Pikachu promotional card sells for $8.4 million at auction

A rare Pokémon promotional card, known as the ‘Raincoat Pikachu,’ has sold for $8.4 million at auction on the Fanatics Collect platform. This sale makes it the second most expensive Pokémon card in history, trailing only the ‘Pikachu Illustrator’ card.

The card originated in 2015 from a contest held for the Nintendo 3DS game ‘Pokémon Art Academy.’ The winning design by artist Y. Fujishima, featuring Pikachu in a red raincoat, was limited to only 100 printed copies and was never released through traditional retail channels.

The record-breaking price follows a significant surge in value; the card had previously been valued between $12,600 and $19,200 in recent years. The high auction price is attributed to the extreme rarity of the item and its ‘Gem Mint PSA 10’ professional grading status.