MARCH AUCTION OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES TO CATCH PSA MINT 9 PIKACHU ILLUSTRATOR, KEN SUGIMORI ORIGINAL ART, PSA GEM MINT 10 FIRST EDITION CHARIZARD, AND MORE
By Jesse Hughey | March 17, 2026
Thirty years ago last month, the phenomenon that would become the world’s highest-grossing media franchise began with the release of a pair of cartridges for the Nintendo Game Boy, Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green. Along with video games, the entertainment juggernaut would eventually include mobile games, movies, home video, toys, and, of course, the Pokémon Trading Card Game. In 1999, for about $4, a kid could get a pack of 11. Today, an unopened original Base Set Booster Pack can easily fetch thousands of dollars. And rare cards can realize hundreds of thousands or even millions.
Heritage Auctions Trading Card Games Managing Director Jesus Garcia, himself a millennial and part of that first generation of Pokémon enthusiasts, is optimistic for the future of the franchise as it enters its 31st year. “Prices have never been this high, and there are a lot of new people coming into the market,” he says. “It’s cool to see the nostalgia around Pokémon and to see people my age and children now can generally like the same thing. It’s something we grew up with and now something they’re growing up with that remains extremely popular.”
In honor of the franchise’s 30th anniversary, we’ve rounded up six of the top Pokémon lots in Heritage’s March 27–28 Trading Card Games and Manga Signature® Auction.
This Pikachu Illustrator card was awarded as the grand prize in one of the initial three illustration contests publicized in CoroCoro Comic. With only 39 such cards awarded in those initial contests, opportunities to catch your own “Holy Grail” of Pokémon TCG collecting don’t come along often, but serious collectors can bid on a PSA Mint 9 Pikachu Illustrator in Heritage’s March 27–28 auction. Not only is this an exceptionally rare card, but it’s among the top copies. PSA has certified 15 copies of the card a Mint 9, with only one copy graded higher.
Another rare card that can vie with the Pikachu Illustrator for status as the hottest card in the hobby is the First Edition Base Set Charizard, and this auction offers the chance to obtain one of only 125 copies to earn a Gem Mint 10 grade from PSA. Catch this Pokémon if you’re ready for the ultimate centerpiece for your collection and ready to ascend to the elite level of the hobby.
This auction also offers one of very few opportunities to purchase an original sketch by one of the Pokémon franchise’s most renowned artists, Ken Sugimori. Sugimori created the artwork for some of the most iconic cards in the TCG, and also for the original video games that hatched Pokémon 30 years ago. This PSA-authenticated artwork depicting Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty holding the franchise mascot, Pikachu, sports Sugimori’s signature in both English and Japanese and dates to June 23, 1998.
This complete VS 2001–2002 Tropical Mega Battle Complete Italian Deck was one of the decks given as prizes to competitors in the 2001 and 2002 Tropical Mega Battle events. The international competition drew trainers from all over the world, and prize decks were all printed in the native language of the players to whom they were awarded. PSA has graded all 30 cards, with grades ranging from NM-MT 8 to Gem Mint 10 — and this is the only Italian-language version of the deck.
This sealed Pokémon Skyridge Booster Box from 2003, which, as the final set printed by Wizards of the Coast, is one of the rarest and most sought-after booster boxes. The set includes four highly coveted Crystal-type cards, featuring perhaps the most popular Pokémon in the franchise, Charizard.
This lot is a complete Master Set of 332 Pokémon Skyridge cards, consisting of cards 1 through 150, cards H1 through H32, and the reverse holo versions of cards 1 through 150. The third and final expansion set of the e-Card Series, the cards’ borders have Dot Codes for use with the Nintendo e-Reader. Not only is this a complete Skyridge set, it’s in top condition: All 332 cards have been graded PSA Gem Mint 10.
