Raichu · XY Evolutions, what to know.
About the Raichu card
Raichu is card 36 of 113 in XY Evolutions, released in November 2016, a Rare Holo. It is a Stage 1 Lightning-type with 100 HP.
As a Stage 1, it evolves from Pikachu, which places Raichu deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.
Illustrated by Ken Sugimori. Sugimori is the lead character designer of Pokémon itself, so his card art carries the tight, on-model look that defined how the creatures appear in the games.
The card's flavor text gives Raichu a line of lore: "Its electric charges can reach even 100,000 volts. Careless contact can cause even an Indian elephant to faint."
About Raichu in the Pokémon world
The fully evolved Pikachu. Larger, orange-yellow body, with a long tail. Rare in the wild; usually requires a Thunder Stone evolution. Base Set holo Raichu is one of the famous "where is mine" cards. Its print run had inconsistent centering, and a famously rare prerelease variant exists.
What is Raichu worth?
Raichu is a holo rare, one of the cards that holds XY Evolutions's value. The rarity tier decides most of it, since the same card prints at several tiers with very different prices. In top-grade 1st Edition, XY Evolutions holos range from the mid hundreds for the lesser cards up to the set's marquee chase; raw and Unlimited copies trade for a fraction of that. The live market price above shows the current figure by grade.
Print variants and how to spot them
Confirm the print and finish on Raichu before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.
Grading and condition
Raichu lives and dies on its holo surface in grading. The lightning foil catches light at angles that hide hairlines in a flat photo, so tilt it under a lamp, then measure the borders, where modern centering is the second-most-common grade cap.
If you are collecting Raichu
Buying Raichu well means pricing the exact print and grade, not the card name. Match the rarity tier to the comp before you buy. Always see the holo surface in good light first.
