The 1997 Trophy Pikachu, Over $1 Million Before the Auction Starts

Goldin opened its 2026 Pokemon 30th Anniversary auction this week, closing October 25. The headline lot is the 1997 Japanese promo Gold First Place First Tournament #1 Trophy Pikachu in PSA 8: the card handed to the winner of the first official Pokemon TCG tournament ever held, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in June 1997, and the only copy in PSA's census. Pre-bidding passed $1 million with premium on the first day.

What It Is: The Trophy Pikachus were printed twice, for the 1997 tournament and the 1998 Lizardon Mega Battle, in gold, silver and bronze for first, second and third place. A bronze third-place copy from 1998 sold for $1,769,000 in May. This is the gold, from the first tournament, and it has never been offered publicly. Seventeen days of bidding on a one-of-one, in a market that has just paid $8.4 million for one of 57, is the story of the rest of October.

The Undercard: A PSA 10 2000 Black Star Eevee League promo, a BGS Pristine 10 Skyridge Gengar (the PSA 10 made $150,000 in August), a 2000 Black Star Venusaur promo, and a sealed EX Deoxys booster box, the set that produced the $1.02 million Rayquaza Gold Star.

Standard Did Not Slow It: We said last week that a reading above 8.3 million would mean the new $59.99 tier was clogging the queue. Tuesday's number was 8.2 million, down 800,000, a pace of about 400,000 a week: slightly slower than September's 450,000 to 500,000, but inside the range. PSA said the current rate puts it "in position to assess reopening additional service tiers in the coming months."

The Date: 3.2 million cards to the 5 million line at 400,000 a week is eight weeks: the first week of December. Delta Reign on November 6 is the remaining risk. Our estimate for the Value tiers stays at December.

Vintage +2.7% on a Clean Week; Modern -1.6%

The Pack Report Index tracks two baskets: the ten most-traded cards in each of twelve vintage sets (1999-2007) and twelve modern sets (2016 on), priced by our own engine from public comps, grade by grade, and compared with the same day last week. This is the first clean one-week comparison since the engine's September pause.

Clean Week, Still Rising: Vintage +2.7% against October 1, 77 of 116 cards up: by a distance the largest true weekly reading in the Index's history (the record before the pause was +0.9%). Legendary Collection +9.2% (the $780,000 reverse Pikachu), Expedition +7.3%, Team Rocket Returns +6.6%, Skyridge +6.5%, Holon Phantoms +5.5%, EX Deoxys +5.2%. Base Set and Team Rocket slipped. Modern -1.6%, 65 of 112 down: Japanese 151 -5.1%, Classic Collection -4.5%, Ascended Heroes -3.7%; Evolutions +8.3%.

Vintage sets

Modern sets

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.

A Korean Ditto Promo in a 10: Why $246

The quiz card below is a 2025 Korean Project Ditto QR Stamp Rally promo (Ditto as Lapras, with Pikachu), in PSA 10, loaded in the $250 machine, our mark $246. You could not buy it; you got it by completing a stamp rally at Korean Pokemon Center events.

How Regional Promos Are Priced: By effort, geography and condition. A card handed out at events in one country, to people who were there, has a small total population and a smaller one in collectors' hands abroad. That is the first part of the price. The second part is the grade: event handouts are carried around, stamped, slipped into bags, and most arrive in a collection with a soft corner. The share that reach PSA in gem condition is low, so on a regional promo the 10 does more work than it does on a pack-fresh set card.

The Rule: On regional and event promos, price the raw card off scarcity and the 10 off scarcity twice: of the card, and of a perfect copy of a card that was never meant to stay perfect. The Project Ditto series (a Ditto disguised as a different Pokemon on each card) is a growing set, and the stamp rally cards are the hard ones.

• 8.2 Million: PSA's Tuesday update cleared another 800,000 cards. The new $59.99 Standard tier did not bend the line, and PSA says the pace puts it "in position to assess reopening additional service tiers in the coming months." Chart of the Day has the six readings and the December estimate for the Value tiers.
• Two Types: Pokemon TCG Pocket's October expansion, announced at PokemonXP, starts a new series after the current one ends with Deluxe Pack: Mega on October 29. It introduces dual-type Pokemon (a Psychic-and-Fighting Mega Mewtwo X ex at 180 HP is the first shown) and basic Pokemon ex such as Fuecoco ex and Piplup ex. Pocket's set rework also changes step-up battles at the end of the month.
• Tuesday's Patch: Pokemon TCG Live updated its client on October 6 across all platforms, three weeks after the big September 15 update that added the accessibility settings and the new Battle Board.
• The Undercard: Beneath the Trophy Pikachu at Goldin: a BGS Pristine 10 Skyridge Gengar against an August PSA 10 comp of $150,000, a PSA 10 2000 Black Star Eevee League promo, and a sealed 2005 EX Deoxys box. With EX Deoxys up 15% in our Index since mid-September, the box is the lot we will be watching second.

Six Four-Figure Pulls From the $500 Machine, and the Nidoran Came Out

Rip Check: 563 packs by 95 collectors in the seven days to Thursday, against 709 by 79 the week before; the $500 machine was the second-busiest at 69, behind only the $25 machine. All-time: 18,441.

Pulls of the Week: All six from the $500 machine. Monday evening, inside ninety minutes: a 2000 Topps TV Animation clear Charizard in PSA 10 ($1,264), a 2025 Prismatic Evolutions Umbreon ex special illustration rare in PSA 9 ($1,174) and a 2021 Evolving Skies Rayquaza V full art in PSA 10 ($1,083). Tuesday a 2025 151 Gengar mini tin promo in PSA 10 ($1,250) and, that evening, the 2003 Skyridge Nidoran reverse holo in PSA 10 ($1,066), our September 10 quiz card, pulled four weeks after we asked you to price it. Wednesday morning a 1999 Base Set Nidoking holo in PSA 10 ($1,129). See what is live HERE.