There are plenty of Pokémon cards on the market but for many fans of the franchise, the ultimate species to collect is none other than Ash’s companion, the iconic electric-type Pokémon Pikachu.
Because of its popularity, there have been a ton of different iterations of this Pokémon introduced to the TCG over the year, but not all Pikachu are made equal, and as such some will make you more profit than others.
If you’re a collector looking to bolster your collection, or simply wondering which Pikachu cards are the most expensive then here is a look at some of the rarest Pikachu TCG cards on the market.
1999 Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Pikachu
The first of anything is always going to be one of the hottest items and it’s no different with the first English Pikachu card in the TCG game. This Base Set shadowless card also can get found at different prices with the cheapest being upgraded for around $60 and the most expensive coming with the graded PSA 10 version selling between $1,000 and $5,000.
2001 Black Star Promo Birthday Pikachu Holo
If you’re looking for something rare but still within a reasonable price range then why not add Black Star Promo Birthday Pikachu to your collection?
The holographic card that launched in 2001 will set you back around $600 USD. At this price, this card is a must-have for any Pokémon card collector who is hoping to get their hands on everything Pikachu.
2002 Legendary Collection Reverse Holo Pikachu
If you’re after something stunning and retro then the Legendary Collection Reverse Holo Pikachu might be the card for you. This 2002 release includes classic artwork alongside a unique holographic pattern.
While you can fetch one ungraded for around $200 they have sold for as high as $4,890 in the past.
1995 Japanese Topsun Blue Black Pikachu
Depending on the deal you can find you can either pay around $100 USD or up to $6000 USD to get your hands on this rare Pokémon card.
Topsun cards were some of the earliest Pokémon TCG cards on the market and because of this, they have fallen into obscurity over the years. This being the case, for collectors, these are some of the might sought-out cards.
Prices vary on this product as they are extremely hard to come across but if you peruse the retail market you may be able to land one at a bargain price.
Pretend Magikarp and Gyarados
Two of the more unique cards visually in this list, the Japanese promo cards for Pretend Magikarp and Pretend Gyarados are each worth around $1000 but can fetch even more if they are graded.
These cards were only sold at the opening of the Hiroshima Pokémon Center so if you weren’t there then you missed the boat to get your hands on them outside of the resale market.
20th Anniversary 24k Gold Tanaka Japanese Pikachu
Selling for just over $2,000 USD, the 20th Anniversary of Pokémon brought collectors a sleek new product featuring everyone’s favorite, Pikachu.
This limited release saw 24-karat-gold versions of the original Pikachu card manufactured and now that they are no longer available they have become quite a popular collector’s item. If you want to get your hands on this card now, you’ll need to consult the resale market.
1995 Japanese Topsun Prism Pikachu
Another Topsun card that has become extremely rare over the years is the Prism Pikachu card. If you’re looking for a graded version of this card a PSA 10 recently sold for $15,000 so you’re likely going to need quite some savings to get your hands on it.
If you are happy with the upgrade then one of these can be had at the low cost of $400 USD. However, prices do vary so it’s worth looking around to see what you can score.
2006 EX Holon Phantoms Gold Star Pikachu
Around the same price, the 2006 card EX Holon Phantoms Gold Star Pikachu is another rare card that can be got for a reasonable price ungraded but will set you back a hefty amount if you’re looking to add a graded slab to your collection.
Ungraded cards typically sell for around $450, but at a 10 they have sold as high as $15,000. As will all items on our list, the price you get will be dictated by the number of cards that are currently up for sale, and being such a rare card this could cause issues.
Pikachu Trainer Promos
Winners at the Pokémon World Championship have in the past scored themselves a variety of unique Pikachu promo cards and some have fetched crazy prices. The rarest of these cards is the Trainer-type card No. 1 Trainer with a Pikachu holding a gold trophy in its art.
None of these have been sold so we can’t determine their exact price, but for perspective, a No. 2 Trainer card from the Pokémon 2006 World Championship sold in February of 2021 for a whopping $110,100. With this in mind, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that the first-place card could sell for much more.
One of these rare No. 1 cards is on sale on eBay at a PSA 8 right now for a whopping $2 million, but it is yet to sell.
Pikachu Illustrator
The most expensive Pokémon card ever sold, Illustrator Pikachu is by far the most expensive and rarest Pikachu card on the market.
This card was given to winning contestants in a 1997 Pokémon TCG Illustration Competition and there are less than 40 believed to be in circulation. The artwork on this card was drawn by Pikachu’s creator Atsuko Nishida and only 24 were ever graded.
As for the cost, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one of these cards graded they can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The most Pokemon Pikachu card expensive was sold in February of 2022 for $900,000 and a PSA 10 version was purchased by Logan Paul for more than $5 million.
