You’ve heard it before: Pokémon cards are hot, and the people willing to buy them have deep pockets. By now, headlines about Pokémon cards that sell for six figures blend into one another. Rather than feel awed, most of us just assume Pokémon is a bubble that is bound to burst. What’s happened with the sale of a recent Mew Pokémon card, however, is not quite the same story. This is a money exchange that’s left even diehard Pokémon fans feeling bewildered about why the Mew card fetched such a high price — and what it might mean for the future of the hobby.
Mew ex #232, an azure special illustration card hailing from a 2024 set called Paldean Fates, is usually referred to as “Bubble Mew” by fans. Since its release, the demand for the card has grown at a steady clip. In 2024, you could get a copy of Bubble Mew for just over $100 according to price tracking websites. Today, a top-end, PSA 10–grade Bubble Mew will set you back almost $3,000. We are in the final window of Paldean Fates’ printing, which was bound to increase the card’s value over time. Mew is one of the most recognizable Pokémon in the entire franchise, so the popularity of this card isn’t surprising. After the May 18 sale of a $236,000 Bubble Mew on collectibles auction site Goldin, however, any semblance of a steady value progression has been blown out of the water.
When it comes to grading cards, most people think of PSA, the company that entombs cards in a transparent case that labels its condition. As Pokémon TCG explodes, PSA has found itself inundated with grading requests. It can take six months for PSA to return a card. People don’t always understand why their cards got a specific score. No surprise, then, that companies like Beckett have risen as PSA alternatives.
Beckett calls its grade 10 cards “Black Label” cards, and the requirements for reaching that status are extraordinary. The vast majority of cards sent for grading do not qualify for a Black Label. Beckett says that, in order to earn the highest possible grade, a card must be virtually perfect in four separate categories: exact centering on the front and back, flush corners, smooth edges, and pristine surfaces. Critically, Beckett’s turnaround times are fast, and the service explains all of its determinations to customers. By some estimates, only 1% of all graded cards achieve this distinction. Since the debut of the Black Label in 2014, Beckett has become an attractive option for Pokémon resellers who want to stand out in a crowded market.
Most of the time, when cards sell for astronomical prices, it’s because they are vintage and scarce in near-mint condition. Bubble Mew is a modern card, and recent cards in good condition are more common compared to older prized cards. TCGPlayer has overseen a few hundred Bubble Mew sales in the last three months. Compare that to the highly-coveted Base Set Shadowless Charizard, which has only moved 4 copies in the same time span. Even more bewildering: a run-of-the-mill Bubble Mew already costs nearly as much as this Charizard, a card famed for its high value.
It’s not supposed to work this way, but then again, few things about the current Pokémon market make sense anymore. By and large, Pokémon fans in the hobby are astounded by the Bubble Mew situation — or fear that it is an auger of things to come.
“It makes no sense,” YouTuber PokeOz said in a video. “It just adds fuel to an already blazing fire … one sale can shift the entire market,” the influencer continued. If a recent card like this can cost as much as a house, fans reason that it opens the door for all new Pokémon cards to do the same. And with an increasing number of recent cards selling for around $1,000 or more, the economics of recent rare cards are already out of whack. Even so-called Pokémon investors can’t believe it.
“Insanity,” remarked one Instagram user.
