Summary
Earlier this year,I reported that the Pokemon Trading Card Game was in a desperate place. Prices of some of thecollectible card game’smost desirable cards were skyrocketing to a point that was unattainable for the average collector. A Pikachu promo increased by 151 percent, Crown Zenith singles were rising at an alarming rate, and the famed ‘Moonbreon’ card jumped by almost $500 in just three months.
It’s been around five months since I published that report, and I wanted to check how prices had moved since then. Like all bad things, they often get worse before they get better, and that was the case here - but there is a small,smallglimmer of hope that the sun is starting to emerge from behind the clouds.
The Pokemon TCG’s Sword And Shield Era Single Prices Might Be On The Downturn
Between June 22, 2025, and Jun 23, 2025, the Pokemon TCG’sSword and Shieldera’s most popular cards rose in price by an average of 42 percent. This included a 151 percent increase for the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promo, 103 percent increases for Mewtwo VSTAR and Arceus VSTAR fromCrown Zenith, and triple-digit dollar rises for the likes ofEvolving Skies’Umbreon VMAX, Fusion Strike’s Gengar VMAX, and Lost Origin’s Giratina V.
The bad news is that those prices in January weren’t the peak for those 25 cards. They continued to rise between January and late March, when many of them hit their peaks. Every card we tracked in January rose further, some significantly. Leafeon V from Evolving Skies jumped by another 71 percent, on top of its previous 26 percent increase, Sylveon VMAX rose by 69 percent, and Rayquaza VMAX by 53 percent, culminating in an average rise between January and March of 36 percent, according toCollectr.
If you wanted to buy all 25 cards in October, you’d have paid around $4,800. In January, you’d have been looking at just under $6,900. With everything peaking in March, that price rose further to $9,350. It wasn’t looking good, but don’t worry, theremightbe light at the end of the tunnel.
Over the last two months, since their peak, all but one card has begun to drop in price, with Rayquaza V from Evolving Skies currently sitting at its all-time high price. Evolving Skies' Leafeon V has lost the most value, dropping 37 percent, and Arceus VSTAR is the second-biggest faller, shedding 32 percent off its peak value, but a range of cards have lost over 20 percent of their value. This has led to an average drop of 15 percent.
Now, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. These prices are still up an average of 65 percent from October last year, and it’d cost you an extra $1,100 to buy them now versus January (and $3,100 versus October), but they have fallen by a combined total $1,350 from their peak, and evidence suggests that they could continue to drop.
$71.62
$90.27
$154.46
$97.48
26
71
-37
36
$67.04
$92.63
$145.34
$118.96
38
57
-18
77
$52.69
$106.88
$126.77
$99.82
103
19
-21
89
$75.72
$115.87
$178.72
$130.91
53
54
-27
73
$72.34
$118.98
$148.12
$122.93
64
24
-17
70
$58.82
$119.24
$134.41
$91.66
13
-32
56
$106.33
$133.63
$170.36
$152.44
27
-11
43
$88.98
$134.92
$174.03
$138.98
52
29
-20
$127.32
$152.40
$200.97
$187.15
20
32
-7
47
$99.85
$159.96
$243.23
60
144
$141.40
$179.04
$269.83
$258.87
51
-4
83
$96.22
$188.21
$213.59
$171.75
96
78
$130.95
$192.92
$217.27
$201.63
$141.59
$205.03
$298.64
$247.13
45
46
75
$168.27
$236.46
$304.13
$271.74
41
61
$184.75
$237.41
$335.18
$296.82
$98.97
$248.10
$350.37
$326.21
151
230
$190.95
$256.54
$434.31
$346.43
34
69
81
$208.06
$264.57
$381.14
$289.31
44
-24
39
$257.57
$301.33
$389.58
$375.52
17
$257.31
$324.61
$447.31
$405.77
-9
58
$313.67
$527.36
$746.65
$576.59
68
42
-23
84
$445.58
$534.08
$817.88
$714.29
-13
$400.37
$534.13
$709.01
$542.57
33
$974.88
$1,413.07
$1,757.55
$1,560.48
$4,831.25
$6,867.64
$9,348.85
$7,968.67
-15
65
Early Scarlet And Violet Era Cards Are Also Falling
While such increases in prices for Sword and Shield cardskind ofmade sense, given many of the products were out of print, there was something fishy aboutScarlet and Violetcards raising by so much, so quickly.
There was an argument to be made that many of the cards were undervalued, and the market was leveling itself out, but some cards rose by over 200 percent between October and January, which felt like an obscene amount. Unsurprisingly, though, these cards continued to rise between January and March, with Altaria ex fromParadox Riftmore than doubling in price during that period. Again, though, all of these cards are now on the decline.
The decrease in cost of these cards is actually so much, it’d be cheaper to pick them all up now than it would after the surge in price between October last year and January. Although there’s still a 58 percent increase in price between October and now, the combined cost of all cards was $1,591.62 in January 6, and $1,517.12 on May 22. They all seem to still be dropping, too.
You can see our Scarlet and Violet data below:
$115.22
$218.50
$279.48
$191.37
90
28
66
Mew ex (PAF)
$93.06
$267.38
$394.37
$301.39
187
224
$6.08
$19.35
$29.85
$17.52
218
-41
188
$9.97
$33.37
$37.51
$25.96
235
12
-31
160
$33.93
$48.80
$52.04
$47.07
7
-10
$11.23
$20.74
$34.12
$18.61
85
-45
$37.81
$50.43
$68.72
$51.37
-25
$34.38
$46.82
$55.87
$46.62
$28.64
$41.17
$52.40
$39.43
$51.04
$71.01
$104.94
$71.85
48
$45.93
$60.38
$61.02
$43.86
31
1
-28
-5
Altaria ex
$25.27
$33.59
$70.03
$48.78
108
-30
93
Charizard ex (PAF)
$102.89
$174.09
$204.72
$179.86
18
-12
Gardevoir ex (PAF)
$38.71
$87.91
$92.61
$78.95
127
5
104
Greninja ex
$271.36
$333.50
$410.97
$295.31
23
9
Eevee (TWM)
$55.12
$84.58
$95.78
$59.17
-38
$960.64
$1,591.62
$2,044.43
$1,517.12
-26
Sadly, I don’t think we’ll ever see any of these cards fall back to their pre-2025 prices. People have put too much money into them for them to drop that far, but it does feel like we’re seeing some course-correction now, which can only be a good thing.
This good news is only compounded further by the fact that major retailers seem to be taking the scalper problem more seriously. The Pokemon Center’srecent drop of Prismatic Evolutions ETBs was a breath of fresh air, with its anti-bot protection seemingly working wonders, and GameStop has confirmed that upcomingDestined Rivalsproductswill be limited to one per customer. Here’s hoping everything continues down this path whenBlack Bolt and White Flarerelease.
