Pikachu · Scarlet & Violet 151, what to know.
About the Pikachu card
Pikachu is card 173 of 207 in Scarlet & Violet 151, released in September 2023, an Illustration Rare. It is a Basic Lightning-type with 60 HP.
As a Basic Pokémon, Pikachu needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.
Illustrated by Hiroyuki Yamamoto.
The Pokédex entry printed on Pikachu reads: "When it is angered, it immediately discharges the energy stored in the pouches in its cheeks."
About Pikachu in the Pokémon world
The franchise mascot. An Electric-type rodent with red cheeks, a lightning-bolt tail, and a vocabulary limited to its own name in the anime. The most-printed Pokémon card in history. The Base Set print has a famous yellow-cheeks variant that commands a premium over the standard red-cheeks 1st Edition.
What is Pikachu worth?
Pikachu is a holo rare, one of the cards that holds Scarlet & Violet 151's value. The rarity tier decides most of it, since the same card prints at several tiers with very different prices. In top-grade 1st Edition, Scarlet & Violet 151 holos range from the mid hundreds for the lesser cards up to the set's marquee chase; raw and Unlimited copies trade for a fraction of that. The live market price above shows the current figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Confirm the print and finish on Pikachu before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Pikachu lives and dies on its holo surface in grading. The lightning foil catches light at angles that hide hairlines in a flat photo, so tilt it under a lamp, then measure the borders, where modern centering is the second-most-common grade cap.
If you are collecting Pikachu
If you are buying Pikachu, work in order: confirm the print variant first, then the grade, then price against recent sales for that exact variant and grade. Price the Pikachu against the population report, since modern holo supply is large.
