Pokémon Prismatic Evolutions Releases January 17 and CGC Cards Is Ready! (Are You?)
Posted on 1/8/2025
The Pokémon TCG is one of the most popular trading card games of all time, and it has sold more than 52.9 billion cards worldwide (as of March 2023) since its launch in Japan in 1996. Many cards featuring characters such as Charizard and Pikachu have become popular over the years, and The Pokémon Company has capitalized on this by releasing special limited-edition sets focused on these Pokémon.
This month, The Pokémon Company is releasing Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Prismatic Evolutions in the US, a set focusing on Eevee and its evolutions. Already, Prismatic Evolutions — known as Terastal Festival in Japan — has become one of the hottest Pokémon TCG releases in history, leading to record presale values and a near-complete wipeout of product from stores and online retailers.
What makes it special?
In 2021, The Pokémon Company released Evolving Skies: a set from the Sword & Shield TCG era. Similar to Prismatic Evolutions, Evolving Skies also features Eevee and its evolutions, including secret rare alternate art cards of each. Since its release, Evolving Skies has skyrocketed in value, with some cards reaching the $1,000 threshold on the secondary market. Ungraded, the Umbreon VMAX alternate art secret rare (often referred to as “Moonbreon” because of its artwork) consistently realizes more than $1,000 at auction, while the Rayquaza VMAX alternate art secret rare realizes around $500.
Needless to say, Eevee and its evolutions are some of the most sought-after cards in the entire Pokémon TCG, and any set featuring them as the main collectible cards tends to quickly rise in value. Because of this, pre-release sales for Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Boxes have already reached record prices on online marketplaces. Meanwhile, pre-orders are sold out everywhere, even in big box stores.
About the set
Prismatic Evolutions contains 131 cards, including reprints from previous Scarlet & Violet sets as well as brand new cards. Poké Ball and Master Ball holographic cards make a return in the set, with Master Ball Holo variant cards being much rarer than Poké Ball, Holo and Reverse Holo variants.
Prismatic Evolutions also features the most Pokémon ex cards released at once in any set, totaling 55 in all. Of these Pokémon ex cards, the chase cards include Eevee and its evolutions in their ex forms. Each alternate art card features the “Eeveelutions” with a Terastal crown on their heads — signifying the core mechanic in the Scarlet & Violet series — highlighted by a stunning stained-glass background.
What are the chase cards?
As of January 2025, the most popular chase card of the set is the alternate art Umbreon ex, and it’s easy to see why: Along with stunning artwork, Umbreon ex’s two moves are incredibly powerful. For one Dark and two Colorless energy, Moon Mirage deals 160 damage to the opponent while also causing confusion. Meanwhile, Onyx allows the player to discard all energy from Umbreon ex (in addition to paying a Lightning, Psychic and Dark energy) to immediately take one of the opponent’s remaining prize cards.
Other chase cards (besides the Eeveelutions) include:
- Dragapult ex Secret Illustration Rare
- Teal Mask Ogrepon ex Secret Illustration Rare
- Terapagos ex Secret Illustration Rare
- Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex Secret Illustration Rare
- Roaring Moon ex Secret Illustration Rare
- Raging Bolt ex Secret Illustration Rare
Are you going to open Prismatic Evolutions on release day? Consider sending your pulls to CGC Cards for authentication, grading and encapsulation! CGC Cards’ grading experts ensure the authenticity of your card before encapsulating it in our industry-leading holder, preserving its condition and value. Get started by creating an account here. You can sign up for free, but paid members get discounts on grading services.
In addition, CGC Cards will be on-site at three hobby shops in New York during Prismatic Evolutions' release weekend to accept submissions! Go here for more information.
About CGC
Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray and more.
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