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Pokemon 'Ivy Pikachu' Sells for $3.3 Million, the Most Expensive CGC-Graded Card Ever
A Pikachu most collectors have never heard of just reportedly became the most expensive CGC-graded card in any hobby. According to reports published August 25, 2026, a 1996 Japanese CoroCoro Comics Pikachu Glossy promo known as the Ivy Pikachu, graded CGC 8.5, sold for $3.3 million in a private sale, beating the Alpha Black Lotus for the all-time CGC record.
What Actually Sold and for How Much
The card is a glossy Japanese Pikachu promo handed out through CoroCoro Comics in 1996, nicknamed for the ivy leaves in its artwork. The copy that sold is graded CGC 8.5, and according to a Cox Media report carried by WFTV, it changed hands for $3.3 million in a private sale announced on August 25, 2026. The exact sale date was not disclosed, and a private price is an announced price, not a hammer price confirmed by public bidding, which is why we label the figure reported. Still, it made a card that was never a household name the biggest CGC-certified sale on record.
Why the Ivy Leaves Matter
Here is the part most coverage skips, the Ivy Pikachu is not one card, it is five. CGC's variant guide documents five known variations, and the record copy is the Marketing Variation, the first of the five, identified by ivy leaves under Pikachu's left foot with Pikachu positioned right of center.
Listings multiply after a headline like this, and the variation carries the value, so check the leaf placement and Pikachu's position against CGC's guide before treating any copy as the record card's twin.
How It Stacks Up Against Black Lotus and the Illustrator
The reported $3.3 million tops the previous record for a CGC-certified card, a CGC 10 Magic: The Gathering Alpha Black Lotus that sold for $3 million in 2024. Savor the detail, the Lotus was a perfect 10, the Pikachu is an 8.5, rarity and demand can outrun grade. It is still not the most expensive Pokemon card ever, that crown belongs to the Pikachu Illustrator, which leads our ranking of the rarest Pokemon cards. The record chase is hobby wide too, from the record setting Shohei Ohtani card to everything in our most expensive trading cards list.
What This Sale Really Tells Collectors
Three honest takeaways. First, private sales are announced, not audited, so $3.3 million is what the parties say it was, reported in August 2026. Second, vintage Japanese promos remain the hobby's deepest well of overlooked stories, a 1996 magazine giveaway just produced the biggest CGC-certified sale on record while most price guides barely track it. Third, headline sales attract fakes and mislabeled slabs, so if you shop anything Ivy Pikachu adjacent, walk through our guide on how to verify a graded card before money moves, serial lookup first, label details second, population data third.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ivy Pikachu card?
The Ivy Pikachu is a glossy Japanese Pikachu promo distributed through CoroCoro Comics in 1996, named for the ivy leaves printed in its artwork. CGC documents five known variations in its variant guide, and the copy behind the August 2026 headlines is the Marketing Variation, with ivy leaves under Pikachu's left foot and Pikachu positioned right of center.
How much did the Ivy Pikachu card sell for?
According to reports published on August 25, 2026, a copy graded CGC 8.5 sold for $3.3 million in a private sale. The exact date was not disclosed, so the figure comes from the announcement rather than a public auction record.
Is the Ivy Pikachu the most expensive Pokemon card ever sold?
No. The reported $3.3 million makes it the most expensive CGC-certified card of any kind, topping the CGC 10 Magic: The Gathering Alpha Black Lotus that sold for $3 million in 2024, but the overall Pokemon record still belongs to the Pikachu Illustrator.
Where to Go From Here
A magazine promo from 1996 just outsold every CGC-certified card on record, the biggest stories in this hobby come from cards nobody was watching. You do not need a seven figure vault to feel the thrill, the Polkastarter marketplace shows every card, value, and chance in every Lootbox before you open, free mystery pack at signup.
Facts verified August 25, 2026 as cited, markets move, nothing here is investment advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with the companies named.
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Ilknur Gubel is a social media manager at Polkastarter. Ilknur has spent the past four years working as a project manager, marketing manager, and social media strategist across Web3. She has held marketing and project management positions at several crypto companies, including Polygen, Nitro League, Kaizen.Finance, and ChainPort.
At Polkastarter she has covered trading card releases, collectible market pricing, and how token holders can spend crypto on real cards and videogames.
Based in Istanbul, Ilknur earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Istanbul Aydın University.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn for more information.