Issue 03 · 7 min
Main-set soft vs special-set money
Apr 13, 2026
- Market
Special-set money vs softer main set
The Pokémon Company International / Gamespress · Source
Macro week more than a clean SKU tape. Perfect Order read soft versus Ascended Heroes / Prismatic money. Prefer that bifurcation over an “older chase cooling” headline — ASC is still climbing in the weeks around this Monday, and forced movers would be invention.
How the market was
Not every Monday hands you a sealed-average table. This one is mostly light/medium: ICv2 macro context around Apr 13, no clean SKU week-over-week table. The honest frame is structural — main-set soft versus special-set money — not a fabricated cooling band on older chase.
Ascended Heroes and Prismatic stay the special-set lane with depth worth watching. Softer main-set product (Perfect Order in the cold open) is the contrast row. Speculative thin prints get demoted the same way Issue 02 taught: spike ≠ book.
Week over week vs Issue 02: no clean SKU week-over-week to print. Light editorial only — don’t invent a cooling band to fill the hole.
Main-set soft lane
The Pokémon Company International / Gamespress · Source
Keep the bifurcation visual — special-set ETB lane
The Pokémon Company International / Gamespress · Source
Week movers
- Pokémon — Frame — Prefer “main-set soft vs special-set money” over “older chase cooling.” Confidence mostly light/medium.
- Pokémon — Macro — ICv2 Apr 13 context; no clean SKU week-over-week table this week.
- Our read — Light editorial on forced movers — don’t invent a cooling band.
Week over week
vs Issue 02 (Thin spikes ≠ depth): SAR heat week → macro bifurcation week without a clean SKU table. Stay light.
Worth watching
- ASC / special-set sealed still with depth
- Softer main-set product
- Speculative thin prints — demote
Note
Mostly a light week — no SKU price bands for this Monday. No Celebration set.