Pikachu Pokémon card sold for $900K at auction

If you thought 2021’s Pokémon card craze was over, think again. A rare Pokémon card has just obliterated the previous auction record; the Japanese Promo, Pikachu Illustrator Holo card from 1998 sold for $900K on Feb. 23.

The card itself is in Japanese, and depicts a Pikachu holding some art supplies, surrounded by paintings and drawings of other Pokémon, like Charmander. Dicebreaker reports that only 41 cards of this type exist. 39 were offered originally as prizes for CoroCoro Comic readers’ submissions in 1997 and 1998. It’s drawn by Atsuko Nishida, the original designer of Pikachu, which has no doubt helped the price skyrocket.

This card type has been sold before and was even more popular than the $375k that it cost. But just to illustrate how ridiculous Pokémon card sales have gotten over the last few years, an even more impressive mint of the Pikachu Illustrator sold for Only $195K in 2019 (which at the time, was the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold).

The Pokémon card bubble could burst at any time, but it’s almost certain we’ll see some Pokémon cards break the million dollar mark before that happens.