Pokémon Art Academy Cards: All 22 Contest Promos and the $8.4 Million Raincoat Pikachu

Pokémon Art Academy cards are 22 promo cards printed from fan drawings that won a 2014 to 2015 contest run through the Nintendo 3DS game Pokémon Art Academy, and each winner received 100 copies of their card, per Nintendo's 2015 contest rules and Bulbapedia's contest page. In September 2026 two of them set records at Fanatics Collect: the Y. Fujishima "Raincoat Pikachu" sold for $8.4 million in PSA 10, and the Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip sold for $3.72 million. Below is how the contest worked, all 22 cards, every sale we could confirm, and what to check before you buy one.

Current as of October 9, 2026. Prices include buyer's premium.

How the Art Academy Contest Worked

The contest ran in two waves, and players drew their entries in the game's Free Paint mode:

Japan: entries ran from December 13, 2014 to February 1, 2015, per Famitsu. Creatures staff and Pokémon card illustrators judged them, and five winners were picked in each of two categories, per Bulbapedia.

North America and Europe/Oceania: entries ran from February 18 to March 29, 2015, per Nintendo's rules and Bulbapedia. Three winners were picked per category in each region. In Europe and Oceania, Pokémon card illustrators chose them from a shortlist of 50 drawings per theme, per Nintendo UK's terms. The North American winners were picked by a panel of judges, The Pokémon Company International said in a June 2015 announcement.

Categories: Dress-Up Pikachu, and Your Favorite Pokémon (My Favourite Pokémon in Europe).

The prize: "Each winner will receive 100 cards featuring their winning image," Nintendo UK wrote on February 16, 2015. Nintendo added that the cards would not be sold in regular Pokémon TCG products.

That is why these cards are so scarce: they never went on sale at retail, so every copy on the market started as one of a winner's 100.

All 22 Pokémon Art Academy Cards

The full list of winners, per Bulbapedia's illustration contest page. The illustrator name printed on each card is the winner's.

Japan, Dress-Up Pikachu (5 cards)

• gogotake, pikamania, Mame Akimaru, Y. Fujishima (the "Raincoat Pikachu") and Sayaka Maruyama

Japan, Favorite Pokémon (5 cards)

• Mio Muroi (Goomy), iwaiya (Sableye), rina (Gourgeist), Daisuke Ochiai (Mudkip) and Ginga (Pikachu)

North America, Dress-Up Pikachu (3 cards)

• Xime, Ashley and Me!

North America, Favorite Pokémon (3 cards)

• Mireil (Primal Kyogre), Gosha (Tangrowth) and Gabi (Chespin)

Europe and Oceania, Dress-Up Pikachu (3 cards)

• Lily-Chan, Rhivern and Meli

Europe and Oceania, Favorite Pokémon (3 cards)

• Phanpy (Mew), Scarlett (Kecleon) and Peegeray (Delphox)

The Japanese cards carry an XY-P promo mark, and PSA labels them "2015 P.M. JPN. XY PROMO #XY-P", as on the Mudkip in our hero image.

The Biggest Art Academy Card Sales

1. Raincoat Pikachu by Y. Fujishima, PSA 10: $8,400,000

• Sale: Fanatics Collect Weekly Auction, September 27, 2026, $7,000,000 hammer plus a 20% premium, also reported by Kotaku and SI
• Why it matters: the second most expensive Pokémon card sale behind the Pikachu Illustrator, per Kotaku.
• The catch: Kotaku also questioned the price, calling the jump from earlier sales hard to explain. Treat it as one result, not the market price for every copy.
• More: our report on the $8.4 million sale has the full story

2. Mudkip by Daisuke Ochiai, PSA 10: $3,720,000

• Sale: Fanatics Collect September Premier Auction, closing September 24, 2026, $3,100,000 hammer plus premium, also reported by SI
• Why it matters: SI called it the most valuable Mudkip card in history. It sold days after a Gold Star Mudkip PSA 10 brought $1.02 million, which we covered in our Gold Star Mudkip report

How fast Raincoat Pikachu climbed

• June 2025: a PSA 10 sold for $19,200 at Fanatics Collect
• July 2025: a PSA 10 sold for $17,400 at Fanatics Collect
• June 2026: a PSA 10 sold for $156,250 at Heritage Auctions, Kotaku reported
• August 2026: a PSA 10 sold for $79,999.99, Kotaku reported
• September 2026: the $8.4 million PSA 10 above

We could not confirm a recent auction-house sale for any of the other 20 cards as of October 9, 2026.

What to Know Before You Buy One

PSA 10 populations vary a lot by card. The Fanatics listing for the $8.4 million copy showed a PSA 10 population of 57 for Raincoat Pikachu as of October 9, 2026, out of a 100-card prize. Kotaku noted that Fujishima appears to have made many of his copies available. The Mudkip shows the other extreme: its Fanatics Collect listing said only two copies had been graded PSA 10, while SI counted three.

Check the cert. At these prices, look up the certification number on the grader's site before you pay. Our guide on how to verify a graded card walks through it.

Match the illustrator. Each card credits its winner by name, so the illustrator line is the fastest way to confirm which of the 22 you are looking at.

Prices swing hard. Raincoat Pikachu PSA 10s went from $17,400 to $8.4 million in about 14 months. One sale does not set a price for every copy, so compare several recent results of the exact card and grade.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Pokémon Art Academy cards?

They are 22 promo cards printed from fan drawings that won a 2014 to 2015 contest run through the Nintendo 3DS game Pokémon Art Academy. Each winner received 100 copies of their card, and the cards were never sold in regular Pokémon TCG products.

How many Pokémon Art Academy cards were made?

There are 22 different cards: 10 from Japan, 6 from North America and 6 from Europe and Oceania. Each winner received 100 copies of their card, according to Nintendo's 2015 announcements and Bulbapedia's contest records.

What is the most expensive Pokémon Art Academy card?

The Y. Fujishima "Raincoat Pikachu" in PSA 10 sold for $8.4 million at Fanatics Collect in September 2026. The Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip in PSA 10 sold for $3.72 million at Fanatics Collect the same month.

Can you still buy Pokémon Art Academy cards?

Only on the secondary market. The cards went to contest winners and were never sold in packs, so copies come up through auction houses and private sellers.

Where to Go From Here

Art Academy cards are a reminder that the rarest Pokémon cards are not always the ones from packs. If you want to start your own collection with real, vaulted cards, the Polkastarter marketplace gives you a free mystery pack when you sign up, and every Lootbox lists its contents, values, and chances before you open. For more record sales, see the most valuable Pikachu cards and the most valuable Pokémon cards.

Details checked October 9, 2026. Prices are past sale results and change over time. Nothing here is financial advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, Creatures, Fanatics Collect, Heritage Auctions, PSA or the other companies named.

Sources

• Nintendo UK: You can become a Pokémon Trading Card Game illustrator, published February 16, 2015, accessed October 9, 2026
• Anime News Network: Pokémon Art Academy competition winners announced (press release mirror), published June 11, 2015, accessed October 9, 2026
• Famitsu: Pokémon Art Academy x Pokémon Card Game contest, published November 28, 2014, accessed October 9, 2026
• Bulbapedia: Illustration contests, accessed October 9, 2026
• Fanatics Collect: 2015 Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu PSA 10, sold September 2026, accessed October 9, 2026
• Fanatics Collect: 2015 Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Art Academy Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip PSA 10, sold September 2026, accessed October 9, 2026
• Fanatics Collect: Art Academy Y. Fujishima Pikachu PSA 10 (June 2025), accessed October 9, 2026
• Fanatics Collect: Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu PSA 10 (July 2025), accessed October 9, 2026
• Kotaku: Raincoat Pikachu Art Academy PSA 10 sale, published September 30, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026
• SI Collectibles: Another high-end Pikachu leads top 5 TCG sales of the week, published October 4, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026
• SI Collectibles: Daisuke Ochiai Pokémon promo becomes most valuable Mudkip card in history, published September 27, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026