After Pikachu dominated last week’s biggest TCG card sales, Pokémon didn’t leave any room for the competition this week.
Pokémon swept all five spots among the top TCG sales for the week of Aug. 16-23, according to sales data tracked by Card Ladder. All five cards came from the same Fanatics Weekly Auction, but this time neither Pikachu nor Charizard made the list.
Instead, the week featured a mix of rare Japanese promos, a pair of six-figure Treecko Gold Stars, and a Pokémon SNAP card that led the way at $180,000.
Here’s a countdown of the top five TCG card sales of the week.
5. 2000 Pokémon Japanese Promo 500 Pt. Fan Club Holo Eevee #133 PSA 10
Eevee kicks off the countdown with a $90,000 sale, showing once again that some of Pokémon’s most desirable cards never came from traditional packs.
The Japanese promo was available to members of the Pokémon Fan Club who accumulated 500 points, making it a difficult card to obtain even when it was released.
4. 2004 Pokémon EX Team Rocket Returns Holo Treecko Gold Star #109 PSA 10
The first of two copies of the same card to make this week’s list, a PSA 10 Treecko Gold Star, sold for $114,000.
Treecko was one of the first Gold Star Pokémon introduced in 2004’s EX Team Rocket Returns, part of a group of cards that has become increasingly popular with high-end Pokémon collectors.
3. 2004 Pokémon EX Team Rocket Returns Holo Treecko Gold Star #109 PSA 10
As DJ Khaled says, “another one.” A second PSA 10 copy of the 2004 Treecko Gold Star sold in the same Fanatics auction for $132,000. Together, the two cards brought an impressive $246,000.
The prices also show just how much the market for the card has changed. A PSA 10 Treecko Gold Star sold through Fanatics Collect for $7,000 in January 2025.
2. 2000 Pokémon Japanese Promo Tropical Mega Battle Chubu No. 1 Trainer PSA 9
One of the week’s rarest cards came within $12,000 of taking the top spot. The Chubu No. 1 Trainer was awarded to a regional winner during Japan’s World Challenge Summer 2000 tournaments. The PSA 9 that sold for $168,000 is the only example currently graded by PSA, and none have been graded higher.
1. 1999 Pokémon Japanese 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo SNAP Contest Koffing #109 BGS 9 $180,000
Another week brings another massive sale for an incredibly rare Pokémon SNAP card.
The $180,000 Koffing traces back to a 1999 contest tied to the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap. Players submitted photos taken in the game, and the winning images were turned into actual Pokémon cards.
Just 15 copies of each winning card were awarded, making these unusual promos some of the rarest and most sought-after Pokémon cards in the hobby.
Pokémon may have swept this week’s top five, but the variety is just as notable. Koffing, Treecko, and Eevee shared the spotlight with an exceptionally rare Trainer card, while two copies of the same Treecko Gold Star combined for nearly a quarter-million dollars.
At almost $700,000 in sales for the top five cards, one thing is for sure: high-end Pokémon cards are still on fire.
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LUCAS MAST
Lucas Mast is a writer based in California’s Bay Area, where he’s a season ticket holder for St. Mary’s basketball and a die-hard Stanford athletics fan. A lifelong collector of sneakers, sports cards, and pop culture, he also advises companies shaping the future of the hobby and sports. He’s driven by a curiosity about why people collect—and what those items reveal about the moments and memories that matter most.
