STEP INTO THE THUNDERDOMO

1997 POKÉMON JAPANESE PROMO TROPHY PIKACHU #1 GOLD 1ST — 1ST TOURNAMENT

This monument of a prize card was originally awarded to winners of qualifying events for the first-ever Pokémon TCG tournament in 1997. Pikachu is seen hoisting a gold trophy, and also appears on secondand third-place cards (holding silver and bronze trophies), which were awarded to each event’s runners-up. The PSA Population Report lists only five examples, and very few others exist from its 1998-1999 tournament reissues. This card created the standard for World Championship prize cards that followed for years after, which traditionally portray Pikachu with a trophy and boast extremely low print runs. Mitsuhiro Arita’s card artwork, while magnificent, depicts the “chubby” Pikachu design that has since been updated and refined over time. With this in mind, and due to the fact that modern World Championship prize cards favor new Full Art designs rather than reprints, it is safe to say this card will likely never see an English reissue. This is a museum-worthy piece of Pokémon’s history and stands as one of the finest examples of cards one can only find in the Japanese language.

1998 POKÉMON JAPANESE PROMO PIKACHU-HOLO ILLUSTRATOR

You can’t have a conversation about the greatest Pikachu cards — Japanese or English — without mentioning this legendary piece. The Illustrator Pikachu was awarded to a small handful of winners who submitted artwork as part of a Corocoro Comic contest in 1997, laying the groundwork for the illustration contests held by The Pokémon Company to this day. There are a total of 27 examples in the PSA Population Report, and in 2021 this card received the Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card sold in a private sale after a PSA 10 copy was sold to Logan Paul for $5.275 million. Today, Pokémon’s illustration contests continue to award winners with cards featuring their own artwork, but have strayed away from one standard prize card for all winners. Therefore, the Illustrator Pikachu will likely remain without an English reprint. However, given its recent popularity due to Logan Paul — who wears it around his neck at wellpublicized events — one can’t help but wonder if the artwork will appear again some day, and what effect it would have on the hobby.

2016 POKÉMON JAPANESE XY PROMO FULL ART/MARIO PIKACHU #294 MARIO PIKACHU SPECIAL BOX

Jumping forward 18 years lands you in the Full Art era, which includes some of the most unique and coveted Japanese-exclusive artwork in the TCG. This card was released as part of a limited-time Nintendo crossover, in which products featuring Mario Pikachu and Luigi Pikachu were made available in Japan. Since this particular card is tied to a one-time promotion, it never crossed over into an English release. Nintendo and Pokémon have shared a symbiotic relationship for years, so it’s not entirely unreasonable to think Mario Pikachu may jump out of a warp pipe and reappear on cards in the future.

2016 Pok Mon Japanese Xy Promo

PONCHO-WEARING PIKACHU #207 MEGA CHARIZARD X PIKACHU SPECIAL BOX

Pikachu plays dress-up yet again, this time donning a Shiny Mega Charizard outfit. This promo was one of several poncho-themed Pikachu cards released between 2015 and 2017 as part of limited-time Japanese products. Others from this series depict Pikachu wearing costumes of Rayquaza, Lucario, and others. Similarly, there were “Pretend Pikachu” products that featured Pikachu dressing as fan favorites like Magikarp and Gyarados. Like the aforementioned Mario Pikachu set, this card was bundled as part of a specialty product, which is likely why the card did not receive an English reprint.

Climb The Leaderboards

Be sure to take advantage of the many Pikachu set checklists waiting to be completed on the PSA Set Registry.

PIKACHU (JAPANESE) BASIC SET:

The Pikachu (Japanese) Basic Set is a great place for Pikachu collectors of all experience levels to begin completing sets on the Set Registry.

PIKACHU (JAPANESE) MASTER SET:

2018 POKÉMON JAPANESE SM PROMO PIKACHU #288 MUNCH: A RETROSPECTIVE

For a serious challenge, the Pikachu (Japanese) Master Set is recommended for expert Pikachu collectors looking to be the very best… like no one ever was!

The worlds of Pokémon and fine art collided when this card debuted in Japan. Pikachu is rendered here in an homage to Edvard Munch’s renowned masterpiece, The Scream. Starting in 2018, Munch’s work was displayed as part of the “Munch: A Retrospective” special exhibition, which marked the first time his iconic The Scream was ever shown in Japan. Exhibit guests who attended during “Pokémon Week” could receive five different promos (Psyduck, Eevee, Pikachu, Mimikyu, and Rowlet) all recreating Munch’s most famous work. Given the highly specialized nature of this event, these promos were destined to remain exclusively in Japanese.

2018 POKÉMON JAPANESE SM PROMO RED’S PIKACHU #270 POKÉMON CENTER 20TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN

This card marks one of the few instances where the Gen 1 video game protagonist, Red, appeared on a card. Red has shown up on Supporter cards and had cameos on 2019 Cosmic Eclipse and 2022 Lost Origin Pikachu cards, but this piece has the distinction of never receiving an English reissue. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Pokémon Center, those who purchased five packs from participating Pokémon Centers received this card, which rightfully pays tribute to Pokémon’s first generation. Given the broad appeal of the artwork, it feels entirely possible that we may see an English reprint, but only time will tell.

2019 POKÉMON JAPANESE SM PROMO FULL ART/PIKACHU #400 LIMITED COLLECTION MASTER BATTLE SET

Like so many other Japanese-exclusive cards, this Pikachu’s existence was relegated to a limited-time promotion in Japanese Pokémon Centers. As a sendoff to the Sun & Moon era, stores offered exclusive Master Battle Sets that came with two promos: the first, “Friends in Alola,” celebrates the Sun & Moon era’s notable characters, while the second (seen here) shows Pikachu appearing alongside Pokémon like Tapu Lele, Buzzwole, and Zekrom, which were all significant to the TCG during the Sun & Moon era. The 2022 Precious Collector Box, a subsequent sendoff product for Sword & Shield, also included an exclusive Pikachu with similar artwork.

2020 POKÉMON JAPANESE S-P KANAZAWA’S PIKACHU #144 POKÉMON CENTER KANAZAWA OPENING

Kanazawa’s Pikachu is one of many Japanese promos that pay tribute to the actual cities in which new Pokémon Centers opened. Returning to the classic half-artwork layout, this promo shows Pikachu dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono with a custom logo for the Kanazawa Pokémon Center in the bottom right corner of the artwork. The logo as well as Pikachu’s outfit were redesigned for different grand openings, giving each city its own unique flavor and style. Shibuya’s Pikachu was inspired by urban graffiti, while Yokohama’s Pikachu was given a nautical, seafaring theme. This card for Kanazawa was also printed as a Reverse Holo.

2021 POKÉMON JAPANESE S-P PIKACHU #208 YU NAGABA X PCG CAMPAIGN

The art world collides with Pikachu yet again with this collaboration between Pokémon and Japanese illustrator Yu Nagaba. As part of a promotional campaign, those who spent a certain amount on Pokémon merchandise at physical and online stores in Japan received this card. The campaign also included Yu Nagaba-designed apparel and a special collector’s box of additional branded items. The most unique and striking thing about this card is the minimalist illustration of Pikachu, which shows off the signature linework style of Yu Nagaba.

2021 POKÉMON JAPANESE S-P FULL ART/PIKACHU #227 POKÉMON STAMP BOX

This gorgeous promo was available through the Japan Post Service as part of limited-time stamp box sets. The card’s illustration is reminiscent of classical Japanese art and was also included in the set as a usable stamp alongside stamp recreations of famous Base Set icons: Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. Its ties to Japanese post offices make it hard to imagine this card getting an English reissue, making it all the more special.

While some collectors may wish for all cards to be translated into English, it’s undeniable that the great appeal of these cards is their exclusivity to their Japanese origins. In a world of English/Japanese duality, these cards remain preserved as one-of-a-kind treasures that only get better with age. We look forward to the coming Scarlet & Violet era, which is sure to deliver even more exciting Japaneseexclusive gems.

Honorable Mentions

*PSA would like to give honorable mentions to a few additional cards, which are also worthy of special attention:

• 1998 Pokémon

Japanese Vending Series III Ooyama’s Pikachu #25

• 1999 Pokémon

Japanese Corocoro Comics Promo Snap Pikachu #25 Best Photo

• 2013 Pokémon

Japanese Black & White Promo Full Art/Pikachu #229 15th Anniversary

• 2014 & 2015

Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Pikachu #90 and #175 Battle Festa

• 2015 Pokémon

Japanese XY Promo Pikachu #XY-P Art Academy Y. Fujishima

• 2016 Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Pikachu-Holo #279 20th Anniversary Festa

• 2017 Pokémon

Japanese SM Promo Pikachu #61 Card Festa

• 2018 Pokémon

Japanese SM Promo Pikachu #224 Pokémon Center 20th Anniversary Campaign

• 2019 Pokemon

Japanese S-P

Shibuya’s Pikachu #002 Pokémon Center Shibuya Opening

By Jon Gold

The idea was born of the moment in time when pop culture was clashing with cardboard like never before.

The trading card market was in the zeitgeist, finally, to the delight and sometimes consternation of its long-time hobbyists.

But for one of them - Jeff Carvalho - having an opportunity to merge his passions and create one of the iconic brand tie-ins in cardboard history was the perfect combination of time and place. And that’s how the Levi’s 501 Day Originals card set came to be.

The promotional product, which was inserted into the back pocket of random Levi’s 501 jeans to coincide with the company’s 501 Day, features base cards of superstar athletes including tennis headliner Naomi Osaka, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai GilgeousAlexander, as well as entertainment and pop culture icons like Hailey Bieber, Jaden Smith, Emma Chamberlain and Barbie Ferreira. Chamberlain, Bieber, Rashford, Osaka and Gilgeous-Alexander each have short-printed autograph cards limited to 50 copies and Denim Relic Signatures editions limited to 15, while Ferreira is the only one with just a relic and no autograph versions.

More than 60 cards from the set have been graded by PSA so far. “For as much as cards are an industry driven by sports fans, I've always found it a fascinating place to play with general nostalgia,” said Carvalho, the co-founder of the highly influential global fashion and lifestyle media brand HighSnobiety, who formed a creative agency with his wife that partners with brands to bring campaigns to life.

“I remember the Jay-Z Topps cards with a piece of his jeans. I thought, ‘Wouldn't it be sweet if we took some of these celebrities and did the same?’”

They’d been tasked by Levi’s to help launch a 501 Day campaign, but this was pretty far out. Levi’s had never considered such a thing, but there was at least intrigue about the possibilities. They told Carvalho to go ahead and research it. During the dog days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carvalho found a forum for his passions on the Clubhouse app, as, he says, “The conversation around card culture and card collecting had really moved online. People were talking about it in ways that hadn't been done before, and as I'm putting the idea together, I needed someone to execute.”

Carvalho had met the founders of Parkside Collectibles on Clubhouse and sparked up a conversation. Could the young company based out of Burbank, Calif.which had only been formed a few years prior and had launched NWSL women’s soccer sets, as well as Big 3 and Major League Lacrosse sets — handle a project of this magnitude and secrecy?

"We’re small and nimble and looking for every fun thing we can dip our toes into,” Matt Peek, co-founder and COO of Parkside Collectibles said. “We sat and looked at it, priced it out, shepherded it from the nugget that was in Jeff’s head, and with some good guidance from Levi’s design team, ended up making a fun promotional product we’re very proud of.”

From concept to the finished product was a sprint to the finish line, culminating in a pack-issued product in under 90 days. The most daunting part of the process, Peek said, was waiting on autographs. But it was all worth it, and since release, the cards — especially the signed cards — have been in high demand on the secondary market. In the summer of 2021, a Naomi Osaka #6 Autograph Patch PSA 8 sold for $16,500. It’s POP 1, with just three graded higher. Most recently, a Hailey Bieber #3 Autograph PSA AUTH sold for $800 on eBay.

“That chase of the unknown made it so cool,” Carvalho said. “Once people figured out there wasn't just a base set but a piece of relic, it felt super cool. When we went with the idea to Levi’s, we led with the chase cards. I showed them a Justin Herbert rookie patch auto and I said, ‘Imagine that piece of jersey being a Levi's red tag that Naomi Osaka wore in the shoot we were using?’ They said, 'Okay, we get it, but who do we send it to?' It came down to them trusting the insight we brought to the table that cards are very much something in the moment and it could be quite interesting.”

For Carvalho, it was the opportunity to introduce new fans and consumers to the trading card market — and the ability to introduce trading card collectors to the Levi’s brand — that excited him. “Like many, I grew up a child of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and I still have all my cards,” he said. “I've always been a collector, and for me to love culture, I have to have it in my hands. Sports cards have been able to document culture forever, but other parts of culture have been devoid of ephemera. My connection is being able to live and breathe it. So being able to watch Emma and Hailey open packs and see themselves was really cool. They were able to get it. There's genuine fun to it.”

Peek understood the opportunity from the Parkside side from the very beginning. “Trading cards are history,” he said. “We talk about it in the office that trading cards are movies and music; you can look at a card and most people can identify the year it’s from. It’s not always the player on the card we remember. We remember where we were in life at that time. The opportunity to make something like this would always be a really rad reminder of the trading card hobby. The end result is radical. It’s a product we're very proud to have been a part of.”

For both, it was another opportunity to think outside the box within an industry that is always evolving. “The novelty is not the strangeness, it’s the uniqueness, it’s what it reminds us of,” Peek said. “You give me Charlie Sheen as Ricky ‘Wild Thing’ Vaughn, and that’s a treasure. Someone just posted today a PSA-graded Jeff Cohen in The Goonies card. It’s not weird, it’s again, who we were, when we were. When we made the Levi’s set — I have a 16-year-old daughter who was 14 at the time — and I told her who was in it and she lost her mind on Emma Chamberlain. I said, ‘Who is Emma Chamberlain?’ For her, it was so significant that someone she followed, someone she thought would be a sizable entity, was in the set.”

A hero in his own home, sometimes Peek has to pinch himself that he was involved in such a fun project.

“Trading cards like these, they legitimately make people feel seen,” he said. “These smaller fandoms, which may actually be gargantuan fandoms, they feel acknowledged. We still tell people about it because it was an honor. It’s not every day you wake up and say we’re doing a card of Jaden Smith. I mean, we made a Naomi Osaka auto! That’s ridiculous!”