Pokemon trading cards have recently seen a resurgence in their popularity, and along with that, their value. While at one point of time these collecting cards for children had no significant monetary value attached to them, now they are being traded by adults for absurd amount of money because of the collectors’ new found love for them and their rarity.
Some of these cards are currently being sold for hundred-thousands of dollars which just sounds unrealistic. Here are the top 10 most expensive and rare Pokemon cards:
10. Super Secret Battle No. 1 Trainer (1999)
9. Kangaskhan-Holo #115 Family Event Trophy Card (1998)
8. Umbreon-Holo #026 Japanese Play Promo (2005)
7. Black Star Ishihara Signed GX Promo Card (2017)
6. Snap Pikachu No. 25 (1999)
5. Trophy Pikachu No. 3 Trainer Bronze
4. Blastoise #009/165R (1998)
3. Shadowless Holographic Charizard #4 – First Edition (1999)
2. Trophy Pikachu No. 2 Trainer Silver (1998)
- Pikachu-Holo Illustrator (1998)
10Super Secret Battle No. 1 Trainer (1999) – $156,000
This card holds a unique history attached to it. Distributed exclusively to the winners of the regional heats in 1999, it also acted as a secret pass to the Super-Secret Battle, which took place on August 22, 1999, at an undisclosed venue.
There are only seven of these rare cards in the world right now, which have been officially graded, with the latest sale fetching an impressive $90,000.
9Kangaskhan-Holo #115 Family Event Trophy Card (1998) – $175,000
This rare card was given as a reward to those participating parent and child who won many matches while competing together in a Parent/Child Mega Battle tournament, which took place in Japan in 1998.
It features an adorable young and leaping Kangaskhan, along with its baby over an abstract background. The card commemorates the event where the parents have to compete with their children.
Only 12 known copies of this card currently exist, because of which one of these was recently sold in an auction for $175,000.
8Umbreon-Holo #026 Japanese Play Promo (2005) – $180,000
As the name of the card suggests, it was part of the promotional rewards at the Pokémon Players Club in Japan. This card was only given to those players who earned 70,000 points by the end of the fourth season.
7Black Star Ishihara Signed GX Promo Card (2017) – $247,230
This unique Pokemon card does not feature any Pokemons but depicts Tsunekazu Ishihara – the founder and president of The Pokémon Company.
These cards were given out to the company’s staff on Ishahara’s 60th birthday. One of these cards are signed by the man himself, which has boosted its value significantly.
6Snap Pikachu No. 25 (1999) – $270,000
This rare card features one of the winning in-game photographs from 1999 Pokemon Snap competition. Pokemon Snap is a first-person photography game with rail shooter style gameplay mechanics developed by HAL Laboratory.
Currently, there is only one officially graded Snap Pikachu No.25 that exist in the market, which explains its high value.
5Trophy Pikachu No. 3 Trainer Bronze – $300,000
In Japan’s first official Pokemon tournament held in 1997, the Trophy Pikachu cards were distributed as prizes to those who achieved first, second, or third place in the competitions.
The card illustrates a chubby adorable Pikachu holding a bronze trophy. The value of this cards highly depends on its quality and grading. One of the well graded cards was recently auctioned off for $300,000.
4Blastoise #009/165R (1998) – $360,000
Originally made by Wizards of the Coast – creators of Magic: The Gathering, this Blastoise card is one of the rarest Pokemon card to ever exists.
There are currently only two of these cards known to exists. Out of the two cards one of them has a Magic: The Gathering back, and the other one has blank back, which makes it even rarer.
3Shadowless Holographic Charizard #4 (1999) – $420,000
A first-edition Holo Charizard is one of the most expensive Pokemon card in existence currently. One of the reasons for its high value is obviously the popularity of the fierce dragon Pokemon.
However, what makes it really special is that, firstly, it has a perfect PSA Grading of Gem Mint 10, and secondly, because of a printing error no shadow appears under the artwork’s border, making it a shadow less Charizard. This printing error was corrected in all the later versions of the card.
2Trophy Pikachu No. 2 Trainer Silver (1998) – $440,000
Similar to Trophy Pikachu No. 3 card, these cards were given out to the second place holders in Japan’s official Pokemon tournament.
These cards feature the Pikachu holding a silver trophy, because of its exquisite condition one of these was recently sold for $440,000.
1Pikachu-Holo Illustrator (1998) – $6,000,000
The Pikachu-Holo Illustrator is the most expensive Pokemon card, and is estimated to value around $6,000,000. It depicts an adorable Pikachu holding a couple of paintbrush and illustrating other Pokemon cards.
There are less than 20 of them in existence; they were awarded as prizes in an art competition back in the 1990s. However, only the ones in mint conditions are worth this insane amount of money.
About Pokemon Go
Developed by Niantic and published by Nintendo, Pokémon Go is a free-to-play augmented reality (AR) game. The game was released in July 2016 for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Directed by Tatsuo Nomura, the game utilizes the GPS on mobile devices to locate, capture, train, and battle Pokémon. The game supports in-app purchases to buy in-game currency used to procure various items. The game launched with around 150 Pokémon species, which had increased to around 600 by 2020.
Praised by both critics and fans for its concept and user-friendly interface, it was one of the most profitable games of 2016. Netting a whopping 1.92 billion dollars in revenue last year itself. With over 500 million downloads, it is a pioneer of location-based and AR games.
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