20 Most Expensive Cards in Surging Sparks
Wondering what the most expensive Surging Sparks Pokemon cards are?
Not only does Surging Sparks boast an impressive array of rare cards to hunt for, it’s the set that largely set off the renewed interest in Pokemon cards – a frenzy which led to product shortages and even greater demand for the already popular Pokemon TCG in 2025.
Despite this interesting place in recent Pokemon TCG memory, prices have largely cooled for the singles you can get in this pack, making it a moderately affordable set to chase.
With that being said, let’s look at the top 20 Surging Sparks chase cards via the article below!
#1. Pikachu ex – Special Illustration Rare is the most expensive Surging Sparks card
Market price: $259
Pikachu looks so serene in this card – almost like it has no idea how many packs have been ripped apart in hopes of pulling this ultimate chase card. Not only is it the most sought after card in Surging Sparks: it’s among the most desirable cards in all of the Scarlet & Violet era.
Gorgeously drawn, effectively composed, and complete with the most iconic character in all of Pokemon while backed by a powerful ability and attack combo, Pikachu ex is highly sought by collectors, players, and downright Pikachu fanatics the world over.
#2. Latias ex – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $163.19
Latias is the second most expensive card in Surging Sparks. It’s got all the hallmarks of a top chase – insane playability, a popular/nostalgic Pokemon, gorgeous artwork and incredible rarity. From a competitive standpoint, the thing Latias ex has going for it is its powerful Skyline ability – one that grants free retreat for Basic Pokemon. While we’ve already seen a lot of this card in competitive play, the SIR remains the second most desirable chase card in the set for collectors longing to shelve it for its broad appeal and incredible beauty.
#3. Milotic ex – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $87.90
I’ve had a fondness for Milotic since I evolved my own from a Feebas back when I played Pokemon Ruby religiously. Feebas was pretty hard to find in the wild, lending to the fun and challenge of getting your own Milotic. While not as fierce, Milotic has a similar appeal as Gyarados in the whole uggly-duckling-turned-attractive-Pokemon way. Only what Milotic lacks in ferocity it more than makes up for in beauty.
And Milotic’s natural grace and beauty helps make this gorgeously composed Special Illustration Card what it is – a work of art.
The artwork is ingeniously done. Half the card features a look at Milotic submerged under greenish water – the other half out in fresh air in what appears to be a forest lake. While the top half of the artwork is mostly sparse except for the silhouettes of some trees, allowing us to focus visually on the color and majesty of Milotic, the bottom half is alive with water vegetation, intricate detail, life and color.
The busyness of the bottom half of the print almost serves to excentuates Milotic’s beauty as it’s left alone in the upper half for us to gaze in marvel at.
All-in-all, this has to be one of the most gorgeous cards of Scarlet & Violet, even if the relatively less popular Pokemon will hold it’s price back from being at the very top of the list.
Feebas – Illustration Rare
Market price: $7.14
Before moving onto the next chase on this list, you should also check out the Feebas Illustration Rare coming out in this set that corresponds with Milotic. While it won’t top the list in value, it’s a gorgeous card that many collectors will be hunting for due to its thematic and artistic tie-in with Milotic ex.
#4. Pikachu ex – Hyper Rare
Market price: $53.11
Pikachu ex gets several treatments in this expansion, and although this one is the only “gold” card, each one is worth money. While it’s not fetching anywhere near the kind of value the SIR print is getting, it’s still worth a decent amount, and among the most valuable hyper rare cards we’ve seen in recent sets.
#5. Hydreigon ex – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $43.23
Beautiful and competitively viable, Hydreigon ex is going to be the top chase card in this set for many. Its Obsidian attack is reminiscent of one of the strongest Pokemon in the game at one point: Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX. Being able to dish out 130 damage to any two Pokemon is unparalleled in the game right now, and it doesn’t even force you to discard energy like Radiant Greninja’s Moonlight Shuriken does. Needless to say, many are excited to build their own Hydreigon ex deck.
#6. Lisia’s Appeal – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $36.74
Most modern Pokemon TCG sets have a supporter chase card alongside the rare Pokemon. This expansion’s is Lisia’s Appeal. Not only is the artwork great (Altaria and all), Lisia’s Appeal has a strong effect, working much like the ever popular Boss’s Order’s only with an added advantage of making your foe’s Pokemon confused.
#7. Alolan Exeggutor ex – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $33.64
This Special Illustration Rare is a valuable card mostly due to its rarity. The artwork is also nice, as far as its subject matter allows. I’ve just never been the biggest fan of the Alolan version of Exeggutor, but it does seem like many enjoy this particular Pokemon just for its slightly silly countenance.
Regardless, it does have that appeal of being an Alolan version of one of the original Kanto 151, and this one appears in dragon form, meaning it has no weaknesses.
From a player’s standpoint, the Swinging Sphene is a pretty attractive attack, letting you automatically knock out a basic Pokemon. This could be a powerful counter to some of the basic focused decks popular right now – a fact which could (and since originally writing this has) drive further value for this card.
#8. Latios – Illustration Rare
Market price: $26.15
As cool as the Latias SIR card is from this expansion, this Latios Illustration Rare might be even more gorgeous. Latios has always been my favorite of the pair, and here we get a glimpse of the iconic Pokemon flying out into the sunset over the city we all know from the Pokemon Heroes movie.
Of course, given its lesser rarity, this Latios won’t be worth as much as Latis. But don’t underestimate the potential value of a gorgeous Illustration Rare card! They often end up being the most valuable from any given set.
#9. Jasmine’s Gaze – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $25.81
This alternate art featuring OG trainer Jasmine from the Johto region has proven itself as one of the hottest cards from Surging Sparks. It’s set in a familiar setting to many of us – a charming cafe filled to the brim with sandwiches, sweets and even an Alcremie relaxing surreptitiously by the cakes. Jasmine is turning around looking at us in this illustration, almost like we’ve taken her by surprise. It’s a brilliant concept that achieves the dual purpose of drawing us in and tying in with the title of this card.
I don’t think Jasmine’s Gaze will see much play competitively, but she should be relatively valuable on the secondary card market, and certainly a chase card of many especially older fans of the franchise.
#10. Night Stretcher – Hyper Rare
Market price: $24.41
Hyper rare cards (also known as gold cards) featuring commonly used items tend to do very, very well on the secondary card market. Night Stretcher is one of those cards. With an effect that lets you bring back any basic energy or a Pokemon card (regardless of stage) from your discard to your hand is pretty broken, especially in the current standard meta.
#11. Durant ex – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $23.03
It seems that whenever Durant makes its way into the Pokemon TCG it comes with some sort of mill strategy. Otherwise, this card’s status as a an SIR brings it more value than it otherwise would have. I’m a little surprised here that it is outranking some of the other supporter characters that also received similarly rare cards. However, there must be just enough Durant fans out there to push this Pokemon up into the top 15 in regards to value.
#12. Pikachu ex – Ultra Rare
Market price: $17.57
The Pikachu ex Ultra Rare is essentially just an easier to pull and more affordable version of the hyper rare version higher up on this list. Given it’s got arguably the most recognizable character in the world, however, it’s not a bad one to hold onto in hopes of future value (or even just as a keepsake).
#13. Ceruledge – Illustration Rare
Market price: $24.45
Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can always judge a Pokemon card by its rarity alone. Right now, this Illustration Rare Ceruledge card is performing very well on the market despite being a lesser rarity than many of the other cards on this list. Honestly, given how cool this artwork is, it’s not hard to see why.
It’s also not unheard of for IRs to make it to the top of the heap in modern sets despite their lesser rarity. Many of the top cards from Scarlet & Violet era sets have been Illustration Rares. Just think of the Eevee from Twilight Masquerade, for example, which is one of the most expensive cards of the year!
#14. Archaludon ex – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $26.42
Archaludon ex SIR is a compelling card. While far from an iconic Pokemon, it’s a powerful one in the video game, and this artwork is pretty crazy. Once again, this card’s value is driven a lot by how rare it is.
#15. Alolan Exeggutor ex – Hyper Rare
Market price: $11.48
Despite all odds, Alolan Exeggutor ex has seen competitive level success when included in the Regidrago VSTAR deck. I can’t help but wonder if that is partly to blame for this card making its way into the top fifteen most expensive cards in this epic set. That coupled with its zany appearance could make this card a reasonably exciting one for many to pull.
#16. Drayton – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $10.43
I’m not gonna lie – I totally would have thought Drayton would’ve ended up higher up on this list. But it is what it is. I guess most collectors fail to apprecaite this laid back dragon master for what he is – a chill guy who’s also an unusually strong trainer. Maybe it’s not that at all. Maybe it’s just that Surging Sparks is such an epic set that in comparison Drayton feels ordinary.
Here we see him shopping at the store you can go to at the Bluberry Acadamy which is pretty cool. Otherwise, this card is still commanding a strong enough value to make it into the top 20 most expensive Surging Sparks cards. And for a set that just seems to get better with age, that’s saying something.
#17. Gravity Mountain – Hyper Rare
Market price: $11. 91
While Gravity Mountain saw some hype leading into the Surging Sparks format as an interesting tech to take down big Stage 2 Pokemon or extend the reach of Dusknoir, in the end it’s really this card’s natural, scenic artwork that drives its demand. While that’s not enough to put it at the top of the hyper rare cards from this set, it still commands a decent market value.
#18. Latias ex – Ultra Rare
Market price: $9.61
Really need that Latias ex but maybe the SIR is a bit too big of a chase for you? Why not try and bag this Latias ex Ultra Rare? It’s both cheaper on the singles market and much easier to bag via packs!
#19. Clemont’s Quick Wit – Special Illustration Rare
Market price: $16.37
There’s a pretty incredible range of secret rare cards in this set from incredible era-defining chase cards worth over $200 to more humble cards worth just a little more than pocket change. Clemont’s Quick Wit is on the more affordable end of the cards on this set.
A little Pokemon lore that helps show how Clemont fits into this particular set: if you couldn’t tell from the cables and tools, this trainer specializes in electric Pokemon – the ideal kind of trainer to be included in an electric-Pokemon-themed set like Surging Sparks.
#20. Mesprit – Illustration Rare
Market price: $8.64
Last on this list we have Mesprit, serenely floating above a beautiful lake at sunset.
While Surging Sparks may be the set partly responsible for the renewed frenzy for Pokemon TCG trading cards that’s continued on throughout 2025, as you can see from this list compared to where it was shortly after launch, prices have dramatically cooled. While it still has that high value Pikachu, Surging Sparks cards are largely of modest value. Still, with an incredible collection of alternate art cards to chase, it’s still one of the best Pokemon packs from the Scarlet and Violet era.