Its extremely rare for a card to receive a perfect Gem Mint rating because even fresh out of the booster pack a card can have minor defects that diminish the quality, like uneven color printing or little white chips on the border
The version of Mela in the games, as well as the depiction of her in her Full Art card, shows off her fiery, hot-headed punk nature: meanwhile, Rikas gorgeous watercolour style lends Mela a much calmer disposition as she chills out with her Torkoal
This makes Sapphire decks much more reliable if you can find the space
A renewed interest in real Pokemon cards from Pocket players, even a significant chunk of them, won't have caused the widespread shortages and massive price increases the Pokemon TCG has undergone in the last year
To build a tier one deck, you are almost always shelling $160 for Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, $280 for Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, or *god forbid* $440 for a play set of both
Collector boosters have premium content and come at a premium price, most retail for around $20 to $30