Est. 1996 · Largest TCG in the world · SIRs, ETBs, SAR · about two years
This is the card manufacturers entry for The Pokémon Company — one of 75 card types rated on appreciation, liquidity, accessibility and risk instead of being given one vague grade.
Appreciation 93 with liquidity 90 is the combination worth looking for: room left to run, and a market deep enough that you could act on a change of mind. It's also the combination that attracts the most competition, which is usually why accessibility is the score that suffers.
Accessibility of 55 means you'll pay somewhat over the sensible number but not absurdly so. Worth watching, because this score moves faster than any of the other three.
Set against the 8 manufacturer card types scored here, its appreciation of 93 ranks 3rd of 8, liquidity 90 ranks 3rd, accessibility 55 ranks 4th, and risk 15 is the 3rd-lowest. The closest thing to it on the numbers is Panini, which scores 92 and 92 on the same two axes — if you're weighing one against the other, the difference is in the reasoning rather than the scores.
Two years gives the situation time to develop past its first impression, which is usually when the price is set by whoever shouted loudest. It also means two years of not touching it, including through the stretch where it looks wrong.
At 15, this is one of the calmer entries in here. Read that as relative: the floor under any card is whatever the next person will pay, and that number can move a long way in a month.
Every entry gets four separate scores instead of one grade, because a single grade hides the thing you needed. Full explanation in the guide: what Kabooms, Downtowns and Color Blasts are worth.
Or browse all card types · how these scores are built