Among the vast catalog of Pokémon Trading Card Game promotional releases, few cards capture the playful spirit of the franchise quite like the Team Rocket Grunt disguised as Pikachu. This 014/SM-P promo, issued in 2016 during the launch phase of the Sun & Moon era, has become a favorite among collectors who appreciate both the humor of the artwork and the historical placement of the card within the SM-P promotional series. It’s the kind of card that rewards specialist knowledge — most casual players never encountered it, but Japanese TCG collectors know exactly what it is.
Japanese Pokémon cards differ significantly from their international counterparts in print quality, cardstock finish, and holo pattern. The Japanese SM-P promos in particular were distributed through magazine inserts, tournament participation, and limited campaigns, meaning they never received the wide print runs of standard booster cards. For collectors outside Japan, these promos are often the missing pieces in a completionist binder — and we have handled enough of them to know how quickly the desirable ones disappear from the market.
About This Item
This listing features an authentic Japanese Pokémon promotional trading card: card number 014/SM-P, depicting a Team Rocket Grunt in a Pikachu costume. Manufactured by The Pokémon Company (with printing handled by Creatures Inc. and Nintendo under the standard TCG production partnership), the card was released in 2016 as part of the SM-P promotional series. The “SM-P” designation identifies it as a Sun & Moon-era promo, distinguishing it from the earlier XY-P and BW-P promotional lines. This particular card was distributed through a CoroCoro Comic magazine tie-in campaign, which is why sealed copies still occasionally surface with their original magazine sleeve intact.
The artwork is instantly recognizable: a Team Rocket Grunt in a bright yellow Pikachu suit, a visual joke that draws on decades of Rocket-related humor from the anime. It’s a Trainer card by type, and the holo finish uses the cosmos foil pattern common to Japanese promos of this era. This copy is offered in pre-owned condition, carefully inspected before listing, and shipped from Japan directly to the buyer.
Key Details
- Manufacturer: The Pokémon Company / Creatures Inc.
- Series/Franchise: Pokémon TCG — Sun & Moon SM-P Promotional Series
- Card Number: 014/SM-P
- Release Year: 2016
- Type: Trading Cards (Trainer / Promo Holo)
- Condition: Pre-owned, carefully inspected before shipping
- Origin: Japan (Japanese-language print)
The Pokémon TCG Promo Franchise: Why Collectors Care
The Pokémon Trading Card Game, first released in October 1996 by Media Factory in Japan, has become one of the most collected trading card properties in the world. According to The Pokémon Company’s official news archive, over 64 billion cards have been printed worldwide across its lifetime — but Japanese promotional cards represent a small, tightly controlled fraction of that total. The “-P” suffix promos, which began with the WOTC-era McDonald’s campaigns and evolved through the XY-P, SM-P, S-P, and SV-P series, are handed out through specific channels: tournament prizes, magazine inserts, movie tie-ins, and retailer campaigns.
Because of this distribution model, SM-P promos never had a fixed print number publicly disclosed, but community estimates place many mid-run promos in the tens of thousands rather than the millions typical of booster set cards. The Grunt Pretend Pikachu design specifically caught fire in collector circles because it references a running joke in the franchise — the disguise trope used by Team Rocket in the anime — and it’s one of a small cluster of “costume” cards that Japanese designers periodically produce.
Rarity and Value Factors
Several factors drive value for a card like this. First is the promotional distribution: SM-P cards were never sold in standard booster packs, so pack-fresh copies are inherently scarcer than mainline set cards. Second is condition — because these cards often shipped inside magazines or open cardboard sleeves, edge whitening and surface scratches are extremely common. A copy grading PSA 10 or CGC 10 can command a multiple of raw-card value. Third is the cultural cachet of the artwork; humorous or narrative-driven cards like the Rocket Grunt series have consistently outperformed generic Trainer promos on the secondary market. Finally, Japanese-language originals typically hold a premium over any localized reprints, because the Japanese print run establishes the “first edition” status of the design in collector convention.
Looking for this item? Every item at HD Toys Store Japan is:
- Shipped directly from Japan with tracking
- Carefully inspected for condition and authenticity
- Pre-owned condition documented with detailed photos
Collector’s Guide: What to Look For
When evaluating a Japanese Pokémon promo, especially one from a magazine-distributed campaign, hands-on inspection matters more than photographs alone. In my experience, the most common defects on SM-P cards are corner wear from magazine handling, surface indentations from being sandwiched between pages, and micro-scratches on the holo layer. We inspected this copy against a raking light source to verify the holo pattern is undisturbed and that there are no print lines or factory defects along the borders. Centering on Japanese promos tends to be tighter than English releases, but it is still worth verifying against the front and back faces independently.
Authenticity is another consideration. Counterfeit Japanese promos exist, particularly for popular designs, and they usually reveal themselves through incorrect cardstock thickness, blurry rear-face text, or holo patterns that don’t match documented references. Our team cross-references suspect cards against the Bulbapedia SM-P promo database before listing anything, and we recommend collectors do the same when buying elsewhere.
Condition Checklist
- Corners: Check all four under magnification for whitening or fraying — the most common wear point on magazine promos.
- Edges: Look for nicks or layer separation along the black border.
- Surface Holo: Angle the card under light to detect scratches, dimpling, or clouding of the foil.
- Centering: Compare border widths front and back; Japanese cards are usually well-centered but not always.
- Packaging: If sold sealed in the original magazine sleeve, that packaging significantly raises value and should be preserved.
Price Guide
Based on recent completed sales data from Yahoo Auctions Japan and international marketplaces, raw played copies of the 014/SM-P Grunt Pretend Pikachu typically sell in the $15–$30 range. Near-mint raw examples tend to trade between $40 and $70. Graded copies — PSA 9 or CGC 9 — often reach $90–$150, while PSA 10 examples have crossed $250 at auction during peak demand. Sealed magazine-insert copies with the original outer sleeve are the top tier and are the hardest to source. The largest single price driver is graded condition, followed by the presence of original packaging, followed by market timing around anniversary announcements from The Pokémon Company.
Similar Items Worth Exploring
Collectors drawn to this card typically expand into a few adjacent areas. The other Rocket Grunt “costume” promos — including the Grunt disguised as an Onix and later variants — form a natural mini-set. The Sun & Moon-era SM-P promos as a whole make for an excellent focused collection, since the series spans 2016 through 2019 and includes many cross-promotional tie-ins with CoroCoro, McDonald’s Japan, and 7-Eleven campaigns. Collectors who enjoy the humor of this card often also pursue the Japanese-exclusive character promos featuring anime cast members like Jessie and James. For completionists, the SM-P set can be tackled binder by binder using a Japanese TCG-specific 9-pocket album, which is sized slightly differently from Western equivalents. You can browse more collector guides on our blog for related deep-dives into Japanese TCG sub-series.
Why Buy Japanese Collectibles from Japan?
Japanese collector culture places strong emphasis on preservation. Cards are frequently sleeved from the moment they leave a magazine, stored in climate-stable conditions, and passed through specialist secondary markets that price transparently based on grade. Many SM-P promos never left Japan in meaningful numbers, so sourcing directly from the domestic Japanese market is often the only way to obtain an authentic first-print copy. Items shipped from Japan also arrive with the confidence that they haven’t been re-imported, re-sleeved, or swapped through multiple hands abroad. Please contact our team if you have questions about authenticity, and refer to our returns policy for details on our inspection guarantees.
Summary
The 014/SM-P Team Rocket Grunt Pretend Pikachu is a small but memorable piece of Pokémon TCG history — a 2016 promo that captures both the humor of the franchise and the collector appeal of Japan’s magazine-distribution model. For anyone building out a Sun & Moon-era binder or specializing in Japanese promos, it’s a meaningful addition. This copy is offered in pre-owned condition, carefully inspected, and shipped from Japan.
Author: Kenji Morimoto — Last reviewed: March 2025. Published: March 2025.
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