The Most Expensive Pokémon Cards: Record Sales and Their Stories

By PulloraX · Sources checked on 4 October 2026

One Pokémon card sold in a US$16.492 million deal—but the number alone does not explain the transaction. Understanding the world's most expensive Pokémon cards means identifying the printing, grade, history and everything included in the sale. These three extraordinary sales, covered in the press, show how to read the numbers carefully.

This is a selection of documented sales, not a complete ranking of the three most expensive cards ever. Prices describe particular copies on particular dates, not a current price list for every copy.

Selected reported sales
Card and version	Reported price in US dollars	Sale date
1998 Pikachu Illustrator · PSA 10	16,492,000	2026-02-16
1999 Charizard First Edition · PSA 10	420,000	2022-03
1998 Blastoise #009/165R Presentation · CGC 8.5	360,000	2021-01

Pikachu Illustrator: a whole transaction around one card

In February 2026, Logan Paul's PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator sold for US$16,492,000. AP and CNN covered the sale; Guinness confirms that the total includes the buyer's premium. A diamond necklace and personal delivery were also included. The figure therefore describes the complete transaction, rather than a separately established price for the card without those extras.

Sources: Associated Press — 16 February 2026 · CNN, via KSL — 16 February 2026 · Guinness World Records — 16 February 2026

Charizard: the same Pokémon does not mean the same card

Forbes reported a US$420,000 PWCC sale of a 1999 first-edition Charizard graded PSA 10 in March 2022. That is a historical result, not a claim about today's Charizard record. A different language, printing or grade needs its own comparison. The character's name alone does not identify an identical collectible.

Sources: Forbes — 22 March 2022

Blastoise: a piece of production history

A 1998 Blastoise #009/165R presentation card graded CGC 8.5 sold for US$360,000 in January 2021. Globo covered the sale, and Heritage confirmed the result. This was a presentation piece connected with the proposed English printing, not an ordinary Base Set Blastoise. Its place in the product's history matters to the comparison.

Sources: ge / Globo — 21 January 2021 · Heritage Auctions — 15 January 2021

What makes a price comparison meaningful?

Start with identifiers rather than a large picture of the same Pokémon. Record the language, year, set and card number, then check edition, holo treatment, grading company and grade. For a promo, identify its distribution event too. A PSA 10 sale is not an automatic valuation for an ungraded copy, and the same numeric grade from different companies does not make two cards equivalent.

An asking price, a leading bid and a sale are different

A seller can choose any asking price. A leading bid in an open auction is not a final result. Even a published result needs context: does it include a buyer's premium, and did the lot contain one card or several items? We retain the reported amount in the table. Where the fee basis is unclear, we do not invent a breakdown.

Can these cards come out of a new booster?

No. A newly released set does not contain a historical contest prize or a 1998 presentation card. A vintage record also says nothing about what you will open in a modern box. Before choosing a product to open, check that exact edition's card list and language. Collecting for the illustration or character does not require chasing an auction record.

How we selected the evidence

We used the press reports and primary sources linked beside each case. Prices stay in their original US-dollar amounts and sale periods, without conversion at today's exchange rate. This is neither an individual appraisal nor an independent check that payment settled. Records and later results can change.