Ultra-Rare Pikachu Card Fetches RM64.2mil at Auction

By Danial Martinus • 25 Feb 2026 in News

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

An ultra-rare Pokémon card featuring everyone’s favourite yellow mouse Pikachu has been sold at auction for an eye-watering RM64.2 million (US$16.5 million), making it the most expensive trading card ever auctioned.

And it’s not just any Pokémon card that you can get from a blister pack off the shelf.

The stuff of legend

The card in question is the so-called “Illustrator” Pikachu, touted by die-hard Pokémon trading card game (TCG) collectors as the Holy Grail of the entire hobby. Adding to its mystique is the fact that it wasn’t just a card you could buy off the shelf with a bit of luck.

It was only awarded to the winners of a Japanese illustration contest by CoroCoro Comic back in the late ’90s. It’s believed that fewer than 40 cards were ever printed, and even less remain in pristine condition today.

The card’s artwork also carries a lot of significance, having been designed by Atsuko Nishida, the original illustrator behind Pikachu and several early Pokémon. The card depicts Pikachu holding drawing tools, which charmingly pays tribute to the contest that birthed it.

But rarity alone isn’t the reason the Illustrator Pikachu is obscenely expensive. The condition of the card plays a big role in its determined value. The copy in question earned a Gem Mint 10 rating from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), which many view as the gold standard in card grading.

It’s the only Illustrator Pikachu card to ever receive that near-flawless score.

But of course, the card in question also enjoyed plenty of added hype thanks to its previous owner, Logan Paul. The wrestler and social media influencer wore it encased in diamonds around his neck during WrestleMania 38.

Its new owner, as in the one who forked out RM64.2 million for a piece of cardboard, is A.J. Scaramucci, a venture capitalist and son of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

How did Pokémon cards become a serious investment strategy?

To oversimplify it: millennials who played these cards as kids now have very real adult money.

But if you dive deeper, it’s easy to understand the value of nostalgia and scarcity, especially when the two are combined. Since its debut in the 1990s, the Pokémon universe has grown into a multi-billion dollar empire spanning video games, films, merch, and the Pokémon TCG.

Collecting the cards now as adults helps people reclaim their childhood.

Plus, what else are they gonna do with their hard-earned cash?