What is the Pikachu Illustrator card?
It is a Japanese promo that was never sold. CoroCoro Comic, the Japanese children's manga magazine, ran illustration contests for the Pokémon Card Game in the late 1990s, and the card itself dates from 1998. Winners received it as a prize, and the card declares them an official Pokémon Card illustrator.
Instead of the usual TRAINER banner, the top of the card reads ILLUSTRATOR. The artwork, by Pikachu's designer Atsuko Nishida, shows Pikachu holding a pen and brushes against a holo background, and a small pen symbol sits in the bottom right corner where a set symbol would normally be.
Pokémon Illustrator
What does the Illustrator card say?
The text is a certificate, not a game effect. In English it reads roughly: "Your illustration has been recognized as excellent in the Pokémon Card Game Illustration Contest. We therefore recognize you as an officially authorized Pokémon Card illustrator and honor your achievement."
How many Pikachu Illustrator cards exist?
Nobody knows the exact number, because the cards went to contest winners and The Pokémon Company never published a count. The figure usually given is around 39, and reports of the 2026 sale describe fewer than 40 believed to exist. Logan Paul's copy was described at the time as the only known PSA 10.
Logan Paul and the record sales
Logan Paul bought his PSA 10 in 2021 for $5,275,000. He wore it around his neck to his WrestleMania 38 debut on April 2, 2022, where Guinness World Records presented him with a certificate for the most expensive Pokémon card sold in a private sale.
In February 2026 he sold it through Goldin Auctions for $16,492,000. Guinness World Records recognised the sale as the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold at auction, more than three times what he paid.
How much is a Pikachu Illustrator worth?
A PSA 10 has now sold for $16.49 million. Lower-graded copies are worth less, and they rarely come up for sale, usually through major auction houses or in private sales.
Treat any Illustrator offered cheaply on a regular marketplace as a reproduction.
All cards in this guide
| Card | Set | Rarity | Released | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Pokémon Illustrator #32 | Miscellaneous Promos | 1996 |
