In conjunction with the then-recent launch of seventh-generation Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon—the sequels to Pokémon Sun and Moon—and the Episode RR arc which was exclusive to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition campaign was held in Japan in January 2018. The campaign saw the launch of seven promotional Pokémon TCG cards; each of those seven cards featured Pikachu dressed as one of the villainous team leaders.

About Pretend Boss Pikachu (SM-P Promotional Cards 196/SM-P)

One of the Pretend Boss Pikachu cards which was released depicted Pikachu dressed as Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare. Like all of the other Pretend Boss Pikachu cards, this card dropped on 20 January 2018 and remained available for as long as stocks lasted. At any time during the campaign, any customer at any participating Pokémon Center (including the online store) or Pokémon Store in Japan who purchased five Pokémon TCG booster packs in one transaction would have one of seven Pretend Boss Pikachu cards—one of which was this card—chosen at random thrown in for free.

As is the case with the other Pretend Boss Pikachu card, this card’s high value is primarily the cause of its limited availability by way of specific means. Additionally, any promotional card which features Pikachu—primarily if the card includes a gimmick such as this one—is sure to rapidly amass demand.

This card is the second-most valuable of all the cards from the Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition campaign. This is likely due to Team Flare leader Lysandre’s iconic status within the Pokémon TCG; Supporter card Lysandre’s Trump Card from sixth-generation set Phantom Gate [XY4] was so game-breakingly powerful that it was banned from tournaments within less than a year of its release. Finally, the question mark after Pretend Boss Pikachu’s attack name of A Beautiful World? alludes to Team Flare’s desire to reshape the world in their image while also implying that it isn’t actually Lysandre on the card.

Release Details

This card was never launched in English.

The sale price of a Pretend Boss Pikachu (SM-P Promotional Cards 196/SM-P) card is 60,000 JPY (~US$400).

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