If you’re new to PSA 10s, this week’s best teaching example is the McDonald’s Pikachu. This promo card from the 2025 Happy Set (ピカチュウ P [M-P 020]) logged 249 PSA 10 sales in Japan’s market over the past week, with a median of ¥12,000 — the thickest, most representative entry-level price point on this list.
TL;DR
- 8 PSA 10 Pokemon cards from Japan’s market with medians under ¥15,000, tracked 31 August – 6 September 2026.
- The McDonald’s Pikachu promo (#1) logged 249 PSA 10 sales in the past week — the thickest, most trustworthy sample on this list.
- #6 Gastly AR shows the highest PSA 10 median (¥14,900), but with only 8 sales and a thin-sample flag it’s the least reliable figure here.
Why watch entry-level PSA 10s like these?
The interesting part is the comparison group: the same card’s raw median is only ¥3,680. In other words, a buyer isn’t just paying for the card — they’re paying a premium for having its condition officially confirmed. This week we lead with three five-figure promos, then pair them with a few AR / SAR cards for comparison, to see how that same premium plays out differently across card types. If you want to start a collection at this price point, Collect2Day is worth watching for these cards.
This list is built from actual sale records in Japan’s market, tracked 31 August – 6 September 2026 (HKT). To qualify, a card needs a PSA 10 median at or under ¥15,000 (about HK$1,000), at least 3 PSA 10 sales in the past 4 weeks, and at least 10 matching raw sales to compare the grading premium against. Ranking is by 4-week sale volume multiplied by price increase, capped at +30% to keep a single hype spike from dominating; “raw” includes Raw/Ungraded grades, and self-purchases through B4U/BSO are excluded. The figures below reflect actual sales over the past 4 weeks only — they are not a price forecast.
8 Entry-Level PSA 10 Picks, Ranked
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#1
Pikachu Pikachu — McDonald’s Happy Set 2025 Promo Card [M-P 020]
Pikachu
#020/M-P · Promo
Mega Evolution Promos
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥3,680
4-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Pikachu (ピカチュウ P [M-P 020]) comes from the 2025 McDonald’s Happy Set promo pack — a high-volume, widely recognised giveaway, which is why its raw median sits at just ¥3,680. Its PSA 10 median, by contrast, reaches ¥12,000, capturing the grading premium in one number. What makes this card worth watching isn’t the price itself but the sample size: 249 PSA 10 sales in the past week, the thickest in this list, meaning ¥12,000 is not an outlier but a genuinely stable market price. The PSA 10 week-on-week move of -6.6% is normal breathing room given the high volume; the ¥14,643 volume-weighted average sitting above the median shows higher-condition sales pulling the average up, a spread entry-level buyers should watch when negotiating. Collect2Day is a channel worth following for anyone building a PSA 10 collection from this price point.
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#2
Pikachu Pikachu — Scarlet & Violet Promo Card [SV-P 120]
Pikachu
#120/SV-P · Promo
Scarlet & Violet Promos
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥2,120
4-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Also a Pikachu (ピカチュウ: プロモ [SV-P 120]), but this one represents the long-running SV-P promo line, priced a tier below the McDonald’s version: PSA 10 median ¥10,500, volume-weighted average ¥10,923 — the two figures sit very close together, meaning a narrow price band that’s the easiest to estimate for a beginner and carries the lowest risk of overpaying. What’s interesting is that the two grades are moving in opposite directions: the raw median at ¥2,120 rose 10.4% for the week, while PSA 10 softened 2.7%. That divergence is a reminder that the grading premium isn’t a fixed multiple — it expands and contracts with submission costs and market sentiment. 66 PSA 10 sales is a reasonable, if not especially deep, pool — worth checking a few more same-grade sales before buying.
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#3
Arceus V Arceus V — Sword & Shield Promo Card [S-P 267]
Arceus V
#267/S-P · Promo
Sword & Shield Promos
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥1,499
4-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Arceus V (アルセウスV: プロモ [S-P 267]) is the only one of this week’s three anchor cards that isn’t a Pikachu, riding demand for a Legendary Pokémon character instead. Its PSA 10 median is ¥10,480, up +16.0% for the week — the only one of the three promos clearly trending upward; the volume-weighted average of ¥11,666 above the median usually means buyers are paying up for especially well-preserved copies. Its raw comparison, though, is thin: just 1 raw sale in the past week at ¥1,499, down 27.6% — a figure that’s only a rough anchor, not a real market price. The price supported by 38 PSA 10 sales is far more trustworthy than the raw side, and that’s exactly the practical value grading adds to a promo card: turning “no visible sales” into “something to price against.”
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#4
Mega Absol ex SAR Mega Absol ex SAR — Mega Brave [M1L 089/063]
Mega Absol ex SAR
#089/063 · SAR
Mega Brave (メガブレイブ)
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥2,299
4-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Mega Absol ex (メガアブソルex SAR [M1L 089/063]) comes from the newest “Mega Brave” (メガブレイブ) expansion, the only card in this list from a set that just released. That shows in the raw side: still-plentiful supply and heavy pack-opening volume mean only 1 raw sale in the past week at ¥2,299 (down 1.5%) — too thin to serve as a pricing benchmark. The PSA 10 side, by contrast, is already running: median ¥9,999, volume-weighted average ¥10,868, 46 sales, up 13.9% for the week. SAR — the full-art illustration rarity — is naturally one of the most-submitted categories for grading, since edge wear and surface glare are easy ways to lose points, making high grades naturally scarce. Unlike a distribution promo, a new-set SAR’s grading premium forms gradually during the pack-opening rush rather than being priced in from day one.
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#5
Flying Pikachu V RR Flying Pikachu V RR — 25th Anniversary Collection [s8a 023/028]
Flying Pikachu V RR
#023/028 · RR
25th Anniversary Collection
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥2,480
3-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Flying Pikachu V (そらをとぶピカチュウV RR [s8a 023/028]) comes from the 25th Anniversary Collection, not a promo — but it earns its place here as a data-trap demonstration. The raw median is ¥2,480, yet the volume-weighted average jumps to ¥8,863, a week-on-week move of +347.6%. A gap that wide usually means a handful of high-price sales and mixed-condition stock landing in the same batch, with a sample of only 10 — exactly when the median is far safer to trust than the average. PSA 10, by contrast, is much cleaner: median ¥14,600, volume-weighted average ¥15,288, 88 sales, up 7.2% for the week, with a visibly narrower price band showing that grading has helped the market agree on a condition standard. That’s the real function behind a grading premium — not just a higher price, but a price that’s actually comparable.
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#6
Gastly AR Gastly AR — Wild Force [SV5K 080/071]
Gastly AR
#080/071 · AR
Wild Force (ワイルドフォース)
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥4,000
4-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Gastly (ゴース AR [SV5K 080/071]) comes from “Wild Force” (ワイルドフォース), and the AR rarity’s nocturnal-mood art has always had a following. Its PSA 10 median of ¥14,900 looks like the most expensive on this list at a glance — which is exactly why we deliberately placed it last: it’s the figure on this list that most needs discounting. PSA 10 has only 8 sales, flagged as a thin sample, not even enough to compute a week-on-week move; the raw side has just 2 sales too, with a median of ¥4,000, down 14.9% for the week. Compared with the 249 sales behind the McDonald’s Pikachu at the top of this list, it’s clear that “median” can mean very different levels of reliability. When buying an entry-level promo or AR card, the sale count — not the price tag — is the real safety belt.
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#7
Raichu AR Raichu AR — Clay Burst [SV2D 074/071]
Raichu AR
#074/071 · AR
Clay Burst (クレイバースト)
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥2,500
3-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Raichu (ライチュウ AR [SV2D 074/071]) comes from “Clay Burst” (クレイバースト), the best-value AR among the Pikachu evolution line. Its PSA 10 median of ¥9,380 is the cheapest five-figure card on this week’s list, making it the lowest-barrier entry for anyone testing the water. Its trend is notable: PSA 10 rose 14.7% for the week, while raw rose 14.6% — the two moves are nearly identical, meaning this wave is driven by overall demand rather than a rush of grading submissions. But the volume-weighted average of ¥10,867 sits well above the ¥9,380 median, showing higher-price sales pulling the tail up — a sign that meaningful condition-based price spread still exists even within PSA 10. 33 sales is enough to serve as a reference, and paired with the ¥2,500 raw median, the gap between graded and ungraded is easy to see.
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#8
Bulbasaur AR Bulbasaur AR — Pokémon Card 151 [SV2a 166/165]
Bulbasaur AR
#166/165 · AR
Pokémon Card 151
30-Day Median (Raw, Near-Mint)
¥2,999
4-Week Price Trend (Raw VWAP)
Search & Buy Now ›Why up / down / popular?
Bulbasaur (フシギダネ AR [SV2a 166/165]) comes from “Pokémon Card 151” (ポケモンカード151), a nostalgia-driven set — the AR rarity’s horizontal art and its status as a first-generation starter make it a long-standing entry-collection favourite. PSA 10 median is ¥10,400, up 12.8% for the week; the raw median is ¥2,999, up 7.8% over the same period. The biggest difference from the earlier cards is that both grades are rising together, meaning the driver isn’t a pure grading premium but renewed demand for the card itself. The sample still needs care, though — PSA 10 has only 18 sales and raw just 3, a small-to-mid pool that will swing harder in the short term than a deep sample like the McDonald’s Pikachu’s. A volume-weighted average of ¥11,357, slightly above the median, shows well-preserved copies still command a premium.
![McDonald's Pikachu promo card [M-P 020]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/mp_ja-20/large)
![Pikachu Scarlet & Violet promo card [SV-P 120]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/svp_ja-120/large)
![Arceus V Sword & Shield promo card [S-P 267]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/swshp_ja-267/large)
![Mega Absol ex SAR card [M1L 089/063]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/m1l_ja-89/large)
![Flying Pikachu V RR card [s8a 023/028]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/swsh8a_ja-23/large)
![Gastly AR card [SV5K 080/071]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/sv5k_ja-80/large)
![Raichu AR card [SV2D 074/071]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/sv2d_ja-74/large)
![Bulbasaur AR card [SV2a 166/165]](https://images.scrydex.com/pokemon/sv2a_ja-166/large)
Eligibility at a Glance
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can the same card’s raw and PSA 10 prices differ by several times?
The grading premium is the value of having condition officially confirmed: a raw card’s sale price covers everything from mint to worn copies, so its median is pulled down by lower-condition sales, while PSA 10 counts only the top-graded copies, so its price is naturally higher. The McDonald’s Pikachu (#1) on this list is a textbook case — a raw median of ¥3,680 against a PSA 10 median of ¥12,000, more than three times the gap.
How should a beginner choose which PSA 10 to buy?
Weigh the sale count above the price. The McDonald’s Pikachu (#1) and Raichu AR (#7) both have 30+ PSA 10 sales and a comparatively stable price band, making them good first reference cards for a beginner; Gastly AR (#6), with only 8 sales and a thin-sample flag, has limited reference value and is worth waiting on.
Why does the sale count matter more than the price tag alone?
The sale count is what tells you how much to trust a median. Both figures are called a “median,” but the McDonald’s Pikachu’s is backed by 249 sales while Gastly AR’s is backed by only 8 — their reliability is completely different. The fewer sales behind a median, the more a single high or low sale can move it, and the more the price can swing in a short time.
Which one are you after?
All 8 entry-level PSA 10s above have medians under ¥15,000. Search Collect.today directly for well-preserved copies from Japan’s market.
Search PSA 10 Cards ›Figures are drawn from actual sale records in Japan’s market, tracked 31 August – 6 September 2026 (HKT), and reflect only the past 4 weeks of actual sales — not a price forecast. For live listing prices, check the Collect2Day pages directly.