1999 Super Secret Battle No. 1 Trainer

[Ezekiel Tulagan]

Ifyoure reading this, its probably not news that since the beginning of the pandemic, rare Pokmon cards have seen a huge increase in demand. And while the market has cooled a little of late, prices for most of the top cards remain far above their levels from 18 months ago.

But, if youre a newcomer to this field and cant yet tell your Bulbasaurs from your Squirtles, it can be difficult to clearly identify the trends in this market. Dont worry, were here to help. Below youll see a list of the 15 most expensive, and often some of the rarest, Pokmon cards in the hobby, which ideally will offer a clear understanding of where the money tends to concentrate in this universe. As you might guess, the closer we get to the 90s, the better.

Weve already written about how Charizards majesty shines over the Pokmon hobby, so unsurprisingly, the dragon also has one of the most expensive and rarest card on this list. The Shadowless Charizard refers to a printing error in the original Pokmon TCG run. Certain Charizards left the distribution site without a telltale floating drop-shadow behind the border. Cards bearing this mark are extremely rare, which is why the price is capable of getting higher than every other option on the market. We all serve Charizard, at the end of the day.

A rule of thumb in collecting; if a promotional card is released into circulation particularly at the earliest era of a card games lifecycle it will generally be highly desirable. That is the case with the humble Pokmon Illustrator, which was a prize for the competitors in a Japan-only Illustrator contest. Kids scribbled up their own crayon-drawn interpretations of their favorite characters in the universe. Only 39 of these cards exist, making them insanely rare and a forever the holy grail among investors.

The backless in the name here refers to the opposite edge of the card. In Wizards of the Coast initial test printing of Pokmon cards, certain Blastoises were left without the usual logo or insignia on its rear. A layman might think that its a bootleg, rather than one of the rarest and most expensive cards in the whole hobby.

Most of the cards on this list were printed back in the 90s, but this one featuring Pokmon president Tsunekazu Ishihara emerged on the market back in 2017. As you might expect, the Black Star Ishihara isnt tournament legal (you wont find him trading blows with a Venasaur anytime soon). Instead, it was simply printed to celebrate the mans 60th birthday. But the cards quirkiness, and sheer scarcity, speaks for itself. Not just any Black Star crosses the quarter of a million dollar threshold, however. The ones that are valued the highest bear Ishiharas signature.

This is another early Pokmon card from Wizards of the Coasts initial test print run to bring the game to western shores. But this particular Blastoise has the additional quirk of sporting a Magic The Gathering cardback. Imagine slapping down a Blastoise in the middle of a Magic game!

This holographic limited-edition Kangaskhan has an extremely charming origin story. In the late 90s, the Pokmon Company put on an event called the Parent/Child Mega Battle, where kids teamed up with their mothers or fathers and battled each other for true familial supremacy. Winners received this promo card as a trophy, making it one of the rarest pieces of cardboard ever to bear the Pokmon name. This Kangaskhan rarely comes up for auction, but when it does, expect to pay a pretty penny.

Lugia is the rare Pokmon to have a devout fandom without first being introduced in the original 150. No, Lugias first appearance came as the marquee figure on the cover of Pokmon Silver, one of the follow-ups to Pokmon Red and Blue, and its $144,300 price tag tells you that it can compete with the big boys in the trade. Its popularity is possibly also driven by the 1999 film, Pokmon: The Movie 2000.

The No. 2 Trainer was awarded to winners at the 2006 Pokmon World Championship, and according to experts, only three of these were ever handed out. That is incredible scarcity, which is part of the reason why this relatively young 15-year old card commands such a high price.

Are you sensing a theme yet? The Super Secret Battle trainer card served as a reward to a lucky group of players invited to the Super Secret Battle in 1999. Decades later, in a world where the Pokmon hobby has accrued unprecedented dividends, this is now one of the most hotly sought-after relics in auction houses all over the world.

The Pokmon Company embraced some sports card thinking in the mid-2000s. Printers sorted a veritable golden ticket into a smattering of lucky booster packs Pokmon emblazoned with a star next to their name, designating that the paperboard features alternative artwork and were limited to an incredibly small circulation number. This Umbreon is one of those cards, and it represents one of the few relics released after Pokmons late-90s heyday capable of taking down a five figure auction cost.

Ah, Magikarp. The most useless Pokmon of all time has earned something of a cult following over the years, so its nice to see the fish recognized on this list. This card was given out to fans who scored well on something called the Tamamushi University Hyper Test which we imagine was some sort of Pokmon quiz. Owning this particular Magikarp can earn you a lot of money, and also prove your scholastic bona fides.

The deeper we get into this list, the more it continues to become clear that some of the rarest and most valuable Pokmon cards in the world were originally printed as a reward for some long-forgotten 90s tournament. That is again the case for Tropical Wind, which entered the market through the Tropical Mega Battle in Hawaii back in 1999. Who even knows how many of these cards survived to this day?

This Blastoise might not have a Magic The Gathering cardback, but it does lack a drop-shadow; a printing error fetishized by collectors who archive Pokmons primordial era. $45,100 honestly might be a bargain.

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The most expensive Pokmon card ever sold is the Pikachu Illustrator promo card, which was sold for a whopping $5,275,000 in 2022. It is considered the one of the rarest Pokmon card in existence, with only 39 copies ever distributed and 41 known to exist.

Another popular Gold Star rarity, Espeon Gold Star is sought after by both English and Japanese collectors alike. While the Pop Series 5 English variant is also rare and expensive, the Japanese promo Espeon is in a league all its own.

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