It’s a big week for the Pokémon TCG. Prismatic Evolutions will be released on Friday, a set that has already caused a stir in the community. The biggest chase card is achieving eye-watering prices in the pre-order market.
As Pokémon’s first 2025 set in the west, Prismatic Evolutions is building upon the popularity of the last set, Surging Sparks, and capitalizing on the popularity of Eevee and its various evolved forms with an array of stunning secret rare cards—similarly to how Evolving Skies did back in 2021.
Prismatic Evolutions is a special set, however, meaning you cannot buy booster boxes or single packs in the traditional way, with all products coming sealed instead, making it even harder to pull the chase cards.
The difficulty of pulling a chase card in a set like Prismatic Evolutions has been increased following reports of abysmal hit rates in the set, meaning many will immediately enter the secondary market to purchase the specific card they want—with the Umbreon SIR being top of the pile for many.
Pre-orders for the single card have already gone live on platforms like eBay, and an astonishing price has already been secured from one sale: over 100 bidders drove the cost of the Umbreon SIR to over $18,000.
Although some have questioned the legitimacy of the bidding process, particularly since the same card is listed for a buy-it-now price of just under $5,000, the fact that these prices are even in the equation for a new set is staggering.
In comparison, a PSA 10 of the Umbreon VMAX alternate art card from Evolving Skies fetches around $3,000 on the market—a figure currently lower than the price of a raw Umbreon from Prismatic Evolutions.
With the Pikachu SAR from Surging Sparks reviving interest in the Pokémon TCG and the hype already increasing for Journey Together in March, which will feature the return of Owner’s Pokémon, it looks like 2025 will be an expensive year for collectors.
Published: Jan 13, 2025 06:02 am