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From Pikachu to Charizard, Pokémon cards have been produced for over 25 years. We have ranked what we believe to be the top 10 rarest pokémon cards to have ever been released.
Pokémon ‘The Card Game’ has been around since the mid 90’s. Originally called ‘Pocket Monsters’ The Pokémon Company developed cards in Japan before they released English versions in 1998. In this list we rank the rarest Pokémon Cards Ever.
From Pikachu to Charizard Pokémon cards have been produced for over 25 years. We have ranked what we believe to be the top 10 rarest cards to have ever been released. As you can imagine some of these cards are so rare that we can only estimate how many are still in circulation.
So strap in as we break down the top 10 Rarest Pokémon cards ever!
In at number 10 we have the 1998 Tamamushi University Magikarp. Way back in 1998 there was an event called ‘The Tamamushi University Hyper Test’. The test was published in ShogakukanMagazines where readers could be invited to a two day event. These players would battle it out to make it through to the second day. If players managed to win a
battle on day 2 they would be awarded this card as their prize. The gold borders and iconic Magikarp artwork make this one of the most recognisable Japanese cards ever. Unfortunately this artwork was never released in the English version. It is estimated that there are only 150 cards remaining making this the rarest Magikarp card ever. Recent sales of this card price it at just under £55,000 with a 10 rating making it extremely expensive and highly sought after.
Back we go to 1998 where the 1998 Kangaskhan comes in at 9 on our list. Back in Japan 1998 Pokémon held a parent and child ‘Mega Battle Tournament’. The entry requirements were for teams of 2 consisting of parent and child to go head to head and battle other teams. It’s unsure on how many wins a team needed but teams would be awarded this prize after a certain amount. The family event promo card is a very very attractive card, with a purple holofoil and one of the most recognisable Pokémon on the list, this card fetches a high price. Coming in at over £120,000 this card is only ever increasing in value.
Ahhhh yes, The Pikachu Illustrator. Probably one of the most recognisable cards in the hobby (thanks Logan Paul). Unless you don’t have access to the internet you will know all about it however we are still going to talk about it. Back in 1997 CoroCoro Comics released an illustration competition where entrants were tasked with designing their own Pokémon card and sending it into the magazine. Winners were awarded 20 copies of their own drawings along with the highly sought after Pikachu Illustrator card. A total of 39 are known to exist making it in at 8 on our list. However, this is actually the most expensive card ever. Being valued at over £4.2 million the 10 rated Pikachu Illustrator card is 1 of 1 owned by Logan Paul. If you haven’t seen his video check it out here shorturl.at/iwBPW
The Masters key is the first on our list of award cards from Pokémon Championships. In 2010 the event was held in Hawaii where competitors battled it out to be crowned champion. Participants that ranked high enough would receive a copy of this card (some even with a frame). The text at the bottom of the card reads, “Pokémon World Championship 2010 Japan National Tournament prize card” With only 36 copies of this card having been awarded it makes it at number 7 on our list. A copy of this card along with the original trophy case sold for over £17,000. Not bad for shiny cardboard.
Long old name for an Umbreon card. This however is no ordinary Umbreon card. The 2005 Japanese version was awarded to participants of the ‘Pokémon Players Club’ who achieved 70,000 experience points in a 4 season window. To put that into context, participating in events gave players 100xp so you had to also be pretty good and win some games to rank up quickly. Because of the extremely high requirements this card became very rare. It is estimated that only 25 copies of these cards are in existence. The artwork however has been recycled multiple times. The English version in pop series 5 still commands a high price due to its rarity, however it’s the 2005 Japanese version that makes it on our list. A 9 rated version of this card sold in 2021 for over £55,000.
Another Japanese promo Tropical Wind was awarded to players who attended the annual championship in Honolulu Hawaii. Players already had to be regional champions in order to qualify for the event making it extremely challenging. 22 years later this card is so low in pop number that it is rarely ever seen. Sales of this card in a 10 have exceeded over £53,000 and with only 12 known copies it’s not hard to see why.
This is where it gets really interesting. The Super Secret Battle Trainer promo is one of the most sought after cards in the world. Back in 1999 Pokémon Regional winners were invited to the finals which was held in a secret location. This card was awarded to the winners as an invitation to the finals tournament. The card reads; “The Pokémon Card Game Official Tournament’s champion is recognized here, and this honor is praised. By presenting this card, you may gain preferential entry into the Secret Super Battle.” What’s more interesting is that there were only 7 regional tournaments that took place, however there are 8 confirmed cards in existence. This could mean that there are more versions of this card out there. (Might be worth having a look in your old collection). The Super secret battle card has been sold for over £74,000, in our opinion we think that’s not bad considering its the 4th rarest card ever.
Our newest card on the list, the 2017 Tsunekazu Ishihara GX Promo is a one of a kind. Its artwork features the CEO Ishihara on the card, 350HP as well as Rotom the Electric/Ghost Pokémon. On his 60th Birthday Tsunekazu gave out this card as a ‘thankyou’ at a private party to Pokémon employees for their hard work and dedication. The card was sold in 2021 by Goldin Auctions for £203,000. The 9 Rated card was also signed by Ishihara himself adding to the rarity of this unique promo. 4 cards have been submitted for grading and there are likely more cards out there however currently this ranks 3rd on our list.
Yes we have a tie for the second rarest Pokémon card ever. First we have the 1998 Silver Trophy Pikachu. Back in 1998 the world championships gave out Bronze, Silver and Gold trophy cards at the Lizardon Tournament. The silver trophy card however is the rarest of the 3. With only 3 copies having ever emerged it’s so rare that no public sales have ever been seen.
Next is the 2006 Pokémon No. 2 trainer (what’s with these 2nd place cards?). The 2006 Promo is joint second again with only 3 copies to be known to exist. This card was given as a prize at the Pokémon World Championships in California. In February 2021 a 9 rated copy sold for over £90,000. On the bottom of the card it reads “If you won this card at the 2006 Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championships, you may return to battle the best in 2007.”
The rarest pokémon card ever is the 1998 Commissioned Blastoise. Back in 1998 a team within the Pokémon Company decided that it would be a good idea to print cards in English. The team used ‘Magic the Gathering’ Cards to test print and pitch the idea of developing a new product. At the time WotC (Wizards Of The Coast) created 4 prototypes with the image of a blastoise only ever before used on video game art. They also used Comic Sans MS which in our opinion adds to the charm of the card. Three out of the four cards have Magic backs but the 4th is blank along with holofoil. Graded by CGC these cards are among the oldest and rarest English Pokémon cards to ever exist. Due to its rarity the test card sold for £296,000 which makes sense as this is a genuine 1 of 1. Its also incredible that the first ever English Pokémon card survived and was looked after. Had this not happened we may have never known of the 1998 Blastoise.
The Illustrator card may be the most expensive on this list but the top spot is awarded to the 1998 Blastoise. Did we miss some cards out? Perhaps you know of a card that is even more scarce than the Galaxy Star Hologram. And that’s it, the top 10 rarest cards in Pokémon history (for now). Will you now go digging through your collection? What’s your rarest card? Tag us using the #TGC
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