Saturday's brief explained this one well. Skyridge cards with identity, nostalgia, and hard PSA 10 supply are still getting bought. Misdreavus also had a massive PSA 10 average of $901.09 in the daily, which helps explain why raw copies keep getting picked off.
The Journal
Weekly Market Brief
Oct 4, 2026No. 87 min read
Old singles stole the week again
Vintage, XY, and Tag Team cards ran hard while modern pack value stayed ugly
This week had one clear split, and it never really changed. Older singles, especially vintage, XY, late Sun & Moon, promos, and Japanese cards with tough PSA 10 supply, kept climbing, while most modern pack ripping still looked bad with Journey Together and Destined Rivals ending the week around 0.68x to 0.71x EV.
Collectors weren't buying broad hype. They were cherry-picking cards with nostalgia, character appeal, and real slab upside. That's why cards like M Sceptile EX, Slowpoke & Psyduck GX, Surfing Pikachu, and Morty's Gengar kept fitting the same story all week.
Top stories
Older singles were the market's safest lane all week.
From Monday through Sunday, the same theme kept showing up. Vintage oddballs, Japanese holos, XY Megas, Tag Teams, and late Sun & Moon GX cards kept posting huge 30-day gains, often around 145% to 150%. M Sceptile EX from Ancient Origins hit $120.16, up 148.92% in 30 days. Slowpoke & Psyduck GX from Unified Minds reached $235.99, up 148.63%. Surfing Pikachu from WoTC Promos climbed to $67.15, up 148.23%. This wasn't random strength, it was collectors paying for low clean-copy supply and strong PSA 10 ceilings.
Modern pack value stayed weak, and that mattered every day.
Journey Together and Destined Rivals spent the whole week underwater, starting around 0.71x EV and ending at 0.69x and 0.68x. That's a losing rip, plain and simple. Meanwhile 30th Celebration stayed far ahead, though it cooled during the week from 2.36x EV on Monday and Tuesday to 1.76x by Sunday. Even after that drop, it was still the only product with clearly favorable opening math. The message from the market was simple, don't crack weak boxes and hope to get there.
Tag Team, GX, and Mega-era cards kept getting repriced higher.
This was one of the strongest multi-day threads of the week. Raichu & Alolan Raichu GX rose to $53.94, up 145.48% in 30 days. Gyarados GX hit $81.29, up 148.16%. Alolan Exeggutor GX reached $19.44, up 146.46%. M Tyranitar EX climbed to $30.41, and M Sceptile EX became the week's headline Mega at $120.16. The market is finally treating a lot of these older modern cards like real collector pieces, not just leftovers from past eras.
Newer singles and promo hype kept breaking down.
While old cards ran, plenty of newer names got smoked. Pikachu/S-P fell 49.61% over 30 days to $16.96. Eevee ex dropped 49.42% to $5.08. N's Zekrom fell 49.48% over 30 days, and finished the week down 20.3% to $4.94. Black Bolt also showed cracks, with Tynamo down 49.6% over 30 days. The pattern was consistent, newer cards without real scarcity or lasting collector pull got repriced lower as supply hit the market.
Vintage wasn't a free pass, but the right vintage kept winning.
One of the better lessons this week came from Skyridge and older Japanese cards. Misdreavus from Skyridge rose 148.14% over 30 days and finished the week up 11.8% at $20.81. Sunkern from Skyridge gained 9.6% on the week to $10.84. But Houndour showed the other side, dropping 49.73% over 30 days before still finishing the week up 6.0% at $8.77. Same broad vintage bucket, different outcomes. Buyers are picking cards, not blindly buying set logos.
This week's movers90 day trend
Gainers
Slowpoke Master Ball, Japanese Scarlet & Violet 151, $53.12, up 4.9% on the weekSlowpoke [Master Ball] · Pokemon Japanese Scarlet & Violet 151NM$53.12+29.6%
Friday flagged Sunkern as part of the oddball vintage run, and the weekly data backed it up. This is exactly the kind of low-dollar vintage card collectors hunt when slab upside is large and supply is thin.
Slowpoke Master Ball, Japanese Scarlet & Violet 151, $53.12, up 4.9% on the weekSlowpoke [Master Ball] · Pokemon Japanese Scarlet & Violet 151NM$53.12+29.6%This one is interesting because Monday framed it as a card under pressure, down 49.98% over 30 days to $50.66. By the weekly close it had bounced a bit. That doesn't mean the trend is fixed. It just means buyers are still willing to nibble on Japanese 151 pattern variants after sharp resets.
Decliners
Pikachu Gold Star, Holon Phantoms, $1,899.99, up 111.1% on the weekPikachu [Gold Star] · Pokemon Holon PhantomsNM$1899.99-40.6%
Alakazam ex, Paldean Fates, $6.02, down 4.4% on the weekAlakazam ex · Pokemon Paldean FatesNM$6.02-20.3%
Pikachu Gold Star, Holon Phantoms, $1,899.99, up 111.1% on the weekPikachu [Gold Star] · Pokemon Holon PhantomsNM$1899.99-40.6%This was the wildest weekly move in the featured data, especially because Tuesday's daily had it down 49.65% over 30 days at $900. The picture clearly shifted during the week. It still looks like a high-volatility grail card, not something I'd chase casually, but the rebound shows top-end Pikachu demand is very much alive when buyers step back in.
Alakazam ex, Paldean Fates, $6.02, down 4.4% on the weekAlakazam ex · Pokemon Paldean FatesNM$6.02-20.3%Thursday's daily showed a 148.21% 30-day jump to $6.14, but the weekly number slipped. That's a good example of how fragile some modern gains still are. Cheap modern hits can pop fast, but they don't have the same staying power as the vintage and Mega names that led the week.
Community Pulse
The community talked like the market traded. People were more interested in specific cards than broad product hype, and sealed ripping chatter stayed soft because the EV just wasn't there.
On the positive side, Dark Espeon kept showing up with improving sentiment, and Tag Team interest stayed healthy with names like Mega Sableye & Tyranitar GX and Buzzwole GX getting favorable mentions late in the week. Charizard chatter also improved on Friday, and niche cards like Chandelure and Pikachu Reverse Holo got some earlier support.
On the negative side, Lugia posted a -30.29 sentiment score across 69 mentions on Saturday, which was one of the bigger-volume signals of the week. Darkrai also leaned negative across 30 mentions. Jirachi ex was weak too at -21.0 across 15 mentions. The mood wasn't bearish across the whole hobby, but it was definitely more selective. Collectors still want hits, they just don't want to overpay for the wrong ones.
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