Pokémon has become a worldwide phenomenon ever since it made its debut in the late 1990s. Part of this fandom were collectable trading cards. There are various kind of cards that can be collected. Kids would bring them to school to trade and possibly brag about the ones they have.
Nearly three decades later, the cards are not as popular as in back in the day but they are more valuable and rare. As a result, people will do absolutely anything to get their hands on them. This could include buying them off someone or, at the very worst, rob a store for them.
Five years ago, Logan Paul set a world record when he purchased a Pokémon card for $5.275 million. It proved a sound investment – the influencer and wrestler sold that card for a jaw-dropping $16.492 million; with a diamond encrusted necklace thrown in.
The rare Pikachu Illustrator card - one of just 39 created for a Pokémon illustration competition in the late 90s - went under the hammer on Goldin auctions on Monday. It's believed to have earned the WWE star more than $8 million in profit after auction fees, a sale he called, "absolutely insane."
The auction had been running for 42 days but came to an end after hours of extended bidding on Monday, with Paul saying, "we may have tired someone out" during a YouTube live stream. "Oh my gosh, this is crazy," he added once the auction closed and confetti rained down.
Moments later, a Guinness World Records official appeared on-screen and confirmed Paul had sold the most expensive trading card ever at auction.
Pokémon is the world’s highest-grossing media franchise, surpassing even Disney and Star Wars. Cards have rocketed in value, outpacing sports cards and beating the S&P stock market by 3 000% in the past 20 years; Goldin founder and CEO, Ken Goldin in December after Logan confirmed he would be auctioning off the card. "This is the most coveted trading card in the world," he said.
Goldin said the Illustrator is considered "the holy grail of all Pokémon cards" and Paul’s card was what everybody wants because it’s virtually flawless – the only Illustrator card considered a Grade 10 card by authentication agency PSA.
As Monday’s bidding drew to a close, the price initially held at $6.882 million until a flurry of last-minute offers during an extended bidding period lasting several hours drove the final auction total to $16.492 million from 97 total bids.
Paul has a reputation for taking collectibles to extreme levels and has spent millions to secure some of the rarest items ever produced; including NFTs - unique, verifiable digital assets traded on the blockchain.
The WWE wrestling star bid farewell to the card on Saturday in an Instagram post, saying, "goodbye my friend. What a privilege it’s been to be the owner of the greatest collectible in the world."
The card is just one of 20 Illustrator cards graded by PSA. Paul got his hands on the ultra-rare Grade 10 card by swapping a PSA Grade 9 Pikachu Illustrator card he previously owned – worth $1.275 – and $4 million in cash for it in July 2021.
Only eight of the Pikachu Illustrator cards have been awarded a PSA Grade 9 and Paul’s sale is the only PSA Grade 10, the highest and most desirable grade assigned by PSA. This time around, the card was sold inside a custom necklace worn by Paul at WrestleMania 38 and with his promise to hand-deliver it to the winning bidder.
Rare Pokémon cards are locked up in one of the most secure locations in the United States. The Surging Sparks Pikachu, which includes a full art illustration of the little yellow guy adorned in a Stellar-type Tera crown, is sitting in a Lucky Box vending machine in the Pentagon food court.
In a now-deleted Threads announcement, Lucky Box posted that it had set up one of its loot box machines in the Pentagon food court and among the potential prizes which the machine’s display touts could be yours if you blindly give it some cash is the aforementioned Pikachu card.
Based on photos posted on the Army sub-reddit, the machine also has an image of a giant Charizard card on the side of it but it’s unclear if that’s just decoration or if the original fire-breathing dragon card is also in that specific machine. Taking your chances at a Luck Box machine can cost anywhere from $100 to $200.
Lucky Box’s social media accounts include photos of big winners, some of whom won rare Pokémon cards; while others won autographed jerseys from various sports teams. It doesn’t look like they’ve posted anyone scoring something big in the middle of the Pentagon yet.
In fact, most of its posts feature the boxes in Las Vegas, where over 20 of the machines are found. The winners that are featured are finding some pretty valuable Pokémon cards, though, from a rare Venusaur to the ancient Mew promo card from Pokémon: The First Movie’s theatrical run.
In one of New York’s destination shopping areas, where each block is lined with high-end boutiques and exclusive clubs, robbers targeted a far more unassuming store: a Pokémon card shop.
Three men burst into the shop, Poké Court, a new addition to West 13th Street in Lower Manhattan, at around 18:45 on Wednesday and stole at least $110 000 worth of Pokémon cards; store managers said.
As the men entered the store, one immediately pulled out a gun and pointed it at customers and workers, said Courtney Chin, the owner of the store. Another closed a curtain at the front of the store and guarded the door to prevent people from leaving, she said. No one was hurt.
Security footage shows two of the men approaching a display case and smashing it with a hammer before stuffing handfuls of Pokémon cards and packs into their backpacks.
The store typically keeps its most valuable products locked in the case, Ms. Chin said. "They started systemically taking the items that had really large price tags, really high values, including a professionally authenticated, first-edition card depicting the orange, dragon-like creature Charizard that is worth about $15,000," Ms. Chin said.
The products in the display case were priced from $400 to $18 000, said Peter Du, the store’s partnerships manager. The men, who were dressed in black, also took an unknown amount of money from the cash register, Ms. Chin said. The entire robbery unfolded in about three minutes, she said.
The men made verbal threats and stole a phone from a 27-year-old woman, the police said. No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing, the police said.
In California, robbers have recently ransacked card stores and stolen items that included Pokémon cards, police there said.
On 2 December, thieves broke into LA Sports Cards in Burbank, in the Los Angeles area and stole around $100 000 in merchandise; including Pokémon cards, Burbank police said. Four people were arrested in connection with the burglary, police said.
A group of robbers held up a customer who was leaving a card store and stole his Pokémon collection valued at around $300 000, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Anyone who collects Pokemon cards knows that they’ve been getting more expensive and more difficult to find in recent years. These days, even a standard Pokemon card restock might cause a Costco fist fight or, more likely, empty shelves mere hours later. With prices rising for even newly released collections like Ascended Heroes, it’s not surprising that the rarest cards are starting to get even more expensive, too. Recently, former YouTuber Logan Paul smashed the prior world record for the most expensive Pokemon card ever sold. His rare PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card sold for $16 million.
With Logan Paul’s card taking the win for the most expensive Pokemon card auction to date, many fans are no doubt curious about the other most expensive Pokemon cards out there. Even if most of us will never have the funds to get our hands on these rare and valuable cards, it’s still fun to know that they’re out there. So, here are the most expensive Pokemon cards ever sold, as of February 2026.
5) Blastoise Galaxy Star Holo (GCG 8.5)
This rare card was part of an early English-language print test for Pokemon cards. It was commissioned by Wizards of the Coast as part of a pitch to Nintendo and only 2 copies were ever made. No known PSA 10 versionof the card exists but even a CGC 8.5 can fetch a high price given just how rare this piece of Pokemon card history is.
Back in 2021, this Blastoise holo went for $360 000 in a Heritage Auctions sale. This card is the only version currently accounted for and as such, is the highest quality option on offer. The buyer and seller were private, so it’s unclear when or if the card will go back up for sale. And if the other copy is ever found, it could be worth even more, depending on whether it’s been kept in mint condition.
4) English Holo Charizard (PSA 10, Shadowless)
Next to Pikachu, Charizard is one of the most popular Pokemon of all time. So, it makes sense that this fully evolved Kanto starter has a few entries in the most expensive Pokemon card sales ever recorded. Later printings of these cards gave the Pokemon a shadow, so the "shadowless" versions are considered the true 1st edition of English-language Pokemon cards. Very few were ever printed, and even fewer remainin the coveted mint condition that earns a 10 rating from PSA.
Back in 2022, a PSA 10-rated shadowless Charizard from 1999 sold for $420 000 in a PWCC Marketplace auction. A few years before that, it sold for a similar price of $369 000. That said, the most recent sale for a PSA 10 shadowless Charizard holo took place back in February 2025, at $45 322. So, while this card may not go for quite as much these days, it remains among the most expensive Pokemon cards on the market.
3) Silver No. 2 Pikachu Trainer (PSA 10)
Pokemon’s adorable mascot is the star of quite a few of the most expensive Pokemon TCG cards. The Pikachu Silver Trophy card is an ultra-rare card, printed only as a prize for Mega Battle Pokemon tournaments. In fact, there are supposedly only 14 of these cards in existence, though only a handful are currently accounted for. This one is the only known PSA 10 card out there.
Back in 2023, the PSA 10 Silver No. 2 Pikachu Trainer card sold at auction for $444 000. It was a private auction via Goldin, so it's unknown where the card is now or when it might come back on the market. It’s a cute card, with a Pikachu holding up a silver second-place trophy. As adorable as the second-prize-winning Pikachu is, it’s the card’s rarity that makes it among the most expensive Pokemon cards ever sold.
2) Pokemon Topsun Charizard Blue Black (PSA 10)
This card may well be the rarest Charizard out there. That is, in large part, because it was sold as a promotional item from Topsun before the official Pokemon TCG came into existence. The rarest version is the "no number" error card, which was misprinted without Charizard’s Pokedex number. Since it pre-dates the official TCG, the card looks quite a bit different from most, making it a unique collector’s item even before rarity gets involved.
There were two versions of this card but the blue-black color is the most valuable. In January 2021, a PSA 10 version of this card sold for $493 230 in a Goldin auction. The PSA 10 iterations of the card look to be fairly rare and most current listings are for PSA 9 cards. Due to the rarity and high demand for this card, even those less-than-perfect versions are going for upwards of $36,000.
1) Logan Paul’s Pikachu Illustrator (PSA 10)
This card has long been the most expensive one out there, as only around 40 copies were ever produced. Paul himself bought it for a record-smashing 5.2 million back in 2021. Since then, it has achieved additional notoriety thanks to its association with the famous personality, who wore it in a specially made gold necklace during boxing matches.
The incredibly rare Pikachu Illustrator, now with an added shine of fame, diamonds and gold, sold in February 2026 for over $16 million. To date, this is by far the most expensive Pokemon card ever sold. Given its history and rarity, it will likely retain this spot for quite some time.
It's mind boggling just how far people are willing to go to get Pokémon cards. It obviously has great value and some people are willing to do anything to get their hands on the money. What makes it "better" is that they can charge any amount they want on the black market. There are people out who truly wants to collect 'em all.
What's evenly shocking is the amount. I can't really believe that cards can go for that much. Rare cards are worth a lot. That, I get. What I believe to be true is that not all cards are rare. Some, as demonstrated above, have multiple copies. Ergo, I believe that they shouldn't go for as much.
I would love to meet someone who owns one of these cards so that I can ask them what they do with the card they possess. For the amount they pay, I hardly believe that they simply hang it on a wall or keep it in a collection book.