A 2015 Japanese edition Pokémon XY Promo Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu card sold for $8.4 million including buyer's premium after 64 bids on the auction platform Fanatics Collect on September 28, setting the record for the second most expensive Pokémon card in history. Nicknamed "Raincoat Pikachu" by collectors, the card received the highest PSA grade of 10 Gem Mint, and its rarity and unusual origin generated intense interest in the collecting community.
Why is this card so rare?
The origin of "Raincoat Pikachu" does not come from ordinary booster packs or retail channels, but rather from a tournament prize. Designer Y. Fujishima won the "Dress-Up Pikachu" category, defeating thousands of entrants in a global drawing contest related to the Nintendo 3DS game Pokémon Art Academy. The prize was 100 official cards printed with their own winning design. This means the card was never stocked on any retail shelves, and the global supply was locked at 100 from the very beginning, which is the fundamental source of its market scarcity.
What are the features of the card's artwork?
Unlike the combat-style card faces common in the series, Fujishima designed a red raincoat and umbrella outfit for Pikachu. The overall artistic style is soft and fairytale-like, which is also the origin of the nickname "Raincoat Pikachu." This card also received the highest score of 10 Gem Mint from the PSA grading agency. Pristine condition and an extremely limited surviving quantity became the two key factors for the soaring price in this auction.
How astonishing is the surge in the transaction price?
According to past transaction records, the same PSA 10-graded "Raincoat Pikachu" sold for $12,600 on Fanatics Collect in July 2024, and by June 2025, the price rose to $19,200. The final transaction price of $8.4 million this time is approximately 440 times the 2025 transaction price, and this explosive surge occurred in just about 15 months, a rapid growth rate quite rare in the entire card collecting market.
What is the current all-time highest record card?
To date, the record for the most expensive Pokémon card in history is still held by the Pikachu Illustrator owned by Logan Paul, which sold for $16.4 million this February. After selling for $8.4 million, "Raincoat Pikachu" has joined the top ranks of the same tier, currently second only to the Pikachu Illustrator on the leaderboard, and is likewise a limited-edition card born from a tournament reward mechanism.
How has the recent market performance of Pikachu-related cards been?
Pikachu series cards have continued to be a major driving force behind the market craze recently. In the week prior to this auction, multiple high-priced transactions appeared in the market, among which a PSA 10-graded 2002 Legendary Collection reverse holo Pikachu fetched $780,000, showing significant growth compared to $264,000 in June of this year. Another PSA 10-graded 2006 Holon Phantoms Gold Star version traded for $480,000, surpassing the $148,800 fetched at Goldin in February this year. This series of transactions shows that Pikachu-related limited and special edition cards continue to attract capital investment in the collecting market.
