A Raincoat Pikachu card unavailable in ordinary packs sold for $8.4 million. Its story began with a fan’s drawing and the 100 official cards awarded as a prize.
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Pikachu stands under an umbrella in a red raincoat. This small drawing shows a rainy day rather than a battle. A card featuring the winning Pokémon Art Academy contest illustration sold at Fanatics Collect for $8.4 million on September 28, 2026, including the buyer’s premium.
The auction recorded 64 bids and a PSA 10 GEM MINT grade. International coverage described it as the second-highest Pokémon card auction price at the time. The sum is striking, but tracing who first received the card reveals another story.
A card no ordinary pack could contain
According to Hypebeast, illustrator Y. Fujishima won the Dress-Up Pikachu category in a contest linked to the Nintendo 3DS game Pokémon Art Academy. The prize was 100 official cards featuring the winning illustration. These were not cards distributed in ordinary retail packs.
Collectors usually open packs hoping for a particular image. Raincoat Pikachu began a step earlier, with a fan drawing the character. That personal interpretation won the contest, was printed on official cards, and returned to its creator.
The history behind the illustration
The raincoat and umbrella are visible on the card; its contest history requires explanation. The print quantity and distribution distinguish it from other cards featuring Pikachu. Collectors can consider how a card came into existence as well as what its image looks like.
A print run of 100 and the price of this particular copy are different facts. The $8.4 million result belongs to one graded card at one auction. It does not assign that value to every other copy or reveal exactly what motivated the buyer.
A fan’s drawing became something to hold
The record at the time belonged to Pikachu Illustrator. Guinness World Records confirmed a February 2026 auction total of $16,492,000 including fees. Raincoat Pikachu’s result belongs within that broader auction history.
Yet its story did not begin in an auction room. It began when a fan drew Pikachu in a raincoat and received 100 official cards bearing that image. The latest sale put a new price on one copy. Long before that, the picture already recorded someone’s participation in a world they loved.
Sources and editorial notes
Hypebeast · Report on the contest win, the 100-card prize, and Pokémon card price records.
Guinness World Records · Highest auction record for Pikachu Illustrator on February 16, 2026
Editorial note: Winning bids are the result of a public auction, including buyer's fees. “Second-highest at the time” refers to the Pokémon card auction record introduced by overseas reports at the time. The cultural significance of the publication background is MUADAILY's editorial interpretation and does not confirm the buyer's motivation or the cause of price formation.
Machine-translated from Korean. Read the original.
