RELATED: Pokemon TCG Celebrations: The Most Valuable Cards It's the only card ever printed to replace the "TRAINER" text at the top of the card with "ILLUSTRATOR" Identified by the unique fountain pen expansion symbol, and the two stars in the bottom right corner, this card was awarded to winners of a 1998 CoroCoro illustration contest. While Pikachu Illustrator (technically it's "Pokemon Illustrator", but most auctions list it as Pikachu) is often seen as one of the rarest Pokemon cards in existence, there are actually 41 verified copies of it in existence, and only 39 officially distributed. In March 2022, Charizard broke its own record, and sold in a PWCC auction for a new high of $420,000. In auction it tends to sell for significantly less, though: last year one sold for $264,000 through Heritage Auctions. These Charizard cards have become one of the prime reasons for the Pokemon Card trend of the past two years, with YouTuber Logan Paul opening one as recently as February 2021 that was estimated by auction site owner Ken Goldin to sell for upwards of $500,000. RELATED: Pokemon: The Most Valuable Blastoise Cards Only 56 have ever been identified by PSA. Second, though shadowless Base Set Charizards are fairly common and number in the thousands, a PSA 10-graded one (meaning it is in mint condition) are incredibly rare. While most base set cards have a shadow on the right side of the art frame, the very first cards Wizards of the Coast printed lacked it, giving them an extra level of value. Specifically, the lack of a shadow means it isn't just a first edition, it's the first print run of the first edition. There are a lot of factors that make this card worth so much compared to any other Charizard card. Charizard and Pikachu Illustrator sold more than ever before, and a few new copies of other cards have been identified.
Updated Apby Joe Parlock: Since the last update to this article, a few cards completely obliterated previous sale records. As long as Pokemon remains a popular video game franchise, the Pokemon Trading Card Game will keep on producing new types of cards, but none of them can reach the heights of the rarest and most valuable Pokemon cards in the history of the franchise. New Pokemon cards are still being produced to this day, making many of the oldest Pokemon cards even harder to find. RELATED: Pokemon: The Most Valuable Pikachu Cards (And Some That Aren't Worth Much) We all had a few Caterpies and Rattattas lying around from this trend, and if you managed to collect a coveted card like a holographic Charizard, you were the talk of the school playground and truly got lucky. While it might be a bit easy, there are some navigation problems and lack of quality-of-life quirks in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, issues that you don't have to deal with if you grab the 2019 flagship Pokémon games.If you were a Pokemon fan back in the 1990s, you probably have a fair few old Pokemon Trading Card Game cards stashed somewhere in the back of your closet. If you're buying this game as a gift for a child, we highly recommend Sword and Shield, especially if this will be the kid's first Pokémon game. If you want a game that feels a little more modern, you should go with Sword or Shield. If you want a more nostalgic experience, we'd recommend grabbing Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl. Pokémon Sword and Shield: Which should you buy?Īt the end of the day, the Pokémon game you should buy depends heavily on your focus. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl vs. There's also an Expansion Pass for Pokémon Sword and Shield, adding new adventures, new areas to explore, and new Pokémon to collect if you're willing to pay for the two DLCs. Trading is available right now in Sword and Shield, while it's coming to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in 2022. Pokémon HOME trading somewhat alleviates this, but only partially. If you don't take Chimchar as your starter, getting a Fire-type Pokémon on your team can be tough, making the game fairly unbalanced compared to Sword and Shield.ĭepending on what Pokémon you want to catch and use in your team, this will heavily determine which game you'll want to pick up. It's worth noting that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, being Gen 4, suffer from an extreme lack of Fire-type Pokémon.