Often considered to be the rarest Pokémon card of all, the so-called Pikachu Illustrator (it’s proper name is “Pokémon Illustrator” but no one calls it that) was a print of around 41 cards given to winners of a Japanese competition in 1998. It has since gone on to become notorious, not just for being so highly valued and sought after, but for being the card on which one Logan Paul spent $5,300,000 in 2022. Another of the cards, this one graded as a PSA 9, has just sold for a flat $4,000,000 on eBay, reaffirming it as the most valuable Pokémon card of all.
In 1998, when the Pokémon TCG was in its infancy, the prize of a unique Pikachu card for the CoroCoro Comic Illustration Contest must have been nice enough, but not all that special. It’s not known exactly how many were handed out, but it’s believed 41 were printed, made unique by having the word “ILLUSTRATOR” where “TRAINER” would usually appear. The holographic image shows Pikachu clutching an enormous paintbrush, while the Japanese text underneath congratulates the recipients as having been “recognized as excellent in the Pokémon Card Game Illustration Contest.” It’s not known how many survive, but of those that do, the condition they’re in becomes everything. The card Logan Paul bought for $5,275,000 was graded as a PSA 10, meaning it is in absolutely perfect condition. Meanwhile, a PSA 7 version in 2023 put up for bids starting at $480,000 received not a single offer and went unsold.
On Friday September 12, however, another colossal sale price got added to the roster. (Thanks, Dexerto.) A PSA 9 version of the Pikachu Illustrator went up for auction on eBay from seller Scott “smpratte” Pratte, and sold for a cool $4,000,000. This specific card, described as “the Holy Grail of Pokémon,” was for a long time thought to be the only PSA 9 to exist, submitted by Pratte himself after he added it to his collection in 2011. According to PSA, in 2017 there were four examples graded 9, and at some point Pratte had owned all four of them. In 2013 he sold another PSA 9 version of the Pikachu, listing it for $100,000, but eventually accepting an offer for $50,000. That’s 1.25 percent of what he got for another Pikachu Illustrator with the game grading this weekend. He sold another in 2016 for just $55,000, which at the time was considered to be extraordinarily high.
Pokémon card prices started to grow in 2020, as the covid lockdowns seemed to drive people to their lofts to find old binders, with classic cards becoming incredibly desirable. This peaked in 2022 when Logan Paul bought the PSA 10 Illustrator as a stunt, and then wore it around his neck on a chain during one of his fake-ass boxing fights. That remains the most expensive card ever, but this weekend’s sale suggests the impact of that price is lasting. Not least considering a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator sold the same year for $840,000.
It’s not clear why Pratte has chosen to part with it now, although I can think of four million really good reasons. It’s really hard to imagine this value sustaining, so there’s a decent chance it’s been sold at its peak. It’s notable that someone else sold an identical card just last month for only $625,000, the only difference being that Pratte’s was the first to be graded at 9. You’d imagine whoever sold it must be furious right now, but I can’t help but notice the listing uses the same “Holy Grail!” language as Pratte’s eBay listing. Look, eventually someone’s going to notice that it’s a piece of cardboard. Also, PSA now lists 15 of the card graded PSA 9, 12 as PSA 8, and 7 as PSA 7.
From searching around on auction sites, I’ve cobbled together a list of claimed dates and prices the Pikachu Illustrator has fetched over the years:
- Early 2000s: $23,000
- May 8, 2014: $90,000 (PSA 9)
- Nov 17, 2016: $54,970 (PSA 9)
- Apr 2, 2022: $5,275,000 (PSA 10)
- Jun 11, 2022: $840,000 (PSA 9)
- Sep 23, 2023: $495,000 (CCG 10)
- Dec 16, 2023: $137,00 (PSA Altered)
- Aug 8, 2025: $625,000 (PSA 9)
- Sep 12, 2025: $4,000,000 (PSA 9)
If you’re looking to pick up something not quite as rare, but still pretty special, Pratte is still selling a PSA 10 Illusion’s Zorua prize card for a mere $20,000.
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