Pokémon · Sun & Moon
Pikachu
SM Black Star Promos · #SM81 · Promo · 2017
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$21.38
TCGPlayer
Current listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for this card right now.
Card facts
Quick reference for collectors and graders.
- Set position
- SM81 / 250
- Release year
- 2017
- Rarity
- Promo
- HP
- 70
- Subtype
- Basic
- Evolves to
- Raichu
- Retreat cost
- 1 energy
- Illustrator
- Sanosuke Sakuma
- Pokédex #
- 25
- Series
- Sun & Moon
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Status Conditions
- Damage efficiency
- 50 damage
- 16.67 per Energy
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Basic
- Plays straight down — no evolution needed
Also does
Strategy & play
How Pikachu plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- A Basic — hits the board turn 1 with no evolution tax.
- Inflicts Paralysis — the Defending Pokémon can’t attack or retreat for a turn. A reliable one-turn lock; chain it to stall the opponent out.
- Its main attack (Electro Ball) needs 3 Energy — a turn-3 swing on manual attachment — you’ll want Energy acceleration to power it up on time.
- Needs Lightning Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Lightning type, weak to Fighting ×2 — a Fighting attacker doing ≥35 effectively one-shots it.
- A single-prize attacker — prize-trade-positive against ex / V decks that give up two at a time.
How to beat Pikachu
- Exploit its Fighting weakness — ≥35 damage one-shots it.
- On the receiving end of a condition? Retreat, switch, or evolve to wipe it — conditions only stick to the Active.
Competitive performance
From real Standard tournament decks over the last 180 days.
- Meta inclusion
- 0% of decks
- 2 copies on average · 2 decks
Budget alternatives
Cheaper cards that fill a similar role in Standard decks. Reference prices — most-played option first.
More by Sanosuke Sakuma
This card was illustrated by Sanosuke Sakuma.
Building around Pikachu?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
"A plan was recently announced to gather many Pikachu and make an electric power plant."
LThunder Wave
Flip a coin. If heads, your opponent's Active Pokémon is now Paralyzed.
LCCElectro Ball — 50
Weakness:F×2
Resistance:M-20
Retreat cost:C
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Upcoming events
View calendar →Tournaments and releases relevant to Pikachu or SM Black Star Promos.
Recent tournament results
View calendar →Tournaments from the past 30 days where Pikachu was legal.
Tournament play
This printing of Pikachu has no recent tournament appearances, but a different printing is currently a meta staple.
Pikachu ex — Surging Sparks
Played in 111 recent decks
Pricing reference
Latest snapshot from the upstream catalog. Actual marketplace prices fluctuate by condition, edition, and grade — use this as a reference, not a quote.
TCGPlayer (USD)
Updated 2026/07/18| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | $19.99 | $60.00 | $199.99 | $21.38 | $79.98 |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/01/16| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €10.13 |
| 7-day average | €9.84 |
| 30-day average | €8.97 |
| Low | €3.00 |
| Trend price | €11.02 |
| Low (excellent+) | €4.00 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €10.99 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €6.04 |
| averageSellPrice | €10.10 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €5.62 |
| Reverse holo trend | €8.75 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Pikachu is real?
Pikachu is not on our list of commonly-counterfeited cards, but counterfeits exist across every set. Check the back-light test (real cards have a black inner layer that blocks light; counterfeits glow through), the rosette dot pattern on the back under magnification, font weight and kerning on the card name, and the holofoil pattern if applicable. For high-value copies we recommend submitting to a professional grader (PSA, BGS, CGC) for tamper-evident authentication.
What is Pikachu worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Pikachu is $21.38; there are no active listings on The Game Traders right now. Actual value depends on condition, grading, edition and printing variant — graded high-condition copies (PSA 9–10) trade at a substantial premium over raw copies.
What set is Pikachu from?
Pikachu is from the Pokémon set "SM Black Star Promos" in the Sun & Moon series, released in 2017.
What rarity is Pikachu?
Pikachu is a Promo card in the SM Black Star Promos set.
Other Pikachu printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
