Cover image via PolygonFollow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
A 2015 Japanese Art Academy Pikachu card has sold for an eye-watering USD8.4 million (RM34.27 million)
According to Polygon, the card is now the second-most expensive Pokémon card ever publicly sold.
Sold at Fanatics Collect's auction on 28 September, it now sits behind Logan Paul's famous USD16.49 million (RM67.28 million) PSA 10 Illustrator Pikachu.
The card features an incredibly well-prepared Pikachu trudging through the rain in a bright red raincoat and a matching hat.
The adorable illustration was born from a Nintendo 3DS drawing competition in late 2014 and early 2015
Japanese artist Y Fujishima was one of five winners in the Pikachu category, and The Pokémon Company printed exactly 100 copies of this promotional card as a prize.
Because these promo items never saw a conventional retail release, they have become some of the rarest collectables in existence within the trading card community.
Despite the extreme scarcity, previous sales history never hinted at a multi-million dollar payday, with another pristine copy selling for just USD135,000 (RM550,800) in June.
This raincoat-clad Pikachu card has firmly established a new benchmark in the secondary market
The Pokémon trading card hobby has been on an absolute tear recently, with rare vintage grails repeatedly smashing previous benchmarks and setting new seven-figure records.
While Paul's legendary Illustrator Pikachu still wears the crown, Fujishima's incredibly rare promo card has carved out a remarkably lucrative spot right behind it.
