Key Takeaways
- A new Special Illustration Rare Pikachu EX card is currently selling online for crazy prices reaching into the thousands of dollars.
- The card was released as part of the new Pokemon TCG Surging Sparks expansion, which debuted in early November 2024.
- The card’s prices are likely to stabilize in the near future.
A special variant of a new Pikachu EX card from the Pokemon Trading Card Game is currently selling online for ridiculous prices, reaching thousands of dollars. While it’s not uncommon for Pokemon TCG cards to fetch high prices, this case has even surprised some collectors.
On November 8, The Pokemon Company released the final 2024 expansion for its hit TCG. Called Pokemon Scarlet and Violet — Surging Sparks, this set introduced over 250 cards, many of which feature Terastallized pocket monsters with the Stellar Tera type. These include the Surging Sparks Pikachu EX, which comes in four variants: Regular, Ultra Rare, Special Illustration Rare, and Hyper Rare.
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Some copies of one of these prints are currently selling online for steep prices, soaring into the thousands of dollars. Surprisingly, it’s not the Hyper Rare one, but its Special Illustration counterpart. E.g., an eBay auction for one such Pikachu EX (238/191) card has recently closed at $3,100 following 31 bids. This came as a surprise to some Pokemon TCG fans, in part because Surging Sparks is still a brand-new set, so anyone who keeps buying packs still has plenty of chances to pull the Special Illustration Rare Pikachu EX before having to spend thousands of dollars on it.
Granted, just because an eBay auction closed at a certain price point doesn’t mean that the sale itself has been completed, as there’s no way of knowing whether the winning bid was actually paid. But even if it wasn’t, there are currently plenty of other eBay listings that confirm this Surging Sparks Pikachu EX card is indeed in high demand. As of early morning ET on November 15, an ongoing auction for another copy of the card has attracted 26 bids, with the latest reaching $1,725. At the same time, around a dozen Pokemon TCG collectors are currently asking at least $1,000 for the card on eBay alone. For reference, the card’s Hyper Rare variant is currently going for around $100 ungraded.
Surging Sparks Pikachu EX Prices Are Likely To Stabilize Soon
Reflecting on this current state of affairs, some collectors opined the card’s high prices are currently driven by the novelty factor and people’s fear of missing out. Regardless of the accuracy of that assessment, historical trends suggest that prices are likely to stabilize soon.
Once they do, it’s plausible that the average selling price of the card will drop well below $1,000, and stay there for the foreseeable future, long after its expansion is pulled from print. In the meantime, the Special Illustration Rare variant of the Pikachu EX remains one of the best pulls from Pokemon TCG‘s Surging Sparks set.
Pokemon TCG
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a collectible and strategy based card game based on Nintendo’s Pokemon franchise. Two players face off against one another, battling one Pokemon at a time and attempting to knock them out to claim one of six prize cards. The cards have also become highly collectible with some in particular selling for thousands of dollars.
- Original Release Date
- October 20, 1996