Pokémon Card 151 (SV2a) came out in Japan on June 16, 2023. A box has 20 packs of 7 cards and costs €319.95 with us (October 22, 2026, currently sold out). That is much more than a new set. Three reasons.
1. No longer printed, still in demand
The set contains all 151 original Kanto Pokémon, redrawn. That appeals to collectors of all ages. Every box that gets opened disappears from the supply of sealed boxes, and no new ones are added. The price of a Japanese box follows the market: the older and scarcer, the higher.
2. The Master Ball card
Every Japanese box contains a guaranteed Master Ball card, randomly from 153 possible. The English Scarlet & Violet—151 does not have that variant. The most expensive card in the whole set is a Master Ball card too: Gengar (#94), about €508. Pikachu Master Ball is at about €234 (PriceCharting, October 8, 2026).
3. Strong top cards
Besides the Master Balls, there are the Special Art Rares: Charizard ex (#201) around €295, Mew ex (#205) around €169, Blastoise ex around €109.
What it is not
Expensive does not mean you get more back. The chance of an SAR in 151 is about 1 in 6 boxes, lower than in the MEGA sets (1 in 3 to 4). Most of the 153 Master Ball cards are worth much less than Gengar or Pikachu.
Per pack
In the box you pay about €16 per pack; a single pack costs €19.95. A pack from a new MEGA set costs €2.63 to €4.50 in the box. So if you want to open 151, you mainly pay for the set itself and the Master Ball card.
