Carbink and Diancie: Kalos Stone Twins Before Legends Z-A
By Dexhaul Team · October 1, 2026
Two Pokémon, same Fairy/Rock typing, same Kalos origin: one is a cave encounter you can find on any playthrough; the other is a Mythical distributed only through official events.
Carbink (#703) and Diancie (#719) are more closely linked than their separate Pokédex entries suggest. With Carbink confirmed in Pokémon Legends: Z-A as a Lumiose City native and the game 15 days away (October 16), right now is the practical window to collect either character before search interest moves to the game.
Here is the full price map for both, plus a collector's insight that most guides miss.
The Bond That No Game Has Fully Explained
Carbink's Pokédex entries describe a rare mutation: a Carbink can spontaneously transform into Diancie.
The mechanic has never been implemented: no in-game trigger, no held item, no friendship threshold. Diancie was distributed as an event Pokémon starting in 2014, not evolved from anything. The transformation remains lore only across all of Gen 6, 7, 8, and 9.
That gap matters for collectors. Carbink is a common cave encounter; Diancie is a Mythical with limited distribution history, an identical type combination, nearly identical coloring, and an origin story the franchise has never followed through on. The two are collected along completely different tracks and at completely different price levels.
Carbink: The Plush Is the Ceiling
Carbink has three plush tiers in the current market.
The entry point is the Pokémon Fit from Pokémon Center Japan at $18.00. It is the standard palm-sized sitting pose that covers most Pokémon in the Fit line, accurate to Carbink's round gem-encrusted body shape.
The mid-tier is the Sanei All Star Collection at $35.99 (pictured above), a 7-inch format with more detailed gem facets and a firmer fill than the Fit line.
The premium tier is the Pokémon Center Sitting Cuties at $51.14, and this is where Carbink's collecting profile becomes unusual. For most Pokémon at this depth of the Pokédex, the TCG ceiling sits well above the plush ceiling. For Carbink, the opposite is true: the Sitting Cuties costs more than any Carbink card currently available.
Carbink TCG: From Bulk to Above-Ceiling
The standard Carbink TCG range runs from $0.20 (Carbink 108/196, Sword and Shield Lost Origin) through $4.99 for the XY Roaring Skies Rare, then the Carbink BREAK 51/124 from Steam Siege at approximately CA$5.00.
The structural ceiling is the Carbink 242/217 Illustration Rare from ME: Ascended Heroes, currently available at $6.00. That card number tells you exactly where it sits: 242 in a set with a 217-card base, meaning it carries the above-ceiling designation the ME series uses for its secret rare tier, the same structural position as above-ceiling numbered cards in VSTAR Universe.
The Carbink IR at $6 is the only above-ceiling Carbink card currently available, and it still comes in below all three plush tiers. For the TCG floor, Lost Origin gets you there for $0.20; for the highest-rarity card in the current market, $6 covers it.
Diancie and Mega Diancie: A Wider TCG Arc
Diancie's TCG range opens near Carbink's: Vivid Voltage 079/185 at $0.35 to $2.22, and the Generations Radiant Collection RC22/RC32 at $6.95 to $7.00.
The EN promo ceiling is Diancie-EX XY43, a Black Star Promo Holo distributed in event kits during the XY era. It trades at $12.00 to CA$12.99 and represents the highest-value non-Mega Diancie card in the current English catalogue.
Mega Diancie is where the product map expands significantly. Mega Diancie was the first Mythical Pokémon to receive a Mega Evolution in the mainline games, introduced in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (2014). The TCG caught up through the ME series.
The cheapest in-stock Mega Diancie ex is the ME02 Phantasmal Flames double rare (041/094) at $1.44 to $2.00. That is one of the cheapest Mega Evolution TCG cards available anywhere in the current catalogue, and it covers the ME series debut for the character.
For the sealed product tier, the Mega Diancie ex Battle Deck spans $20.00 to $29.00 depending on the seller. This is the only current sealed format that puts Mega Diancie ex at the center of the product.
Note that the Mega Gengar/Diancie ex Battle Deck pairs both characters, meaning Diancie is not the sole focus. If you want a Diancie-exclusive sealed product, the standalone Mega Diancie ex Battle Deck runs $20.00 to $30.00 from individual sellers.
The Shared Above-Ceiling Structure
One detail worth noting for collectors tracking the ME arc: Carbink 242/217 and Mega Diancie ex 267/217 both appear in ME: Ascended Heroes as above-ceiling numbered cards.
In a set with 217 base cards, 242 and 267 place both cards in the same structural tier as VSTAR Universe's above-ceiling SAR and CHR cards. Diancie AR 186/172 from VSTAR Universe (the Japanese SV equivalent) uses the same logic. The two characters share an above-ceiling designation in both the ME high-class set and in VSTAR Universe, which is unusual for a Pokémon pair where one is a common cave encounter and the other is Mythical.
The practical reading: Carbink has collectible TCG presence beyond its base encounter rarity, and both characters appear at the same structural tier in the two most premium compilation sets of their respective eras.
The Collecting Summary
Carbink's collecting profile is plush-heavy. The Sitting Cuties at $51.14 is the highest-priced item for this character in the current market, more expensive than its rare Black Star Promo (which does not exist for Carbink in English) or its above-ceiling IR. If you collect by character depth, Carbink rewards plush collection more than TCG collection at current prices.
Diancie favors TCG. The Diancie-EX XY43 Holo Promo at $12–$13, the Radiant Collection RC22 at $6.95–$7.00, and the Japanese above-ceiling SAR 238/193 at $20–$21 give the character a proper card arc. The plush market for Diancie itself is not well represented in the current catalogue; collectors focused on plush would need to check Pokémon Center Japan import channels directly.
For the Legends: Z-A window (October 16, 15 days out), Carbink is the character with confirmed in-game presence in the Lumiose City setting. That hook applies to the entire existing product range, not just new releases. The window for picking up Carbink plush and Diancie TCG before post-launch attention arrives is the next two weeks.
Search and browse the full range of Carbink and Diancie products across independent shops at DexHaul. DexHaul is independent and unofficial, aggregating results from Pokémon sellers worldwide.