Only 39 of them exist. One just changed hands for $1.4 million.
A Pokémon Illustrator card featuring Pikachu has sold at private auction for a record-breaking $1.4 million, making it the most expensive Pokémon Trading Card Game card ever sold. The sale was brokered through PWCC Marketplace and involved a copy graded PSA 10 (Gem Mint) by the Professional Sports Authenticator, the highest possible grade on their scale and the only PSA 10 specimen known to exist.
From a 1998 illustration contest to a seven-figure sale
The card's origin story is what makes it genuinely special. The Pokémon Illustrator was never sold in stores or included in booster packs. It was awarded exclusively to winners and runners-up of illustration contests run by CoroCoro Comic, a Japanese manga magazine, in 1997 and 1998. The contests invited readers to submit original Pokémon artwork, and the Illustrator card was the grand prize.
The card itself depicts Pikachu holding a paintbrush and a pen, surrounded by paint splashes and sketched illustrations. It was designed by Atsuko Nishida, one of the original Pokémon artists who contributed to the card game, the animated series, and multiple video game entries. The text on the card, written in Japanese, translates roughly to a certification recognizing the recipient as an officially authorized Pokémon Card Game illustrator.
What sets it apart visually from every other card in existence: it carries a pen symbol in the bottom right corner instead of the standard circle, diamond, or star rarity markers. It also has two stars in the rarity field, which appears on only a small number of cards across the entire Pokémon Trading Card Game catalog.
Why this specific copy is worth more than a house (or several)
Here's the thing about the Pokémon Illustrator: not all 39 copies are equal. Most known copies have been graded in the PSA 7 to PSA 9 range. A PSA 9 example sold for $54,970 back in 2016. That same card, in PSA 9 condition, later sold for $375,000 in 2019 before the market for high-grade Pokémon cards truly ignited.
The PSA 10 copy is in a category of its own. Logan Paul, the content creator and boxer, purchased it for $5.275 million in July 2021 during a period of peak Pokémon card speculation. The current $1.4 million sale price represents a significant drop from that figure, which reflects the broader correction in the collectibles market since 2021's highs rather than any change in the card's rarity or cultural significance.
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The $1.4 million figure applies specifically to the PSA 10 copy. Lower-grade Illustrator cards have sold for far less, though all known copies remain among the most valuable Pokémon cards ever graded.
The key here is condition. PSA 10 means perfect corners, perfect centering, no print defects, no scratches on the surface. Achieving that grade on a card printed in 1998 and originally distributed as a contest prize (not a sealed pack pull) is extraordinarily rare. It is the only PSA 10 Illustrator in existence.
The unique pen rarity symbol
What this sale says about the Pokémon card market right now
The $1.4 million sale lands at an interesting moment for Pokémon Trading Card Game collecting. After the speculative frenzy of 2020 and 2021, where sealed booster boxes and graded vintage cards hit prices that seemed detached from reality, the market has cooled considerably. A card that sold for over five times this amount three years ago now moving at $1.4 million tells you the air has come out of the bubble, but the floor for truly irreplaceable cards remains extraordinarily high.
For context, the Pokémon Trading Card Game is still actively expanding, with new sets launching regularly and a dedicated player base that keeps demand for the brand at a consistent level. The vintage card market feeds off that ongoing cultural relevance.
There are only 39 Pokémon Illustrator cards. Barring new discoveries, that number will never increase. The PSA 10 copy is singular. At $1.4 million, whoever bought it almost certainly knows exactly what they have.
For collectors tracking where the high-end Pokémon market goes from here, the latest gaming news will keep you updated as auction results and market shifts continue to unfold. Make sure to check out more:
