Raichu

Raichu is card 50 of 237 in Evolving Skies, released in August 2021, a Rare Holo. It is a Stage 1 Lightning-type with 130 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 Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita painted the Base Set Charizard and much of the early holo run, and his work has a painterly weight that set the visual tone of the Wizards era.

The card's flavor text gives Raichu a line of lore: "If its electric pouches run empty, it raises its tail to gather electricity from the atmosphere."

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.

Raichu is a holo rare, one of the cards that holds Evolving Skies'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, Evolving Skies 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.

Confirm the print and finish on Raichu before pricing it, since variant and rarity set the market more than the card name alone.

On a holo like Raichu, surface is the grade cap. The lightning foil shows hairlines under raking light, and the print reveals scratches that flat scans miss. Centering on the left and right borders is the second thing to check.

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.