Most Underrated Pokémon Cards to Grade in 2026

3 November 2025

Everyone knows to grade the Charizards and the Umbreon alt arts. But some of the best grading opportunities right now are cards that haven't caught the mainstream collector's attention yet.

Trainer Gallery Cards

The Trainer Gallery subsets from Brilliant Stars, Astral Radiance, Lost Origin, Silver Tempest, and Crown Zenith are genuinely undervalued. The character rares showing Pokémon with their trainers are beautiful cards with growing collector appeal. Many can be picked up raw for £5 to £15, and graded 10 copies are starting to sell for £30 to £60. The margins work if you buy smartly.

Japanese Art Rares From Recent Sets

Japanese special art rares from sets that haven't been released in English (or where the English version looks different) fly under the radar. The print quality is typically better, meaning higher grade rates, and the artwork is often more striking than the English equivalents.

Galarian Gallery Cards

Similar to Trainer Gallery but from the Galarian era. These character rare cards have distinctive artwork that stands out from standard set cards. They're currently cheap enough that grading makes financial sense even on modest cards.

Radiant Collection Cards

The Radiant Pokémon cards (Radiant Charizard, Radiant Eevee, Radiant Greninja etc.) are affordable, popular, and grade well because they're typically in good condition straight from the pack. Radiant Charizard in particular has quiet demand that keeps growing.

Older Ex Era Cards

Cards from the Ruby and Sapphire through to Diamond and Pearl era (roughly 2003 to 2010) are in a sweet spot. They're old enough to be scarce in high grades but haven't yet seen the price explosion that Base Set cards have. Gold Star cards get the most attention, but regular ex cards from this period in high grades are genuinely undervalued compared to their rarity.

Full Art Supporters

Full art trainer/supporter cards from Sword and Shield and Scarlet and Violet don't get the same attention as full art Pokémon, but certain ones have dedicated followings. Characters like Cynthia, Professor's Research (Professor Oak variant), and popular gym leaders have collector demand that shows up in graded prices.