Updated October 1, 2026: prices refreshed. Since the first version (September 17, 2026), Pikachu ex #238 fell 0.2% ($285.74 → $285.31), and the full set costs $1,209 to complete (-2.0% vs $1,234).
Short answer: the most valuable Surging Sparks card is Pikachu ex #238 at about $285.31 raw (TCGplayer market price), and one copy of every card in the set costs about $1,209. Data as of October 1, 2026.
Surging Sparks came out on November 8, 2024 and has 252 card numbers, 61 of them numbered above the printed set size of 191. This value list comes from our own daily TCGplayer price snapshot, data as of October 1, 2026. It covers the 25 most valuable cards, how much of the set's value sits in a handful of chase cards, what one of every card costs, and which cards clear the usual bar for grading under PSA's current tiers.
Weekly price changes for this set and nine others: Pokémon card price movers (updated every week).
The 25 most valuable Surging Sparks cards
Prices are the TCGplayer market price for a raw (ungraded) copy of the most expensive printing of each card number.
| # | Card | Number | Rarity | Market price (raw) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pikachu ex | 238 | Special Illustration Rare | $285.31 |
| 2 | Latias ex | 239 | Special Illustration Rare | $186.00 |
| 3 | Milotic ex | 237 | Special Illustration Rare | $119.81 |
| 4 | Pikachu ex | 247 | Hyper Rare | $80.36 |
| 5 | Durant ex | 236 | Special Illustration Rare | $39.78 |
| 6 | Hydreigon ex | 240 | Special Illustration Rare | $36.80 |
| 7 | Latios | 203 | Illustration Rare | $33.01 |
| 8 | Pikachu ex | 219 | Ultra Rare | $28.00 |
| 9 | Lisia's Appeal | 246 | Special Illustration Rare | $26.93 |
| 10 | Alolan Exeggutor ex | 242 | Special Illustration Rare | $26.68 |
| 11 | Ceruledge | 197 | Illustration Rare | $23.80 |
| 12 | Jasmine's Gaze | 245 | Special Illustration Rare | $20.61 |
| 13 | Mesprit | 204 | Illustration Rare | $13.77 |
| 14 | Archaludon ex | 241 | Special Illustration Rare | $12.48 |
| 15 | Slakoth | 212 | Illustration Rare | $12.37 |
| 16 | Gravity Mountain | 250 | Hyper Rare | $10.88 |
| 17 | Alolan Exeggutor ex | 248 | Hyper Rare | $10.26 |
| 18 | Night Stretcher | 251 | Hyper Rare | $9.46 |
| 19 | Spheal | 199 | Illustration Rare | $9.45 |
| 20 | Phanpy | 205 | Illustration Rare | $8.98 |
| 21 | Feebas | 198 | Illustration Rare | $8.93 |
| 22 | Kecleon | 213 | Illustration Rare | $8.90 |
| 23 | Alolan Dugtrio | 208 | Illustration Rare | $8.65 |
| 24 | Clemont's Quick Wit | 243 | Special Illustration Rare | $8.42 |
| 25 | Skarmory | 209 | Illustration Rare | $8.23 |
Pikachu ex #238 leads at $285.31, followed by Latias ex #239 ($186.00) and Milotic ex #237 ($119.81). 7 of the top 10 are Special Illustration Rares. The top 10 cards together come to $862.68, 70% of the combined value of all 252 priced card numbers.
What it costs to complete Surging Sparks
Buying the cheapest printing of each of the 252 priced card numbers costs about $1,209 at current market prices. The total is lopsided:
- The 11 Special Illustration Rares add up to $771, 64% of the completion cost.
- The five most expensive cards are 59% of the total ($711).
- 189 of the 252 cards sell for under $1. 51 are between $1 and $20, 9 are between $20 and $100, and 3 are $100 or more.
“Completion” here means one copy of each card number, so reverse holos and other parallel printings aren't counted.
For comparison, from the same snapshot: Evolving Skies $8,121, Prismatic Evolutions $4,793, Paldean Fates $2,540, Crown Zenith $2,490.
Which Surging Sparks cards are worth grading?
PSA's Value tiers have been paused since June 2026. On September 14 PSA opened a Standard tier at $59.99 per card (90–100 business days, declared value up to $1,000). Priority, the old Regular tier, is $79.99 (up to $1,500), and Express is $199 (up to $2,500). CGC Economy is $20.
A common first screen is to grade only cards whose raw price is at least 2.5× the fee. On that screen:
- 4 Surging Sparks cards clear the CGC Economy bar ($50+ raw)
- 2 clear PSA Standard ($150+ raw)
- 1 clears PSA Priority ($200+ raw)
The better question is how big the PSA 10 premium has to be before grading beats selling raw. We assume a 30% chance of a PSA 10 (modern chase cards are commonly cited at 25–35%, and individual cards vary a lot), that a non-10 slab sells for about the raw price, a 13.25% selling fee and $6 per card for shipping and insurance. The tier is the cheapest one whose declared-value cap covers that break-even price.
| Card | Raw market | Tier | PSA 10 needed to break even |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pikachu ex #238 | $285.31 | Standard ($59.99) | ~$539 (1.89×) |
| Latias ex #239 | $186.00 | Standard ($59.99) | ~$440 (2.36×) |
Full worked example for the top card: Is Pikachu ex (Surging Sparks #238) worth grading? It uses recent PSA 9, PSA 10 and CGC 10 sales: a PSA 10 stays under the $1,000 Standard cap, and a CGC 10 sells for little more than a raw copy. The #2 card has its own worked example too: Is Latias ex (Surging Sparks #239) worth grading? There a PSA 9 sells for less than raw, so at 30% odds a PSA 10 would need to sell for about $492, not the ~$440 in the table above (which assumes a non-10 slab sells for about the raw price). With PSA 10s selling for about $410, it takes roughly a 40% chance of a 10 to pay at PSA Standard (18 October prices).
Two cautions: the declared value PSA uses is what the card is worth graded, so a card whose 10s sell above a tier's cap needs the next tier up even if the break-even price fits. And none of this counts time: Standard orders are processed after PSA's existing backlog, so plan on months with the card out of your hands.
The practical routine: check recent PSA 10 sold prices for your exact card, compare them with the break-even number, then look hard at your copy's centering and surface. If the premium isn't there, keeping it raw is usually the better call.
Methodology
- Prices: TCGplayer market price (an estimate based on recent completed sales), collected daily into our database from pokemontcg.io and PokéWallet. For each card we use whichever source updated most recently (TCGplayer update dates 2026-09-30). Snapshot date October 1, 2026. Market prices move, and a real sale can land above or below them.
- Card value is the most expensive printing of each card number. Completion cost is the cheapest printing of each card number (252 priced).
- Grading fees are from PSA's service update announced September 9, 2026 and CGC's published fee schedule. Break-even formula: PSA 10 multiple = 1 + (fee + shipping) ÷ (gem rate × raw price × (1 − selling fee)). Change the gem rate and the answer changes a lot, so use your own.
- Card names are used for identification only. GradeWorthy isn't affiliated with or endorsed by The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, PSA, CGC, TAG, Beckett, eBay or TCGplayer. Nothing here is financial advice.
Get the full list
- Surging Sparks Set Value Sheet ($7): every card in the set with market prices, the chase-card ranking, the grade-worthy shortlist and completion cost, as a PDF plus CSV, with free monthly refreshes.
- Grading ROI Calculator ($19): plug in your card's raw price, recent PSA 10 and PSA 9 sales, your gem-rate estimate and the tier. It returns the expected profit or loss for PSA, CGC, TAG and Beckett.
- Free Grade or Hold checklist: the 60-second check to run before you submit anything.