale is just one of many signs that cards with unique distribution methods in other languages will nowadays easily rise to the level of their more popular English/Japanese counterparts. For reference, a Japanese PSA 10 copy sold for $11.7k in 2024.

Source: Pokumon​

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🕰️ Vintage & Niche Market Highlights

🔵 PSA 9 Jungle Pre-release Clefable sells for $14.9k

​Listing​

This card first appeared in the Jungle expansion as both a Holofoil and Non-Holofoil card, following its debut in Japan’s Pokémon Jungle set as a Holofoil-only release. The Holofoil version was later reprinted in Base Set 2. A special Prerelease version was awarded at Jungle Prerelease tournaments in July 1999. There are 0 in a PSA 10 and only 9 in a PSA 9 emphasizing its scarcity.

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​🔵 CGC 10 Lucky Stadium Tropical Mega Battle sells for $22k

​Listing​

The Lucky Stadium card was a participation prize for the 2000 Tropical Mega Battle tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii. Awarded to competitors, its limited print run (it’s estimated somewhere between 40-50 participants competed in the tournament), bilingual (English/Japanese) text, and commemorative artwork make it incredibly rare. A PSA 10 copy of this card sold for $30k (including 20% buyer’s premium).

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🔵 Pokemon Snap Blockbuster video cards lot sells for $1.6k

​Listing​

The Pokémon Snap Smart Cards were part of a 1999 Nintendo and Blockbuster promotion that allowed players to print stickers of photos they took in the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap. Players brought their game cartridges to participating Blockbuster stores, inserted them into a special Pokémon Snap Station, and used a prepaid, single-use smart card (like a phone card that contained something like a token) to buy print credits. After paying with a card featuring characters like Pikachu or Bulbasaur, they could print a sheet of 16 sticker photos from the game.

😴 Potential Sleepers

Trick or Trade 2024 - Pikachu Cosmos Holo #18

PSA 10 - 206 pop / 811 total - $100 average

Ungraded - $1.80 average for near mint condition

It’s been a while since I highlighted a card that was sub $200 in a PSA 10. I had my eyes on this card since about 2 months back and quite frankly should have highlighted it then as the most recent sales the past month put it around $120 (although there have been some listings at sub $100) but it’s still a really good pick up.

This Pikachu card was introduced as a common rarity card with a reverse holo version in Paldean Fates. It was then reprinted as a part of Trick or Trade 2024. Trick or Trade is a limited-edition product released annually for Halloween, featuring mini packs of three cards designed to be handed out to trick-or-treaters. The cards are reprints from various sets, have a special Halloween-themed stamp, and lack expensive "chase" cards, making them affordable and fun for both children and casual collectors as a non-candy alternative.

Setting aside the fact that everything is going up in this market, it’s also for the above reason that they’re generally overlooked. However, I think the Trick or Trade sets add an underrated layer of rarity/exclusivity that is finally getting a spotlight. Among Trick or Trade sets starting in 2022, this Pikachu reprint stood out as a unique collecting opportunity with the cosmos holofoil and exclusive stamp.

📚 Educational Commentary – Collector’s Corner

How do autographs affect the value of the card?

It’s really a mixed bag. Generally speaking you can’t go wrong with a signature from the artist of the card or an otherwise well known artist. It almost always commands a greater premium over the raw copy. But these generally come in the form of PSA/CGC slabs that are sent in only for authentication.

On the other hand some collectors get signatures that unknowingly hurt the value of the card because of a lack of desire to collect like voice actors of the Pokemon anime (not including some Japanese voice actors potentially), etc.

My recommendation is to look up autograph sales on eBay or other auction websites and figure out who the popular signatures are. Another thing to keep in mind is that even for seemingly popular signatures (like that of well known artists), the quantity of signatures is also a factor that can decide the value.

🫐 Berries For Thought

💭 Given the likely confirmation the English Meowth in Phantasmal flames, which was thought to be primarily a Japanese promo, how much will this drop the price?

💭 Do you think new sets like Mega Evolutions and Phantasmal Flames will come down in price or will they remain at their current highs and beyond?

Share your thoughts on the above questions by replying to this email! (I read all of them 🙂)