Pokémon 30th Anniversary Jirachi Card Price Explodes After Tragic Death

Published Sep 25, 2026, 11:40 AM EDT Patricia is the former editor-in-chief of Kotaku, where she spent a decade writing and editing. Prior to that, she served as the Culture Editor at Polygon, and as a reporter at The Verge. Hernandez specializes in Pokémon TCG, Nintendo, and offbeat internet culture stories. Avery The Poke Kid has raised awareness of a Special Illustration Rare card in the Pokémon 30th Anniversary set Image: The Pokemon Company For people who buy and sell Pokémon cards, the period right after a set releases is a chaotic one. Prices for illustration cards move in unpredictable ways, but the trend is almost always downward. Such has been the case for chase cards from the Pokémon 30th Anniversary trading card set — with one notable, unexpected exception. Within the span of a few days, the average asking price for the Jirachi ex Special Illustration Rare card has nearly doubled. Why is the Pokémon 30th Anniversary Jirachi card suddenly so popular? The reason is a sad one. Earlier in September, news broke that 12-year-old Pokémon influencer Avery The Poke Kid passed away after a prolonged fight against cancer. Avery's cheerful attitude, despite his trying circumstances, made him a beloved figure in the Pokémon community. Avery often featured in content where he encouraged people to cherish the cards they had, regardless of value. He also reminded people about the importance of living life to the fullest — and he did so in between chemotherapy sessions and surgeries. Prior to passing away on Sept. 18, Avery's parents recorded a final video of him opening one more Pokémon pack. Much to his delight, the last pack he ever opened contained the Jirachi ex #155 card, illustrated by Akira Egawa. The bittersweet pack opening went viral, in part due to the significance of the card Avery pulled. Image: Akira Egawa/The Pokemon Company Jirachi is a legendary from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and he's known for granting wishes. According to Jirachi's Pokédex entries, the Metal/Psychic Pokémon spends a thousand years in a deep slumber. It awakens for only a single week, during which it makes three dreams come true. Then the legendary goes back to sleep — but rumor has it that he can be awakened by those who are pure of heart. In other words, the spirit of Jirachi made the legendary a fitting final pull for Avery. That happenstance, along with a heartfelt response by card artist Akira Egawa, helped the story spread across major news outlets and influencers. In turn, awareness of the card has been raised across the board. Demand has since grown for the card, based on marketplaces like TCGPlayer and eBay. How much does the Jirachi 30th SiR cost now? On Sept. 17, a day after the 30th Anniversary set was released, the Jirachi card had a market price of $81. By Sept. 23, less than a week after Avery passed away, that price blew up to around $118 (or 45%). That's the average. Some Jirachi cards on TCGPlayer have sold between $140 and $198, depending on condition and centering. Normally, price changes are difficult to attribute to any singular source. Most fans agree, however, that Avery is the force behind the sudden card interest. Many outright say they bought the card due to Avery, or call the illustration card Avery's Jirachi. Unfortunately, the price boom hasn't entirely been positive. In one egregious instance, an eBay user tried to use Avery's name to sell the Jirachi card for $20,000. The listing has since been pulled down. "Avery possessed a rare generosity of spirit," reads Avery's obituary. "He gave cards and gifts to other children, brought happiness into hospital rooms, and used his own journey to bring hope to families walking through difficult seasons of their own. He never wanted the world to feel sorry for him. He wanted the world to share in his joy."