The Most Expensive Pokémon Cards Ever Sold

The record sales, ranked

The table lists all 15 confirmed 2026 sales of $1 million or more in our study, the 2021 private sale, and the older records that still rank. Below $1 million it is not a full list of 2026 sales.

Count the Japanese cards on that table. Seventeen of the 25 are Japanese releases or Japanese-only prizes, which is why so many collectors ask whether Japanese Pokémon cards are worth more. At the very top, the answer is yes, but only because the scarcest objects in the hobby happen to be Japanese. UltraBall tracks English cards only, so the Illustrator, the Art Academy promos, the Japanese Base Set Charizard, the Topsun and the trophy cards have no price page here.

1. Pikachu Illustrator, PSA 10: $16,492,000

You couldn't pull a Pikachu Illustrator. Nobody could. It was awarded to winners of illustration contests run by the Japanese magazine CoroCoro Comic in 1997 and 1998, and estimates of how many exist range from 39 to 41 copies. PSA has graded exactly one at Gem Mint 10.

Logan Paul bought that PSA 10 copy in a 2021 private deal that Guinness recorded at $5,275,000, then consigned it to Goldin. The auction ran for 41 days and closed on February 16, 2026 at $16,492,000. The buyer, AJ Scaramucci, announced himself on Paul's livestream after the sale. Tripling your money in five years on a single card is the kind of result that gets headlines, and it did. It also set a ceiling that no other Pokémon card is going to approach any time soon.

If you want to see what the rest of the Pikachu market looks like away from the contest promos, our most valuable Pikachu cards ranking covers every English printing. The gap between an Illustrator and the best English Pikachu is enormous, and that tells you how much of this record is scarcity and how little is the character. The English cards people actually chase are things like the Gold Star Pikachu ☆ (Holon Phantoms), the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat (Scarlet & Violet Black Star Promos) promo at about $825, and the Pikachu ex (Ascended Heroes) from Ascended Heroes at about $602 ungraded. Good cards. Nowhere near seven figures.

Pikachu ☆Holon Phantoms · $5,900

Pikachu with Grey Felt HatScarlet & Violet Black Star Promos · $825

Pikachu exAscended Heroes · $602

2. Raincoat Pikachu, PSA 10: $8,400,000

On September 28, 2026, a PSA 10 copy of the 2015 Japanese XY promo Art Academy Raincoat Pikachu, the Fujishima version, sold at Fanatics Collect for $8,400,000. Only the Illustrator has ever brought more at auction. Like the Illustrator, it is a Japanese contest promo. The same promo series produced the Mudkip at rank 5, and the Raincoat Pikachu shows up again at rank 13.

3. The same Pikachu Illustrator, 2021: $5,275,000

Before the Goldin auction, the record belonged to the same card. Paul's 2021 purchase was a private sale rather than an auction, and Guinness certified it as the most expensive Pokémon card sold in a private sale. It is on this list because Guinness published the figure. It is also the only private sale on the list, and that is deliberate: most private prices can't be checked, and a price you can't check shouldn't sit in a ranking of records.

4. Pikachu Illustrator, PSA 9: $5,000,000

On September 19, 2026, a PSA 9 Illustrator sold at Heritage Auctions for $5,000,000. That is the most paid for any Illustrator other than the PSA 10 copy, and more than three times the $1,406,250 a PSA 9 brought in March (rank 9).

The drop from the PSA 10 to this PSA 9 is still roughly $11.5 million, and it was roughly $15 million for the March sale. It is the most extreme example of a pattern you'll see all over this page. If you're unsure why one grade point can matter that much, our explainer on the PSA grading scale goes through what separates a 9 from a 10.

5. Art Academy Mudkip, PSA 10: $3,720,000

On September 25, 2026, a PSA 10 Art Academy Mudkip, the Daisuke Ochiai version from the same 2015 Japanese XY promo series, sold at Fanatics Collect for $3,720,000. It closed three days before the Raincoat Pikachu on the same venue.

6. Pikachu Illustrator, CGC 9: $2,806,271

On September 20, 2026, a CGC 9 Illustrator sold at Goldin for $2,806,271, the day after the PSA 9 at Heritage reached $5,000,000. A CGC 9 sold at Heritage for $325,000 in December 2025 (see rank 20).

7. Gold Star Torchic, PSA 10: $2,700,000

On September 10, 2026, a PSA 10 copy of Torchic ☆ (Team Rocket Returns) from Team Rocket Returns sold at Alt for $2,700,000. That is the highest price on record for an English-language Pokémon card. It beat the Gold Star Rayquaza, which had held the English record for less than two weeks, by $1,680,000.

Gold Star cards were the hardest pulls of the EX era, and Torchic is number 108 in its set. The Gold Star Mudkip ☆ (Team Rocket Returns) from the same set is number 107, and it also sold for more than $1 million (rank 15).

Torchic ☆Team Rocket Returns · $10,200

Mudkip ☆Team Rocket Returns · $7,250

8. Bronze Trophy Pikachu, PSA 10: $1,769,000

On May 18, 2026, a PSA 10 Bronze 3rd Place Trophy Pikachu from the 3rd tournament sold at Goldin for $1,769,000. The lot title lists it as Pop 1. It is the most paid for any trophy card on this table. The Gold and Silver trophy cards at ranks 22 and 23 sold for $450,000 and $444,000.

9. Pikachu Illustrator, PSA 9: $1,406,250

About six weeks after the record, a PSA 9 Illustrator sold at Heritage Auctions for $1,406,250 on March 28, 2026. Bidding opened at $500,000. PSA has graded 15 copies at Mint 9 and only the one Gem Mint 10 above them, so a 9 is as high as nearly every buyer will ever get. In September, another PSA 9 sold for $5,000,000 (rank 4).

10. 1st Edition Charizard, PSA 10: $1,385,274

On October 8, 2026, a PSA 10 copy of 1st Edition Charizard (Base Set) sold at Alt for $1,385,274. It is the highest price recorded for a 1st Edition Base Set Charizard, $430,474 more than the Logan Paul copy brought in February (rank 17). It is also the fourth English card to pass $1 million, after the Rayquaza, the Torchic and the Mudkip.

11. Japanese Base Set Charizard, no rarity symbol, PSA 10: $1,232,200

On March 8, 2026, a PSA 10 1996 Japanese Base Set Charizard with no rarity symbol sold at Goldin for $1,232,200. The lot title notes that the case was signed by Mitsuhiro Arita and that it came with a Beckett letter of authenticity. It is the most paid for any Japanese Charizard on this table, well ahead of the Topsun at rank 21.

12. Pikachu Illustrator, PSA Authentic: $1,079,700

On June 29, 2026, an Illustrator that PSA marked Authentic, with no numeric grade, sold at Goldin for $1,079,700. The lot title adds an MBA Gold Diamond Certified 8 and the original Creatures, Inc. letter and envelope.

13. Raincoat Pikachu, PSA 10: $1,037,000

On October 12, 2026, a PSA 10 Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu sold at Goldin for $1,037,000. That is about an eighth of the $8,400,000 the same kind of card brought at Fanatics Collect two weeks earlier (rank 2).

14. Gold Star Rayquaza, CGC Pristine 10: $1,020,000

On August 28, 2026, a CGC Pristine 10 copy of Rayquaza ☆ (Deoxys) sold at Fanatics Collect's August Premier Auction for $1,020,000 after 35 bids. It was the first English-language Pokémon card to sell for more than $1 million, and it beat the previous English record, a 1st Edition Charizard, by $65,200. The Torchic, the Mudkip and a 1st Edition Charizard have all joined it above $1 million since.

The grade is the whole story. CGC has graded more than 250 copies of the card, and only 12 have reached Gem Mint 10. This is the only Pristine 10. A Gem Mint 10 copy sold for $168,000 on July 19, 2026, so the Pristine copy brought more than six times as much a month later. Same card, same set, a small step up the label, and six times the money.

Gold Star cards were the hardest pulls of the EX era, and Rayquaza from Deoxys has always been one of the most wanted. It isn't alone. The Gold Star Charizard ☆ δ (Dragon Frontiers) from Dragon Frontiers sells for about $5,939 ungraded, and Mewtwo ☆ (Holon Phantoms) from Holon Phantoms goes for about $4,250. Neither has had a million-dollar moment, but they sit in the same small club of 2000s cards that most collectors never saw in a pack. See every Rayquaza card we track for how the rest of its cards compare; the gold Rayquaza (Dragons Exalted) from Dragons Exalted, at about $1,800 ungraded, is the next one most collectors look for.

Rayquaza ☆Deoxys · $27,672

Charizard ☆ δDragon Frontiers · $5,939

Mewtwo ☆Holon Phantoms · $4,250

15. Gold Star Mudkip, PSA 10: $1,020,000

On September 21, 2026, a PSA 10 copy of Mudkip ☆ (Team Rocket Returns) sold at Fanatics Collect for $1,020,000, the same price as the Rayquaza to the dollar. Where two sales tie, the table puts the earlier one first. The Mudkip comes from the same Team Rocket Returns set as the Torchic at rank 7.

16. Pikachu Illustrator, BGS 8.5: $1,006,500

On August 16, 2026, a BGS 8.5 Illustrator sold at Goldin for $1,006,500. The lot title calls the grade NM-MT+ 8.5. Six Illustrator sales reached $1 million in 2026, and this one is the lowest of them, clearing the line by $6,500.

17. 1st Edition Charizard, PSA 10: $954,800

The 1st Edition Base Set Charizard is the card most people picture when they think of expensive Pokémon cards. It has been the flagship of the hobby for as long as there has been a hobby. A PSA 10 copy of 1st Edition Charizard (Base Set) sold at Goldin on February 16, 2026 for $954,800, and it stayed the English record until the Rayquaza passed it on August 28. Logan Paul pulled it from a 1st Edition box break, and its PSA label carries a special "Logan Paul Break" notation. The same auction sold the PSA 10 1st Edition Blastoise (Base Set) from that break for $138,880 and the PSA 10 1st Edition Venusaur (Base Set) for $75,640.

Look at those three numbers together. Same set, same break, same grade, and the Charizard sold for roughly seven times the Blastoise and more than twelve times the Venusaur. Popularity is priced in at every level of this market, and Charizard has carried that premium since 1999.

CharizardBase Set · $731

BlastoiseBase Set · $200

VenusaurBase Set · $153

The regular Base Set Charizard, Charizard (Base Set), is still the most traded vintage card on the market. If you own one and don't know which printing you have, check the stamp and the border before anything else. Our guide to 1st Edition Pokémon cards explains how the stamp changes the price, the comparison of 1st Edition vs Shadowless vs Unlimited shows how to tell the three apart, and our list of the most valuable Charizard cards shows every version side by side. Fakes of this card are everywhere, so read up on how to tell if a Pokémon card is fake before you pay real money for a raw copy.

18. Pikachu Illustrator, PSA 7: $900,000

In February 2022, a PSA 7 Illustrator sold at Goldin for $900,000, including the buyer's premium on a $750,000 winning bid. At the time Goldin called it the most paid for a Pokémon card at a public sale. A PSA 7 sits three full grades below the top. It still cleared $900,000, which says everything about how few Illustrators ever come up for sale.

19. Pikachu Illustrator, 9.5: $672,000

NFL linebacker Blake Martinez sold his Illustrator, nicknamed the "Swirllustrator", through Goldin on the weekend of October 29, 2022. Goldin's announcement confirmed a final price of $672,000.

20. 1st Edition Charizard, PSA 10: $550,000

At Heritage Auctions' trading card games auction of December 12 and 13, 2025, a PSA 10 1st Edition Charizard realized $550,000, beating the $420,000 record for the card set in 2022. The same auction sold a Gold No. 1 Trainer for $450,000 and a CGC 9 Pikachu Illustrator for $325,000. Two months later the Logan Paul copy brought $954,800, and in October 2026 a copy reached $1,385,274. Same card, same grade. The difference was the label, the name attached to it and the date.

21. Topsun Charizard, blue back, PSA 10: $493,230

Topsun cards were Japanese Pokémon cards packed with chewing gum in the mid-1990s. The blue-back Charizard is the scarce version. The only PSA 10 copy sold at Goldin on January 31, 2021 for $493,230. It isn't a playable Pokémon TCG card, but collectors treat it as part of the same market, and it shows up on every serious list of Charizard records.

22 and 23. Pikachu Trainer trophy cards: $450,000 and $444,000

Trophy cards were awarded to the top finishers of early Japanese tournaments. The Gold No. 1 Trainer went to first-place players, the Silver No. 2 to second, and the Bronze No. 3 to third. A 1998 Gold No. 1 Trainer sold at Heritage in December 2025 for $450,000. A PSA 10 Silver No. 2 Trainer from the 1997 to 1998 Lizardon (Charizard) Mega Battle series sold at Goldin on September 7, 2023 for $444,000. Goldin said only 14 of that card are believed to exist. A PSA 10 Bronze No. 3 sold for $1,769,000 in May 2026, covered at rank 8.

These are cards somebody earned at a tournament table rather than bought, and that is a big part of the pull.

24. 1st Edition Charizard, PSA 10: $420,000

This was the record for the card for more than three years. A PSA 10 1st Edition Charizard sold in PWCC's March 2022 Premier Auction for $420,000. At the time, PWCC said only 121 copies had received a PSA 10. Anyone who bought at that price and held for four years did very well, though the sales in between show the card doesn't climb in a straight line.

25. Blastoise presentation card, CGC 8.5: $360,000

Before the English game launched, Wizards of the Coast printed two Blastoise presentation cards to show Nintendo what the English cards would look like. One of them, graded CGC 8.5, sold at Heritage on January 14, 2021 for $360,000. The whereabouts of the second are unknown. Among the English cards on this list, only the 1st Edition Charizards and the Gold Star Torchic, Rayquaza and Mudkip rank higher, and it is the only Wizards-era card here that was never meant to be sold. Our Blastoise rankings list the versions you can actually find. Past the Base Set holo, the ones that sell for real money are cards like Blastoise ex (FireRed & LeafGreen) from FireRed & LeafGreen, at about $650 ungraded, and the gold secret rare Blastoise (Plasma Storm) from Plasma Storm, at about $500.

Blastoise exFireRed & LeafGreen · $650

BlastoisePlasma Storm · $500

Why these cards sell for so much

The list has a clear pattern once you stop looking at the prices and start looking at the cards. Almost every one is either one of a handful of copies ever made, or a mass-produced card in a grade almost nobody has. Our explainer on what makes a Pokémon card valuable covers these traits for ordinary cards too.

• Tiny populations. The Illustrator, the trophy cards and the Blastoise presentation card were never sold to the public. There are dozens of copies at most. Our guide to the rarest Pokémon cards covers these in detail.
• Perfect grades. Thousands of 1st Edition Charizards exist, but very few are PSA 10. The Rayquaza sale shows how steep the curve is: the Pristine 10 sold for more than six times a Gem Mint 10 a month earlier. Our guide to PSA 10 Pokémon cards shows the same gap across the market, and our PSA grading cost guide explains what it costs to grade a card. Whether a card of yours is worth grading comes down to that gap.
• Charizard and Pikachu. Twenty of the 25 sales are Pikachu or Charizard cards. The two most popular Pokémon carry a premium at every price level, from these records down to modern cards on our Pikachu and Charizard pages.
• Provenance and publicity. Logan Paul's name is attached to three of the results: the PSA 10 Illustrator at rank 1, his 2021 purchase of the same card at rank 3, and the $954,800 Charizard at rank 17. A special label and a famous owner add value that the card alone does not.

The practical lesson for the rest of us is less exciting. Your binder almost certainly doesn't hold anything on this table. It might still hold cards worth real money, and the Pokémon cards worth money guide walks through which ones, era by era. The Charizard premium works at every price. A modern Charizard ex like Charizard ex (151) from 151 sells for about $310 raw, and Charizard ex (Paldean Fates) from Paldean Fates goes for about $250. Those are not auction-house numbers, but they are a long way from bulk.

Charizard ex151 · $310

Charizard exPaldean Fates · $250

The most expensive modern cards

Modern cards haven't come close to the vintage records, and with today's print runs they probably won't. The best of them still sell for thousands in top grades. Umbreon VMAX (Evolving Skies) from Evolving Skies is the benchmark for the Sword & Shield era, worth about $3,585 in a PSA 10. Every Umbreon VMAX gets compared to it, and none of the others come close on price.

From Scarlet & Violet, Umbreon ex (Prismatic Evolutions) from Prismatic Evolutions sells for about $4,200 in a PSA 10. It is a Special Illustration Rare, the full-art tier that now drives most modern prices; our SIR explainer covers what the label means. From the Mega Evolution era, Mega Charizard X ex (Phantasmal Flames) from Phantasmal Flames is worth about $2,015 graded, and it is a hyper rare, the gold-bordered top of the set.

Umbreon VMAXEvolving Skies · $1,785

Umbreon exPrismatic Evolutions · $1,020

Mega Charizard X exPhantasmal Flames · $207

Notice that two of the three are Umbreon and one is a Charizard. The same favorites win in every era. Our most valuable Pokémon cards ranking tracks the leaders of every year and set, and if you're wondering about your own recent pulls, the guide to whether new Pokémon cards are worth anything is the honest version.

The biggest sales we recorded in the last 90 days

The records above are the headline auctions. The list below is the other half of the picture: the highest individual sales UltraBall recorded for English cards over the last 90 days, updated daily from recorded sold listings. Each sale links to the card's price page.

The single highest sale we recorded for each card in the last 90 days.

#	Card	Sale price
1	Torchic ☆Team Rocket Returns · 108/109 · PSA 10 · Sep 10, 2026	$2,700,000
2	Mudkip ☆Team Rocket Returns · 107/109 · PSA 10 · Oct 15, 2026	$1,046,250
3	Rayquaza ☆Deoxys · 107/107 · CGC 10 Pristine · Aug 28, 2026	$1,020,000
4	Garchomp LV.XMajestic Dawn · 97/100 · PSA 10 · Sep 21, 2026	$900,000
5	MewSouthern Islands · 1/18 · PSA 10 · Oct 5, 2026	$840,000
6	RayquazaCall of Legends · SL10 · PSA 10 · Oct 1, 2026	$791,622
7	Umbreon ☆POP Series 5 · 17/17 · PSA 10 · Oct 26, 2026	$738,100
8	Lugia-EXPlasma Storm · 134/135 · PSA 10 · Oct 12, 2026	$660,000
9	Espeon ☆POP Series 5 · 16/17 · PSA 10 · Oct 26, 2026	$573,400
10	Leafeon LV.XMajestic Dawn · 99/100 · PSA 10 · Oct 12, 2026	$528,000
11	MewExpedition Base Set · 19/165 · PSA 10 · Nov 2, 2026	$528,000
12	Latios ☆Deoxys · 106/107 · CGC 10 Pristine · Oct 26, 2026	$504,000
13	Treecko ☆Team Rocket Returns · 109/109 · PSA 10 · Oct 12, 2026	$504,000
14	Pikachu ☆Holon Phantoms · 104/110 · PSA 10 · Sep 28, 2026	$480,000
15	Glaceon LV.XMajestic Dawn · 98/100 · PSA 10 · Oct 12, 2026	$456,000
16	Latias ☆Deoxys · 105/107 · CGC 10 Pristine · Sep 25, 2026	$456,000
17	Gyarados ☆ δHolon Phantoms · 102/110 · PSA 10 · Oct 31, 2026	$450,000
18	Charizard ☆ δDragon Frontiers · 100/101 · PSA 10 · Oct 26, 2026	$430,660
19	LugiaAquapolis · 149/147 · PSA 10 · Oct 22, 2026	$421,589
20	Detective PikachuSM Black Star Promos · SM170 · PSA 10 · Oct 9, 2026	$420,000
21	Mew ☆ δDragon Frontiers · 101/101 · PSA 10 · Oct 26, 2026	$401,380
22	LugiaSecret Wonders · 14/132 · PSA 10 · Nov 5, 2026	$390,000
23	Team Aqua's Kyogre-EXDouble Crisis · 6/34 · PSA 10 · Sep 28, 2026	$384,000
24	LugiaCall of Legends · 15/95 · PSA 10 · Sep 10, 2026	$367,220
25	RayquazaDragons Exalted · 128/124 · PSA 10 · Oct 5, 2026	$336,000
26	GiratinaBW Black Star Promos · BW74 · PSA 10 · Sep 28, 2026	$336,000
27	GengarSkyridge · H9 · PSA 10 · Oct 12, 2026	$336,000
28	GengarLegendary Collection · 11/110 · PSA 10 · Sep 21, 2026	$336,000
29	KyogreCall of Legends · SL6 · PSA 10 · Oct 5, 2026	$312,000
30	Gliscor LV.XLegends Awakened · 141/146 · PSA 10 · Sep 21, 2026	$312,000

For the full daily feed, see our top sales, for what's moving this week see the market overview, and for how we filter and weight sales, see how we price.