Image: pkmncards.com
Rayquaza VMAX Alternate Art Secret
SWSH07: Evolving Skies · 218/203 · Secret Rare · released 2021 · tracking Holofoil
US Raw NM price, weekly (TCGplayer, USD)
Line: market price. Bars: NM copies sold that week. 52-week range $655 to $1,269; now 0% below the high; largest drop within the year 7%.
Why this score
| Blue-chip PokemonOne of the handful of Pokemon that carry the whole hobby's demand. | +12 |
| Tradeable102 NM copies sold in the last year. | 0 |
| Positive momentumUp 71% over 6 months. | +5 |
| Stable priceWeekly moves average 2.8%. | +3 |
| Long out of printReleased 5 years ago; sealed supply is being opened, not printed. | +4 |
| Art cardAlternate-art / illustration rares are what modern collectors chase and keep. | +4 |
| EU set demand fallingThe set's Cardmarket index is down 32% since 20 Jul 2026. | -2 |
| Base 50 + factors | 76 |
US USA · TCGplayer · raw NM · USD
| NM copies sold, 12 months | 102 |
| Open listings | 53 |
| Weekly volatility | 2.8% |
| NM Holofoil (tracked) | $1,269 102 sold |
EU Europe · Cardmarket · raw · EUR
| Trend price | €1,150 |
| Average sell price, 30 days | €1,129 |
| Average sell price, 7 days | €1,235 |
| 7-day vs 30-day average | +9% |
| Lowest listing any condition | €230 |
| Set index since 20 Jul 2026 | -32% |
Cardmarket price guide of 2026-10-04. Cardmarket does not split prices by condition, so these cover all raw copies; they are kept apart from the US Near Mint prices.
US vs Europe. The US raw NM price is 2% below the EU trend price converted at the ECB rate (1.1204 USD per EUR, 2026-10-05).
The card's whole set on Cardmarket: market-weighted trend-price index, 100 = 20 Jul 2026 (TCG Index Tracker).
Case study: Rayquaza VMAX alt art up 81%: an out-of-print chase card bid up ahead of new Rayquaza sets
The card drifted from $700 to a low of $655 in mid-February 2026, then rose almost every month: $723 at the end of March, $981 in early June, $1,238 by mid-July and $1,269 now. It rose even while the more famous Umbreon VMAX alt art from the same set was falling.
- Trigger, most likely: demand for Rayquaza ahead of new Rayquaza-focused sets. A July 2026 market newsletter tied the move to the Japanese Storm Emerald set (31 July) and an English counterpart it calls Delta Reign (6 November). It reports raw copies going from $692-898 in March to about $1,150 by mid-July, which matches our series.
- Mechanism: Evolving Skies is out of print, and Misprint notes Pokemon has shown no sign of reprinting it. The supply of raw copies only shrinks as cards are graded or put away, so new demand moves the price.
- Bleeding Cool flagged it as early as December 2025 as a rising card that 'could soon rival Umbreon'. Other out-of-print Sword & Shield alt arts rose too (e.g. Galarian Slowking V alt art +76% in our data).
- Europe: diverges at set level, agrees at card level. Cardmarket's Evolving Skies index (EUR) fell 32% from 20 Jul 2026 to 4 Oct (low on 13 Sep), while this card held flat in US NM (+1.5%). On Cardmarket its 7-day average sell is 9% above the 30-day average. Demand is for this specific chase card, not for the set as a whole.
Lesson. Out-of-print chase cards respond to new demand without a supply response. A fresh catalyst for the same Pokemon (a new set, game or Mega form) can re-rate the old card well before the new one ships.