Another day, another range ofPokemon cardsthat have randomly skyrocketed in price. Earlier this year, there was asignificant surge inSword and Shield-eracard prices,with some cards more than doubling in value. In May,it looked like the bubble might be bursting, with some of those cards that peaked in January settling at a more reasonable range.
Over the last couple of weeks, however, a range of older promo cards have shot up in price, seemingly out of the blue, and it looks like something fishy is happening once again.
Sun And Moon And Sword And Shield Pokemon Trading Card Game Promos Are Going Wild
We looked at over20 promosfrom theSun and Moonand Sword and Shield eras of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, using data fromCollectr, and found that many of them have increased in price exponentially.
Two cards in particular from this list stand out. Greninja Gold Star from theCelebrations setand Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX fromHidden FatesElite Trainer Boxes. These two cards were heavily printed, and for the longest time, both were pretty undesirable. Between release and July 16, 2025, Greninja fluctuated between lows of $0.87 and highs of $2.50. Over the last couple of weeks, the card has been selling for upwards of $24 — that’s an 880 percent increase. Over the last three months, it has increased by 189 percent.
It’s a similar story with the Legendary Birds as well. Between December 2021 and May 28, 2025, the card hadn’t sold for more than $20. It’s now selling for well over $110, peaking at $125 — this time, a 531 percent increase (124 percent over the last three months).
In my report in January, it was heavily speculated by collectors that prices were being artificially inflated by “pump and dumpers”, and these two cards look to be a prime example of that. A dodgy section of the Pokemon TCG community seemingly bought up all of these cards at their lowest prices, causing the market to panic and their prices to increase. Those who purchased them at their lows would have then sold them at their peak, making tons of profit in the process.
Sun and Moon
$38.51
$118.16
207
Sword and Shield
$6.01
$17.34
189
$50.66
$113.44
124
$78.79
$164.63
109
$14.68
$28.02
91
$26.91
$48.15
79
Pikachu (SM162)
$29.17
$52.02
78
$65.04
$111.25
71
$136.60
$230.36
69
$40.17
$66.34
65
$12.98
$20.57
58
$19.03
$30.12
$106.42
$167.56
57
$329.99
$500.00
52
$61.06
$85.52
40
$65.09
$88.22
36
$50.89
$68.33
34
$140.78
$185.04
31
$45.14
$57.75
28
$118.59
$130.82
10
$261.93
$282.49
8
The average increase of these cards was around 71 percent, with some cards increasing by over 200 percent over a three-month period.
Now, there’s definitely an argument to be made that some of these cards were undervalued, especially the Tag Team promos, as these are all great-looking cards. But it seems like a combination of market manipulation and FOMO has caused another spike in prices, making the Pokemon TCG even more expensive for the regular collector. Giventhe issues that have plagued the Pokemon Center, it’s a frustrating time. Here’s hoping the pre-orders forthe new Mega Evolutions setrun a little smoother.
