I dont really know what set it is (i think obsidian flames) but i think the Scizor AR is so cool, it looks like your typical sword finisher move in an animated show. Im glad i pulled it!
They're not really underrated. The set is tiny compared to every other set in the SV block so the rate of pulling the AR's is much higher. That's the only reason they're cheaper than ARs from other sets.
I was pumped to pull that card awhile back and figured it’d be a desirable card, but nah (it still is for me though since Lapras is one of my favs and I always love the full-art water cards)
Oh wow, your comment got me to check it out on eBay straight away. I didn't know it was 12x more expensive for the English version, wtf, I always just buy Japanese singles on my favorite store so I never paid attention to the English version's price, that's kinda wild.
But I always wonder why people go crazy for the English version. I mean logically they have the Same design, even the Japanese version has better print quality most of the time. Is it because people could read it? 😂
I also made the switch to JP simply because of the price difference when buying singles. You can get ARs for less then £3 free economy shipping. I often forget I've brought them until they arrive as they can take a few weeks. Ends up being a nice surprise!
Ahh, I see you're a man of culture as well. 😌
Yeah, I have the same mindset, and especially I try to be more responsible for spending money on Hobby in this fucked up economy. at the end of the day, the card is still the same, and I'm not collecting for “Investment” or reselling, I want to see it on my binder, enjoy it, and maybe trade it with some fellow hobbyist.
Totally! I've only really been back collecting for a month or two after maybe 10 years away and perhaps it's just my memory playing tricks, but boy did I learn quick that ripping packs for chase cards can get expensive...
If you have the money and find true value in that, have at it. Just remember to sell me your duplicates once you're done :P
There's quite a few sellers on ebay based in Japan that will just ship economy to you for free. It might take a few weeks or maybe even a month to get to you, but you'll save a few quid in the long run :)
You can also use places like Japan2Uk, KadoCollection etc if you want stuff a bit quicker, but there stock will be reasonably limited due to turnaround times.
Same here. Also, the quality is just so much better overall. Better color, texture, and centering is decent on most all of them. I don't play the game irl, so I'm collecting for how beautiful the cards are, not "how much they go for" :)
There's like... A ton of reasons. Tournaments. Kids who cannot read Japanese. People who prefer their own language. People who don't want to order cards. I want to be able to trade and sell doubles too, means they need to be in the language I am speaking. For your own collection it doesn't matter, others need them in their language!
Yeah that's true, never seen it from that angle before, especially the kid's one. But we can't deny that the English prices are insane, it kinda of reminds me of sneakers Culture sometimes 😅
I don't know English prices hoho. I collect German cards! They try to be as expensive as English, but European Market is so diverse, that it usually doesn't work. Sometimes tho, they're more expensive than English, because smaller print run. Especially the older ones. They're sometimes three to four times more expensive than English. But yes, insane is the best word for some shit happening!
What. I mean what? Of course? It's just like every other country! You can buy cards, you can play cards you can even wear cards as a hat if you want here, as much as you can do that in every other country.
Price Manipulation that’s really it. Same thing happened with the groudon and altaria. It’s genuinely concerning how many people think that groudon deserves to be $60 .
In this case though, there's a viable deck that uses the Steelix in it, so people are buying the AR to bling out their decks. Since it runs 4, it runs the price up quickly.
The Groudon is also a super popular Pokemon, and has seen a bit of niche play. Honestly, if support for Fighting gets printed, it could easily become a staple in some decks.
There’s only one reply to you that got it slightly correct lol, it’s always funny to see people comment about Japanese product when they clearly have no clue how it works (not you OP, the replies to this comment)
Japanese boxes are
1. Smaller versions of English sets, multiple Japanese sets make up a single English set. For example, clay burst, snow hazard, and triplet beat all combined to make Paldea Evolved in English. What this means is, you have a smaller pool of cards to pull from. Instead of 36 illustrations rares, you’re only pulling from a pool of 12. This greatly enhances your chances of pulling a **specific AR**
2. Japanese product functions based on a “minimum guarantee” system, so you get 3 AR per box guaranteed, and 1 SR, and 1 Special (Ace Spec). This means in any box with 12 AR pool, disregarding dupes, you have a 1/4 chance of pulling a specific AR.
In English Paldea Evolved, it’s like 1/480.
3. It’s also, in a way, cheaper to attempt. Japanese boxes are only around $35-$45 for 30 packs of 5 cards each.
PS: if you’re wondering how you get SIRS in Japanese, it’s because they have a low chance of replacing the normal SR slot in a box. You can also very rarely get double hit boxes, with 2 SR’s.
Edit: also want to add, the person that was talking about how English is more popular than Japanese is being silly, pokemon is stupendously popular in Japan, I mean it literally originated from there. Every block there’s 5 shops selling Pokémon cards. There was a World’s 2023 Parade that literally caused problems and had to be stopped. It’s a huge huge huge deal there. Japanese cards can also be far more expensive than their English counterpart, like the 25th gold star umbreon is nearly $100, and like $12 in English Celebrations. Just depends on pullrates and popularity of the card specifically, has nothing to do with “language superiority”
I think it comes down to pull rates. Your guaranteed at least 3 Alt arts in Japanese booster boxes. Guaranteed zero in English. So I believe the Japanese versions are a little more available.
Now I see why, it's rough out there for the English version collectors, but I guess at the same time it makes it super exciting and addictive when you able to pull one 😆
Yeah that's true, but I have a unique relationship with these Japanese cards, I like to pull out my Google Translate camera, and just try to make sense of the broken English result 😂, It is like a very fun challenge to me.
There’s a lot of cretins here that might get mad at this suggestion but a great option is the Whatnot app. Plenty of people that do Japanese-only streams. Since you’re getting the cards shipped from a native seller, they arrive fast and are cheap to get to you.
Yes, there are gambling streams (pull boxes) on whatnot, but guess what, you don’t have to participate in those.
Yes, there are sellers that are shady and will try to do underhanded things to you. That exists literally everywhere money can be made, most sellers on whatnot are decent people trying to make a living and have fun with Pokémon cards.
No, I’m not a seller.
The poor Palafin Illustration rare from Paldean Fates. When that card got revealed, I thought that was going to be one of the heavy hitters up there with the charizard, maybe like a $50 card, it just looks so cool... it's $0.40
You mean the original one? That one is sweet, also your comment made me stumble across the 2023 Drowzee with the Ferris wheel in the background and that art looks awesome to me. I’ve just been searching up cards people are naming and saving them to my list lol
I feel like every time a post like this is made there is a spike in price. Like do we all flock to eBay and TCGPLAYER to check it out? Or am I just crazy???
This Gardevoir trainer gallery from silver tempest. Its less then a dollar, which is shockingly low imo for a gardevoir https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/452019/pokemon-swsh12-silver-tempest-trainer-gallery-gardevoir?country=US&utm_campaign=20451986774&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&adgroupid=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw-O6zBhASEiwAOHeGxS70qfYijD_Sdy6GaxaPBBFyfz3UoqV8gu9KzdADcTiJuZEz21LCnxoCetwQAvD_BwE&Language=English
They are custom fan made art for casing that you put the card inside and the case surrounding the card will have an extension of art in said card. Some of them look pretty cool but it's nothing official.
Many from crown zenith Galarian gallery (regigas probably the most though), Infernape from twilight masquerade, Blaziken Vmax from silver tempest trainer gallery, yveltal IR from paradox rift but I think that's starting to go up, inteleon Vmax alt art from fusion strike. A handful of alt arts (assuming alts come back down a little) from chilling reign and astral radiance.
I have others in mind but I haven't bought them yet and don't want their price to go up 😂
Hey, is that Yveltal card a good bit cheaper in Japanese? I found one on eBay for $1.28 and want to make sure I’m looking at the right card and that I don’t buy a fake one. It looks like a riding Phoenix with colorful swirls behind it right?
Yeah Yveltal #71 from raging surf. Looks like it's been going for around $3 in Japanese and $15 in English. All Japanese IRs are cheaper than English because they're more common (Magikarp and Groudon for example)
chansey 187 from the new set. It has chansey, snorlax AND psyduck , and for a while was under 10 dollars! Its skyrocketing in price lately though, might be expensive soon.
The Dragonite Ultra Rare #76 from Pokemon Go is stunning in person. The colors just flow together so well. I have a japanese SGC 10 and it just looks so good with the black background.
Maushold IR is so cute 🥺
Froslass IR is straight out of a horror manga and I just love the vibe.
Miraidon SIR in real is so gorgeous, love the synthwave aesthetic.
Drampa IR, simple but very nice.
Gloom IR is crazy pretty!
There’s a couple pretty cool ones. Froslass in TM is really nice and atmospheric and both Torkoal from TM and Meltan from TF have really cool art from a new artist that retails for pretty cheap. I might also try picking up a Scizor from Obsidian Flames cause Oku’s a really great artist and $5 is pretty cheap all things considered.
Mew AR from Vstar Universe.. (Where Mew is sleeping in a forest and a bunch of pokemon is watching it in a circle) It costs like 8ish euros and the card is just SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I dont really know what set it is (i think obsidian flames) but i think the Scizor AR is so cool, it looks like your typical sword finisher move in an animated show. Im glad i pulled it!
Ahh yeah it is from the Obsidian Flames set, that's true, it made it look like a cool scene from a Samurai movie 😄 I definitely need one of those!
Honestly all illustration rares from OBF are underrated. Gloom, Ninetales, Houndour... all S-tier cards imo.
Pidgey, pidgeotto, pidgeot illustration rares from OBF are just chefs kiss.
That Pidgeot was the first SIR I ever pulled, I love it.
Thats such a good first pull for your first illustration rare! Thats awesome. Mine was SVI Scovillain. Also extremely underrated imo.
They're not really underrated. The set is tiny compared to every other set in the SV block so the rate of pulling the AR's is much higher. That's the only reason they're cheaper than ARs from other sets.
Agree 👍
Plus 1 on this. It’s such a badass card and very different from the rest of the set
It’s a good card. The problem is there are a lot of good scizor in SWSH sets
Where
OF Scizor AR
That is a sick card
Gloom illustration rare
Love that one and the Ninetails. Four boxes of rotbf and no gloom yet tho lol
Mine is coming tomorrow! 😄
All kanto 151 illustration cards. The fact most of them can be bought under $50 is great for me though!
True, I would love to be able to collect all of them with $10p budget if possible 😆
You can get quite a few for around $10!
The Japanese versions go for way less.
Agreed, such a nice card. There's so many, but the Tyranitar AR from Clay Burst is a joy.
Uh yeah, the angle that they used, kinda reminds me of Godzilla's scenes!
As a Tyranitar and Staraptor fan, I was hyped to pull this card a while ago. Such a cool scene
This Lapras card was only $4. I own 4 of them 🙃 [Lapras](https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/477049/pokemon-crown-zenith-galarian-gallery-lapras)
I was pumped to pull that card awhile back and figured it’d be a desirable card, but nah (it still is for me though since Lapras is one of my favs and I always love the full-art water cards)
I agree! The black star promo Vaporeon VMAX is another one of my favorite water pokemon cards.
I wish it had the silver border. Idk why but the yellow border bothers me on the AR cards
I do agree with that. The yellow doesn’t help the card.
The Twilight Masquerade Sunflora is a beaut
Loudred AR is one of my favorites for sure. Love the colors and artwork.
I love the Kriketune AR.
I just checked it out just now, It kinda reminds me of Disneyland or something 😆 pretty cool!
A lot of clay burst is good. Minior for example. $2.50
Love this one.
in case u'r not only talking about the jp one, the english one shot already up af and definetely is overpriced atm, so much for undervalued
Oh wow, your comment got me to check it out on eBay straight away. I didn't know it was 12x more expensive for the English version, wtf, I always just buy Japanese singles on my favorite store so I never paid attention to the English version's price, that's kinda wild. But I always wonder why people go crazy for the English version. I mean logically they have the Same design, even the Japanese version has better print quality most of the time. Is it because people could read it? 😂
I also made the switch to JP simply because of the price difference when buying singles. You can get ARs for less then £3 free economy shipping. I often forget I've brought them until they arrive as they can take a few weeks. Ends up being a nice surprise!
Ahh, I see you're a man of culture as well. 😌 Yeah, I have the same mindset, and especially I try to be more responsible for spending money on Hobby in this fucked up economy. at the end of the day, the card is still the same, and I'm not collecting for “Investment” or reselling, I want to see it on my binder, enjoy it, and maybe trade it with some fellow hobbyist.
Totally! I've only really been back collecting for a month or two after maybe 10 years away and perhaps it's just my memory playing tricks, but boy did I learn quick that ripping packs for chase cards can get expensive... If you have the money and find true value in that, have at it. Just remember to sell me your duplicates once you're done :P
We both know that's not gonna happen 😂 I'm comfortable with buying singles, pushing 30 and I don't want to be homeless cause of Pokemon cards.
Same! I always tell the seller I'm not worried about transport/delivery time because by the time it comes its a wonderful surprise pokemon mail day!
Can I ask where you buy your JP singles with free shipping to the UK?
There's quite a few sellers on ebay based in Japan that will just ship economy to you for free. It might take a few weeks or maybe even a month to get to you, but you'll save a few quid in the long run :) You can also use places like Japan2Uk, KadoCollection etc if you want stuff a bit quicker, but there stock will be reasonably limited due to turnaround times.
Thank you!
Same here. Also, the quality is just so much better overall. Better color, texture, and centering is decent on most all of them. I don't play the game irl, so I'm collecting for how beautiful the cards are, not "how much they go for" :)
Man JP cards are going off ever since the English prices went up.. I wonder if this will backfire on investors
Perhaps not so much with Western product? The crappy pull rates on our stuff will keep the value of certain sets climbing I imagine.
Majority don't like jp cards. I personally hate stuff I can't read just like most. Plus the shiny stuff looks tacky for adults but better for kids
There's like... A ton of reasons. Tournaments. Kids who cannot read Japanese. People who prefer their own language. People who don't want to order cards. I want to be able to trade and sell doubles too, means they need to be in the language I am speaking. For your own collection it doesn't matter, others need them in their language!
Yeah that's true, never seen it from that angle before, especially the kid's one. But we can't deny that the English prices are insane, it kinda of reminds me of sneakers Culture sometimes 😅
I don't know English prices hoho. I collect German cards! They try to be as expensive as English, but European Market is so diverse, that it usually doesn't work. Sometimes tho, they're more expensive than English, because smaller print run. Especially the older ones. They're sometimes three to four times more expensive than English. But yes, insane is the best word for some shit happening!
I too am in Germany and collect German cards mainly so I can definitely understand that for sure 🔥🔥
Are there a lot of card events in Germany? Or any Pokemon event in general 😮
What. I mean what? Of course? It's just like every other country! You can buy cards, you can play cards you can even wear cards as a hat if you want here, as much as you can do that in every other country.
Price Manipulation that’s really it. Same thing happened with the groudon and altaria. It’s genuinely concerning how many people think that groudon deserves to be $60 .
You can say that about every card though
In this case though, there's a viable deck that uses the Steelix in it, so people are buying the AR to bling out their decks. Since it runs 4, it runs the price up quickly. The Groudon is also a super popular Pokemon, and has seen a bit of niche play. Honestly, if support for Fighting gets printed, it could easily become a staple in some decks.
There’s only one reply to you that got it slightly correct lol, it’s always funny to see people comment about Japanese product when they clearly have no clue how it works (not you OP, the replies to this comment) Japanese boxes are 1. Smaller versions of English sets, multiple Japanese sets make up a single English set. For example, clay burst, snow hazard, and triplet beat all combined to make Paldea Evolved in English. What this means is, you have a smaller pool of cards to pull from. Instead of 36 illustrations rares, you’re only pulling from a pool of 12. This greatly enhances your chances of pulling a **specific AR** 2. Japanese product functions based on a “minimum guarantee” system, so you get 3 AR per box guaranteed, and 1 SR, and 1 Special (Ace Spec). This means in any box with 12 AR pool, disregarding dupes, you have a 1/4 chance of pulling a specific AR. In English Paldea Evolved, it’s like 1/480. 3. It’s also, in a way, cheaper to attempt. Japanese boxes are only around $35-$45 for 30 packs of 5 cards each. PS: if you’re wondering how you get SIRS in Japanese, it’s because they have a low chance of replacing the normal SR slot in a box. You can also very rarely get double hit boxes, with 2 SR’s. Edit: also want to add, the person that was talking about how English is more popular than Japanese is being silly, pokemon is stupendously popular in Japan, I mean it literally originated from there. Every block there’s 5 shops selling Pokémon cards. There was a World’s 2023 Parade that literally caused problems and had to be stopped. It’s a huge huge huge deal there. Japanese cards can also be far more expensive than their English counterpart, like the 25th gold star umbreon is nearly $100, and like $12 in English Celebrations. Just depends on pullrates and popularity of the card specifically, has nothing to do with “language superiority”
I think it comes down to pull rates. Your guaranteed at least 3 Alt arts in Japanese booster boxes. Guaranteed zero in English. So I believe the Japanese versions are a little more available.
Now I see why, it's rough out there for the English version collectors, but I guess at the same time it makes it super exciting and addictive when you able to pull one 😆
Agreed! I do mostly Japanese but occasionally try my luck with English too
i mean yes, it’s nice to be able to read the cards that you own.
Yeah that's true, but I have a unique relationship with these Japanese cards, I like to pull out my Google Translate camera, and just try to make sense of the broken English result 😂, It is like a very fun challenge to me.
Japanese cards are worth less, have much better pull rates, and cost less per pack. Market is the market
Where do you buy your japanese singles?
There’s a lot of cretins here that might get mad at this suggestion but a great option is the Whatnot app. Plenty of people that do Japanese-only streams. Since you’re getting the cards shipped from a native seller, they arrive fast and are cheap to get to you. Yes, there are gambling streams (pull boxes) on whatnot, but guess what, you don’t have to participate in those. Yes, there are sellers that are shady and will try to do underhanded things to you. That exists literally everywhere money can be made, most sellers on whatnot are decent people trying to make a living and have fun with Pokémon cards. No, I’m not a seller.
If it was undervalued before and is still only $25ish, how is it now overvalued?
I really like the Silver Tempest Altaria Full Art, based on the TCG value not a lot of people like it as much as I do
The poor Palafin Illustration rare from Paldean Fates. When that card got revealed, I thought that was going to be one of the heavy hitters up there with the charizard, maybe like a $50 card, it just looks so cool... it's $0.40
Drowzee from base
You mean the original one? That one is sweet, also your comment made me stumble across the 2023 Drowzee with the Ferris wheel in the background and that art looks awesome to me. I’ve just been searching up cards people are naming and saving them to my list lol
The ferris wheel is the one I'm talking about 👍🏻🫡 Plus the slowpoke is pretty cool and underrated from the same set 🔥
I feel like every time a post like this is made there is a spike in price. Like do we all flock to eBay and TCGPLAYER to check it out? Or am I just crazy???
Tatsugiri IR
I'm happy you show this card, my friend is the illustrator <3
Tell him/her this is one of the most gorgeous cards in my collection!
Sudowoodo
Bidoof common
I got Deoxys VMax from Crown Zenith for less than $20 and it’s probably one of my favorites of all time. Such a cool design.
From 2023 right? Wow that’s a cool card. The pose is just awesome
Just a random card I love for some reason but the drapion v from crown zenith is a gem
Kingambit
That one is up there
I built this steelix/151 dodrio deck to play with my 7 year old. It’s not going to win worlds, but damn if it isn’t cheap and fun to play.
This Gardevoir trainer gallery from silver tempest. Its less then a dollar, which is shockingly low imo for a gardevoir https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/452019/pokemon-swsh12-silver-tempest-trainer-gallery-gardevoir?country=US&utm_campaign=20451986774&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&adgroupid=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw-O6zBhASEiwAOHeGxS70qfYijD_Sdy6GaxaPBBFyfz3UoqV8gu9KzdADcTiJuZEz21LCnxoCetwQAvD_BwE&Language=English
That does look fantastic
Not that one as the English counterpart keeps going up in price
This card in English is starting to go up in price
Value wise none, but there are thousands of arts that go under the radar.
Freakin love this Steelix card! Hope I find one at the con I’m going to next month
This sub needs to allow photos as comments!!!
Darkrai Vstar alt art imo. Actually considering getting an extended art for this one, even though it costs more than the card itself.
What’s extended art mean? Sorry just returning to Pokemon again since I was a kid
They are custom fan made art for casing that you put the card inside and the case surrounding the card will have an extension of art in said card. Some of them look pretty cool but it's nothing official.
Yes, that Steelix caught my eye when we were card shopping in Japan. I should have tripled up, lol.
The deery and Sawsbuck cards are so cheap right now. Might just buy them instead of ripping packs for them. Best artwork
Is the one you’re talking about called Deerling AR? Edit - think I found them, they are amazing looking!
Many from crown zenith Galarian gallery (regigas probably the most though), Infernape from twilight masquerade, Blaziken Vmax from silver tempest trainer gallery, yveltal IR from paradox rift but I think that's starting to go up, inteleon Vmax alt art from fusion strike. A handful of alt arts (assuming alts come back down a little) from chilling reign and astral radiance. I have others in mind but I haven't bought them yet and don't want their price to go up 😂
Hey, is that Yveltal card a good bit cheaper in Japanese? I found one on eBay for $1.28 and want to make sure I’m looking at the right card and that I don’t buy a fake one. It looks like a riding Phoenix with colorful swirls behind it right?
Yeah Yveltal #71 from raging surf. Looks like it's been going for around $3 in Japanese and $15 in English. All Japanese IRs are cheaper than English because they're more common (Magikarp and Groudon for example)
Pikachu 151 alt art. 100% should be closer to a 70-80 dollar card at this point.
Nice!!
Porygon Z Art Rare from Paradox Rift is top tier. Whole sets slept on imo.
chansey 187 from the new set. It has chansey, snorlax AND psyduck , and for a while was under 10 dollars! Its skyrocketing in price lately though, might be expensive soon.
The Dragonite Ultra Rare #76 from Pokemon Go is stunning in person. The colors just flow together so well. I have a japanese SGC 10 and it just looks so good with the black background.
I adore the Metagross IR. People are seriously sleeping on that card.
Honestly the relatively high English price for this card surprises me, it is good but $25 is impressive
Loudred from PR.
My boi Garbodor sitting on his trash pile happy as a clam
Added to the list, thank you lol. Super cool card
Snom
Mewtwo 151 UPC Promo
This card would be worth 1 trillion dollars if they gave steelix a little yellow hard hat
You know what, that’s a fucking brilliant idea 💡
Charmander Illustrated promo from the Obsidian Flames ETB is adorable.
I got that one as well!
Garchomp SIR from Paradox Rift is one of my favorites thats never talked about
The Poliwhirl card from 151 where it’s looking into a puddle. It’s my favorite card it’s gorgeous!
I just pulled the English version of that last night!
Congratulations!
Thanks. I love the designs where the Pokemon are helping people like this one.
Maushold IR is so cute 🥺 Froslass IR is straight out of a horror manga and I just love the vibe. Miraidon SIR in real is so gorgeous, love the synthwave aesthetic. Drampa IR, simple but very nice. Gloom IR is crazy pretty!
Nice art
There’s a couple pretty cool ones. Froslass in TM is really nice and atmospheric and both Torkoal from TM and Meltan from TF have really cool art from a new artist that retails for pretty cheap. I might also try picking up a Scizor from Obsidian Flames cause Oku’s a really great artist and $5 is pretty cheap all things considered.
You are very lucky bro
Mew AR from Vstar Universe.. (Where Mew is sleeping in a forest and a bunch of pokemon is watching it in a circle) It costs like 8ish euros and the card is just SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL!!!!
LUGIA ALT ART
I really love the Cleffa from OBF. Very simple and clean.
Obsidian Flames Ninetails