The Pack Report
Mega Evolution closes the year with Delta Reign and Mega Rayquaza ex, the Illustrator ladder now runs from $1 million to $16.5 million, and Pocket gets a Team Rocket set next week.
| Up | ||
|---|---|---|
| GyaradosSkyridge · PSA 5 | $1,396 → $1,780 | +28% |
| TyphlosionExpedition Base Set · PSA 7 | $195 → $300 | +54% |
| MagbyExpedition Base Set · PSA 8 | $200 → $265 | +32% |
| KyogreCelebrations (modern) · CGC 9 | $8 → $20 | +150% |
| Down | ||
| Rayquaza δEX Holon Phantoms · PSA 6 | $900 → $355 | -61% |
| PikachuLegendary Collection · PSA 7 | $37 → $33 | -11% |
| Cynthia's SpiritombAscended Heroes (modern) · CGC 10P | $160 → $76 | -53% |
Delta Reign Is Real: Mega Rayquaza ex Arrives November 6
The Pokemon Company confirmed today what the leaks had been saying for a month: the Mega Evolution series ends with Delta Reign, out November 6, built around Mega Rayquaza ex.
Ruler of the Sky: The set lists at 135-plus cards, more than 20 Trainers and more than 35 special illustration cards. Mega Rayquaza ex is the headliner, with Mega Golurk ex, Mega Malamar ex and Mega Golisopod ex alongside. Rayquaza is the one Pokemon whose chase cards have never needed a Charizard-sized fan base to hold value; the Gold Star went past $1 million this summer and the Call of Legends shinies cleared $285,000 in a week two weeks ago. A Mega Rayquaza ex special illustration rare will be the most pre-ordered single of the autumn.
What It Does to the Shelf: Three Mega Evolution sets are now in print at once, with Delta Reign pulling attention from Ascended Heroes (down again in this week's Index) and the tins due next Friday. New supply of a new set is the thing that keeps modern chase prices soft; the previous set is the one that pays for it. Set page HERE.
Half a Grade, Double the Price: Three Illustrator Pikachus have changed hands in 2026: a PSA 10 at $16.5 million (Logan Paul's copy, Goldin, February 16), a BGS 9 at $2.0 million (private, July 25), and a BGS 8.5 at $1,006,500 (Goldin, August 15). From 8.5 to 9 the price doubles; from 9 to 10 it goes up eight times. Roughly forty Illustrators exist and only one is a PSA 10, which is why the top rung is not really a grade premium so much as a separate object.
Why It Matters Below: Every other trophy card is priced off this ladder. When the 8.5 clears a million, the market re-marks every 8 and 7 that has not traded this year. The Snap cards in Monday's issue, both PSA 8s over $640,000, are the same logic one rung down.
Vintage Edges Up Again: +0.3%, Modern Flat
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.
Same Lean, Third Week: Vintage edged up 0.3% and modern was flat, which makes three quiet weeks in a row with the same shape underneath. EX Unseen Forces led again at +3.8%, with EX Holon Phantoms +1.9%, Neo Genesis +1.7% and Team Rocket Returns +1.4%. On the modern side 151 was the one set to move, +1.7%, while Crown Zenith gave back 1.8%.
Vintage sets
| Set | Index w/w | Basket |
|---|---|---|
| Base Set | -0.4% | 10 cards |
| Legendary Collection | +0.0% | 8 cards |
| Skyridge | +0.6% | 10 cards |
| XY-P Promotional cards | +0.0% | 10 cards |
| Expedition Base Set | +0.8% | 10 cards |
| EX Team Rocket Returns | +1.4% | 8 cards |
| EX Deoxys | -0.2% | 10 cards |
| Neo Destiny | +0.7% | 10 cards |
| EX Holon Phantoms | +1.9% | 9 cards |
| Team Rocket | +0.0% | 10 cards |
| Neo Genesis | +1.7% | 10 cards |
| EX Unseen Forces | +3.8% | 8 cards |
Modern sets
| Set | Index w/w | Basket |
|---|---|---|
| Evolutions | -0.5% | 6 cards |
| Ascended Heroes | -0.8% | 10 cards |
| Generations | +0.0% | 10 cards |
| Celebrations | +0.0% | 8 cards |
| Crown Zenith | -1.8% | 10 cards |
| Fates Collide | +0.0% | 9 cards |
| 151 | +1.7% | 10 cards |
| Paldea Evolved | -0.0% | 10 cards |
| BREAKpoint | +0.1% | 8 cards |
| Celebrations: Classic Collection | -0.2% | 10 cards |
| Pokémon Card 151 | -0.4% | 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.
CGC 10, Pristine 10, PSA 10: Three Different Cards
Two of this month's biggest sales wore CGC labels: the $1.3 million Incorrect Illustrator Pikachu (CGC 10) and the $100,000 Legend Maker reverse Gengar (CGC 10 Pristine). On most cards the label company moves the price by more than a full grade point does.
The Hierarchy: For a given card, PSA 10 usually sets the top price, CGC Pristine 10 (the perfect-subgrade designation) trades near it or above on modern cards, and a plain CGC 10 trades at a discount that can run 30 to 60 percent. BGS 10 Black Label sits above all three but is rare enough to be its own market.
When It Stops Mattering: On a card with a tiny population, the label discount collapses, because buyers are bidding for the object, not the slab. Nobody paid $1.3 million for a CGC label; they paid for the only known gem of a 1996 misprint. The rule: the scarcer the card, the less the grader matters. The commoner the card, the more it does.
- Prepare for Trouble: Pokemon TCG Pocket's next set, Team Rocket's Ambition, was announced today for August 26: 110 cards (72 main, 38 secret), Giovanni's Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres ex, and a new "Owner" card type. Pocket sets have been feeding demand for the paper versions of whatever they feature; expect Team Rocket-era vintage to get a look.
- Tin Wave: Three Mega Forces tins ship August 28 with Mega Dragonite ex, Mega Darkrai ex and Mega Zeraora ex on the lids. More packs of the current sets opened in the same week Delta Reign was revealed.
- Study Season: TCG Live's August 14 community letter sets up a "Fall Study Season for Regionals," with Build & Battle and Bitty Basic Brawl events September 3-15 and "one of our biggest updates yet" on September 15, including settings to switch off card and gameplay effects.
- Eight Days: The Pokemon World Championships open in San Francisco next Friday, August 28, through the 30th, with top-cut matches at the Chase Center. Worlds weekend is historically a good week for sealed and for whatever the winning decks run.
Twice the Rippers, and a Charizard ex Out of a $100 Pack
Rip Check: 2,775 packs were ripped by 364 collectors in the seven days to Thursday, against 1,660 by 174 a week earlier: the number of people ripping doubled. The $50 machine led with 1,289, the $100 machine did 822, and the $25 machine 575. All-time: 8,710.
Pull of the Week: Just after midnight Tuesday, out of the $100 machine, a 2004 EX FireRed & LeafGreen Charizard ex in PSA 9, estimated at $5,400: 54 times the ticket and the biggest pull of the month so far. Saturday's Shining Charizard PSA 7 ($2,976, $50 machine) and a PSA 10 Silver Tempest Lugia V alt art ($1,400, $500 machine) round out the week. See what is live HERE.
- Aug 25 · PSA's next fortnightly backlog update
- Aug 26 · Team Rocket's Ambition releases in Pokemon TCG Pocket
- Aug 28 · Mega Forces tins; World Championships open in San Francisco (through Aug 30)
- Sep 15-16 · TCG Live's fall update, then Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration releases
- Nov 6 · Mega Evolution: Delta Reign
This Pokemon Center New York promo, the 2001 store-opening card, is loaded in the $500 machine in a PSA 9. What is our estimated value on it this week?