Pikachu card hits $1.4 million at auction, trailing Logan Paul

Buyers looking to acquire high-end Pokémon memorabilia face an enormous price barrier as another rare item enters the market.

Three decades after the debut of the Red and Green titles in Japan, Pokémon remains an enduring force across the gaming sector. The franchise continues to command global attention across generations of players.

Commercial expansion took the brand from video game cartridges into Beanie Babies, theme parks, animation lines, homeware products and trading cards.

Even the Trump administration eventually engaged in commercial trading involving these items. The reach of the franchise extends into unexpected areas of global merchandise.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game stands as one of the most lucrative sectors in modern collecting as a scarce print prepares to sell for millions.

Bidding opens on the coveted Pikachu Illustrator promo item

Heritage Auctions listed a Pokémon Pikachu Illustrator Unnumbered Promo CoroCoro Comics card during its September 2026 Signature Auction. The item holds a Mint 9 classification from PSA.

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Collectors remember that recipients secured these Pikachu Illustrator cards exclusively through a CoroCoro Comics art contest held in 1998.

The Japanese publication distributed 23 initial copies to contest winners before sending out eight additional cards in two subsequent promotions. Only 39 copies exist.

The card displays a pen icon in the lower corner alongside Illustrator lettering across the top border above artwork crafted by Atsuko Nishida.

Heritage Auctions stated that “it cannot be said enough how much of a holy grail the Pikachu Illustrator is, both in and out of the Pokémon Trading Card Game community.” The auctioneer added: “If you gotta catch ‘em all, then you gotta catch this one.”

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PSA assigned a Mint 9 rating to only 15 examples worldwide, with this specific piece carrying an additional MBA Gold Diamond certification.

Current offers on the lot reached $1,175,000. Including the buyer premium, the actual invoice totals $1,468,750.

The online listing allows participants seven remaining days to submit increased bids for the Pikachu card.

A separate PSA 9 copy fetched $840,000 through Heritage Auctions in June 2022. The new bid reflects steep valuation growth across premier trading cards.

Past sale records set by Logan Paul remain untouched

The single card evaluated higher than a Mint 9 belongs to media personality Logan Paul, who owns the unique PSA Gem Mint 10 copy.

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After acquiring a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator for $1.275 million in 2021, Paul traded that copy and paid $4 million in cash to collector Marwan Dubsy Alkhaja before displaying the upgraded Mint 10 inside an $80,000 diamond necklace during WrestleMania 38. That public appearance brought vintage card collecting into mainstream entertainment circles.

The YouTube creator startled the collecting community earlier this year when he decided to divest himself of the asset.

Logan Paul already held a Guinness World Records title for purchasing the most expensive Pokémon collectible in history. He then broke auction benchmarks when Goldin sold his card for $16,492,000.

Bidding hovered at $6.882 million before venture capitalist A.J. Scaramucci delivered the winning $16.492 million sum to conclude the sale.

Heritage Auctions does not expect its Mint 9 lot to challenge the $16 million threshold achieved by Logan Paul. The closing price will determine the present ceiling for non-perfect grades.