Yup, to the surprise of absolutely no one, the most popular, highest-priced card in all of Paldea Evolved is the Iono special illustration rare. Although, thankfully, not nearly as highly priced as its Japanese equivalent.
It’s impossible to overstate just what a big deal this card was in Japan. When it was released as part of the Clay Burst set in April ‘23, not only did all of Clay Burst sell out, but all Japanese Pokémon cards sold out. So enormous was the brouhaha over this one piece of cardboard that people bought absolutely anything with the word Pokémon on the packaging. And the fuss still hasn’t died down, with the Japanese version still costing $1,124 to buy ungraded. That’s despite print-to-order runs of Clay Burst in response to the rush, and packs now selling at regular prices, even via importers.
But for the English-language version? It’s a far more modest, yet still frankly ridiculous, $120. Shop around and you can get closer to $100, but yikes. And if you want one graded PSA 10, that’s currently selling at around $650.
What’s great about this, however, is that it’s just an all-round great card. It’s (as described previously) a stellar card to have in any deck (although you’d be quite mad to risk playing this version), but it’s also a fantastic piece of art. Not only do you have online influencer Iono—and her utterly terrifying pointy teeth—but she’s surrounded by Pokémon-themed food, including what looks like an Eevee-topped cappuccino, and, um, Pikachu with pancakes and ice cream? I’m assuming that’s just a dead Pikachu that the clearly vampiric trainer gruesomely murdered earlier.
I especially love the detail of the Rotom phone hovering, out of focus, over the right side of the otherwise unbroken border. This is by kirisAki, an artist who’s been working on Pokémon cards as far back as 2013’s Legendary Treasures, and is responsible for the iconic Professor’s Research cards for Scarlet & Violet. She’s illustrated a total of 188 cards so far, and is also responsible for the amazing Sacred Style Gardevoir in Pokémon Unite!
It’s no Magikarp, but it’s a splendid card to be topping the sales charts.