The Pack Report
A Snap contest Koffing leads a $684,000 Pokemon sweep, two Treecko Gold Stars sell for $246,000 in one auction, and the World Championships open in San Francisco on Friday.
| Up | ||
|---|---|---|
| IvysaurLegendary Collection · PSA 9 | $20 → $41 | +105% |
| RayquazaEX Deoxys · PSA 6 | $80 → $250 | +212% |
| Mew exEX Holon Phantoms · BGS 7.5 | $610 → $1,050 | +72% |
| VenusaurCelebrations: Classic Collection (modern) · PSA 7 | $8 → $20 | +150% |
| Down | ||
| Rayquaza δEX Holon Phantoms · PSA 6 | $900 → $355 | -61% |
| Light AzumarillNeo Destiny · PSA 1 | $75 → $42 | -44% |
| BanetteAscended Heroes (modern) · PSA 9 | $22 → $12 | -42% |
A $180,000 Koffing Leads Another Pokemon Sweep
Pokemon took all five of the week's biggest trading card sales for the second time this month, and every one of them came out of a single Fanatics weekly auction. Total: $684,000.
Smog Money: The top lot was a 1999 Pokemon Snap contest Koffing in BGS 9 at $180,000. Snap cards were printed from winning in-game photographs, fifteen copies per design, and two weeks ago the Bulbasaur and Charmander from the same contest sold for $809,943 and $640,500. Koffing is not a starter, which is roughly the whole gap.
Population One: Second was a 2000 Tropical Mega Battle Chubu No. 1 Trainer in PSA 9 at $168,000, the only copy PSA has ever graded. Then two PSA 10 Treecko Gold Stars at $132,000 and $114,000 (more on those below), and a PSA 10 Japanese 500-point Fan Club Eevee promo at $90,000.
Vertical: A PSA 10 Treecko Gold Star sold for about $7,000 in January 2025. The record before this week was $32,790. On Saturday two of them sold in the same Fanatics auction for $132,000 and $114,000. That is not a card catching a bid; that is a category being repriced.
Not Just Treecko: The same auction put a Japanese PLAY promo Flareon Gold Star at $60,000 (prior high $11,770), a PSA 6 Rayquaza Gold Star at $43,200 (from $25,600 in July) and a PSA 9 Mew Gold Star at $19,800. Five Gold Star lots, $369,000. The twenty-seven card Gold Star set has become the vintage market's second ladder after the Base Set holos.
Vintage +0.2%, Modern Flat, Evolutions Wakes Up
The Pack Report Index tracks two baskets: the ten most-traded cards in each of twelve vintage sets (1999-2007) and twelve modern sets (2016 on), priced by our own engine from public comps, grade by grade, and compared with the same day last week.
Fourth Quiet Week: Vintage added 0.2% and modern was flat again, but the set lines were busier than the headline. EX Holon Phantoms led vintage at +2.7%, with EX Unseen Forces +2.1%, EX Deoxys +1.6% (the Gold Star auction landed inside this window) and Legendary Collection +1.4%. The modern surprise was Evolutions at +6.2%, the biggest single-set move since the index started, while Ascended Heroes slipped another 1.8% ahead of its tins.
Vintage sets
| Set | Index w/w | Basket |
|---|---|---|
| Base Set | +0.7% | 10 cards |
| Legendary Collection | +1.4% | 8 cards |
| Skyridge | -0.0% | 10 cards |
| XY-P Promotional cards | +0.0% | 10 cards |
| Expedition Base Set | +0.0% | 10 cards |
| EX Team Rocket Returns | +0.0% | 8 cards |
| EX Deoxys | +1.6% | 10 cards |
| Neo Destiny | +0.2% | 10 cards |
| EX Holon Phantoms | +2.7% | 9 cards |
| Team Rocket | +0.2% | 10 cards |
| Neo Genesis | +0.7% | 10 cards |
| EX Unseen Forces | +2.1% | 8 cards |
Modern sets
| Set | Index w/w | Basket |
|---|---|---|
| Evolutions | +6.2% | 6 cards |
| Ascended Heroes | -1.8% | 10 cards |
| Generations | +0.3% | 10 cards |
| Celebrations | +0.0% | 8 cards |
| Crown Zenith | -0.5% | 10 cards |
| Fates Collide | +0.0% | 9 cards |
| 151 | +0.9% | 10 cards |
| Paldea Evolved | -0.5% | 10 cards |
| BREAKpoint | +0.0% | 9 cards |
| Celebrations: Classic Collection | +1.2% | 10 cards |
| Pokémon Card 151 | -1.1% | 10 cards |
| Shining Legends | +0.0% | 10 cards |
The Index is a proprietary model built by Rip Station, which publishes The Pack Report. Method, full history and the trend chart: thepackreport.com/pack-report-index.
Same Card, Same Grade, $18,000 Apart
Saturday's two PSA 10 Treecko Gold Stars were the same card in the same grade, sold in the same auction, and they finished $18,000 apart. That is a 16 percent spread on "identical" objects, and it is normal.
What the Label Does Not Grade: A 10 has a range inside it. Centering can sit anywhere within PSA's tolerance; the holo can be bright or slightly dull; a 2004 card can have a crisp cut or a faintly rough one. Buyers at this level look at scans, not labels, and the better-looking 10 gets the bid.
Lot Order: The first copy to hammer usually sells higher. The two or three bidders who want the card most fight for lot one; whoever loses has a second chance at lot two, but with one fewer rival. When the same card appears twice in an auction, expect the second to clear lower, and treat the average of the two as the price.
Why It Matters for You: If you are pricing a card off a single comp, you are pricing it off one of these two numbers without knowing which. Our engine averages across recent comps for exactly this reason. And in this issue's quiz, the question is the grade, but the lesson is the same: the label is a range, not a point.
- Worlds Week: The 2026 Pokemon World Championships open Friday, August 28, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, with the finals at the Chase Center on Sunday and the first PokemonXP fan festival alongside; the opening ceremony is 9 a.m. Pacific. TCG Live's Worlds event, with Twitch drops during the broadcast, runs through September 3.
- Wednesday, 6 p.m. Pacific: Pokemon TCG Pocket's Team Rocket's Ambition goes live August 26: 110 cards, Giovanni's legendary birds, and the new Owner card type. Watch the Team Rocket vintage set after the weekend.
- Two Tin Lines, One Friday: The Mega Forces tins (choose a Mega Dragonite ex, Mega Darkrai ex or Mega Zeraora ex promo, four packs) and the Ascended Heroes tins (Mega Feraligatr, Meganium or Emboar ex, four packs, $21.99) both land August 28. The second line exists to get Ascended Heroes packs back on shelves, which is why that set is down four readings running in our Index.
- One of One: The 2000 Tropical Mega Battle Chubu No. 1 Trainer that sold for $168,000 on Saturday is the only copy PSA has ever graded. Regional trophy promos are the next tier down from the Illustrator and the Snap cards, and the money has arrived there.
More Rippers, Fewer Packs Each, and a CD Promo Charizard
Rip Check: 1,668 packs were ripped by 323 collectors in the seven days to Monday. That is more people than the week before (255) opening fewer packs each: the prior week's 3,008 was driven by a handful of heavy rippers, this week was spread out. The $50 machine led with 976, the $25 machine did 400, and the $150 machine had its biggest week yet at 228. All-time: 9,473.
Pull of the Week: Friday night, out of the $150 machine, a 1999 Japanese CD Promo Charizard in PSA 9, estimated at $1,290. On Wednesday the $500 machine gave up a PSA 10 Ash's Pikachu "I Choose You!" promo ($560). Tuesday's FireRed & LeafGreen Charizard ex PSA 9 at $5,400 is still the month's biggest. See what is live HERE.
- Aug 25 · PSA's next fortnightly backlog update
- Aug 26 · Team Rocket's Ambition releases in Pokemon TCG Pocket, 6 p.m. Pacific
- Aug 28-30 · World Championships, San Francisco; Mega Forces and Ascended Heroes tins ship Friday
- Sep 3 · TCG Live's Worlds event ends; Fall Study Season events begin
- Sep 16 · Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration
This 2021 Japanese Blue Sky Stream full art Dragonite V is loaded in the $500 machine in a PSA holder. Look at the corners and the border before you answer: what grade is on the label?