Published April 26, 2026 · 6 min read · Weekly Report

Trainer cards dominated this week's gainers, with Iono SR putting up the biggest move of the week (+22.5%) ahead of any chase Pokémon card. Old chases kept climbing too — Lugia ex SAR continues its slow grind toward ¥30,000 — while SV6 Mask of Change cooled further. Here's the full breakdown.

Market summary

📈 Top 5 Gainers

1. Iono SR — SV8 099/066 · ▲ 22.5% · ¥9,800

The SV8 Iono SR finally caught a bid this week after months of trading sideways. The trigger: a Japanese tournament report showed Iono in 80% of top-32 decklists, and English-side TCGPlayer activity confirmed the trainer is also being collected by competitive players abroad. With JP at ¥9,800 and EN at $97 (≈¥14,500), the gap remains around 32% — wide enough to keep climbing.

2. Lillie's Clefairy ex SAR — SV8a 097/073 · ▲ 9.2% · ¥21,800

Battle Partners' headliner SAR keeps grinding higher. This card has gained ~71% YTD without a single weekly red — that's a rare price action profile in modern JP TCG. The setup looks structurally bid: low Battle Partners box production, strong waifu-fan demand on JP-side, and growing English-side recognition that this is the cleanest "Lillie" alt-art print since SM-era Burning Shadows.

3. Lugia ex SAR — SV7 091/071 · ▲ 11.2% · ¥28,500

Stellar Miracle's Lugia SAR is up nearly 100% year-to-date and shows no sign of slowing. Two converging factors: (1) the Stellar mechanic is core to the next JP rotation, keeping Stellar-tera alt arts thematically relevant; (2) supply has dried up at major retailers — Ka-Nabell's stock dropped to single digits this week. Watch the ¥30,000 level for resistance.

4. N's Zoroark ex SAR — SV8a 095/073 · ▲ 16.8% · ¥14,200

The N-themed alt arts in Battle Partners are doing what every collector hoped: staying scarce while the set goes through its first reprint cycle. Zoroark caught a strong move this week as English-side coverage finally went mainstream. JP discount vs Journey Together 185/159 is now around 27%.

5. Umbreon ex SAR — SV8 102/066 · ▲ 4.5% · ¥50,700

Last week's leader cooled this week but still posted a green. Umbreon ex SAR is now over ¥50,000 for the first time, and the JP-EN gap has narrowed from 33% to ~30%. We continue to think this card is fairly priced relative to the English Prismatic Evolutions equivalent, but no longer cheap.

📉 Top 5 Losers

1. Pecharunt ex UR — SV6 085/064 · ▼ 3.4% · ¥4,800

Mask of Change's secondary chase keeps drifting. Pecharunt ex is now ~9% below its 2026 starting price and shows no signs of finding a bid. SV6 sealed boxes are now under ¥4,500 — the cheapest entry point in the SV-era — which makes singles uncompetitive.

2. Ogerpon ex Hearthflame SAR — SV6 091/064 · ▼ 2.1% · ¥17,600

The strongest card in Mask of Change is also slipping, but only slightly. The set has rotated out of competitive play in JP, and the entire SV6 chase tier is now in "collector-only" mode. Long-term hold candidate, not a short-term play.

3. Mew ex UR — Heat Wave Arena · ▼ 5.8% · ¥13,400

Mew ex continues last week's downtrend. The pullback has been orderly, suggesting profit-taking rather than panic, but we wouldn't catch this falling knife yet.

4. Iron Hands ex UR — SV8 084/066 · ▼ 0.8% · ¥4,200

The Lightning UR that hasn't moved in either direction continues to do exactly that. ¥4,200 looks like a solid floor — kaitori is at ¥3,200, suggesting little downside from here.

5. Boa Hancock SR (One Piece) — OP10-092 · ▼ 4.1% · ¥2,780

OP10's first cool-down week. Hancock SR was the cleanest mover after Luffy at OP10 release; the move higher has now stalled and we'd expect a few more weeks of consolidation before the next leg.

What we're watching next week

Two things: (a) whether Iono SR's breakout extends into the other competitive trainer SRs (Penny, Hop), and (b) Lugia ex SAR's reaction at ¥30,000 — that's the level that defines whether this is a consolidation or a continuation. If Lugia clears it cleanly, the rest of SV7 will follow.

We'll have full week 18 coverage Monday.