ThePokemon Trading Card Game’sfirst-ever dual expansion,Black Bolt and White Flare, isgoing to be an expensive one to complete. Ignoring the fact that it has a range of very expensive chase cards, like the new BWR rarity Reshiram ex and Zekrom ex, and a handful of other stunning (but pricey) SARs, the set features ARs ofevery singlePokemon introduced in Black and White’s Unova region.
Of course, many of these cards aren’tsuperexpensive, sitting between the $7-$12 mark, it’s just the sheer quantity of them that makes the price add up.
The overall cost of the set isn’t being helped by one very weirdly expensive card, with Seismitoad currently more expensive than all but two of Black Bolt’s cards, including Zekrom ex, Genesect ex, and Kyurem ex.
Seismitoad is not a particularly popular Pokemon. It’s a big, ugly blue toad with warts all over its body, so why on earth is an art rare card (not even one of the top two rarities), almost $230, according to data fromCollectr? For comparison, you could pick up the way, way nicer Zekrom ex for $15 less.
There are three reasons for this, all of which are highly speculative and likelydriven by those Cryptocurrency investors.
Firstly, it’s a Shinji Kanda-designed card, and people are banking on it ‘stonking’ in the future. Kanda is known for his psychedelic Pokemon cards, which are pretty divisive in the community, and while he’s designed plenty, a handful of them are already very expensive (see:Paldea Evolved’s Magikarp art rare, which is currently selling for upwards of $240). The ‘investor’ portion of the Pokemon TCG is hoping this card becomes the next ‘Karp.
Secondly, and more nefariously, Seismitoad is facing a bit of price manipulation. It’s a hard card to find on the secondary market, with some buying up every cheap version of the card, relisting them all for massively inflated prices.
Thirdly, and most interestingly, though, players think there is a chance that this specific card could be banned or edited in future prints. In the upper-right-hand side of the card, there are three vines hanging down that look like a ‘666’. There is some speculation, and it is very much speculation, that this could cause complaints, with the card pulled from print, making it a collector’s item in the future.
It’s the latest example of Pokemon TCG prices doing silly, silly things. In January, our research found thatprices for single cards had risen by around 150 percent, and just last month, we saw prices forsome promos spiking by up to 880 percent. Thebubble is due for a burst.
