Issue 16 · 7 min
Special-set vs main-set split
Jul 13, 2026
- Market
Main-set Pitch Black enters early/presale window
TPC — Official tcg.pokemon.com · Source
Special-set Elite Trainer Boxes held while Pitch Black printed early clears and presale heat into a mid-July street. Bifurcation — special-set money versus main-set supply — not one tape.
How the market was
Mid-July splits the tape. Ascended Heroes ETBs still around ~$171. Black Bolt / White Flare sealed around the Jul 16 window printed about ~$151–183.
Pitch Black ETBs showed early clears/presale around ~$100 into a ~Jul 17 street. Issues 14–16 are early/presale framing only for Pitch Black live.
Week over week vs Issue 15: CR cool story yields to special vs main-set bifurcation. No Celebration.
Black Bolt / White Flare sealed around the Jul 16 window
TPC — Official tcg.pokemon.com · Source
Pitch Black ETB — early clears / presale only (pre–Jul 17)
TPC — Official tcg.pokemon.com · Source
Week movers
- Pokémon — Ascended Heroes ETB — ~$171. Confidence high.
- Pokémon — Black Bolt / White Flare — Jul 16 ~$151–183. Confidence high.
- Pokémon — Pitch Black ETB — Early ~$100 (pre/~Jul 17) — early clears/presale only.
- Our read — Special-set money vs main-set supply story starting.
Week over week
vs Issue 15 (First sustained CR BB cool): Bifurcation special vs main-set.
Worth watching
- Ascended Heroes ETB
- Black Bolt / White Flare sealed
- Pitch Black ETB (early)
Note
Issues 14–16 are early/presale framing only for Pitch Black live. This Monday’s Pitch Black ETB is early clears/presale (pre–Jul 17), not live supply. No Celebration set.