A new technique to showcase Shiny Pokémon was added in the set EX Team Rocket Returns as a group of Rule Box Pokémon called Gold Star Pokémon. The one-per-deck restriction applied to earlier Shiny Pokémon as well, but the Gold Star Pokémon were far more potent because of their more concentrated designs that allowed for playability in a wider range of decks. Despite being powerful additions to decks, they were extremely challenging to obtain due to a very low pull rate of around one Gold Star Pokémon every two boxes.
Only the most adventurous collectors intend to spend money on acquiring these expensive Pokémon due to the age and rarity of Gold Star Pokémon cards. If you’re looking forward to the most expensive Gold Pokemon cards, here is a list to keep in mind.
#1: Umbreon Star
Due to its extremely constrained release window, Umbreon Star is the costliest Gold Star Pokémon card and one of the most expensive cards ever produced for the Pokémon Trading Card Game. If you don’t mind the giant Pikachu stamp designating it as a Celebrations item, you may purchase a copy of Umbreon Star for around $20 because it has undergone secondary printing in contrast to the other titles on the list.
#2: Ultra Ball
In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the value of Gold Rare cards is nearly entirely determined by how tough it is to obtain them out of booster packs and by the worth of the card within the trading market scene. Due to the fact that the Ultra Ball from Plasma Freeze fits these criteria and is a card from a 2014 set that is still playable in Standard as of Brilliant Stars, it is the most expensive Gold Rare Pokémon card. Finding the oldest, rarest version of a card to play in your deck right now is what collecting is all about because having Gold Rare cards in your deck depends entirely on your ability to flex your luck, disposable dollars, or veteran status.
#3: Zekrom and Reshiram
Gold Rares have evolved over time, but the Zekrom and Reshiram that emerge from Legendary Treasures have a unique quality.
Despite the beauty of these versions of the cards, they are both Pokémon outside of the rule book and, in many ways, duplicates of one another. They both have the move Outrage and a move that requires one colorless and two of their primary energy type to use, and both Pokémon have the same HP and retreat cost. Given that they are both part of the legendary Pokémon Tao Trio, who also functioned as parallel legends in Black & White, this makes sense.
Having both Gold Rares of the Vast White and Deep White is ideal for aficionados of the Black & White generation.
#4: Mew Star
One of the costliest Delta Species Pokémon Cards is Mew Star, costing more than $300 more than Charizard Star.
Mew Star, a Delta Species Pokémon, has changed from a psychic to a water type, but they still have the ability to duplicate other Pokémon’s attacks thanks to its Mimicry move. Their Rainbow Wave attack, which deals 20 damage to each opponent’s Pokémon of the same type as a basic Energy card attached to Mew Star, goes hand in hand with this.
The illustrations are particularly excellent because Mew is colored blue instead of the soft pinks that fans are used to seeing. Mew Star (Delta Species) and Charizard Star, two outstanding cards from the Dragon Frontier set, are only a couple of examples. However, if you wish to open a pack rather than trying to purchase a new Mew Star on the marketplace, you will still spend $400 for this.
#5: Energy Recycler
Powerful Pokémon decks use the fewest Energy cards possible, which implies that if their primary attacker is Knocked Out, they could quickly run out of Energy. Recycled Energy cards are returned to the deck by the Energy Recycler, where they can be drawn or looked up with cards like Professor’s Research and Mirage Gate.
The Forbidden Light variant of Energy Recycler is the preferred choice for Trainers who enjoy making their opponents sweat as they casually lay down a card that is more valuable than an extra copy of Elden Ring, similar to Burning Shadows Escape Rope.
#6: Snorlax
The exceptions box, Pokémon that receive Gold Rare treatments were competitively played when they were first printed and required a second printing to increase the number of copies in circulation. Due to its excellent draw power, players tried to incorporate Snorlax into a variety of decks, but aside from that, it never really caught on.
A set by Chilling Reign was met with somewhat subdued reactions. The more valuable cards in the set are difficult to find because some cards were used in competitive play while others were passed over by collectors. Few cards from this set currently sell for more than $50, and Snorlax’s popularity among Generation 1 player helps maintain it above that price point.
#7: Escape Rope
In Escape Rope, two effects are combined to create a card that frequently does more than the sum of its parts. Since Base Set, switching out your own Pokémon without incurring a Retreat cost has been advantageous. Additionally, Escape Rope makes your opponent get back their current attacker, who was slapping you in the face anyhow. Additionally, depending on which Pokémon your opponent sends forward, you can choose your new Active Pokémon.
Players who want to max-rarity their deck should include the Gold Rare Escape Rope from Burning Shadows since it is the fanciest iteration of this endlessly valuable Item card we’ve ever seen.
#8: Ultra Necrozma – GX
It would be unjust if the Dragon card in the Dragon Majesty set wasn’t extremely rare. Ultra Necrozma is the most potent form of Necrozma that results from absorbing the other members of the Light Trio and serves as the end boss of the Sun & Moon generation. Ultra Necrozma is the final legendary Pokémon in Sun & Moon that serves as the most potent member of the legendary trio, as is the case with most Pokémon generations. Few Pokémon are as frightfully awesome as Ultra Necrozma, a dragon composed entirely of solid light, especially when you take into account that it boasts the signature attack “Light that Burns the Sky”!
#9: Rare Candy
The Pokémon Trading Card Game has included Rare Candy since 2003. When it’s good, it’s really good, allowing players to fully bypass Stage 1 Pokémon and get to their primary attackers faster and more reliably. However, its potency waxes and wanes with the strength of Evolution Pokémon generally.
Scarlet & Violet’s introduction of strong Stage 2 Pokémon like Gardevoir ex has made Rare Candy a staple in competitive Standard decks once more, which has kept high-rarity versions like these in great demand.
#10: Fairy Energy
The Fairy Energy from Burning Shadows stands out among the many Energy cards (both Basic and Special) that have been released as Gold Rares. Fairy Energy was only ever printed in gold once, unlike all other Basic Energy types, and it might never be again as The Pokémon Company stopped making the Fairy type for the TCG with the release of the Sword & Shield base set.
Gold Rare Fairy Energy has a special place in the history of the game as a representation of the type’s final appearance in the Pokémon TCG, making it a desirable trophy for collectors.
