by   Phoenix Desertsong; Pokemon Master!

As we delve into the many sets of the Pokemon Trading Card Game in our Pokemon TCG Investing series, we will often notice a trend of popularity surrounding a certain Pokemon. Whenever he appears in a set, collectors seem to flock to him. That Pokemon, of course, is one of the original Pokemon, Charizard. 

To better understand this phenomenon, let’s backtrack a little bit and take a look at the most popular Charizard card ever from a set known as Base Set. We will focus on the 1st Edition version of the card. We’re not even going to talk about the rarer Shadowless and the more common, yet still valuable, Unlimited Edition printing. Those are some great investments, right? Yes, but to best understand why Charizard is such a big deal, let’s look at the Charizard card most serious collectors can afford if they budget right.


Base Set Charizard is the Most Iconic Pokemon Trading Card of All Time

Obviously, the Charizard #4 Base Set holo is the MOST ICONIC of all Pokemon cards. Of course, it should be, as it was the primary chase card in the 1999 Base Set, when Pokemon was at its height of popularity. At the time, Charizard was one of the most popular and feared Pokemon. In the original Red and Blue Game Boy video games, his original form of Charmander was the hardest of the original three starting Pokemon to raise. But, if you stuck with him, and evolved him to Charmeleon, then Charizard, you had a powerhouse of a Pokemon that could ride you all the way through the Pokemon League.

Back in 1999, Charizard was the one card every kid wanted. His card was one of the most powerful at the time in the Trading Card Game. So, of course, many kids played with the cards and didn’t take proper care of them. That includes the beloved Charizard. So, because of this, as copies have been snapped up by collectors, many of them are in less than your ordinarily desired condition. There aren’t nearly as many near-mint condition Charizard #4 cards out there as you may think. 

As collectors looked to standardize the conditions of their cards in order for future resale, PSA has received a glut of Charizard cards over the years. So, the range of graded copies from 1 to 10 is immense. In 2020, the submissions haven’t slowed down.

Even since I began my research for this series back in June 2019, about a thousand more copies were sent in for grading by just a few months later. Now in early 2020, even more copies across all conditions have been sent in. I've revised the population count for this article twice now.

Look at this population report for 1st Edition 1999 Base Set Charizard Holos from Pokemon Price:

• 420 PSA 10
  
• 4334 PSA 9
  
• 2899 PSA 8
  
• 1550 PSA 7
  
• 107 PSA 6
  
• 589 PSA 5
  
• 329 PSA 4
  
• 194 PSA 3
  
• 103 PSA 2
  
• 187 PSA 1
  

(Population Counts as of 4/3/2020)

Talk about a range! Still, a lot of people early on knew that the first Pokemon cards were going to be a fairly good investment. As many serious collectors did with baseball cards, a few collectors did well to grade pack-fresh or near-mint raw copies to preserve their value. That’s why there are so many in high grade.

What is My Charizard Card Worth?

Of course, as kids become adults and wonder what their cards were worth, some people send them in just to see what those cards may get. That’s why you see so many poor conditioned Charizards graded. Many of the Charizard holos sent in for grading now are simply in order to establish a professional grade. The card is so popular that the cost of grading only adds to the value of the card, regardless of the eventual grade.  

While this isn’t the case for more than 99.9 percent of trading cards out there, the Base Set Charizard card (first edition or not) is so iconic that even poor condition PSA 1 through good and excellent condition PSA 5 cards can still fetch $40! PSA 6 can fetch $60 or more. PSA 7’s fetch $80 to $100 or even more on a good day. So, if you have a base set Charizard laying around already, it’s going to be worth getting graded.

However, buying them raw to get them graded is very risky. Not only are you taking a risk of getting a grade of 7 or less, but there are a TON of fakes out there. This makes the grading process even more important, as it weeds out fakes. But, if you have genuine copies laying around, they are certainly worth grading, even if you have no plans to sell them.

Of course, when it comes to long-term investments, you are looking towards the already graded higher grade options. While a PSA 7 is probably fine just to have, the return on investment from appreciation really begins at PSA 8. There is a wide range of sales on these, anywhere from $90 to $150 to even north of $200! That’s partly due to the high population (2411). But, if you buy on the lower end and wait to post it for a Best Offer on the higher end of the sales range, there is room for substantial profit.


What Makes an Investment-Grade Charizard Card?

PSA 9 - or graded Mint condition - is where the investment game gets the most interesting. With Charizard #4, it is the grade with by far the highest population (3975), but also the biggest market. This is where the market value becomes around $200, but if you watch the auctions, you can score copies in the $150 range. So, the game here becomes buying the PSA 9s as low as possible to sell as high as possible. There’s a nice potential return on investment here if you are looking to buy and flip.

Of course, PSA 10 is for the long-term hold. $1300 to $1350 has been the fair market value in mid-2019. But, when the market is slow, you can grab copies for $1000 or less. In late 2017 and early 2018, they were going for as much as $2100! The population is also one-tenth of the PSA 9 population, so scarcity is a big factor in making this card the best investment.

Because of this card, Pokemon collectors consider Charizard cards among their top targets in top condition. That’s why whenever you are looking to collect Pokemon cards, the Charizard cards will often be the hardest to obtain. Whenever a new set is released, the Charizard cards are going to often be highly sought after targets. 

Of course, you should collect the Pokemon that you like the most. But, if you are most interested in getting the most popular and best long-term investment, Charizard happens to be your best bet when it comes to Pokemon trading cards.

You can learn about four of the most wanted Charizard trading cards here.

Meowth is one of the most recognizable Pokemon around. In Pokemon Sun and Moon, there is an alternate Alolan Form which loses its original Normal-type and gains the Dark-type. Apparently, since Meowth isn't native to the Alolan region, those that exist are feral descendants of spoiled brat cats who once belonged to Alola's now-defunct royalty.

Having Meowth as a true Dark type is actually pretty cool. There's also an Alolan form Persian, but I'm not as thrilled with the design as I am with Meowth's. It will be very interesting seeing what Meowth's move set will look like now that it is no longer a Normal-type at all.

I never thought I would actually be seriously writing about Rattata and Raticate, but here I am... The Rattata and Raticate in the Alola region of Pokemon Sun and Moon are now Dark-type in addition to their original Normal-type. This adaption came from living mostly in urban areas, where the Raticate act as sort of mob bosses and treat the Rattata as their minions. It's a cute story, but what's more important is that retyping.

Raticate always could use Dark-type moves, but now they get STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) whenever they use those attacks. While you'll hardly see these guys in the competitive arena, it does give them an added edge if you decide to train one for your adventuring team in Sun and Moon.

While today people aren't too thrilled with Rattata and Raticate, at one time they were very useful Pokemon because they can learn so many different moves through the use of TMs (Technical Machines) and HMs (Hidden Machines). Since this is still the case, it's nice to know that they can get an added Dark-type attack boost in case this is who you choose to round out your team with at any given point. Also, since today TMs are able to be used as many times as you like, you won't feel bad at all using them on an Alolan Raticate.

Pokemon Sun and Moon features alternate versions of some of the original 151 Pokemon, known as Alolan Forms. These Pokemon have different typing than their original Kanto region counterparts. In the case of Raichu, our mouse Pokemon friend gains the Psychic-type in addition to its classic Electric-type.

In addition, Alolan Form Raichu gains a new ability called Surge Surfer. This ability doubles Raichu's speed when the move Electric Terrain is active. This can make an already fast Pokemon even faster. And now having Psychic-type attacks in addition to powerful Electric attacks is going to greatly broaden the builds  available to create when training your Raichu in the Alola region.

I'm not sure how I feel about the new ears, but the design overall is cool. I really like having a Psychic-type Raichu. This has always been one of my favorite Pokemon, and one of the ones I'm most looking forward to training in Pokemon Sun and Moon. I have a feeling that this could be a very competitive Pokemon.

Spoiler: He would be!

The Alola region in Pokemon Sun and Moon has several variant forms of Pokemon from the Kanto region (the original 151 from Red, Blue, and Yellow). Two of these Pokemon include Vulpix and Ninetales. The interesting thing about these Alolan Forms is that they are different types than their original types that we are familiar with. In this case, these classic Fire-type Pokemon are now Ice-types!

According to the story, the Alolan Vulpix lives in the snowy mountain peaks away from most Pokemon. Over time, it changed from its original Fire-type and adapted into an Ice-type. This is quite a mind-screw for those that played the original games, because now the adorable Fox Pokemon is now weak to Fire!

Alolan Ninetales live on a peak that is known as a holy mountain. Therefore, the Ninetales are considered sacred emissaries. When Vulpix evolves into Ninetales in the Alola region, they become Fairy-types in addition to Ice-types.

According to the Sun and Moon story, Alolan form  Ninetales can produce ice crystals from its fur. It can use them to block attacks or turn them into powerful ice missiles which can shatter rock.

Fairy-types have proven themselves to be fairly powerful in the X & Y games, so it's pretty cool that Ninetales gets an upgrade in that way. I'm not so sure how I feel about Vulpix and Ninetales becoming Ice-types. But, this new typing gives them access to many new and powerful Ice and Fairy type-moves. They are no longer weak to water, but are now weak to Fire, Rock, and Steel. These new strengths and weaknesses entirely change entirely how Ninetales is utilized.


Of course, these changes only apply to the Vulpix and Ninetales actually caught in Sun and Moon. With the new typing, Alolan Ninetales became quickly overused in the competitive meta for Pokemon Sun and Moon. In fact, it is the only Pokemon that can use both the Aurora Veil move  and the Snow Warning ability.  Aurora Veil halves damage from incoming attacks to your team temporarily. Snow Warning summons Hail, which damages non-Ice type Pokemon for 1/16 of their HP each turn.


Alolan Ninetales also has access to a powerful attack called Freeze-Dry, which is super effective against Water-type Pokemon. According to Smogon, Alolan Ninetales is considered too powerful for many competitive Pokemon battle formats.  Even if you don’t care about battling competitively in Pokemon, Alolan Ninetales is definitely a Pokemon to consider for your Sun and Moon team in the future.

This Pokémon Go picture always makes me laugh because the Geodude is hovering over Baby Nova Skye as she has a confused and annoyed look on her face. She's riding in her stroller like, "Why are you invading my space, Mr. Geodude?"

With the XY Roaring Skies set, the Pokemon Trading Card Game did something interesting. There are actually two Rayquaza EX cards in the set, as well as two Mega Rayquaza EX cards in the set, as well. We'll take a look at all four cards here today.

Rayquaza EX #60 and Mega Rayquaza EX #61 are two of the most straightforward Pokemon cards ever in terms of power level. On the surface, Rayquaza EX has some power, but seems to come up short when it comes to matching up with his EX brethren. 180 HP isn't bad, though.

His first attack, Dragon Claw, is hardly exciting. 30 damage for 2 colorless energy simply doesn't do much for anybody. His other attack, Dragon Strike, deals 130 damage for 2 Fire, 1 Electric, and 1 Colorless Energy. However, it's one of those coin flip attacks, so if you hit tails, Rayquaza EX can't use Dragon Strike the next turn. This doesn't seem all too fun.

However, the great news is that Rayquaza EX curves out perfectly into his Mega Evolution.

For 3 Fire, 1 Electric, and one Colorless Energy, Dragon Ascent deals a whopping 300 damage. While you do have to discard 2 energy, 300 damage is enough to knock out pretty much any EX Pokemon.

The other cool thing is what sets this Mega Evolution apart from the other one. It has the ability to reduce damage taken from Grass,  Fire, Water, and Electric Pokemon by 20 - after applying Weakness and Resistance. Like all Dragon Pokemon nowadays, Rayquaza EX and Mega Rayquaza alike have 2x weakness to Fairy-type Pokemon.

230 HP isn't quite as high as other Mega Evolutions, but the attack power is formidable. This raw power made this version of Mega Rayquaza EX a #1 Best Seller among new Single Card releases on Amazon.

Rayquaza EX #75 is quite different from his in-set counterpart. He has a little bit less HP at 170, but his first attack, Intensifying Burn, is extremely relevant in an EX happy game. It takes only one energy, and does only 10 damage, unless the opposing Pokemon is an EX, in which case it does 50 more. That's quite a wallop for a single energy.

The second attack isn't quite as exciting, but it takes three Colorless energy and deals 100. The cost is discarding the top 3 cards of your deck. It's not the worst drawback, and this being colorless makes it quite versatile.

So what will the second Mega Evolution look like?

At first glance, Mega Rayquaza EX #105 doesn't look quite as exciting as its in-set counterpart. But this Mega Rayquaza has a special Evolution ability. You can evolve your Rayquaza EX on your FIRST turn or as soon as you play it. Ordinarily, you'd have to wait an entire turn. While the Mega Evolution still causes you to end your turn, this is a big deal tempo wise.

This Mega Rayquaza has an attack called Emerald Break, which costs 3 Colorless energy and deals 30 damage for each of your Benched Pokemon. This limits its power to 150 raw damage, but considering you could unleash this damage on Turn 2 with no drawback is really impressive.

The cool thing about having two Mega Evolutions is that you can choose which Mega to use. Still, it's clear that #60 and #61 go together and #75 and #105 go together. Overall, the first pair has better synergy and more overall power. But the second pair trades raw power for splash-ability and an ability to strike quickly.

Which pair do you like better?

Back when I was younger, Pikachu was the most popular Pokemon in the world. I never really minded Pikachu, but I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites. To be fair, I just never figured out why Raichu wasn't more popular than he was.

I realize that Raichu has plenty of fans, but I would've been so happy to see Ash have a Raichu, even if it was in addition to Pikachu. I understand that Pikachu has sold a lot of Pokemon games and merchandise  just by itself. But still, Raichu is a far superior Pokemon. If Ash's Pikachu had become a Raichu, Ash would've probably become the most unstoppable force on the planet. He would've broken Pokemon.

Raichu has always been one of my favorite team members while playing the games. He was usually the Pokemon I used more than any other when I played the original Red and Blue. It bugged me in Pokemon Yellow when I couldn't get him to be a Raichu!

Sadly, as time went on, Raichu was on my team less and less because of availability. Over time, I ended up having another electric-type favorite. Still, Raichu will always have a special place in my heart. The amount of pure raw energy that guy can put out is absolutely ridiculous. If I could have any Pokemon in real life, Raichu would be a top candidate.

Photo credit: Bulbapedia

While Misdreavus is a second-generation Pokemon, I didn't really like her much until third-generation. I say her because every Misdreavus I've ever had was female. It's not that I disliked her; she was fine. It's just that she was very rare in the original Gold and Silver games. I didn't catch one until Diamond and Pearl came out (actually) and by then she had an evolution: Mismagius.

The reason I came to like her in third-generation Pokemon was because of an old browser-based game called Pokemon Crater. It doesn't exist anymore because Nintendo apparently shut them down for copyright reasons. From how I understand it, though, they gave the creators of the site money to sell them the domain name. If you try to go to pokemoncrater.com now, it goes directly to the Nintendo website.

On this game, there was a bug where you could train ghost Pokemon all the way from level 1 to 100. It had to do with one of the Elite Four Trainers, Bruno. Because only one of his Pokemon, Hitmonchan, had an attack that could hit ghosts, you could literally grind a level 1 Gastly to a level 100 Gengar just by fighting Bruno. It was very silly.

I had teams of Gengars, Dusclops, Bannettes, Sableyes, and of course, Misdreavus. Because of how easy it was to build level 100 Ghost Pokemon on Crater, they became among my favorites. But Misdreavus has a special place in my heart. I think I just really like the whole design of her, and her mischievousness and all that. Plus, it's super cute!

I really like Mismagius, but I think it looks so witchy compared to the adorable Misdreavus. Still, Mismagius is a good Pokemon that has served me well since fourth-generation, so I like her just fine, too!

Oh, how I miss Crater...


Photo Credit: http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Misdreavus

Dragonite EX  easily became one of the most anticipated EX cards in the X&Y Furious Fists expansion set. It was epic  to have a  Dragonite EX  card for the first time since way back in EX Dragon Frontiers. Sadly, this Dragonite wasn't so game-breaking as was hoped.

Still, being a Dragon-Type, this card looks awesome! He does, of course, have a 2x weakness to Fairy-type Pokemon, as with all Dragon-types. He does have an interesting Ability to consider called Bust In. When you play Dragonite EX from your hand onto your Bench, you may move any number of basic Energy attached to your Pokemon to this Pokemon. If you do, you switch him with your Active Pokemon. While that Ability is very strong, what does he then have the opportunity to attack with?

Dragonite EX  only has one attack, Jet Sonic. It requires two Grass Energy and one Lightning Energy to use. It deals 80 base damage, but you may discard an Energy card to deal 40 more damage. 120 damage for only 3 Energy at the cost of discarding one is fairly decent. However, the combination of Energy required greatly limits Dragonite EX's playability. Therefore, despite being one of the more sought-after EX cards to collect from this set, he isn't getting much love in the competitive TCG atmosphere.

Fortunately, collectors have the opportunity to acquire a full-art version of this Dragonite EX card, which looks very powerful and deadly. It's unfortunate that Dragonite EX's play-ability is somewhat limited by the clunky Energy requirements.

This isn't to say that Grass and Lightning decks aren't playable - quite to the contrary. There are simply EX cards available that are a bit stronger than this one when it comes to deck-building. However, his ability to literally "Bust In" and deal some quick damage strategically is a fairly powerful move. He just doesn't have a deck that he can truly benefit.

While his limited playability kept his  #74 printing relatively inexpensive, Dragonite's overall popularity has made his full-art printing popular. Either printing is a great addition to any Dragonite lovers' collection. Long-term, you definitely want to have a copy of the full-art ultra rare Dragonite EX, as they're fairly rare, even if they are still relatively inexpensive.

In addition to the powerful  Lucario EX, the Pokemon X&Y Furious Fists TCG set also includes his MEGA form,  M Lucario EX. With Mega Evolution, you play the Mega form over the original EX card. The one major drawback to Mega Evolution is that your turn ends as soon as you play it, meaning you cannot attack that turn. Is the benefit worth it?

Mega Lucario EX  has 220 HP, which is fairly standard for Mega Evolutions. He only has one attack, but that attack is formidable. Rising Fist deals 140 damage for only 3 Fighting Energy, making it considerably better than Lucario EX’s final attack. That attack only deals 100 for 3 Fighting Energy with no additional effects. This attack  also  makes your opponent’s active Pokemon have to discard an Energy card attached to it.

As if  Lucario EX  wasn’t solid enough to begin with, his Mega form is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It's well worth being played in any deck alongside his normal form to be a destructive finisher. He not only deals major damage but also sets your opponent’s Pokemon back, as well. Without a doubt, the Furious  Fists set is built around this combination of Lucario and his Mega form.

Lucario EX  is one of the best cards from the Pokemon Trading Card Game Expansion Set X&Y Furious Fists. There is also a  Mega Lucario EX  in this set, as well. In general, Lucario is a very popular Pokemon, and his cards tend to be highly sought after by collectors.

While many Pokemon cards are collectible simply for the Pokemon depicted on them, some like this EX card are solid in Trading Card gameplay, too. Right away, you can see that this Lucario card has three attacks and 180 HP. Each of  Lucario EX‘s attacks requires one more Fighting Energy than the previous attack. This allows for an easy progression through his different attacks, making him quite the formidable force right from Turn One.

Lucario EX's first attack, Missile Jab deals 30 damage, and ignores Resistance. This is important as there are a good number of Pokemon in the card game that do have Fighting Resistances. The second attack,  Corkscrew Smash, not only deals 60 damage, but allows you to refresh your hand until you have 6 cards in hand. This sort of card advantage on such a damaging attack is quite formidable.

His third and final attack is Somersault Kick for 3 Fighting Energy, which deals 100 damage. It’s a fitting final attack to deal a crippling blow to a likely already weakened enemy. While it doesn’t offer anything special beyond that, 100 damage for only 3 energy with no drawback is a fairly strong attack.

While his dedication to Fighting Energy makes him not as “splash-able” in competitive decks as some other EX cards, his pure power level makes him a formidable weapon and a great EX to build a deck around. Lucario EX is both a sought after collectible as well as a powerful card for deck-building.