In1996 , the Pokémon trading plug-in game launched in Japan , just month after the release of the Pokémon Red and Green games for Nintendo ’s Game Boy . Now , 28 years and52.9 billioncards later , the Pokémon trading bill game continues to captivate players and collectors alike .
According toProfessional Sports Authenticator(PSA ) , the telephone number of Pokémon circuit card render for scoring has double up every yr since 2015 , surpassing the number of basketball , football and hockey game PSA cards in 2018 .
If you ’ve ever wondered , " What is the rarest Pokémon card ? " then this article is for you . We ’ll take a smell at some of the rarest Pokémon carte du jour released in the past tense , what makes them so special and some current Pokémon card value .
Skyridge Crystal Charizard
The holographic Skyridge Crystal Charizard # 146 is a bang-up model of a rare Pokémon card that was useable to the general populace . ( Most of the card on this list are prize cards , meaning they were awarded to winner of competitions , or other ultra - rare cards only given to a prize few . )
The English - language version of this card was released in 2003 and illustrated by Kouki Saitou . According toBulbapedia , " Skyridge was the net expansion to be produced by Wizards of the Coast before the company lost [ its ] license . As a consequence of that , there was only one photographic print political campaign of Skyridge , induce its cost to rocket . "
The carte du jour in this exercise set were also compatible with theNintendoe - Readerfor Game Boy Advance , which allowed thespian to skim Pokémon bill to unlock in - game feature .
About 1,000 of these valuable Pokémon plug-in have been submit toPSAfor grade and only 230 have receive the highest degree . These " Gem Mint 10 " graded cards can sell for over $ 10,000 .
Pikachu Illustrator
In 2022 , YouTuber Logan Paul burst the Guinness World Record for " most expensive Pokémon trading cardsold at a private cut-rate sale " when Paul bribe a PSA Grade 10 Pikachu Illustrator card for $ 5,275,000 .
" The Pikachu Illustrator is one of the rarest and most extremely in demand Pokémon wag in the humanity , " Paul toldGuinness World Records . " Only 39 were give out to example contest winners in 1998 , " Paul explained .
This makes the Pikachu Illustrator bill of fare one of the most valuable Pokémon poster in existence , but it ’s not of necessity the rarefied .
According toTCGPlayer Infinite , the Pikachu Illustrator calling card ’s popularity is due in part to its long time . expel in 1998 , the same twelvemonth the Pokémon trading card plot hit Japan , own an Illustrator card is like owning a part of Pokémon card - collecting history .
Master’s Key
The holographical Master ’s Key card was award to 36 finalists of the 2010 Japan World Championship representative tourney ; the Pokémon Company ’s combining weight of a Nipponese national championship for competitive Pokémon musician . Finalists of both the TV game and trading card competition receive the Master ’s Key card .
“ The Master ’s Key prize carte du jour is one of the most extremely in demand issues across all of Pokémon , ” auction business firm PWCC ’s trading card plot manager Peter Petipas toldDicebreakerin 2023 after deal a transcript of the radical - rare card for $ 66,000 .
Tropical Breeze
One of the most valuable Pokémon identity card on the mart is the 1999 Tropical Mega Battle Tropical Wind card . According toPWCC , the Pokémon Company shell out just 586 written matter of this card .
The vast absolute majority ( 576 ) went to competition in the 1999 Pokémon Japanese Tropical Mega Battle Tournament and the remaining 10 plug-in were part of a magazine promotion . A transcript of this card sell forover $ 65,000 in 2020 .
But the 1999 version is n’t the rarest version of Tropical Wind . That honour go to Tropical Breeze , a rarified promo identity card awarded at the 2001 Tropical Mega Battle to just 24 Pokémon trainers . This competition was the only time " Tropical Wind " was rename " Tropical Breeze . "
Pokémon Snap
Some of the uncommon Pokémon cards were released to promote the Pokémon video recording games . A prime example is the Pokémon Snap cards from 1999 .
The Pokémon Company held two contests to promote the new Pokémon Snap game for Nintendo 64 . In the biz , players take candid photos of Pokémon , which they could accede to the magazine CoroCoro or TV Show 64 Mario Stadium . victor of the contest would get their picture featured on an actual Pokémon card .
Each contest had 5 winners , and the winners were give either 20 or 15 copy of their gain card ( 20 for CoroCoro , 15 for Mario Stadium ) , meaning there are around 15 to 20 copies of each of the 10 cards in existence .
According toPokumon , " Some of the winner have not sold any of their meet copies , yet auctions have been held that betray . These are likely extra copies from the initial photographic print run , as most have been deal by Yuichi Konno , one of the four original developers of the Pokemon TCG ruleset . "
In November 2023 , three Pokémon Snap board sold forover $ 70,000 each .
1999 Super Secret Battle No. 1 Trainer
Would you pay$90,000for a piece of composition board ? That ’s how much one emptor pay for a transcript of the 1999 Super Secret Battle Trainer menu .
This is one of the rarest Pokémon cards in the world , given to just seven participant who were the achiever of regional tournaments held in Japan in 1999 . The carte itself features a holographic silhouette of Mewtwo illustrate by Hideki Kazama , according toHeritage Auctions .
World Champion Cards
Every yr , a new ace - rare Pokémon card makes its debut at the Pokémon World Championships . The Pokémon Company awards six copies of a special card — one champion for each of three eld division ( junior , senior and superior ) in each of the two format ( trading card plot and video game ) .
Although the same card is given to each of the finalists , the three protagonist ' visiting card are printed with the word " supporter . " That think there are only three copy of the World Champion identity card distribute each twelvemonth .
In 2002 , the Pokémon Company did something a little unlike . Each written matter of the World Championships Sprint Battle Road 2002 No 1 . Trainer Promo is unparalleled , as it has the name of the trainer and the region they were champion of print on the card .
While there were at least seven printed ( one for each area ) , each circuit card isone of a kind .
Wizards of the Coast Blastoise
The Wizards of the Coast Blastoise introduction card is singular among ultra - rare Pokémon cards . Unlike other valuable Pokémon add-in , the Wizards of the Coast Blastoise presentation card was not a trophy card or promo card ; it was a prototype for a set that was never farm .
Just two copy of this test print carte were bring out in 1998 by Wizards of the Coast , the Lord of Magic the Gathering . The back of this card even has the Magic the Gathering logotype , as it was printed on Wizards of the Coast ’s Magic the accumulate stock .
The presentation must have been successful , because magician of the Coast print the English versions of Pokémon cards up until 2003 .
In 2021 , this carte sold for$360,000 .
