Every collector has heard a story about one Pokemon card selling for life changing money. A new report published on November 12 puts hard numbers on how often that happened this year, and the totals are staggering. More than 813 card sales cleared $100,000 USD [about $141,000 CAD] in 2026, adding up to $238 million USD [about $336 million CAD]. Twenty four of those sales went past $1 million USD [about $1.4 million CAD] each.

One Card Took Seven Percent of Everything

The biggest single sale of the year is a familiar name. The Pikachu Illustrator, a Japanese contest prize card from 1998 with artwork by Atsuko Nishida, sold for $16.5 million USD [about $23.3 million CAD], the highest price ever paid for a Pokemon card. On its own, that one card makes up about seven percent of all the six figure money in the report. The Illustrator was never sold in a pack or a set. It went to winners of an illustration contest, and only a tiny number were ever made. Almost everything at the very top of the market shares that same recipe: tiny supply, a great story, and decades of collectors wanting the same few cards.

The English Flag Was a Tiny Chick

Nine of the ten biggest sales of 2026 are Japanese prize cards like the Illustrator, handed out at contests and tournaments and never printed for a regular set. The one English card in the top ten is a wonderful surprise, and it is a Torchic. The Gold Star Torchic, numbered 108 of 109 from EX Team Rocket Returns, sold in PSA 10 condition for $2.7 million USD [about $3.8 million CAD]. Torchic is a Basic Fire Pokemon with 70 HP, illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda, with a Fireworks attack for 20 and a Spring Back attack that adds 50 more damage when your opponent has only one Prize card left. A cheerful little chick from 2004 just outsold nearly every famous card in the hobby.

Old Eras Own the Leaderboard

The wider numbers tell the same story. Cards from the Wizards of the Coast era account for 270 of the six figure sales, and the EX era, which ran from 2003 to 2007, adds another 162. October was the busiest month of the year, with 198 sales at $100,000 USD or more. One honest caution belongs here. The report counts sales rather than individual cards, so a famous card that changed hands twice this year is counted twice. Even so, the pattern is clear. Cards like Charizard from Base Set, numbered 4 of 102 and illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita, come from a generation that collectors once pulled from ordinary packs, and that generation now anchors the top of the market.

What It Means for the Rest of Us

Most of us in Canada will never hold an Illustrator, and that is perfectly fine. What these numbers really show is depth. The hobby now holds serious value at the top and everyday joy at every other level, and the card you pulled last weekend belongs to the same hobby as the card at the top of this list. If there is a lesson in a $2.7 million USD Torchic, it is a kind one. Care for the cards you love, keep them safe, and enjoy them for years. The cards we treasure today have a wonderful habit of surprising everyone tomorrow.