Key facts: Artwork by Atsuko Nishida , the original designer of Pikachu Classified as a Trainer card , not a Pokmon card, adding to its oddity Credited with "Illus." in the illustrator field rather than a name, an intentional callback to the contest winners Approximately 41 copies were officially distributed (39 to contest winners, plus 2 additional copies that surfaced in 2019 from Yuichi Konno, one of the original TCG rule designers) As of early 2026, PSA has graded 44 total copies , suggesting a few more have entered circulation The $16.49 million sale In April 2022 , YouTuber Logan Paul acquired the only PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator in existence through a private sale, trading his own PSA 9 copy plus roughly $4 million in cash, for a combined value around $5.275 million
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Notable Cards Its unclear if anyone has pulled The One Ring from the Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth rare/mythic flex slot in any of the first round of Lord of the Rings Jumpstart packs, but thats theoretically possible
Non-Budget These non-budget artifacts and enchantments with some of the best green card draw abilities on them are powerhouses
Team Rocket (April 24, 2000) The third expansion introduced several firsts: The first secret rare: Dark Raichu (#83/82), and uniquely, this card was created by Wizards of the Coast itself rather than translated from a Japanese source The first Dark Pokmon mechanic in the English TCG The first holofoil Trainer and Energy cards The chase 1st Edition card is Dark Charizard , currently selling for $9,000 to $11,000 in PSA 10 , with PSA 9 copies at $1,100 to $1,800
