Battle Partners [SV9] was the most recently-released Pokémon TCG set; it was released to much hype and fanfare. One of its standout cards was the Lillie’s Clefairy ex card (more on that later). In addition, Lillie’s presence in this much-hyped set drove up interest in almost all the prior cards connected to her.

It’s obvious that Lillie has a notable history in the Pokémon TCG and a large fanbase to go with it—leading to her cards becoming some of the TCG’s biggest pickups. But how did we get here?

Who Is Lillie?

Introduced in seventh-generation Pokémon video games Pokémon Sun and Moon, Lillie has one of the most compelling arcs of any character in the entire Pokémon franchise. Initially shown to be Professor Kukui’s assistant and someone who isn’t fond of Pokémon battles, Lillie’s personal storyline came to a climax with her confrontation against Aether President Lusamine—a scene highlighting how far she had come as a person.

Subsequently, in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Lillie does eventually develop an interest in Pokémon battles and becomes a Pokémon Trainer herself. Specifically, she becomes a Fairy-type specialist and is shown to own three Pokémon: Clefairy, Ribombee, and Comfey.

Lillie was also prominently shown in the seventh generation of the Pokémon anime spanning Seasons 20 to 22. The anime made several changes to her character; she was instead made to be a student at the Pokémon School on Melemele Island. She also owned an Alolan Vulpix in the anime; this was not one of her Pokémon in the video games. Apart from those and other minor changes, however, her character arc largely remained similar to those of the games.

With regard to the Pokémon TCG, however, there’s a case to be made that no human character has a more storied legacy than Lillie does. She has featured on multiple highly-coveted cards over the years—including the card which many in the community regard as the greatest card in Pokémon TCG history.

The Lillie Pokémon Card That Marked Her TCG Debut

Lillie SR[SM1M 066/060](Expansion Pack”Collection Moon”)

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Lillie made her Pokémon TCG debut in December 2016 as a Supporter card in Collection Moon [SM1M], the set which, alongside Collection Sun [SM1S], formed the dual set which was the first TCG set of Gen 7. The Super Rare (SR) version of this card became an immediate hit with PSA 10 copies selling for hundreds of dollars.

Popularity of the Lillie Pokémon Card

In addition to the fact that the card had a Full Art illustration of a female character, Lillie’s character arc from the video games drew many fans to her. To this day, the SR version of that Lillie card remains one of the biggest gets from the Gen 7 TCG.

On top of that, the card was highly viable within the metagame of the era (though of course, players would seek out the less rare and thus less expensive version of the card). Lillie served as a draw engine; when played, the player could draw cards from the deck until six cards were in hand unless it was the player’s first turn of the game. If such were to be the case, the player would be allowed to draw cards from the deck until eight cards were in hand. It was an extremely splashable card which fit well in a very wide range of decks and was a staple card of tournament play throughout its tournament legality.

Due to its popularity, high value, and tournament utility, that Lillie card received many reprints throughout Gen 7. Reprinted versions of Lillie were added to future Gen 7 sets; some were also part of Starter Sets, Trainer Boxes, Deck Build Boxes, and pre-constructed decks. Two of its reprints were released as promotional cards…

…and one of them was THAT card.

Extra Battle Day Lillie

The Extra Battle Day event was held at participating stores in Japan in October and November 2019. In the event, each store would organize a Pokémon TCG tournament using the Extra Regulation Format following the then-recent release of the Extra Regulation Box.

Lillie Extra Battle Day: PROMO[SM-P 397](SM-P Promotional cards)

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Tournament winners stood to receive one of three Japanese-exclusive promotional reprints of an existing card. Apart from Lillie, the other two were Acerola and Guzma; however, though those cards were highly valuable in their own right, it became clear right from the jump that all eyes were on this Lillie card. With each passing day, its price began to climb and climb—eventually settling somewhere in the Pokémon TCG stratosphere as 2019 gave way to 2020. As 2020 began, however, no one could have predicted what would next happen—a turn of events which would place this card in the Pokémon TCG’s pantheon forever.

How Covid-19 Amplified the Extra Battle Day Lillie Card’s Value

Of course, the main happening which we now associate with the year 2020 is the Covid-19 pandemic and the first wave of lockdowns instituted to curtail it. By now, it’s been well-documented that the Pokémon TCG thrived during lockdowns as with everyone spending all day and all night at home, many decided to take up collecting Pokémon TCG cards as it was a hobby which didn’t require them to go out much; it also caused some to explore another sphere of the Pokémon fandom which they might not have otherwise considered.

However, in the specific case of the Extra Battle Day Lillie card, Covid-19 was the final spark that propelled the card to TCG immortality. This was because further Extra Battle Day events had been planned for February and March 2020 before the onset of the pandemic forced the organizers’ hands into canceling the events. Although Extra Battle Day events would resume years later, for a long time it was unknown if there would ever be any Extra Battle Day events again. This gave the Extra Battle Day Lillie card an almost mythological status within the Pokémon TCG community—and as the pandemic raged on, its price continued to skyrocket.

How Much is an Extra Battle Day Lillie Pokémon Card Worth?

Today, a PSA 10 version of an Extra Battle Day Lillie card fetches well over US$25,000 on the open market at an absolute minimum. The majority of copies of this incredible card sell for prices between US$30,000 and US$40,000, making it one of the most expensive cards not only in Pokémon TCG history, but TCG history in general. The Extra Battle Day Lillie card ended up being so iconic that it elevated—and continues to elevate—all future cards that included Lillie such as the following:

Other Standout Cards Featuring Lillie

Lillie’s Full Force SR[SM11b 068/049](Enhanced Expansion Pack “Dream League”)

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Another notable Supporter card depicting Lillie is Lillie’s Full Force from Dream League [SM11b]. Its SR version sells for serious money, going for hundreds of dollars per copy. The SR version of Lillie’s Full Force, which depicts Lillie mimicking the pose of the Normal-type Z-Move to symbolize her character development, to this day remains the biggest pull from Dream League [SM11b].

Clefairy (Lillie) : PROMO[SM-P 381](SM-P Promotional cards)

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Of all the cards that depict Lillie alongside one of her Pokémon, the two which are the most valuable both show her with her Clefairy. The first of the two cards in question was a seventh-generation promotional card. It was a promotional reprint of a Clefairy card from Dream League [SM11b]; however, only the promotional version had Lillie in its illustration. The promotional card was bundled with all Dream League [SM11b] booster box purchases at participating stores in Japan starting from release day on 2 August 2019 and continuing for as long as stocks lasted. It’s for this reason that the Dream League [SM11b] logo can be seen on the card’s bottom-right corner. This card is today among the most sought-after of all Gen 7 promotional cards.

Lillie’s Clefairy ex SAR [SV9 126/100](Expansion Pack “Battle Partners”)

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More recently, Lillie’s Clefairy ex was released as part of Gen 9 set Battle Partners [SV9]. Battle Partners [SV9] marked the official reintroduction of Trainers’ Pokémon to the TCG; one of the featured Trainers was Lillie. The set included three versions of Lillie’s Clefairy ex—one of which came in Special Art Rare (SAR), the Pokémon TCG’s highest rarity. It’s far and away the most expensive card of Battle Partners [SV9] and one of Gen 9’s major pickups in general. Sales of this card often break or approach the US$500 barrier. Other cards from Battle Partners [SV9] featuring Lillie include cards depicting her Cutiefly, its evolved form Ribombee, and her Comfey.

Having read all of this, you should now have an idea of why Lillie is such a popular character among the Pokémon TCG community. As such, why not check out the SNKRDUNK App for cards related to Lillie? Whichever card(s) you choose to pick up, you’ll feel like you’ve been charged up with all the power of an enormously powerful Twinkle Tackle (the Fairy-type Z-Move).

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