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Charizard Turns Up the Heat

Thursday, October 15, 2026  ·  13 min read

A PSA 10 First Edition Charizard reportedly sold for $1,385,274, 38 percent above September's $1,000,953 eBay sale. Pocket's Mega Garchomp event opens today, and Delta Reign prereleases are nine days out.

The Pack Report
Thursday, October 15, 2026  ·  Read time: 5 min
Presented byRip Station

A PSA 10 First Edition Charizard reportedly sold for $1,385,274, 38 percent above September's $1,000,953 eBay sale. Pocket's Mega Garchomp event opens today, and Delta Reign prereleases are nine days out.

MoversBiggest re-marks in our pricing index, Oct 15 vs Oct 8
Up
EnteiEX Unseen Forces · PSA 9$2,990 → $6,031+102%
Dark BlastoiseLegendary Collection · PSA 10$810 → $1,900+135%
JirachiEX Deoxys · PSA 5$96 → $210+119%
MewtwoShining Legends (modern) · PSA 10$453 → $1,691+273%
Down
PikachuBase Set · CGC 9.5$100 → $56-44%
Poncho-wearing PikachuXY-P Promotional cards · BGS 9.5$15,000 → $10,100-33%
CharizardPokémon Card 151 (modern) · PSA 10$1,247 → $728-42%
Single comps move single grades; read the set line in The Index before you read the lane.
The Lead

PSA 10 First Edition Charizard Reported Sold for $1.39 Million

A PSA 10 1999 First Edition Base Set Charizard (holo, 4/102) reportedly sold for $1,385,274, per an X post from Jazwares president Jeremy Padawer, who called it a record for the card.

Apples to Charizards: Padawer named no venue or buyer and did not say whether fees are included. February's $954,800 Goldin sale was the Logan Paul box-break copy, so the cleaner comp is the $1,000,953 eBay sale on Wednesday, Sep 9, which puts the reported price up 38% in a month.

Top-Down Evolution: English vintage keeps re-pricing from the top down, after a CGC 10 Pristine Rayquaza Gold Star hit $1.02M at Fanatics in August and a PSA 10 Torchic Gold Star hit $2.7M in September. Those are scarcity stories; with 123 PSA 10s per Padawer, the Charizard is a demand story. Our vintage Index is up about 16% since August 13, while Wizards-era headline sets lag.

Fire up the full Charizard story HERE.

Chart of the Day
1999 FIRST EDITION CHARIZARD · PSA 10 · 2026+45% since February
PSA 10 First Edition Charizard in 2026: 954,800 in February, 1,000,953 on September 9, 1,385,274 reported October 9

The PSA 10 First Edition Charizard has posted three headline sales in 2026: $954,800 in February, $1,000,953 on Wednesday, Sep 9 and a reported $1,385,274 in October.

One Small Step, One Giant Leap: February to September added under 5%. September to October added 38%, and that big step comes with the least public detail: no venue, no auction record, just Padawer's post.

Trust, But Cert-ify: No PSA cert number has been published, so we cannot yet rule out one of the earlier copies changing hands again. Our rule for reported private sales: print them, label them and wait for a public comp before treating them as the new level.

Climb the full price ladder HERE.

The Index

Vintage Index Climbs 2.4% as Ascended Heroes Holds Flat

Vintage basket
+2.4%
median of 119 cards · 79 up / 31 flat / 9 down
Modern basket
+0.1%
median of 117 cards · 50 up / 38 flat / 29 down

The Pack Report Index prices the ten most-traded cards in twelve vintage and twelve modern sets, grade by grade, with Rip Station's engine and public comps, and today's reading runs against Thursday, Oct 8.

EX-cellent Week: Vintage added 2.4%, with 79 of 119 cards up and only 9 down. EX Unseen Forces led again at +12.3%, with EX Deoxys at +9.7% and Holon Phantoms at +7.3%.

Heroes Hold the Line: Modern added 0.1%, with Fates Collide leading at +6.5%. Ascended Heroes read flat after falling in every reading since August outside the September pause.

Vintage sets

SetIndex w/wBasket
Base Set+0.4%10 cards
Legendary Collection+0.0%10 cards
Skyridge+1.4%10 cards
XY-P Promotional cards-0.1%10 cards
Expedition Base Set+7.1%10 cards
EX Team Rocket Returns+0.6%10 cards
EX Deoxys+9.7%10 cards
Neo Destiny+3.2%10 cards
EX Holon Phantoms+7.3%10 cards
Team Rocket+0.9%10 cards
Neo Genesis+5.2%10 cards
EX Unseen Forces+12.3%9 cards

Modern sets

SetIndex w/wBasket
Evolutions+3.7%10 cards
Ascended Heroes+0.0%10 cards
Generations+2.0%10 cards
Celebrations+0.0%10 cards
Crown Zenith-1.8%10 cards
Fates Collide+6.5%9 cards
151-0.0%10 cards
Paldea Evolved+0.1%10 cards
BREAKpoint+1.7%8 cards
Celebrations: Classic Collection+0.2%10 cards
Pokémon Card 151+0.3%10 cards
Shining Legends+2.9%10 cards

The Index is a proprietary model built by Rip Station, which publishes The Pack Report. Method, full history and the trend chart: thepackreport.com/pack-report-index.

Crunch the full Index numbers HERE.

Grade Expectations

Why 2016 Generations Full Arts Rarely Grade Gem Mint

This issue's quiz card is a 2016 XY Generations Radiant Collection Gardevoir EX full art, loaded in the $200 machine, and here is why guessing its grade is harder than it looks.

A Ridge Too Far: Radiant Collection full arts are printed on textured foil, and the ridges that catch the light also show every scratch, print line and roller mark under a grader's lamp. A copy that looks clean in hand can lose a full grade on surface alone.

Rough Around the Edges: The yellow front border hides light wear, so whitening shows up on the blue back, and loose XY-era cuts fail centering more often than modern sets. If you buy raw, tilt the card under light; if you buy graded, check the population report before paying a top-grade premium.

Shine a light on the full grading guide HERE.

Quick Hits
  • 🦈 Chomp at the Bit: Pokemon TCG Pocket's Mega Garchomp ex drop event opens today and runs to Sunday, Oct 25, with promo exchanges open to Sunday, Nov 1. Its five promos are Mega Garchomp ex in its Pocket debut plus alternate-art Gible, Gabite, Delcatty and Falinks.
  • ⚡ Shock and Bid: Goldin's 1997 Gold 1st Place Trophy Pikachu in PSA 8 stood at $2,425,000 before premium on Wednesday afternoon ($2,958,500 with it) after 31 bids. It closes Sunday, Oct 25.
  • 👑 Reign Check: Delta Reign prereleases start Saturday, Oct 24, and the chase is the Mega Rayquaza ex special illustration rare. It is the first set card from Kazuki Minami, joint winner of the 2024 Pokemon TCG Illustration Contest.
  • 🛹 Deck Building: The Santa Cruz x Pokemon skateboard collaboration drops Saturday, Oct 17.

Catch all the quick hits HERE.

The Pack Room

The Best Net EV Pack We Measured

Rip Check: 785 packs by 91 collectors in the seven days to Thursday, against 563 by 95 the week before. The $25 machine led with 453, the $50 machine did 137, and the $500 machine 67. All-time: 19,226.

Sell-Back Champ: The $50 Max Buyback pack, which pays 90% of estimated value on sell-back instead of 83%, did 16 rips this week. On our Net EV ranking it ranks first among the Pokemon packs we measured if you sell every pull back, a point ahead of Collector Crypt. See what is live HERE.

On the Radar
Dates to Circle
  • Saturday, Oct 17 · Santa Cruz x Pokemon skate decks drop
  • Tuesday, Oct 20 · PSA's next fortnightly backlog update
  • Friday, Oct 23 through Saturday, Oct 24 · Deck Crafter's Collection, then Delta Reign prerelease events begin
  • Sunday, Oct 25 · Goldin's 30th Anniversary auction closes at 10p ET; Mega Garchomp event ends in Pocket
  • Tuesday, Oct 27 · The $50 machine ladder ends
  • Friday, Nov 6 · Delta Reign releases
Guess the Grade
2016 Generations Radiant Collection Gardevoir EX full art, label hidden
2016 XY Generations Radiant Collection RC30 Gardevoir EX full art · PSA

A 2016 Generations Radiant Collection Gardevoir EX full art, loaded in the $200 machine. Textured foil, a thin yellow border and a blue back that shows every nick: Grade Expectations above explains why these are hard to grade. What is on the label?

PSA 7PSA 8PSA 9PSA 10
Tap a grade to check your answer on the site. The answer is also at the bottom of the issue.
Want it? It is in the $200 machine.

Thanks for reading The Pack Report today! If you enjoyed it, share it with someone you want to check their childhood binder for a First Edition Charizard 🔥

Guess the Grade answer: PSA 9. Mint, one step short of Gem Mint, which on a textured Radiant Collection full art is a strong grade. Our mark is $274.

Estimated values are market estimates from Rip Station's pricing engine, not asking prices or buyback offers. Buyback pays 83% of estimated value, within 7 days. Not financial advice. Rip responsibly.

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More in Issues

  • Charizard Turns Up the Heat Oct 15, 2026
  • A $2.4 Million Trophy Pikachu, With Eleven Days to Go Oct 14, 2026
  • A $960,000 Cresselia? Sure, Why Not Oct 12, 2026
  • The First Trophy Pikachu Is Up for Auction, and PSA Is at 8.2 Million Oct 8, 2026
Previous issueQuick Hits, October 15: Mega Garchomp Opens in Pocket, the Trophy Pikachu at $2.4 Million, Delta Reign's Chase Card, and Santa Cruz Skateboards on Saturday
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The Pack Report is published by Rip Station. Estimated values are market estimates from Rip Station's pricing engine, not asking prices or buyback offers. Not financial advice. Rip responsibly.

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