In January 2018, Pokémon Center and Pokémon Store shoppers in Japan who bought five booster packs in one transaction could pick a Pikachu card dressed as the boss of one of seven Pokémon villain teams — Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, Flare or Skull. Same Lightning-type Basic Pikachu, same attack text, seven different team liveries.
Bulbapedia lists all seven under one official name, “Pretend Boss Pikachu” (Japanese: ボスごっこピカチュウ, plus the team name), numbered 191 through 197 in the SM-P Promotional card block. This store’s own listings shorten that to “Boss Pikachu [Team]” — same underlying cards.
This guide covers the full seven-card run, the campaign that distributed them, and the four PSA10-graded team variants covered in detail — Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Team Plasma and Team Skull — all currently listed on our site. Team Aqua and Team Flare are listed as well and covered below; Team Magma exists in the same numbered run but is not currently listed, and sourcing requests for it go through Quick Order.
Pretend Boss Pikachu is a seven-card Japanese promo series (SM-P 191–197), one card per Pokémon villain team, distributed from 20 January 2018 through the “Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition” campaign at Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores for shoppers who bought five booster packs in one transaction. This store currently lists PSA10 graded cards for six of the seven: Team Rocket (SM-P 191) at ¥636,020 (~$4,000) and Team Plasma (SM-P 195) at ¥646,640 (~$4,067), plus Team Galactic and Team Skull below, and Team Aqua (SM-P 192) at ¥519,200 (~$3,265) and Team Flare (SM-P 196) at ¥495,364 (~$3,116). Team Magma is not currently listed.
Prices are this store’s current listed prices as of September 2026, converted at ¥159/USD.
The Pretend Boss Pikachu Promo Series
Bulbapedia’s full official name for this line is “Pretend Boss Pikachu” (Japanese: ボスごっこピカチュウ, plus the team name) — a Lightning-type Basic Pokémon promo, part of the SM-P Promotional card block. All seven team variants share one continuous promo-number run, 191 through 197, per Bulbapedia’s SM-P Promotional cards table:
| No. | Team | Japanese name | On our site |
|---|---|---|---|
| 191/SM-P | Team Rocket | ボスごっこピカチュウ ロケット団 | Listed |
| 192/SM-P | Team Aqua | — | Listed (¥519,200) |
| 193/SM-P | Team Magma | — | Not listed |
| 194/SM-P | Team Galactic | ボスごっこピカチュウ ギンガ団 | Listed |
| 195/SM-P (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | Team Plasma | ボスごっこピカチュウ プラズマ団 | Listed |
| 196/SM-P | Team Flare | — | Listed (¥495,364) |
| 197/SM-P | Team Skull | ボスごっこピカチュウ スカル団 | Listed |
This store lists six of the seven — Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Flare and Team Skull — as individually graded PSA10 cards. Team Magma is not currently listed; sourcing requests for it go through Quick Order. The illustrator credited on Bulbapedia for each of the four variants covered in detail below is Sanosuke Sakuma.
Our Novelty Special-BOX Pikachu Promos guide covers “Pretend Team Skull Pikachu” (SM-P Promo 013) — a different, earlier release from the 2016 Sun & Moon Special Box, tied to its own separate campaign. This article covers the later 2018 “Pretend Boss Pikachu” line (SM-P 191–197), distributed through the Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition campaign. Same naming convention, different characters, different years — don’t mix the two up.
Team Rocket: SM-P 191
Boss Pikachu Team Rocket (SM-P 191, Japanese: ボスごっこピカチュウ ロケット団) is one of the six Pretend Boss Pikachu team variants currently listed on this site as a graded PSA10 card. It’s illustrated by Sanosuke Sakuma and was distributed through the January 2018 Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition campaign alongside the other six team variants. A PSA10 card is currently listed at ¥636,020 (~$4,000).
Team Galactic: SM-P 194
Boss Pikachu Team Galactic (SM-P 194, Japanese: ボスごっこピカチュウ ギンガ団) is illustrated by Sanosuke Sakuma and belongs to the same seven-card Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition run as the other variants on this page. A PSA10 card is currently listed at ¥527,460 (~$3,317).
Team Plasma: SM-P 195
Boss Pikachu Team Plasma (SM-P 195, Japanese: ボスごっこピカチュウ プラズマ団) carries the same Sanosuke Sakuma illustration credit as the rest of the run. A PSA10 card is currently listed at ¥646,640 (~$4,067), the highest of the six team variants this store currently lists.
Team Skull: SM-P 197
Boss Pikachu Team Skull (SM-P 197, Japanese: ボスごっこピカチュウ スカル団) closes out the numbered run at the highest promo number in the run, also illustrated by Sanosuke Sakuma. A PSA10 card is currently listed at ¥552,252 (~$3,473).
How the Series Was Distributed
Bulbapedia’s page for each of the seven cards carries the same distribution note, verbatim: “Starting January 20, 2018 for as long as stocks lasted, customers at participating Pokémon Centers (including the Pokémon Center Online) and Pokémon Stores who purchased five booster packs in one transaction could select to receive 1 of 7 Pretend Boss Pikachu promotional cards.” In other words, this wasn’t a random pack pull — shoppers chose which of the seven team variants they wanted at the register, for as long as that location’s stock of that specific variant lasted.
The seven-team roster lines up with “Team Rainbow Rocket,” the villain-alliance concept from Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, in which former antagonist team leaders and grunts from across the games band together under one banner. The 2018 “Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition” campaign that distributed these promos is themed around that concept, which is why the run spans seven separate villain teams — Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, Flare and Skull — rather than tying to a single game’s cast.
For related Japanese Pikachu promo lines, see our Poncho Pikachu value guide and Mega Tokyo Pikachu promo guide — both cover separate costume-Pikachu campaigns, not this Team Rainbow Rocket run. For how Japanese promo distribution works more broadly, our One Piece promo cards guide and Japanese old-back Pokémon cards guide give wider context on Japanese promo collecting.
Grading and What PSA 10 Means for These Promos
PSA 10 is the top grade PSA issues, reserved for cards judged free of the centring, corner, edge and surface flaws that lower grades allow. For a promo-only card like this one — never sold inside a booster box, never given a widely distributed set-code release — a PSA10 slab is the main way a buyer can verify condition without a set or booster context to compare it against.
All six Boss Pikachu team variants listed on this site are graded PSA10 cards, not raw examples. If you’re comparing a raw card against a slabbed one, check the promo number in the corner first — 191, 192, 194, 195, 196 and 197 are the six this store lists, and the team name printed on the card should match the Japanese name in the table above.
Where to Buy Boss Pikachu Cards from Tokyo
We ship Japanese sealed product and graded singles worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. Six Pretend Boss Pikachu team variants are currently listed as PSA10 graded cards:
Also currently listed: Team Rocket at ¥636,020 (~$4,000), Team Galactic at ¥527,460 (~$3,317), and Team Skull at ¥552,252 (~$3,473). Team Aqua at ¥519,200 (~$3,265) and Team Flare at ¥495,364 (~$3,116) are listed too. Team Magma is not listed on our site at the moment — sourcing requests for it go through Quick Order.
For more PSA10-graded Japanese promos, browse our PSA 10 collection, or add specific cards to a mixed order through Quick Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “Boss Pikachu”?
Boss Pikachu is this store’s shorthand for “Pretend Boss Pikachu,” a seven-card Japanese promo series (SM-P Promotional cards, numbers 191–197) in which the same Lightning-type Basic Pikachu design was reprinted once per Pokémon villain team — Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, Flare and Skull.
How many Boss Pikachu team variants are there, and which ones are listed here?
All seven team variants (SM-P 191–197) exist as one numbered run. This store currently lists six as graded PSA10 cards — Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Flare and Team Skull. Team Magma is not listed at the moment; sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
How was the Boss Pikachu series originally distributed?
Starting 20 January 2018, shoppers at participating Japanese Pokémon Centers, Pokémon Center Online and Pokémon Stores who bought five booster packs in one transaction could choose 1 of the 7 Pretend Boss Pikachu cards, for as long as each location had stock of that variant.
What is Team Rainbow Rocket, and why does it matter for this series?
Team Rainbow Rocket is the villain-alliance concept from Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, uniting former antagonist team leaders and grunts from across the games under one banner. The 2018 “Team Rainbow Rocket’s Ambition” campaign that distributed these promos is themed around that concept, which is why the card run covers seven separate villain teams instead of one.
Where can I buy Boss Pikachu PSA10 cards from Japan?
Six team variants — Rocket, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, Flare and Skull — are currently listed as PSA10 graded cards on this site, shipping from Tokyo with tracked delivery. Use Quick Order to ask about Team Magma or to build a mixed order.
¥500 off, on us
- ¥500 off one order of ¥30,000 or more
- +1% extra points on that order
- One coupon per account
Sign in or create an account to claim · One use per account · One coupon per order · Not valid on pre-order items · Ends Sep 24, 2026, 23:59 JST · Import duties, taxes and customs charges are not included in the price and are collected on delivery, except for destinations we ship duty-paid.
Picked for this article
📩 Get member-only sale alerts & coupons
Sale alerts, coupons and restock notices by email — straight from Tokyo.
