Though the first generation of games taking place in the Kanto region are the most beloved, people often overlook that Pokemon Gold & Silver were arguably much better games that provided a much more fulfilling and engaging experience. The Johto region introduced fans to new Pokemon as well as new evolutions to creatures people already loved.
Among them were Eevee evolutions Espeon and Umbreon, as well as the metal-coated evolution of Onix named Steelix. Looking back at the trading cards, it’s wild to see which Pokemon cards from the second generation hold the most value.
10 Lugia - Neo Genesis - $335
It feels right that a list about the Johto region is starting with a Lugia card. The Legendary Diving Pokemon was the subject of Pokemon The Movie 2000, a film that captured the interest of kids during what was likely the peak of the Pokemon zeitgeist.
The Neo Genesis card set was released a few months after the premiere of the film, which might explain why the Lugia card in the set looked like a still from it. Those looking to capture a bit of nostalgia will need at least $335 in their bank account upon purchase.
9 Celebi - Crystal Guardians - $350
The Celebi card from Crystal Guardians may be the first of three Celebi cards on this list, but it’s the only one that features the shiny version of the Mythical Pokemon. Most people are familiar with its bright green look, but its shiny form ditches that for shades of red and pink.
At $350 it comes in even with the Unseen Forces card, but the fact that it’s shiny makes it a bit more appealing to collectors. At the end of the day, it comes down to preference when two cards end up having such similar value.
8 Celebi ex - Unseen Forces - $350
Celebi ex is one of two Unseen Forces cards that come in with a value like this, which is impressive for a set primarily comprised of Pokemon from the Johto region. The card sells for $350 and in addition to the value proposition of owning it, it also has some stellar card art showcasing Celebi in all its glory.
Celebi is known as the Time Travel Pokemon, and any average person looking to own any card on this list might need to travel back in time and buy the packs for retail when they originally released.
7 Suicune - Unseen Forces - $350
Outside of Celebi, Suicune happens to be the only other card from the Unseen Forces set to make the top ten featured in this article. Don’t be mistaken though — in addition to Suicune’s card selling for $350, the other two Legendary Beasts, Raikou and Entei, both have cards between $250-$300.
The set overall is home to several valuable Johto region native Pokemon cards and Suicune and Celebi simply happen to be the cream of the crop — a crop that’s bountiful and full of plenty of incredible cards anyone would love to pull.
6 Celebi - Skyridge - $400
Ironically, the most valuable Celebi currently in existence happens to be the one with the worst art on the card. The Skyridge Celebi card is a secret rare in the set, which is a certain type of rarity in the Pokemon TCG that tends to drive up the price of a card.
For this one in particular, it helped it reach a value of $400. Most of Celebi’s most valuable cards hover around the $350-$400 range, which means collectors have a bit of a pickle to sort through when determining which one they should invest in.
5 Houndoom - Skyridge - $500
Houndoom, the Dark- and Fire-type Pokemon from the Johto region is seeing value in both past and modern cards. It’s currently the subject of interest due to it having a secret rare in the latest card set called Battle Styles.
That doesn’t compare to its 2003 card that was released as part of the Skyridge set, which is selling for $500. The art on the card brings the metal vibes to the Pokemon that many people associate it with. A damaged version of the holofoil card sells for more than half of the near mint price at $185.
4 Lugia - Aquapolis Secret Rare - $500
Aquapolis may not sound familiar, but it was one of the premier sets of cards during the e-Card era of the game in Japan. It came out in Japan in mid-2002 and made its way over to North America in early 2003. Though the Lugia secret rare from the set was the only one to make the list, it still has other cards that have retained serious value.
The Lugia secret rare is a beautiful foil card that sells for $500. That puts it at around $200 more than any other card in the set and is good enough to make it the fourth most valuable on this list.
3 Umbreon - POP Series 5 - $1,000
Contrary to what some may assume, the POP Series cards have nothing to do with the collectible figures. The word POP was an abbreviation for the Pokemon Organized Play program. It was a promotional set that was part of the EX series, with the fifth one being the last.
Like the Espeon card that will be talked about later, Umbreon’s card in this set features its shiny version. At a starting price of $1,000, this is easily one of the most expensive pieces of Umbreon merchandise a diehard fan could own.
2 Ho-oh - Skyridge - $1,000
Ho-oh, known as the Rainbow Pokemon, made its debut in the first episode of the anime but was introduced in a real way in Pokemon Gold & Silver. Next to Celebi and Lugia, it serves as one of the three main Legendary/Mythical Pokemon of the Johto region.
Its Skyridge card features some dazzling art of the creature and the near mint version of it goes for around $1,000. Those looking to simply own the card will still need to pay $650 for what is labeled as a lightly-played version of the reverse holofoil version.
1 Espeon - POP Series 5 - $1,200
Espeon is the second POP Series 5 card on this list and by far the rarest and most valuable card among second-generation Pokemon. Normally this card goes for around $1,000-$1,200, but there’s currently only one listed on TCGPlayer and it’s listed for $30,000.
This Espeon card is pretty rare and happens to feature the shiny form of the Pokemon that’s rather alien in appearance. Anyone lucky enough to get their hands on this card should likely look into getting it graded so they could sell it as soon as possible.
NEXT: Pokemon: The 10 Most Valuable Shining Fates Cards
