With over twenty years of being on the market, the Pokémon Trading Cards have continued to be some of the most sought-after collectibles in the world. And with the Trick or Treat Booster Bundle released just in time for Halloween, many will continue to expand their collection.
Throughout the years, the boxes that contained exclusive cards or multiple booster packs have become some of the rarest. Whether they were recent limited edition boxes or first editions of the earlier card sets and expansions in the series, these specific sets have been listed on Collector’s Cache and Pokémon Center as the rarest and hardest to nearly impossible to obtain.
Pokémon Champion’s Path Elite Trainer Box – $99
Released alongside Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, this box includes a plethora of goodies for any fan who enjoys playing the card game. With enough items to start everyone off to play the game, it also featured 10 packs from Champions Path for players and collectors to play with an impressive deck.
But what made it a desirable purchase was the Charizard V card that came with the gorgeous holographic box. While it is possible to still buy the box from certain retailers and online stores, it, unfortunately, is not as easy as it once was to buy.
Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield Vivid Voltage Booster Box – $143
Another expansion that’s part of the recent Sword and Shield series, Vivid Voltage featured some rare cards based on the trainers and monsters from the video game it’s based on. From the champion Leon to Gigantamax Pikachu, they were especially on anyone’s lists if the lucky few got hold of a rainbow variant.
This expansion features these rare cards and getting them is another matter entirely as the rainbow variant of Pikachu Vmax alone can sell more than the entire bundle, although not seen as valuable as other shiny cards out there. But considering it only came out in 2020, it’s not an easy box for collectors to get their hands on, requiring the use of specialist online stores to do so.
Pokémon Hidden Fates Elite Trainer Box – $106
One of the new boxes released last year, Hidden Fates featured the three legendary birds on the box and had a beautiful exclusive card inspired by window paintings. It also featured many booster packs that might just contain the shiny Charizard card.
The item’s limited stock means that some may have to hunt around eBay and specialist online stores and this shiny Charizard may have played a part in it. Selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay for this one card, many were hoping to unearth one from the multiple booster packs that were part of this bundle.
Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield Ultra Premium Collection – $132
Ever since the first Charizard trading card became available back in the 1990s, it quickly became one of the most expensive cards of all time. And fans can rediscover their love for the dragon with a new box later this month. It may not be out yet, but it’s already proving to be an expensive set.
Featuring three cards based on the fire-and-flying type and some metallic items, many have already pre-ordered and impacted availability in a major way. How hard it will be after more are made and how the new cards exclusively made for it will impact sellers is hard to say, but it already looks to not be an easy find even before its release.
Pokémon Sword & Shield: Evolving Skies Booster Display Box – $299.99
The seventh expansion in the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield series of the Trading Card Game was released last year. Featuring some of the most iconic monsters throughout the series and some Vmax cards based on the Gigantamax forms, many fell in love with this collection box.
Pokémon Celebrations Ultra Premium Collection – $400
To continue the 25th anniversary of the beloved Pokémon franchise, a collection featuring multiple booster packs was included. But these were not the only prizes that collectors were looking for as it contained two unique cards.
Alongside cards from other expansions were two metallic cards based on Pikachu and Charizard from the base set. It was these two specific items that eventually saw it going from its initial $132 to $400 and alongside packs that could contain the best cards from the likes of Chilling Reign, many were quick to pick them up before the massive spike in price.
Pokémon Team Rocket Booster Box – $5500
Part of the first generation of expansions in the series, the antagonistic criminal organization from the original games finally got their own trading cards of evil Pokémon. And with Jesse and James from the anime series starring on the booster packs, the first editions have raised to criminally high prices.
A single first edition booster pack can go for $450 and much like the Jungle Booster Box, it’s not shocking to see why the price is so high. It just shows how even a box of non-first edition cards will entice collectors and how much nostalgic power they have for those who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Pokémon Jungle Booster Box – $7299.99
Following on from the release of the base set, Jungle was the second expansion that included more Pokémon including the Eeveelutions, Kangaskhan, and Jigglypuff. Some of the first edition cards from this set alone are some of the most expensive in the entire collection and some can be found for a high price on eBay.
A factory sealed booster box containing 36 boosters than be sold for approximately $250 each, it’s no surprise to see why this would be so expensive. But considering how popular the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been over the past few years, it shouldn’t come as a massive surprise for die-hard collectors.
Pokémon 1st Edition Fossil Booster Box – $12275
Fossil was the third expansion in the first installment of trading cards and continued to feature some new Pokémon who had yet to make an appearance in the game. Some of these included the fossil and prehistoric creatures that made this a popular one for collectors to obtain.
A first edition box featuring 36 booster packs can go for over $10,000, especially if it’s in its original packaging. This combined with some unique cards back from the first sets of the Trading Card Game is why it’s such an expensive and rare box.
Pokémon 1st Edition TCG Base Booster Box – $384,000
The set that started it all, this is what got many into trading cards in the 1990s with fan-favorite monsters as well as the super rare holographic Charizard card. But today, some of these original cards go for way more than some may have thought.
According to Dicebreaker, a box of factory-sealed booster packs from the base set sold for $384,000 at an auction last year. This was during the time when shortages for Pokémon Trading Cards were happening globally that saw collectors buying as much as they could from available stock, and some wanted the precious original cards from all those years ago for themselves.
