The most valuable Pokémon to collect, ranked (2026)
Everyone assumes Charizard is the king. So we measured it: the median price of every printing of 21 of the most iconic Pokémon. Charizard is iconic — but it's only #3. Umbreon and Mew both cost more, card-for-card.
Top 10 by typical card value
Median Cardmarket EUR trend price across every printing. Median, not average — so one Gold Star can't inflate it.
Full ranking (21 Pokémon)
| # | Pokémon | Typical | Chase printing | ≥€100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umbreon | €62 | Umbreon ★ (POP Series 5) · €4,990 | 30% |
| 2 | Mew | €57 | Mew δ (POP Series 5) · €882 | 27% |
| 3 | Charizard | €36 | Charizard (Base Set) · €2,712 | 29% |
| 4 | Gengar | €32 | Gengar VMAX (Fusion Strike) · €962 | 35% |
| 5 | Rayquaza | €32 | Rayquaza ★ (Deoxys) · €3,519 | 19% |
| 6 | Lugia | €26 | Lugia (Aquapolis) · €1,124 | 23% |
| 7 | Venusaur | €22 | Venusaur (Base Set) · €842 | 18% |
| 8 | Blastoise | €21 | Blastoise (Plasma Storm) · €190 | 16% |
| 9 | Mewtwo | €16 | Mewtwo ★ (Holon Phantoms) · €1,600 | 21% |
| 10 | Tyranitar | €16 | Shining Tyranitar (Neo Destiny) · €545 | 15% |
| 11 | Dragonite | €15 | Dark Dragonite (Team Rocket) · €2,078 | 13% |
| 12 | Ho-Oh | €15 | Ho-oh (Skyridge) · €941 | 12% |
| 13 | Gyarados | €14 | Gyarados ★ δ (Holon Phantoms) · €1,727 | 14% |
| 14 | Pikachu | €12 | Pikachu ★ (Holon Phantoms) · €1,715 | 10% |
| 15 | Sylveon | €11 | Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX (Unbroken Bonds) · €297 | 13% |
| 16 | Gardevoir | €11 | Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX (Unbroken Bonds) · €297 | 4% |
| 17 | Greninja | €10 | Greninja & Zoroark-GX (Unbroken Bonds) · €233 | 6% |
| 18 | Snorlax | €9.7 | Rocket's Snorlax ex (Team Rocket Returns) · €521 | 11% |
| 19 | Lucario | €5.6 | M Lucario-EX (Furious Fists) · €174 | 4% |
| 20 | Eevee | €2.8 | Eevee & Snorlax-GX (Team Up) · €157 | 9% |
| 21 | Magikarp | €1.0 | Magikarp & Wailord-GX (Team Up) · €456 | 7% |
Method & sources
- For each Pokémon we pulled every printing and its Cardmarket EUR trend price via the open pokemontcg.io API.
- We rank by the median trend price across priced printings — robust to a single Gold Star or Base Set chase card.
- Cardmarket EUR trend price, via the open pokemontcg.io API. Valued 2026-06-23. Reference estimates, not sold records; trend prices move. "Typical" = the median printing, not the chase ceiling.
- TOS-clean aggregate stats. We never scrape marketplaces and never invent a number — reproducible from the open API.
FAQ
What is the most valuable Pokémon to collect?
By typical card value, Umbreon. Across all its priced printings the median Cardmarket EUR trend price is €62 — higher than Mew (€57) and Charizard (€36). Umbreon's ceiling is the famous POP Series 5 Gold Star, around €4,990. "Most valuable" here means the typical printing, measured by median so one chase card can't skew it.
Is Charizard the most valuable Pokémon?
Surprisingly, no — not on a typical-card basis. Charizard ranks #3 (median €36), behind Umbreon and Mew. Charizard still owns one of the highest ceilings (Base Set ~€2,712) and the strongest brand, but Umbreon's and Mew's typical cards trade higher. Charizard is iconic; it isn't the most expensive on average.
How did you measure 'most valuable'?
For each Pokémon we pulled every printing and its Cardmarket EUR trend price via the open pokemontcg.io API, then took the median across priced printings (Cardmarket EUR trend price, via the open pokemontcg.io API, valued 2026-06-23). Median, not average — so a single Gold Star or Base Set card can't drag a name's "typical" value up. Reference estimates, not sold records.
Which Pokémon is the cheapest to collect?
Of the 21 we measured, Magikarp — a typical printing trades around €1.0. Even it has a chase card, though (a special-art GX around €456). Value lives almost entirely in a Pokémon's top few printings; the median tells you the floor of fame.
Curious what your Pokémon are worth?
Foilio values any card across Pokémon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Lorcana and more — live prices in EUR & USD, your whole collection tracked. Free, no signup.
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Source: <a href="https://foilio.net/studies/most-valuable-pokemon?utm_source=share&utm_medium=study_embed&utm_campaign=viral">The most valuable Pokémon to collect, ranked (2026) — Foilio</a> · data CC BY 4.0
</p>Foilio (2026-06-23). The most valuable Pokémon to collect, ranked (2026). Retrieved from https://foilio.net/studies/most-valuable-pokemon