Pokémon 151 Set Guide: Chase Cards, Kadabra, and Value

Pokémon 151 (SV3.5 in English, SV2a in Japan) is the set that needed no pitch: every one of the original 151 Kanto Pokémon, in National Pokédex order, with modern ex mechanics and some of the best illustration rares of the Scarlet & Violet era. It released September 22, 2023 in English and has been one of the strongest-selling special sets since — with prices that have held better than almost anything else from 2023.

Set structure and card count

The English set runs 165 cards in the main numbering, then climbs to 207 with secret rares: illustration rares (IRs), ultra rares, special illustration rares (SIRs), and gold hyper rares. The design conceit is clean — cards 1–151 are the Kanto dex in order, Bulbasaur to Mew, which makes this the most binder-friendly set of the modern era. A completed 1–151 run in dex order is genuinely satisfying to page through.

The nostalgia hooks are everywhere: the ex cards target Base Set icons (Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Alakazam, Zapdos), Poké Ball and Master Ball foil treatments in the Japanese release, and art direction that leans hard on Kanto scenery.

Kadabra returns

The quiet headline: card 64/165 is Kadabra's first printing since 2003. Uri Geller's legal objection kept the Pokémon off cards for twenty years, and when he withdrew it in 2020, 151 became the homecoming set. The base Kadabra is not an expensive card — a couple of dollars — but it's a genuine piece of TCG history, and clean copies get graded purely for the story. If you pull one, sleeve it.

The chase cards

Raw near-mint prices, as of mid-2026:

Card	Number	Raw price	Notes
Charizard ex SIR	199/165	$140–170	The set's face; PSA 10s run $350+
Erika's Invitation SIR	203/165	$90–120	Best trainer art of the SV era for many
Mew ex (gold)	205/165	$70–90	Gold hyper rare of the set mascot
Blastoise ex SIR	200/165	$60–80	Big turtle, big nostalgia
Venusaur ex SIR	198/165	$45–60	Trails the trio as always
Alakazam ex SIR	201/165	$40–55	Great art, steady climber
Zapdos ex SIR	202/165	$35–50	Underrated painterly piece
Charmander IR	168/165	$30–40	The campfire Charmander; iconic already
Mew IR	193/165	$25–35	Everyone's binder wants it
Pikachu IR	173/165	$20–30	Cheap for a Pikachu chase, oddly

The IR slot is deep in this set — Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Snorlax, and Dragonair IRs all hold $10–25. That depth is why 151 boxes keep their price: there are very few dead packs.

Pull-rate feel

151 sold in special-set format only — no standard booster boxes in English. Booster bundles, ETBs, Ultra-Premium Collections, and the Poké Ball/Alakazam ex collections. Pull rates feel typical for SV special sets: IRs come out at a decent clip, SIRs are genuinely tough, and the Charizard ex SIR is a "few per case" card. Expect an ETB to give you two or three IR-or-better hits on an average day, and expect to rip a lot of cardboard before you see 199/165.

English vs Japanese: the value gap

This is where 151 gets interesting for value hunters. Japanese SV2a released June 2023 with 165 + secret rares up to 210, including Poké Ball reverse foils and the Master Ball foil parallel — one Master Ball foil per box, and those parallels (Master Ball Charizard, Mew, Eeveelutions) are chase cards in their own right.

Japanese boxes cost roughly half of equivalent English product per pack, print quality is a notch better, and the same SIR arts run 30–50% cheaper as singles. The tradeoff is resale ceiling — English graded cards command higher prices in Western markets. The full dynamics are in our Japanese vs English value guide, but the short version: rip Japanese for fun and hit rate, hold English slabs for appreciation.

Singles or packs?

As of mid-2026, sealed 151 trades well above its 2023 retail — booster bundles that were $27 now fetch $50+, and the UPC roughly doubled. That makes ripping expensive: you're paying collector prices for lottery tickets. If you want the Charizard ex SIR, $150 on the single beats $300 of bundles and a prayer.

The exception is set building. Because the IR pool is deep and commons are dex-ordered, working through sealed product toward a 1–151 master set is one of the more enjoyable rips in the hobby. If that's the project, scan your pulls with Cardemon as you go — the set checklist fills itself in and you can watch the completion percentage climb instead of cross-referencing a spreadsheet.

Grading notes

The SIRs and the gold Mew are the only strong grading candidates, plus story cards like Kadabra. SV-era texturing hides surface wear but 151 centering was inconsistent, especially on IRs. Check the centering guide before submitting, and weigh the fees against the PSA 9 vs 10 spread — on a $150 card, a 9 barely breaks even.

Verdict

151 is the best special set of the SV era and the market agrees. It has the strongest theme, the deepest chase pool, and genuine historical significance in Kadabra. Buy singles for the big SIRs, consider Japanese product for the ripping itch, and if you're building the dex-ordered master set — that's the point of this one. Few modern sets are this obviously built to be completed.