The Base Set Pikachu Japanese CD Promo's price at CGC9 has more than doubled in just 10 days... From $125 to $294.99. I don't think I'm influential, nor did I purchase at either price. Is there a big player out there?

Previously ordered 5 packs of Gem Pack Vol.4, and the pull rate was so bad that I kept one box untouched for quite a while. Decided to open and this Chinese exclusive came out. Centering is bad, but finally I get a Chinese exclusive for the year of Horse.

Something just shocked me: these two are different cards. They were both from 1999 base set, but the one on the left (lighter yellow) is identified as the 58/102 Shadowless CD Promo Japanese, and the one on the right is 58/102 Shadowless. The reason behind is because the one on the left is printed on Japanese card stock as a promo inside a CD. Price-wise: not much of a difference. PSA doesn’t even recognize the variations, but CGC would mark the left with the CD Promo Japanese variation.

According to my friends in China, the Chinese Crystal Gathering is very much stocked at MSRP, except the premium box, booster bundle and the binder bundle. I might finally be able to open some of them soon and see if I could be lucky

Here’s the successful rate of Amazon.jp on the 30th anniversary set, No wonder I never got an invite. Congrats to the chosen ones!

Here’s an exclusive Pikachu that doesn’t get talked about much: the CoroCoro Ciao Start Deck 100 Pikachu ex. The only way to obtain this Pikachu is through the CoroCoro Ciao Start Deck 100. The deck also includes the exclusive Influencer’s Introduction card. Each sealed deck contains: 2 exclusive Pikachu ex 1 Influencer’s Introduction card Raw copies of the Pikachu ex are still selling for under $5, while PSA 10s are listed for over $120. The main issue is that very few people are willing to spend $80 to grade a card that’s only worth a few dollars raw. Because of that, I think PSA 10 copies could settle somewhere just under $100 once PSA value grading becomes available again. That said, I still think the sealed deck is an absolute bargain (around $35 at the moment. Was only $15-20 a month ago)

For research purposes, I just watched a very interesting interview with the CEO of a printing house, Hayakawa. This episode is about if he could tell the which pokemon card is fake, and they used Mega Dragonite EX as an example. Key takeaways: 1. Some of the fakes are even better produced than the real ones 2. Pokemon cards are made cheap, that’s why without sleeve they often stick together. This also explains why very often when I pull a chase card (the Greninja I pulled yesterday for example), it’s often stuck to the previous card 3. How playing cards in casinos are made with more care than Pokemon cards 4. Over the HP there’s a top coating, and there’s a protective coating over Dragonite’s eyes 5. The real one use drop-down mold, that’s why there’s no cut mark

I’ve just got enough cards for the Mexico vs South Africa game. #worldcup #pokemon

I was at a card shop in Japan and saw this Mega Dragonite EX, listed at 50% off. Front looks extremely clean, but there’s a scratch at the back. Listed price at 52000 yen, so I thought with 50% off and a scratch, it would still be good as a binder copy. Is this a good buy for 26,000 yen (~$160USD)? P.s. I don’t think I can pull this card even if I buy two Mega Dream boxes too

Finally got my copy of this South Island Togepi. This card from 1999 looks really shinny in person. Definitely loving it, and the hidden Pikachu too.

So I saved ~$400 without being able to pre-order Pitch Black, perhaps it's time to see where to put the money. While researching about cool cards, I found this: Altaria (291/XY-P Japanese Promo) This card was distributed as a bonus promo in the CD "TV Anime Character Song Project Collection Vol.2". The latest PSA10 sale was in April 22, 2026 at $2,499.99, and a raw copy is about $800 on Ebay. hmm... looks like I still can't afford it now.

My guess is value will reopen at the beginning of 2027, when the 30th anniversary Pokemon cards are ready to be massively graded