If its about Pokemon cards there is one standard above all: the value. That Pokémon trading card game has been around for two decades, but it’s as popular as ever. It continues to be played as a game and collectors still covet rare pieces, some fetching ridiculously high prices at auction.
When you’ve dug out your childhood collection in the attic and found a rare Pokémon card, you probably want to see if it will make you rich. While the answer to this question is probably “no,” there’s no harm in checking out if you happen to own one of the most expensive Pokémon cards out there, right?
There are two main factors that increase the value of these pieces: rarity and condition. If your card is rare and in pristine condition, it’s probably worth a lot of money. Then it’s possible that some eccentric YouTube star will show up in front of her house with a suitcase full of money to buy the ticket from you.
As this is an evolving market, these prices are always estimates based on historical auction sales and other factors, so the values presented here are not absolute. However, they should give you a good idea of how much your Pokémon cards are worth.
11. Venusaur: 1999 Pokémon Core Set – 1st Edition Shadowless Holographic
Value: around 27,875 euros
This flowery dino brings in a lot of cash: you see the stamp of the first edition, the missing shadows and the holo elements.
The term shadowless (“shadowless” in international usage) describes maps that have no drop shadows on the lower and right edges of the image. They are rarer than the regular variants. Holographic cards are those that feature glitter effects and similar gimmicks.
As you can already guess, the combination of shadowless, holographic, and first edition is practically the Holy Grail for collectors. There are only 139 Bisaflor in this composition in the world.
10. Blastoise: 1999 Pokémon Core Set – 1st Edition Shadowless Holographic
Value: around 28,535 euros
No shadows can be seen: this Turtok is worth a lot.
That’s also clear: the original cover trio of Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard adorn some of the most coveted items by collectors. The combination of aspects described above is also relevant here.
9. Chansey: 1999 Pokémon Core Set – 1st Edition Shadowless Holographic Thick Print
Value: around 32,450 euros
As you can see, the move names are bolder than Venusaur and Blastoise. That later caught on.
Take the aforementioned super combo and add one element to it: overprinting the text on the card. This is the case with some of these Haneirah specimens. To make matters worse, most of the pieces are damaged due to the manufacturing error – if you have such a card in good condition, you can ask a lot for it.
8. Rayquaza: 2005 Pokémon EX Deoxys Set – Gold Star Holographic
Value: around 33,000 euros
Rayquaza isn’t one of the coolest Pokemon for nothing.
As a Legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza’s card is marked with a gold star, and the dragon’s effigy – designed by Masakazu Fukuda – also includes holographic elements. So it’s no wonder that collectors love this piece.
7. Zoroark: 2010 Illusion Promo Card from Japan – 4th Grade Winner
Value: around 38,000 euros
Neat work by a Japanese fourth grader.
As part of a design competition for the then film “Zoroark: Masters of Illusion” in Japan, the six winners each received 100 cards with their designs – making these some of the rarest Pokémon cards on the planet.
6. Flemmli: 2004 Pokémon EX Team Rocket Returns Set – Gold Star Holographic
Value: around 40,165 euros
Golden star and golden motif: who can resist?
5. Trainer Card: 1999 Tropical Wind promo card from Japan
Value: around 40,165 euros
Sleeping Pokémon in the Tropical Wind: This card only appeared in a single tournament.
Only available as a prize for entering a tournament at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu in 1999, to which only 50 of the world’s best players were invited, this card is one of the rarest and most coveted cards in the world. Unless you or a family member are a retired professional, you’re unlikely to have one of these sitting in a drawer somewhere.
4. Charizard: 2000 Pokémon Topps Chrome Series 1 Tekno
Value: around 55,785 euros
This Chrome Charizard is a dazzling beauty.
This coveted chrome card was notoriously hard to come by, which explains why it found a new owner on the PWCC marketplace in January 2022 for around €55,785. These cards occasionally show up on eBay, but be careful and make sure it’s the right rating if you’re looking to buy one.
3. Magikarp: 1998 Tamamushi University Promotional Card from Japan
Value: around 72,525 euros
Magikarp adorns one of the most coveted maps in the world. Hardly anyone would have expected that.
It may not fetch the same price as the final card on the list, but this piece is among the rarest Pokémon cards in existence. It was originally only available as a prize in Tamamushi University’s Hyper Test. Only those who won a battle in this event received a card for their collection.
2. Charizard: 1999 Pokémon Core Set – 1st Edition Shadowless Holographic
Value: around 390,510 euros
Charizard is more popular than Venusaur and Blastoise, so the card fetches higher prices.
That’s a pile of ashes! Imagine finding these in your attic. Featuring the iconic artwork of Mitsuhiro Arita, this is the most coveted Pokémon card in history. But just having the card is not enough. More than 3,000 of these specimens have been passed on to appraisers over time, but only 121 of them have been graded PSA 10 Gem Mint, the best condition a card can be.
1. Pikachu: 1998 Illustrator Promo Card from Japan
Value: around 5.58 million euros
This Pikachu card is worth more than cryptocurrency and is also prettier to look at.
Oh, just look at him! Little Pikachu draws other Pokémon cards, how cute – and how precious! There are fewer than 20 of these examples, which were awarded as prizes in an art competition in the 1990s. In the past they were sold for hundreds of thousands of euros, but in 2022 one went for around 5.58 million euros. In mint condition, of course, but still absolutely wild. You probably haven’t hidden one of these behind a sofa cushion, but imagine if you did!
Thanks to Kirk McKeand (GLHF) for compiling it.
