Price Trends: Pokémon Cards Climbing in Price - 05/27/2026
By Peter Day •
We want you to have the best information available when you price cards on the TCGplayer Marketplace. So to help you get the most from your inventory, we’ve put together a downloadable CSV report of Pokémon cards that have dramatically increased in Market Price in the past 30 days.
(Note: This report only considers Near Mint copies of cards with at least ten sales between April 26 and May 25, 2026.)
Here are ten highlights from that report. First, we have the five cards that gained the most value in the past 30 days after starting with a Market Price of $40 or less.
Top 5 Price Increases—PKMN Cards $40 or Less
- Set: Paldean Fates
- Increase: +$19.90
- Current Market Price: $55.99
It’s generally believed that once a Pokémon set rotates out of Standard, The Pokémon Company International will never reprint it. As a result, cards from “G” block, which rotated out of Standard in April, have been rising in price over the last few months.
Many of the biggest gainers, like the Pikachu and Snorlax cards we covered last month, have come from Paldean Fates. That set contained a whopping 164 Secret Rare cards, and while the pull rates overall were fairly generous, the odds of opening any specific Secret Rare were low because there were so many cards competing for so few slots.
Those hard-to-find Secret Rares have just been waiting for a reason to spike, and now rotation has provided a reason.
- Set: Scarlet & Violet Base Set
- Increase: +$20.74
- Current Market Price: $37.94
Illustration Rare Wiglett also rotated in April, but that’s not the only reason it’s growing. There was a huge buyout of this Wiglett on April 24, during which the average number of copies per buyer grew to 5.2, up from 1.2 the previous day. That sent the card’s price spiking.
It’s not clear why speculators targeted Wiglett. There’s been a recent wave of interest in Pokémon cards that feature “cameos” of other Pokémon, like this card does. But this buyout seems to predate the period when cameo Pokémon went viral on social media.
- Set: SM Promos
- Increase: +$22.66
- Current Market Price: $48.85
This Pikachu was originally distributed as part of the Pikachu Sidekick Collection in September 2017. Among collectors, it’s best known for its art, which complements the Pikachu from Burning Shadows. The illustrations on both cards were done by Saya Tsuruta, and while they don’t quite meet the traditional definition of connected art cards, their similarities invite fans to collect them together.
Perhaps for that reason, at least one speculator has been periodically buying out Pikachu SM98 for a long time. 15 copies were sold to a single buyer on January 21, and then 16 more copies were sold to one buyer on May 13. That last batch of sales sent the card soaring to its current Market Price.
Notably, the Reverse Holo version of the Pikachu from Burning Shadows has also risen over the past year, and recently spiked to over $4.
#2 Vaporeon (Master Ball Pattern)
- Set: Prismatic Evolutions
- Increase: +$23.10
- Current Market Price: $44.30
All the Master Ball Pattern Eeveelutions from Prismatic Evolutions have spiked since April. In fact, so have the Special Illustration Rare Eeveelutions.
A wave of reprints of Prismatic Evolutions products reached stores in early April, but apparently the drop in sealed prices had the opposite effect on singles. Possibly, fans who finally got to rip Prismatic Evolutions after this latest reprint became frustrated when they didn’t find what the cards they wanted, so they finally pulled the trigger on buying the cards directly.
- Set: Stellar Crown
- Increase: +$35.81
- Current Market Price: $69.27
Last month I guessed that Pokémon fans were buying SIR Dachsbun ex because it was obviously superior to the set’s natural chase card, SIR Terapagos ex.
Well, at least one fan vehemently disagreed. On April 29, Terapagos had an explosive sales day during which the average number of copies per buyer reached 28.0. That’s a lot of sparkly turtles.
SIR Terapagos ex briefly climbed to $80, but it’s been sliding back down ever since. It’ll likely settle somewhere below that high, but above its pre-spike price of $33.
Next, these are the five cards that gained the most value in the past 30 days after starting with a Market Price over $40.
Top 5 Price Increases—PKMN Cards Over $40
- Set: Crown Zenith: Galarian Gallery
- Increase: +$89.84
- Current Market Price: $333.25
This card just grew 36% after three months of thoroughly average sales numbers. The market simply ran out of lower-cost listings.
#4 Gengar (Cosmos Holo) (Gamestop Exclusive)
- Set: Miscellaneous Cards & Products
- Increase: +$113.79
- Current Market Price: $212.22
An unusually strong sales day on April 27 set off a run that doubled the price of this promo. I hesitate to call it a buyout, since the average number of copies per buyer that day was only 1.4. But it does look anomalous compared to the sales volume before and after the 27th.
- Set: Ascended Heroes
- Increase: +$142.11
- Current Market Price: $1,318.62
Everyone knew Mega Gengar ex would overtake Mega Dragonite ex as the most valuable card in Ascended Heroes. But the real breakout card of the set has been this SIR Pikachu ex, which started March at $480 and has rocketted up every day since then.
Why this Pikachu, and not the other SIR Pikachu that’s also in Ascended Heroes? Nobody’s sure, but it might come down to the art. Fans have been enamored with this understated take on encountering a wild Pikachu in the woods, illustrated by Light Novel artist booota in their debut English Pokémon card.
#2 Rayquaza VMAX (Alternate Art Secret)
- Set: Evolving Skies
- Increase: +$155.56
- Current Market Price: $945.36
Rayquaza has broken the four-digit threshold, its Market Price just hasn’t caught up yet.
This card’s sales volume has been low and stagnant all year. Once again however, the lower-cost listings have simply evaporated. The buyers who weren’t turned off by a $900 price tag are probably more excited by a $1000 price tag, since it demonstrates the card still has room to grow.
#1 Giratina V (Alternate Full Art)
- Set: Lost Origin
- Increase: +$160.20
- Current Market Price: $823.75
On May 2, somebody bought 14 copies of this card in a single day. They may have been the same somebody who bought 14 copies last year on December 15. Either way, the card’s price responded accordingly.
By selling these cards online, you can reach a broad audience of customers who are willing to pay what these cards are truly worth. Download the May 2026 Price Trends Report to review every Pokémon card that went up in value this month. Then list those cards on TCGplayer so your inventory can do more for your business.
Download the Pokémon Price Trends Report
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