July 4th - July 20th, 2025

Japanese Gold Star Torchic Sells $20k 🐤, Tag Team Birds Driving Booster Prices 📈, 1st Edition Base Set Booster Box Sells In Multiple Languages 🚂, Mega Evolution Charizard Major Price Hike 🔥

📋 TLDR

This week’s market was defined by broad-based strength across sealed, singles, and vintage segments. Modern sealed product continues to surprise, with Plasma Storm ETBs far outpacing expectations and Sky Legend booster boxes climbing alongside the stained-glass Tag Team Birds craze. Niche Japanese releases like the Pokékyun Collection are commanding steep premiums, driven by unique heart-foil art unavailable in Western prints. On the singles front, fresh Black Label Beckett submissions and Mega Charizard EX continue their upward trajectories, reflecting both scarcity dynamics and renewed set-release buzz. Meanwhile, vintage demand remains resilient, non-English Base Set first-editions and late-era gems like Skyridge Charizard are resetting price benchmarks and reminding investors that value persists in every corner of the Pokémon ecosystem.

📦 Sealed Product Market Highlights

Black & White Plasma Storm ETB sells for $8.5k via eBay auction.
- The top chases from this set are Charizard 136 (in its shiny form), Articuno EX 132, and Lugia EX 134 as the top chase cards.
Sun & Moon Sky Legend Booster Box sells for $312.50 via eBay auction.
- With the recent hype of tag teams and especially the stained glass birds, we are starting to see an increase in Sky Legend Booster Box sales and buyers are paying a 20% premium over the prior month’s average ($260). It's expected that all sets featuring tag team cards will continue to rise but in particular the sets with popular tag team cards such as Pikachu & Zekrom or Latias & Latios from Team Up will continue to see significant price movements.
Pokemon Pokekyun Collection Booster Box sells $4.6k via eBay auction.
- The top chases from this set are Charizard 136 (in its shiny form), Articuno EX 132, and Lugia EX 134 as the top chase cards.

💎 Singles & Graded Cards Highlights

Black Label Beckett 10 Zekrom sells for $8.9k via eBay auction.
- A lot of enthusiasts feel that this sale follows the trend of many black label sales of cards from new sets that have not yet settled into the market yet.It will be interesting to see whether the price of this black label moves down significantly with some more time.
XY Breakpoint Secret Gyarados sells $2k in a PSA 10 via eBay auction.
- XY Breakpoint was released in 2016 in English and features a number of Gyarados cards (including the Secret Gyarados) as well as the Skyla Trainer card as the top chases. A series of XY era sets are starting to blow up in the market and the XY breakpoint booster box's last sales are hovering around $2k. At this price point is the booster box still a solid buy with room to go up significantly?
M Charizard EX sells for $3.85k via eBay auction best offer .
- Despite the Pokemon boom which has caused a spike in Pokemon products (in particular cards), this card has seen a significant jump over the past couple of months. While part of this hike could be attributed towards the release of the new Mega Evolution set releasing this year, the difference is still staggering.

🕰️ Vintage & Niche Market Highlights

This Japanese Gold Star Torchic sold for $20k via eBay auction highlighting the insane continued demand for the Gold Star cards which are still somewhat of a special niche within vintage classic cards.
A Pokemon EX Emerald Factory-Sealed Booster Box released in 2005 is currently up for bid via Goldin auction.
- The top chase card in set is the Milotic EX hovering around $4k in a PSA 10
A WOTC Pokemon Korean Base Set 1st Edition booster box is currently up for bid via Goldin auction at $8k.
- There is not much price data on the Korean version of this booster box but there are a couple of listings on eBay around $27k to $30k.
- Vintage sets in other languages are starting to pick up steam as well with a French 1st Edition booster box selling for $44k via eBay auction.

⌛ Pokemon Time Machine

Might not be directly card related

This week’s time capsule dives into the world of video game collecting with a focus on sealed Pokémon Red Version for the original Game Boy. In August 2024, a WATA 9.8 A++ graded, factory-sealed copy of Pokémon Red Version sold for US $118,750 at Heritage Auctions, setting one of the highest prices ever paid for a Game Boy cartridge.

📚 Educational Commentary – Collector’s Corner

How can you tell what your collection is worth?

Many collectors start by plugging their cards into collection-tracking apps or spreadsheets, which aggregate recent sale data to give a ballpark figure for each card’s value. But that’s only the beginning because when you actually sell, you’ll need to factor in condition and grading costs, platform fees (eBay, TCGPlayer, auction houses), shipping and insurance, and even seasonal demand shifts. A card that shows $100 in “fair market” might net you $75 after grading and fees, or more if it’s ultra-rare and you time the sale against market hype. Always cross-reference multiple sources (completed auctions, dealer offers, price guides) and build in buffers for costs and listing time, so you know both your collection’s headline value and its realistic, “what you’ll actually get” value.

🫐 Berries For Thought

💭 Why do large grading companies not offer services for authenticating or grading sealed booster boxes?

💭 Do you prefer collecting sealed boxes or packs?

Feedback/Questions?

Contact me at news@luckyeggreport.com 🥚