The Pokémon Trading Card Game market just had a rough week. Some of the hobby’s most expensive cards dropped significantly in value, with collectors and investors watching their portfolios shrink by substantial dollar amounts. While percentage drops might seem modest on paper, the sheer price tags of these cards mean even small corrections translate to serious money.
The Big Picture
Over the past seven days, the secondary market experienced what analysts are calling a “cooling off period” following months of aggressive speculation. The carnage was primarily concentrated in two categories: high-end Alternate Art cards from the Sword & Shield era and Special Illustration Rares from recent Scarlet & Violet sets. When you’re talking about cards that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, a 2% drop isn’t just a rounding error—it’s real money.
The market dynamics here are straightforward. A card like Umbreon VMAX Alternate Art, sitting pretty at over $2,200, only needs to dip by a tiny percentage to lose $40 in value. Meanwhile, a $20 card would need to completely implode to register the same dollar loss. That’s why this list is dominated by the market’s most expensive assets—they’re the ones with the furthest to fall.
The Top 20 Biggest Losers
Here’s the full breakdown of cards that took the hardest hits based on TCGplayer Near Mint Market Prices:
1. Charizard ex (Special Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #199/165
From ~$290 to $246.76 (-$43.24, -14.91%)
2. Umbreon VMAX (Alternate Art Secret) – Evolving Skies #215/203
From ~$2,258 to ~$2,218 (-$40, -1.77%)
3. Mega Gardevoir ex (Full Art Secret) – Mega Evolution #178
From $244 to $220 (-$24, -9.84%)
4. Umbreon ex (Special Illustration Rare) – Prismatic Evolutions #161
From ~$1,200 to $1,175 (-$25, -2.08%)
5. Ceruledge ex (Special Illustration Rare) – Prismatic Evolutions #147
From $137 to $122 (-$15, -10.95%)
6. Roaring Moon ex (Special Illustration Rare)
From $248 to $234 (-$14, -5.65%)
7. Lillie’s Determination (Full Art Trainer) – Mega Evolution #184
From $112 to $100 (-$12, -10.71%)
8. Mega Latias ex (Full Art Secret) – Mega Evolution #181
From $130 to $118 (-$12, -9.23%)
9. Giratina V (Alternate Full Art) – Lost Origin #186/196
From ~$590 to ~$580 (-$10, -1.70%)
10. Lugia V (Alternate Full Art) – Silver Tempest #186/195
From ~$420 to ~$410 (-$10, -2.38%)
11. Rayquaza VMAX (Alternate Art Secret) – Evolving Skies #218/203
From ~$700 to ~$690 (-$10, -1.43%)
12. Blastoise ex (Special Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #200/165
From ~$77 to ~$67 (-$10, -12.98%)
13. Zapdos ex (Special Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #202/165
From ~$72.51 to ~$62.51 (-$10, -13.79%)
14. Venusaur ex (Special Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #198/165
From ~$82 to ~$73 (-$9, -10.98%)
15. Espeon VMAX (Alternate Art Secret) – Fusion Strike #270/264
From ~$2,178 to ~$2,170 (-$8, -0.37%)
16. Glaceon VMAX (Alternate Art Secret) – Evolving Skies #209/203
From ~$299 to ~$292 (-$7, -2.34%)
17. Mewtwo V (Alternate Full Art) – Pokémon GO #72/78
From ~$60 to ~$53 (-$7, -11.61%)
18. Charmander (Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #168/165
From $57.28 to ~$50.28 (-$7, -12.22%)
19. Squirtle (Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #170/165
From $45.09 to ~$38.09 (-$7, -15.52%)
20. Bulbasaur (Illustration Rare) – SV-151 #166/165
From $40.32 to ~$34.32 (-$6, -14.88%)
What’s Driving the Decline?
Three main factors are hammering prices right now. First and most important: restocks. When Prismatic Evolutions boxes started hitting shelves again, cards like Ceruledge ex got crushed. More product means more singles flooding the market, and sellers undercut each other racing to move inventory.
Second, speculators are taking profits. The pandemic-era boom created inflated prices across the board, and smart money is cashing out. Even the Umbreon VMAX Alternate Art, which still commands over $2,200, saw investors rotating capital elsewhere.
Third, collectors are already looking ahead. With the Ascended Heroes set featuring Mega Evolution Pokémon dropping in January 2026, attention and wallets are shifting away from current releases.
What Should You Buy?
Not all drops are created equal. Cards from sets that are no longer in production, like Evolving Skies, have better recovery potential than cards currently being printed. That Umbreon VMAX losing $40? Probably a buying opportunity. Ceruledge ex dropping during active restocks? That’s a falling knife.
The Scarlet & Violet-151 cards, particularly the starter Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, are still working through a supply correction. Charizard ex dropping from $290 to under $250 is painful, but it’s the market finding its real value after the initial release hype faded.
For anyone holding expensive cards, grading is your friend. A PSA 10 commands significant premiums over raw Near Mint copies and provides a buffer against this kind of volatility. If you’ve got centered, clean copies of these cards sitting in sleeves, now might be the time to send them in.
The market isn’t crashing—it’s correcting. After months of aggressive speculation and artificial scarcity, prices are settling toward where genuine collector demand can sustain them. That process is going to be bumpy, especially for the most expensive cards in the hobby.
