The “Raincoat Pikachu,” a rare 2015 promotional card that was never sold in retail stores, has sold for $8.4 million at a Fanatics Collect auction on September 28. Featuring an illustration by Y. Fujishima, the card achieved a PSA 10 Gem Mint grade, making it the second most expensive Pokémon card in history.
The Bottom Line
- The 2015 promotional card achieved 64 total bids before closing at $8.4 million, including a 20% buyer’s commission.
- Only 100 official copies of the winning illustration were originally printed as prizes for a contest held through the 3DS game Pokémon Art Academy.
- The sale price represents a dramatic leap from previous transactions for the same card, which sold for $12,600 in July 2024 and $19,200 in June 2025.
The 2015 Art Academy Contest That Created the Raincoat Pikachu
The rare card features Pikachu caught in a rainstorm, wearing a red raincoat and a hat that covers both its ears and tail. This design was created by Y. Fujishima, one of the ten winners across two categories in the contest organized by Pokémon through the video game Pokémon Art Academy for the 3DS console, according to ComicBook Resources reporting.
The competition was split into two distinct tracks: the “Dress-Up Pikachu” category, which required contestants to draw the character in an original outfit, and the “Your Favorite Pokémon” category, which imposed no thematic restrictions. As a prize, each of the ten winning artists received 100 official printed copies of their own designs. Because none of these items entered standard commercial distribution channels, the extreme scarcity of the pool has fueled intense collector interest.
Grading and the Surge in Market Value
The specific specimen that went under the hammer carried a PSA 10 Gem Mint designation, representing the highest possible grade awarded by Professional Sports Authenticator. Combined with its limited print run, this pristine condition drove significant bidding activity. Men’s Journal noted that the auction accumulated 64 distinct offers before concluding at its final price.
The trajectory of the card’s valuation over recent years highlights an extraordinary shift. Identical PSA 10 copies of the Raincoat Pikachu traded on the exact same platform for $12,600 in July 2024, followed by a sale for $19,200 in June 2025. The final transaction closed at a figure roughly 440 times higher than that valuation from the previous year, capping off a decade where the item sat at comparatively modest price points.
Comparison to the Pikachu Illustrator Record
Despite commanding millions, the Raincoat Pikachu remains below the absolute record for the category. That title belongs to the Pikachu Illustrator, a promotional item limited to just 39 copies produced for a late-1990s Japanese magazine contest. That specific card sold for $16.4 million in February.
CNN documented the prior history of that specimen, which was sold by Logan Paul. Paul had originally acquired the card in July 2021 by trading a grade 9 copy valued at $1.27 million alongside $4 million in cash. Conducted through Goldin Auctions, that event spanned 42 days and ended with 97 total bids following an extended closing round. Paul famously wore the card inside a custom pendant during his appearance at WrestleMania 38, leading Guinness World Records to certify the transaction as the most expensive collectible sale recorded at the time.
