{"id":504839,"date":"2025-12-27T16:27:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T08:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/?p=504839"},"modified":"2025-12-27T16:27:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T08:27:09","slug":"pikachu-ex-special-illustration-rare-sar-market-insights-price-trends-start-deck-100-battle-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/2025\/12\/27\/pikachu-ex-special-illustration-rare-sar-market-insights-price-trends-start-deck-100-battle-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"Pikachu ex Special Illustration Rare (SAR): Market Insights &amp; Price Trends | Start Deck 100 Battle Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Japanese Pok\u00e9mon TCG scene is heating up this winter with the release of the <strong>\u201cStart Deck 100 Battle Collection.\u201d<\/strong> While the set is packed with nostalgic Mega Evolutions, one card has soared to the top of everyone\u2019s &#8220;chase list&#8221;: the <strong>Pikachu ex SAR (Special Illustration Rare)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn&#8217;t just another Pikachu card\u2014it\u2019s a certified grail for modern collectors. Here\u2019s the breakdown of its current market performance and why it\u2019s seeing such massive demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note:The provided text is a disclaimer in Japanese. Here is the English translation.<br>Note:All dates and times mentioned are in Japan Standard Time (JST).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pikachu ex (SAR): Buyback Price and Market Information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"730\" src=\"https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/27161341\/image-26-41.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-504842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/27161341\/image-26-41.png 1000w, https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/27161341\/image-26-41-300x219.png 300w, https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/27161341\/image-26-41-768x561.png 768w, https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/27161341\/image-26-41-282x206.png 282w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Current Market Value (As of Dec 26, 2025)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Condition<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Average Market Price<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Buy-Back Price (Cash)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Near Mint (NM)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>50,000 JPY (~$340 USD)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>45,000 JPY (~$300 USD)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>PSA 10 (Gem Mint)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>N\/A (Pop 0 &#8211; Emerging)<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>N\/A<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Prices are based on recent sales at major Japanese retailers like SNKRDUNK Akihabara.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Price Performance Tracker<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Pikachu ex SAR saw a classic &#8220;hype spike&#8221; upon release, followed by a slight correction as supply hit the market. However, the floor remains remarkably high compared to previous Start Deck releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Buy-Back Price History (Near Mint)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dec 26:<\/strong> 45,000 JPY<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dec 25:<\/strong> 40,000 JPY (Local Dip)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dec 22:<\/strong> 45,000 JPY<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dec 20:<\/strong> 60,000 JPY<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dec 19:<\/strong> 70,000 JPY (Release Day Peak)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Actual Transaction Prices (eBay\/Marketplace)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dec 26:<\/strong> 55,543 JPY<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dec 23:<\/strong> 41,000 JPY<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dec 19:<\/strong> 65,800 JPY<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Is This Card Exploding? The Collector\u2019s Perspective<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. The &#8220;Whimsical Forest&#8221; Aesthetic<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Revealed during the <strong>Pok\u00e9mon Champions League 2026 Aichi<\/strong> livestream, this card features artwork by <strong>booota<\/strong>, a renowned Japanese light novel illustrator. The illustration captures Pikachu in a candid, almost startled moment in a lush forest. It perfectly hits that <em>\u201ceffortless vibe\u201d<\/em> that modern SAR collectors crave\u2014moving away from battle poses and toward storytelling art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. The &#8220;Gacha&#8221; Struggle is Real<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Start Deck 100 Battle Collection<\/strong> is a blind-box product. There are 100 different pre-constructed decks, and you don\u2019t know which one you\u2019re getting until you crack the seal. Pikachu ex SAR is exclusive to <strong>Deck No. 025<\/strong>. Mathematically, your odds are slim, making the &#8220;sealed lottery&#8221; aspect a major driver for the high secondary market prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Pikachu: The Ultimate Blue-Chip Pok\u00e9mon<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In the world of Pok\u00e9mon investing, Pikachu is the safest bet. With this being a high-rarity ex card in a unique &#8220;Battle Collection&#8221; format, it\u2019s already being treated as a long-term hold by many in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Card Profile<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rarity:<\/strong> SAR (Special Illustration Rare)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Set:<\/strong> Start Deck 100 Battle Collection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Dec 19, 2025<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Illustrator:<\/strong> booota<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Card ID:<\/strong> 764\/742<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Follow us on:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snkrdunk\/\" 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class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-151767\" src=\"[https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/27165634\/Footer-Banner-970x300-TCG.jpg](https:\/\/snkrdunk.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/27165634\/Footer-Banner-970x300-TCG.jpg)\" alt=\"TCG on the SNKRDUNK App\" width=\"970\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Japanese Pok\u00e9mon TCG scene is heating up this winter with the release of the \u201cStart Deck 100 Battle Collection.\u201d While the set is packed with nostalgic Mega Evolutions, one card has soared to the top of everyone\u2019s &#8220;chase list&#8221;: the Pikachu ex SAR (Special Illustration Rare). This isn&#8217;t just another Pikachu card\u2014it\u2019s a certified [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":504844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tcg"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=504839"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":504849,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/504839\/revisions\/504849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/504844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=504839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=504839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snkrdunk.com\/en\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=504839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}