The most expensive Pokemon TCG cards from the Scarlet & Violet Era

The latest generation in the Pokemon TCG is full of cards that are already roaring in value, with others still waiting to reach their potential. While Sword and Shield's best sets have had some time to simmer, Scarlet & Violets are still hot off the presses and offer some incredibly elevated cards to collect.

While it will be some time before the real deals can be separated from the pumped-up pretenders, some of Scarlet & Violet's best cards are shaking things up. There's a healthy mix of perennially valuable Pokemon, like Charizard, along with new Pokemon and trainers representing Paldea with Special Illustration Rares (SIR) and Illustration Rares (IR).

Cards are ordered according to their TCGPlayer market prices, which are subject to change.

Updated November 22, 2024 by Andrew Scariati: The most expensive Scarlet & Violet cards continue to change as the generation progresses, with Surging Sparks marking a key milestone for prices to rise in the generation. We've updated this list to include Pikachu ex from Surging Sparks, along with updated prices and another addition to the most valuable Scarlet & Violet cards.

11 Carmine: Twilight Masquerade (Special Illustration Rare) – $66.53

A beautiful art buffet

Carmine stands alone as the most expensive trainer card to crack the top ten most valuable cards from Scarlet & Violet. Carmine was meant to be an expensive card from the start, but she has saw a further increase in value after release.

However, Carmine has barely had time to be graded and sent back to collectors, let alone have enough time to find a stable market price. Currently, Carmine has bounced between $95 and $110 most of the time, as there is no clear indication of if or when her value will begin to drop to more affordable levels.

10 Raging Bolt ex: Temporal Forces (Special Illustration Rare) – $84.70

Towering Above Paradox Pokemon

Although it's fallen back from its previous high of over $100, Raging Bolt is still the most valuable card you can get in Temporal Forces, the set released just before Twilight Masquerade. Whether you're a fan of the new Paradox Pokémon in Scarlet & Violet, or you prefer the original legendary dogs, this artwork is amazing.

Raging Bolt is the main focus, but the attention to detail in the card's lighting and collection of trees is wonderful to see, painting an incredibly lush natural scene before our eyes.

A tumultuous campaign

Speaking of cards with a rocky history, the promo card Pikachu with Gray Felt Hat, aka “Van Gogh Pikachu” is perhaps the most controversial promotional card released in Pokemon history, due to the widespread theft, scalping and resale of this card on the secondary market.

It once hovered around $170, but this promotional Pikachu tells a cautionary tale about what happens when you buy a card purely on hype, as it lost about 50 percent of its once sky-high valuation before eventually recovering to their current price.

An unlikely increase

While gray felt hat Pikachu represents the worst of promotional cards, Squirtle offers a slightly more wholesome story. This card did not receive much fanfare, but slowly rose in value over time, indicating a strong demand for it.

This simple card was also given away for free – even if you had to
buy something on the Pokemon Center website to receive it.

When this card was no longer available as a free incentive, it was not replenished as often as Gray Felt Hat Pikachu has been, allowing it to maintain a stable value.

7 Charizard ex: Paldean Fates (Special Illustration Rare) – $144.15

Paldea's signature appears

This is getting out of hand; now there are two of them who Charizard sweeps consecutive placements among the most expensive cards from the Scarlet & Violet era. This shiny Charizard outshines its 151 counterparts by a small margin, and it may not hold its nose for long.

However, this Charizard art features Terastallization, the signature mechanic of the Scarlet & Violet era, giving it a unique distinction from other Charizard cards, such as the most valuable ones from the Champion's Path.

6 Magikarp: Paldea Evolved (Illustration Rare) – $157.11

Shelf Giratina V

Magikarp Illustration Rare has had a long and difficult journey, but it finally sits atop the throne as the most valuable card in Paldea Evolved, settling for second place overall in the S&V era.

Magikarp's climb from the $50 range to its current plateau is an incredible trajectory, as this underdog consistently fights against the tide. A surprise appearance from Gyarados in the background gives this card even more to enjoy.

5 Mew ex: Paldean Fates (Special Illustration Rare) – $192.36

A mischievous Mew masterpiece

Paldean Fates has had some time to settle into the market, and the shiny Mew EX, also known as “Bubble Mew” is with a fixed value between $80 and $90. This card's artwork stands out from the rest of the most valuable Paldean Fates cards.

Even at such a solid value, Mew EX isn't the most expensive card from its own set, as that distinction belongs to another Cantonese classic.

While it once fell a long way down from its previous high around $125, Mew made a comeback that pushed it to its current market price, illustrating its incredible popularity.

4 Latias Ex: Swelling Sparks (Rare with Special Illustration) – $201.24

The sky is the limit

Surging Sparks opened the gates to another level of hype in Pokémon, as some of the most expensive cards in the set debuted at sky-high prices. Latia's ex is one of the highlights of the set and deserves its place thanks to the incredibly beautiful scene depicted in the card art.

Latias opened at around $180 and shot up past the $200 plateau shortly thereafter. Although the set is still incredibly young, this card will likely retain most of its value as one of the most desirable cards of the era.

3 Charizard: B&W 151 (Special Illustration Rare) – $203.16

Soaring into the Stratosphere

On the other side of the spectrum, Charizard SIR has been available for quite some time and even ended up this high on the list despite a series of reprints for 151 in mid-2024.

This card peaked around $135 after the reprints sent it down towards the $100 mark before Charizard immediately bounced back and surged towards $200. Given the immense popularity of Pokemon and the set, this card will be among the best cards of the Scarlet & Violet era for years to come.

2 Greninja ex: Twilight Masquerade (Special Illustration Rare) – $329.03

Is this real life or just fantasy?

Greninja EX SIR's existence thus far has been a consumption of hype, as this card's incredible demand is unprecedented. But given the unnaturally sharp spikes in prices, there's reason to be skeptical that there might be something unusual going on behind the scenes in the Pokemon market.

Only time will tell how much of this hype is
results of legitimate demand and how much of the value is inflated
by a small group of buyers.

This card continues to climb in value as the set ages, leaving no doubt that Greninja is a genuinely striking card that deserves its high price.

1 Pikachu ex: Surging Sparks (Special Illustration Rare) – $462.90

The new leader

Pikachu ex takes the lead from Greninja as the most expensive card from the Scarlet & Violet era to date, exploding into a new stratosphere, as the first raw card of the generation to exceed $500. While Pikachu's incredible legacy makes it one of the most popular Pokemon to collect, few could have predicted this card's meteoric rise so soon after release.

While the current market price of this card has dropped from its previous highs exceeding $500, Pikachu is likely one of the most valuable cards from this generation with little chance of breaking into the top ten just yet.