Why 151 Will Stand the Test of Time
151 is out of print, opened every day, and trading flat while vintage takes the headlines. The supply math, the six-deep chase list, and what happened to Celebrations and Evolving Skies once their shelves cleared.
By Chase Society Desk
This week's pick probably won't surprise many of you.
We're going with 151.
Almost three years after its September 2023 release, it's still one of the most iconic Pokemon sets we've seen in the modern era. Bringing back all 151 original Pokemon was always going to resonate with collectors, and we think that's exactly why demand has remained so strong. Whether it's Charizard, Pikachu, the starters, Mewtwo, or Mew, almost every collector has a reason to come back to this set.
So why are we talking about it this week?
Over the past month, we've watched a lot of the attention shift toward vintage products and the upcoming Mega era. Meanwhile, 151 has been consolidating while attention was elsewhere. The prices haven't changed much, but the story behind the set hasn't changed either.
It's out of print. Collectors continue opening it every day. And the supply only moves in one direction from here.
That's exactly the kind of setup we like paying attention to.
Why We Keep Coming Back
When we think about 151, we don't think it's a set that ever had to prove itself.
From the moment Pokemon announced a set built around the original 151 Pokemon, we knew collectors would love it. Nearly everyone has a favorite somewhere in this checklist, whether it's Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Pikachu, Mew, or one of the many other Gen 1 Pokemon that built this hobby.
What we like most is that the demand doesn't revolve around a single card.
We've talked before about how some of our favorite sets spread demand across multiple chase cards instead of relying on one huge hit. We saw that with Fusion Strike. We saw it with Prismatic Evolutions. And we think 151 might be the best example of all.
Charizard collectors want in. So do the starter collectors, the Pikachu faithful, and the Mew chasers.
When so many different collector bases are chasing the same product, we think that's a recipe for long-term demand.
The Chase Cards
Out of Print Changes the Story
And the board above is only scratching the surface.
Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Erika's Invitation, and several other Illustration Rares continue holding impressive value. We don't think collectors are opening 151 for just one card. They're opening it because so many of the Pokemon inside already have decades of history behind them.
That's a very different type of demand than we see in most modern sets. And we think this is where things get really interesting.
151 is no longer being printed.
That means every Elite Trainer Box (ETB), Booster Bundle, Ultra-Premium Collection, and Pokemon Center ETB opened today permanently reduces the available supply.
We've also watched what this does to prices once the shelves clear. The Celebrations ETB went from $242 to $488 over the last six months. The Evolving Skies ETB nearly doubled in a year, $310 to $602. Hidden Fates is up 41% over that same year. All three were out of print with demand that never left. Sound familiar?
At the same time, we still see breakers opening 151 every single day across Whatnot, TikTok, Fanatics Live, and local card shops. The Charizard chase hasn't slowed down, and neither has the demand for the starter Illustration Rares.
For us, that's the combination worth watching.
Demand continues showing up while supply keeps getting smaller.
What Sealed Looks Like Today
One thing we've always liked about 151 is how many different sealed products collectors can choose from.
Whether you prefer Booster Bundles, Elite Trainer Boxes, Ultra-Premium Collections, or the Pokemon Center ETB, each product has developed its own collector base.
Those aren't prices we normally associate with a set that's less than three years old. To us, they're another reminder of how much collectors continue valuing 151.
A Month of Sideways
What really caught our attention over the past month wasn't a huge breakout.
It was the opposite.
While vintage products grabbed most of the headlines, 151 went sideways without the spotlight. The Elite Trainer Box has moved about 1% over the last 30 days, and the Charizard ex SIR is off about 3% in the same window. The one product that actually slipped is the Ultra-Premium Collection, down 13% on the month.
We actually like seeing that kind of calm, because the fundamentals underneath the set haven't changed.
It's still out of print.
Collectors are still opening it every day.
The chase cards are still some of the most recognizable in modern Pokemon.
And every sealed product opened today is one less sealed product available tomorrow.
Why It's Our Pick
The best long-term Pokemon sets usually have a few things in common. They feature iconic characters, multiple chase cards, and collector demand that lasts long after release. We think 151 checks every one of those boxes, and it has something that very few sets can ever recreate.
The original 151 Pokemon.
We honestly don't know when 151 makes its next move. Maybe it's next month. Maybe it's six months from now.
What we do know is that the reasons we loved this set on day one haven't changed. It still has one of the deepest chase lists in the modern era, it still appeals to almost every type of collector, and now it does all of that as an out-of-print product with sealed supply slowly getting smaller every day.
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