Generation five gave the Pokémon TCG plenty of powerful pocket monsters, from brutal, three-headed menace Hydreigon to draconic legendary Pokémon Zekrom and Reshiram. Forget about those titans, though; over the past few weeks one of Unova's smallest Pokémon has been on a massive journey in the collectors' market. Solosis 118/086 from the set Black Bolt has seen a sudden, meteoric 500% leap in value, followed by a sudden drop-off. Let's take a microscope to this humble cell Pokémon and find out what's been going on.
At the end of September, according to data from TCGplayer, the value of Solosis 118/086 began to climb. It more than doubled overnight - from $12 on September 29, to $26 the following day. The plucky psychic type was far from done, however, and a day later - on Wednesday, October 1 - its value shot up again to $62.
Solosis' price peaked on October 3 at just over 67 bucks, before gradually descending. As of today, the card is now worth $43.74. That's a drop-off from the spike's peak, sure - but it still marks a $30+ dollar (roughly 300%) increase over when the card started climbing, less than two weeks ago. So, why did this happen?
Well, as with many of the most valuable rare Pokémon cards, it's all in the artwork. Three weeks ago, we covered how "Bubble Mew" from Paldean Fates reached a record price of $700. That Mew's card art was drawn by USGMEN. Now, it seems the community feels USGMEN is an artist to watch, and they're buying up their other illustrations, like this Solosis.
The later dip in price clearly reflects some uncertainty, though. Mew is Kanto's elusive 151st Pokémon, and Solosis just doesn't command the same star power. The illustration is just as pastoral and adorable as Mew's; they even have similar bubbly energy. But perhaps without that legendary Gen 1 pedigree, collectors are deciding Solosis isn't quite as solid a buy.
Even for those of us not in the business of playing the Pokémon TCG market, though, beautiful art of the cutest Pokémon around is always going to be a deciding factor in which cards we're hunting for our binders. What are some of your favorite pieces of Pokémon card artwork? Let us know in the free Wargamer Discord community.
If you want to go back and remember some classic Gen V cards, you can always read our list of all Pokémon sets in order of release. We can even give your the rundown on the ultimate question: how many Pokémon are there these days?