Surfing Pikachu

Surfing Pikachu is card 111 of 113 in XY Evolutions, released in November 2016, a Rare Secret. It is a Basic Lightning-type with 50 HP.

As a Basic Pokémon, Surfing Pikachu needs no prior evolution to put into play, which made it a practical card in the era's decks.

Illustrated by Toshinao Aoki.

The card's flavor text gives Surfing Pikachu a line of lore: "One summer, a group of Pikachu was found riding the waves at the local beach."

Surfing Pikachu is a holo rare, one of the cards that holds XY Evolutions'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, XY Evolutions 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.

Confirm the print and finish on Surfing Pikachu before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.

On a holo like Surfing Pikachu, surface is the grade cap. The lightning foil shows hairlines under raking light, and the print reveals scratches that flat scans miss. Centering on the left and right borders is the second thing to check.

Buying Surfing Pikachu well means pricing the exact print and grade, not the card name. Match the rarity tier to the comp before you buy. Always see the holo surface in good light first.