A Pikachu dressed as a Team Skull grunt was never sold in a booster pack. It came in a box, alongside a deck case and 64 sleeves, and only two promo cards were guaranteed inside — this was one of them.
The Pretend Team Skull Pikachu, card number 013/SM-P, is a Japan-exclusive full art promo tied to a single December 2016 retail box. It never had an English release, it was never part of a mainline expansion, and the print run was capped by how many of those boxes shipped — not by pack odds. If you’re trying to identify a copy, work out what it’s worth, or just understand why this particular Pikachu costume print keeps turning up in Japanese promo discussions, this guide covers what’s actually documented about it.
The Pretend Team Skull Pikachu (013/SM-P) was one of exactly two exclusive promo cards bundled inside the Japan-only “Sun & Moon Special Box Pretend Grunt Pikachu,” released December 17, 2016. It has never been printed in English. We currently list a PSA10 copy at ¥2,358,700 (~$14,834) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order).
Price is our own current listing as of September 2026, converted at ¥159/USD. This is a listing-price anchor for a PSA10 example, not a market survey.
What Is the Pretend Team Skull Pikachu Promo?
The card’s English-catalogue name is “Pretend Team Skull Pikachu,” and its Japanese name translates to the same idea — Pikachu playing dress-up as a member of Team Skull, the villainous team introduced in the Pokémon Sun & Moon video games in 2016. It’s a Basic Pokémon, Lightning type, 60 HP, rendered as a holographic full art with no white border, and it was illustrated by Kouki Saitou.
The quick reference details:
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Card number | 013/SM-P |
| HP | 60 |
| Type | Lightning |
| Stage | Basic Pokémon |
| Treatment | Holographic full art |
| Illustrator | Kouki Saitou |
| Language | Japanese only — never released in English |
Because it was never printed for the English market, most collectors outside Japan only encounter it through import listings or promo-card reference guides such as our SM-P promo family guide, which covers the wider run of Sun & Moon-era Japanese promos this card belongs to.
The 2016 Box: Sun & Moon Special Box “Pretend Grunt Pikachu”
013/SM-P didn’t come from a booster pack. It shipped inside the “Sun & Moon Special Box Pretend Grunt Pikachu” (なりきり!ピカチュウ), a Japan-only retail box released on December 17, 2016.
The box’s contents were fixed, not randomized at the card level:
- Two exclusive promo cards — this Pretend Team Skull Pikachu, and a second “Pretend Grunt” Pikachu promo whose exact card number isn’t confirmed in our sourcing, so we won’t guess at it here.
- 64 card sleeves themed to the box.
- A matching deck case.
- Three packs each of Collection Sun (SM1S) and Collection Moon (SM1M), the two Japanese sets that launched the Sun & Moon era.
Every box shipped with both promos included. There’s no pull rate to quote here — the scarcity comes from how many boxes were produced and sold in December 2016, not from booster odds.
This distribution model — a themed retail box tied to the video game’s antagonist faction, sold once and not repeated — is why the card only exists in the quantity that box run allowed.
How to Identify a Genuine 013/SM-P
Three things confirm you’re looking at the right card: the SM-P promo stamp with the number 013, the holographic full-art treatment with no white border, and the Team Skull costume design on Pikachu rather than a plain or festival outfit. Since it was never localized, any copy with English text is not this card — it will always be Japanese-language only.
For visual comparison, here are two other Japanese Pikachu promos illustrated in the same broad style era, so you can see how full-art promo treatments varied card to card:
Both of those are different cards from different boxes and events — useful for spotting the family resemblance in promo-era full art design, not for identifying 013/SM-P itself. If you want the broader lineup of Pikachu promos across eras, our top Pikachu Japanese cards guide and Ash Pikachu promo guide cover several of the surrounding Sun & Moon-era prints.
What a PSA10 Copy Is Worth Today
A PSA10 copy of the Pretend Team Skull Pikachu is currently listed at ¥2,358,700 (~$14,834 at ¥159/USD) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order). Treat this as an anchor for what a graded example is priced at on our listing, not as a survey of the broader secondary market — we don’t track or cite third-party marketplace listings for this card.
A few factors sit behind that number: it’s a Japan-exclusive promo with no English counterpart to draw comparison from, it was distributed once through a single retail box in 2016, and Team Skull-themed Pikachu prints are a recognisable niche within Sun & Moon-era promo collecting. None of that guarantees future pricing in either direction — it simply explains why this particular print sits where it does relative to other SM-P promos.
Why This Print Stays Scarce
Three structural facts keep the supply of this card fixed rather than growing:
- One box, one country. The Sun & Moon Special Box Pretend Grunt Pikachu was a Japan-only retail product sold for a limited window starting December 17, 2016. There was no international version.
- No English print exists. Unlike many Japanese promos that eventually get a reprint or an English-market equivalent, 013/SM-P has stayed Japanese-only.
- Fixed box contents, not a pack chase. Because both promos shipped in every box, the ceiling on supply is simply how many boxes were manufactured and sold — there’s no ongoing pack-opening pipeline that could add more copies to the market over time.
For the broader context of how Japanese promo boxes like this one compare to other exclusive-card distributions, see our PSA10 Japanese promo cards guide and best Japanese promo cards roundup.
Where to Find the Team Skull Pikachu Promo
Because this card only ever shipped in one 2016 Japanese box, availability comes down to whatever graded or raw copies are currently changing hands. We ship graded Japanese promo cards worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery.
You can view the current listing directly on the PSA10 Pretend Team Skull Pikachu product page (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order), browse the wider promo family in our SM-P promo hub, or use our Quick Order page if you’re building a mixed order of Japanese promos and sealed product.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Pretend Team Skull Pikachu promo card?
It’s card number 013/SM-P, a Japanese holographic full art promo showing Pikachu dressed as a Team Skull grunt from the Pokémon Sun & Moon video games. It was illustrated by Kouki Saitou and distributed only through a 2016 Japanese retail box.
How rare is the SM-P 013 Pikachu?
It was a guaranteed insert — one of exactly two exclusive promo cards included in every “Sun & Moon Special Box Pretend Grunt Pikachu,” released December 17, 2016. Scarcity comes from the limited box production run, not from pack odds.
Was this card ever released in English?
No. The Pretend Team Skull Pikachu has only ever been printed in Japanese, as part of the Japan-exclusive SM-P promo box release.
What was the companion promo in the same box?
The same “Sun & Moon Special Box Pretend Grunt Pikachu” included a second exclusive Pikachu promo alongside 013/SM-P. Its exact card number isn’t confirmed in our sourcing, so we don’t state one.
How much is a PSA10 Pretend Team Skull Pikachu worth?
We currently list a PSA10 copy at ¥2,358,700 (about $14,834 at ¥159/USD). This reflects our own listing rather than a broader market average.
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