Are you a Pikachu fan? Are you looking for rare Pikachu cards? You curious how much they are worth?
Well this list is perfect for you!
I mean, “are you a Pikachu fan?” is a pretty dumb question. Who ain’t?
I am not really much of a fan of Pokémon, but even I am a Pikachu fan.
I mean, I gave Detective Pikachu the number one spot on my list of the 5 Best Nintendo Movies Of All Time. Cause he’s that cool.
I find it quite interesting looking at rare collectible items and seeing the insane prices people are willing to pay to obtain them.
So here’s a list we all can enjoy together!
Here we go, people. Rare Pikachu cards & how much they’re worth:
Table of Contents
10. 2002 Legendary Collection Reverse Holo Pikachu
The 2002 Legendary Collection was clearly designed to be quite visually stimulating.
That fireworks “holofoil” print was very over the top.
As the legend goes, the unusual printing technique led to common imperfections.
So after 20 years, the number of cards that remain “perfect” are quite low.
There are 30 cards known to have received the PSA 10 rating, making them very very rare and very very desirable.
The most recent known PSA 10 holofoil card was sold for $4,890.
9. 2001 Black Star Promo Holographic Birthday Pikachu
You ever heard of the “Create your own Pokémon Card” campaign by Wizards of the Coast in 2000? Well if you haven’t…
Members of the “Pokémon League” submitted designs to Wizards of the Coast to potentially be produced as part of the 2001 set.
Needless to say, this unique “Birthday Pikachu” card was put into production, and created quite the controversy.
If used by a player celebrating their birthday, the card would deal an extra 50 damage. So the card quickly became blacklisted from use in competitive play.
The card is extremely rare and sought after.
The most recent known sale closed at $6,750.
8. 1995 Japanese Topsun Blue Back No Number Pikachu
As part of the Japanese Topsun card set. Each pack sold contained two Pokémon cards and two sticks of chewing gum.
There were several iterations of the full set, with various changes to the designs.
These changes are often thought to be through error more than intentional design choices.
But one of the most rare versions of the Pikachu card is the one that came with a blue back, and was missing the “025” next to his name.
There are less than 100 known of this version, and the most recent sale was for $6,767.
7. 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Shadowless Red Cheeks Pikachu
Artist Mitsuhiro Arita, who is responsible for over 500 iconic Pokémon trading card designs, created the 1999 Base set first edition Pikachu design with yellow cheeks (no red cheeks).
The card sets producers, Wizards of the Coast, decided that this must have been a mistake, and added the red cheeks in themselves.
This was eventually corrected in reprints, making the strange modified design quite rare.
The most recent known was sold for $6,900.
6. 2006 EX Holon Phantoms Gold Star Pikachu
In the EX Holon Phantoms set only three cards included the rare gold star next to the characters name.
And of course, one of those characters with the gold star was Pikachu.
The chances of pulling a gold star Pikachu is estimated to be one in six boxes.
There’s only about 650 known cards out there (at least, that’s how many have been submitted for PSA rating).
The most recent rated PSA 10 was sold for $8,600.
5. 1996 Japanese Base Set No Rarity Symbol Pikachu
The 1996 base set of Pokémon cards were printed without a “rarity” indicator in the bottom corner of the card.
It is unknown if this were a result of choice in design or if it were simply forgotten.
But the subsequent prints included the rarity symbol.
So if you happen to have one of the rare “No Rarity Symbol” Pikachu… you’re quite lucky.
The most recent known sale went for $8,999.
4. 2002 Pokemon E-Card Sample Pikachu
Nintendo produced a small set of ten Pokémon cards to be used at promotional events.
The cards were used to demonstrate the new e-Reader peripheral made for the Game Boy Advance.
We talked about the e-Reader on our list of the 15 Best Gameboy Accessories To Pimp Your Handheld.
None were ever sold to the public. So the only way anybody ever had these were if they were somehow obtained from the small number used at live events.
Only 22 Pikachu sample cards are accounted for, making them extremely rare.
The most recent known sale went for $12,500.
3. 2016 20th Anniversay 24k Gold Ginza Tanaka Japanese Pikachu
Yes, people, this card is actually coated in 24 Karat gold!
The super rare Pikachu card was made in collaboration with the Japanese jeweler Ginza Tanaka.
You could only get one if you were one of the lucky few to get the pre-order, and paid the $2100 price tag.
The most recent known sale was for $12,655.
2. 1995 Japanese Topsun Prism Pikachu
As part of the first Japanese Topsun card set, only one in forty card packs would contain one of the sixteen holographic cards.
So the rarity of finding the coveted Pikachu hologram was very rare.
But look at how cool that thing looks!
It is no surprise that is has become one of the most sought after Pikachu cards ever.
The most recently sold went for $15,000.
1. 1998 Japanese Illustrator Pikachu
Easily the most rare and desirable of all Pokémon cards ever produced.
Featuring artwork by legendary Atsuko Nishida, who created the original illustration of Pikachu.
The card was produced as a prize to be given for an illustration contest by CoroCoro Comic.
Only 39 cards were made. So very very easily the most rare of all Pikachu cards to ever exit.
The most expensive Pokémon purchase of all time is also held by this legendary card…
A PSA 10 Illustrator Pikachu sold for $5,275,000 to Logan Paul, and he also wore the card around his neck for WrestleMania 38.
Logan also received a Guinness World Record for “most expensive Pokémon trading card sold at a private sale” for his PSA 10 Illustrator Pikachu.
So love it or hate it, this man clearly loves his Pokémon, and is very loud and proud about it. What’s not to appreciate about that?
Are you a fan of Pokémon cards and their values? Maybe check out our article of Top 20 Rare Pokemon Cards For Collectors & Flippers too.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
