Most Expensive and Rare Pokémon Cards

Legendary Pokémon are some of the most sought-after and rare creatures in the Pokémon games. However, these mythical beasts can be caught, captured, and traded in their thousands in real life! The real scarcity of Pokémon in the real world comes with the cards! The most expensive Pokémon card is priced as such due to its limited availability, rare misprints, or difficulty to obtain.

Pokémon cards recently saw a resurgence in popularity as several Twitch streamers, and internet personalities jumped on the pack opening bandwagon. However, for the dedicated few, Pokémon card collecting has been a pastime that has never fallen out of the spotlight. After all, one great pull could increase your bank account upwards of $50,000!

Let’s look at some of the most expensive Pokémon cards and just how rare they are!

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15. Prerelease Raichu

Let’s start things off with a card so rare it probably doesn’t exist! Prerelease Raichu was a misprint released in the Jungle expansion of the TCG in 1999. It was accidentally printed with the text “Prerelease” in the bottom right corner. Several copies managed to survive being destroyed by Wizards of the Coast, with a copy apparently selling for over $10,000. However, this was on April 1st, so it’s unsure whether or not this was a prank.

Still, if Prerelease Raichu does exist, it is undoubtedly a one of the most expensive Pokémon cards of all time!

14. World Championship Master’s Key

Master’s Key was handed out to contestants of the World Championships in 2010 in Hawaii. Only 36 players made it this far, making the card incredibly rare.

At PSA 10, the card will sell for approximately $25,000! Only 9 copies of this card have yet to receive such a high grading.

13. World Championships 2002 No. 1 Trainer

This card was given out to the Kanto Summer Battle Road Tournament winners. Only a few copies were printed, making this one of the most expensive Pokémon cards of all time as well as one of the rarest. The card itself was customized to print the tournament winner’s name onto the card itself, making each copy unique.

While PSA 10 copies do exist, incredibly, a PSA 7.5 copy managed to sell in March 2021 for $34,100!

12. No Rarity Venusaur Signed Mitsuhiro Arita

No rarity cards are the products of unfortunate misprints. Several cards (especially in the early days of the Pokémon TCG) came out missing the small black star in the bottom corner. As you can imagine, this makes them rare collector’s items, and No Rarity Venusaur is no exception.

However, what makes this particular card so valuable is not only its perfect PSA 10 grading but the signature across the front of illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita! the signature is only across the protective case, ensuring the card itself retains its full value.

11. Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind

Tropical Wind is a handout card given out at the Tropical Mega Battle Event. This was a tournament in which 50 players traveled to Hawaii to compete. However, the only way to receive an invite to Honolulu was to win a battle in your local region and earn your spot! This makes Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind a coveted trophy for high-class Pokémon battlers!

The card itself sold at an auction in October 2020 for $65,100, but PSA estimates its value at just under $150,000!

10. University Magikarp

University Magikarp is an odd card that many would likely not think holds much value. After all, Magikarp is about as common as they come in the mainline Pokémon games and has a very weak typing. However, what sets this card apart is how rare it is to obtain. This card was handed out as a prize at a competition held by Tamamushi University. After taking a series of tests, successful attendants were invited to compete in a special event in Osaka.

Having to jump (or splash) through so many hoops to get this card is evidence enough of its value. However, the strangest phenomenon surrounding University Magikarp is that 1000 copies were rumored to have been printed, yet only 68 have been graded by the PSA.

9. Gold Star Umbreon (+Espeon) Play Promo

These two cat Pokémon could only be acquired through Pokémon Players Club points (40,000 for Espeon and 70,000 for Umbreon). This makes them some of the rarest Pokémon cards of all time. The Japanese versions of these cards are worth a lot more than their English counterparts, but the English copies still fetch a decent price. Most recently, a PSA 10 Gold Star Espeon sold for $22,000 at auction.

Japanese copies of the card have been valued at approximately $70,000 at PSA 9.5, with a PSA 10 set to be valued even higher!

8. World Championships 1999 No.1 Trainer

This card was handed out to the seven regional champions of the 1999 Pokémon World Championships. While you would think this means only seven copies of the card exist, somehow, an eighth copy managed to sneak its way into circulation as well. Still, this is undoubtedly one of the most expensive Pokémon cards ever printed due to the difficulty in obtaining even a single copy.

Only six copies of the card have been certified as Gem Mint 10 condition so if you ever see a copy in real life, consider yourself extremely lucky!

7. World Championships 2006 No.2 Trainer

This card was originally given out to attendants of the 2006 Pokémon World Championships and acted as a ticket for players to return for the next event the following year. As you can imagine, getting so far into the tournament in order to acquire a copy of this card is no easy feat, and, as of 2022, there are only a handful of copies (approximately three) ever made!

A PSA 9 copy of this card was sold in February 2021 for just over $110,000, solidifying it as the most expensive No. 2 Trainer card ever printed. With two more copies of this card seemingly out there, we can only wait until the owners decide they want to sell it.

6. 1st Edition Neo Genesis Lugia

41 copies of Holo Lugia currently circle the globe, with would-be buyers constantly on the lookout for a drop in price. However, the wait looks neverending as Holo Lugia’s price has risen to a whopping $144,300 since its release in December 2000.

Due to the countless misprints found in early runs of the Neo Genesis TCG set, Holo Lugia has become not only one of the most expensive Pokémon cards but one of the most difficult cards to grade. However, for the few PSA 10 copies out there, you can expect to pay a pretty high price to obtain one!

5. Family Event Kangaskhan

Family Event Kangaskhan was given away in Japan in 1998 to parent and child Pokémon tournament participants. With only 11 copies at PSA 10 in the world, this rare card will cost would-be buyers approximately $150,100!

While this card is rare due to its obtained circumstances, its design is also quite sought-after as the Pocket Monsters logo features on both the front and back of the card, making it much rarer than traditional Holo Kangaskhan cards.

4. Black Star Ishihara Signed GX Promo Card

Pokémon cards featuring artists, developers, or founders always sell for a high price, and this card is no exception. Depicting Pokémon Company founder Tsunekazu Ishihara in a stylized animated card, this rare collector’s item was given to Pokémon Company staff to celebrate Ishihara’s 60th birthday in 2017.

If that wasn’t enough to increase this card’s value, this Near Mint copy is signed by Ishihara himself! The colorful flavor text, great artwork, and rare signature combine to make this one of the most expensive Pokémon cards of all time!

3. Blastoise Presentation Galaxy Star Holo (Wizards of the Coast)

Considering that only two of these cards exist in the entire world, you can imagine just how rare and expensive this copy of Blastoise must be! This card was created by popular card game company Wizards of the Coast as a pitch to allow Nintendo to allow them to handle the TCGs English release.

The card was created as a presentation of how well WotC could handle an English language release and while two cards were created, only one has been seen publically. Graded at NM/Mint+ 8.5 for over 20 years, this Holo Blastoise will set potential buyers back approximately $360,000!

2. 1st Edition Shadowless Holographic Charizard

When it comes to the most expensive Pokémon cards, the original Charizard is likely what most people will think of. While this card is no longer considered the rarest or most expensive card of all time, it has consistently remained a sought-after collector’s item.

This card is so valuable because it was printed without a shadow under Charizard. Additionally, there are several inconsistencies between this card and subsequent reprints regarding the border and text. The most recent purchase of this card was made in March 2022 for a staggering $420,000!

1. Pikachu Illustrator

Hands down, the most expensive Pokémon card in the world is Pikachu Illustrator. This unique card has held the Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card on multiple occasions.

The card was originally given to winners of promotional contests in 1997 and 1998 by the famous Japanese magazine Corocoro. Only 41 copies of this card exist, with only 23 being certified by the PSA.

The card has sold at various PSA levels for various prices over the years. One Mint 9 copy sold for $195,000 in 2019, a Near Mint 7 card sold for $375,000 in February 2021, and another Near Mint PSA 7 sold for $900,000 in February 2022!

However, this is incomparable to the PSA 10 copy purchased by none other than YouTuber Logan Paul for $5,275,000! He then proceeded to wear his record-breaking card as a necklace when attending WrestleMania!

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