This promo Pikachu Pokémon card now sells for $20,000, but the box it came in is worth twice as much
The poncho Pikachu Pokémon cards are some of the most sought-after Japanese promos, and now, the adorable Charizard Y version is selling for $20,000 in PSA 10.
If there’s one thing Pokémon collectors love, it’s Pikachu. If there are two things they love, it’s Pikachu dressed as Charizard. The 2016 Poncho Pikachu Charizard Y Pokémon card has quietly become one of the hobby’s biggest grails, with PSA 10 copies now changing hands for around $20,000. Yet somehow, the sealed box it originally came in has become even more valuable, recently selling for an astonishing $40,000.
Like most Pokémon TCG cards that remain exclusives, its value remains intertwined with the fact that sealed supply has slowly dwindled as the decade has passed. Out of 2,963 total cards graded by the Pokémon grading service, PSA 10 makes up a massive 81% of the population. Despite an impressive gem rate, there are still only around 2,400 Gem Mint copies in existence, making high-grade examples surprisingly scarce for one of Pokémon’s most desirable promos.
Being a 2016 card (it’s an X-Y promo, to give you a sense of the age), most people pulled them out of the box and displayed them or popped them in binders. Even then, it’s a crossover of two iconic ‘mon from the franchise, and the limited supply gives it a bump up in value. That value has only grown with the recent hype and massive demand.
Even in March 2023, the card went for $750 ungraded, seven years after it was first released. And, it is an adorable card that deserves the recognition it currently has. But it’s now $4200 ungraded, and according to recent sales, that translates to roughly $20,000 for a PSA 10 copy.
Yet the card isn’t the most expensive part of the collection. Two recent eBay sales put the sealed Mega Charizard Y Poncho Box at $40,000, worth roughly double the value of a PSA 10 copy inside it. Two recent sales put the Mega Charizard Y Ponch box at $40,000 for the sealed collection.
Why? Well, back in 2016, almost nobody imagined these boxes would become museum pieces. Collectors bought them to open, pull out the promos and enjoy the rest of the contents. Ten years later, that means untouched examples are dramatically rarer than the cards themselves.
What’s even more interesting is that, in November last year, it was only sold for $11,700. That means by the next time it was listed on the eBay marketplace, it had over tripled in value. If you’ve somehow kept one sealed for the last decade, you’re now holding one of the rarest modern Pokémon products on the market. Just don’t leave it in the attic: heat and humidity aren’t kind to cardboard (you can use our storing Pokémon cards guide to find the best spot for it).
While the rest of the poncho Pikachu cards don’t reach the same high values, they’re still beloved grails for the community. In reality, I’d be happy to have any of them, even if it was beaten up and lived in a back pocket for five years.
Source: Collectr
