China Gets Exclusive Brock's Scouting in New Set 🪨, Lot of 5 Japanese Stamp Boxes Hits $20.5k 📮, English Gold Star Pikachu Sells for $135k ⭐, Authentic Illustrator Pikachu Sells for $1M ✏️

🔵 “Chasing Glory Together” Set Revealed for China Featuring Exclusive Brock’s Scouting!

China's tenth Scarlet & Violet set, Chasing Glory Together, releases July 16th and pulls cards from 2025's Journey Together and Destined Rivals, both of which featured the Owner's Pokemon. China has been putting out compilation sets since 2022 to catch up with the rest of the world's release schedule.

The headline is a brand new Brock's Scouting Special Illustration Rare that has not released anywhere else. Like all of China's alternate artworks since 2022, it will stay exclusive to that region.

🔵 “We received just 12 units”: retailer defends 300% Pokémon First Partner price increase

UK retailer Unicorn Cards drew heavy backlash for listing the First Partner Series 2 collection at £59.90, nearly 300% over its £14.99 RRP and matching secondary market prices. After the post hit the r/PokemonTCG_UK subreddit, the retailer was flooded with 1-star Trustpilot reviews and pulled the listing.

The company blamed tiny allocations, saying some recent Pokemon products arrive in quantities as low as 6 to 12 units, making RRP pricing commercially unworkable against monthly costs in the tens of thousands of pounds. Unicorn Cards says it will list comparable upcoming products at RRP going forward, while noting that small allocations mean those will still sell out to the first few buyers or bots.

🔵 Controversy Regarding Vendors Offering Courses for Growing Inventory

A r/PokeInvesting thread blew up over two well-known Pokemon vendors charging $2,500 for a six-week course on building card inventory, now reportedly in its second round. Commenters widely called it a grift, arguing the strategy amounts to buying below market and selling at market, something freely learnable at card shows or the library.

Much of the thread criticized the creators for quitting six-figure corporate jobs and leaning on content and course revenue, with some noting negative comments were being deleted on the vendors' Instagram posts. The backlash reflects broader community frustration with hype-era profiteering in the hobby.

🔵 Japanese Eevee Heroes Booster Box Sells for $980

This is a sealed Japanese Eevee Heroes (S6a) booster box from the Sword & Shield era, a set known for high-value Eevee-line cards and strong long-term demand. This set also comes in special collection configurations such as the Eevee Heroes Gym Box.

Sealed Type - Year: Japanese Booster Box - 2021
Contents: 30 packs
Sales History: A lot of four sealed boxes sold for $2,026 in September 2025, roughly $507 per box. This single-box sale at $980 sits well above that per-box figure (~+93% vs the Sep 2025 lot's per-box price).

🔵 Lot (5) of Japanese Stamp Boxes Sells for $20.5k

This is a lot of five sealed 2021 Japan Post "Beauty Looking Back & Moon Goose" Stamp Boxes, a Pokemon x Japan Post collaboration sold only through a Japanese post office lottery with a one-per-winner limit. The set is prized for two exclusive full-art promos by Mitsuhiro Arita, Pikachu 227/S-P and Cramorant 226/S-P, based on classic 1948 and 1949 Japanese stamp artwork.

Sealed Type - Year: Japan Post Pokemon Stamp Box, 2021
Contents: Each box holds a Pokemon stamp sheet, the Pikachu and Cramorant full-art promos, a Family Pokemon Card Game box set, and three die-cut postcards/stickers.
Sales History: Single sealed boxes sold between $1,775 and $1,800 from November 2025 through January 2026. At $20.5k for five, this lot averages roughly $4,100 per box, well above recent single-box comps (~+128% per box vs the ~$1,800 single-box price).

🔵 PSA 10 English Black Bolt Seismitoad Sells for $2.75k

This Illustration Rare comes from the 2025 English Black Bolt set and features standout artwork by Shinji Kondo. The card spiked early after release on artist hype, then saw a series of pumps and dips through the back half of 2025.

Singles Type - Condition: Graded, PSA 10
Set Name - Year: Black Bolt, 2025
Sales History: PSA 10 copies traded mostly between $910 and $1,300 from September 2025 through March 2026, with a $950 sale as recent as March 2026. This $2,748.99 listing sits well above that range (~+189% vs Mar 2026 sale of $950).

🔵 PSA 10 English Gold Star Pikachu Sells for $135k

This is the Gold Star Pikachu #104 from the 2006 English Holon Phantoms set, one of the most iconic chase cards of the EX era. In Japanese this card is featured in both Unlimited and 1st Edition versions.

Singles Type - Condition: Graded - PSA 10
Set Name - Year: Holon Phantoms, 2006
Sales History: Two PSA 10 copies sold at auction in late 2025 for $37,101 (August 24, 2025) and $42,100 (September 3, 2025). This $135k sale sits roughly 221% above the most recent of those, a massive jump for a card already trading in the $37k to $42k range (~+221% vs Sep 2025 sale of $42,100).

🔵 PSA Authentic Pikachu Illustrator w/ Original Envelope Sells for $1M

This is the only Illustrator Pikachu PSA has verified as officially awarded, marked "Awarded" on its label, with most other copies known to have entered the hobby through unofficial channels. It comes with the original Creatures, Inc. letter and envelope dated July 1, 1998, congratulating an original CoroCoro contest winner which is exceedingly rare.

Origin Source - Year: CoroCoro Comic Illust Artist Contest promo, 1998
Sales History: A PSA NM-MT+ 8.5 copy sold on June 26, 2026 for $843,750 including buyer's premium. This $1M result sits roughly 19% above that sale most likely due to the inclusion of the original letter which is incredibly rare.

🔵 Skyridge Sealed Booster Box Sells for $206k

This is a sealed 2003 Skyridge booster box, the final set Wizards of the Coast ever produced and one of the scarcest WOTC-era boxes due to a low print run. The set is prized for its six Crystal cards, most notably Charizard.

Origin Source - Year: Booster box - 2003
Sales History: This same Heritage box sold for $96,875 in June 2025. One year later it brought $206k, more than doubling in value on the identical lot (~+113% vs the June 2025 sale of $96,875).