5 Rarest Pokemon Cards You May Have Collected

If you were into the Pokemon Trading Card game as a child, then it might be time you sifted through your surely massive card collection. Over the years, the popular game has only grown in size, and a slew of old-fashioned cards have become rather sought after by other fans. You may not know it now, but your dusty old box of Pokemon cards might make you rich one day – and it’s time to find out if you’re one of the luckier collectors out there.

Here at ComicBook.com, we’re counting down five of the rarest Pokemon cards to ever hit circulation. So, get our your old card binder and make sure you have a few plastic sleeves handy. Let’s find out if you’re a millionaire in the making.

Pokemon Snap Cards

For those of you who played Pokemon Snap, you must have loved the photogenic game. The Nintendo 64 title was a hit with both young and old fans, and it pioneered an entirely new genre of gaming. To hype the game, a promotion was held that asked players to submit their best Pokemon Snap photos to officials who then selected the best to be printed on cards. Very few of these Pokemon Snap cards were ever made, and some of the pieces have sold for more than $8k because of Gyarados.

2001 Tropical Mega Battle Cards

Created in 2001, the Tropical Mega Battle cards are insanely rare thanks to their limited production and geographic tagging. The special cards were released in Hawaii back in 1999 as part of a promotional event for school children. Only 12 cards were created, and mint condition cards can easily sell for more than $10k.
  

Charizard Base Set First Edition Card

There is just something about Charizard that makes collectors want to pay bank for its first edition card. The Pokemon’s popularity is rivaled only by Pikachu, and fans will go to great lengths to get mint conditions cards of the character. If you have a first edition Charizard card in your attic, then you might be sitting on a $5k item that would make even Ash gawp.

Pre-Release Raichu Card

Sure, Raichu may be the less-cute evolution of Pikachu, but the electric Pokemon has found a way to capitalize either way. Pokemon card collectors will do almost anything to get their hands on a coveted pre-release Raichu card. The misprinted item is a rarity given that only 11-21 of them exist in the wild. And, if you were to sell one, you could easily make more than $10k of it.
 

Pokemon Illustrator Card

Amongst collectors, the Pokemon Illustrator card is one they’d die to add to their collection. Created during the peak of the game’s popularity, the trainer card was awarded to content winners of a Japanese Pokemon Card Game Illustration contest. Less than 40 were awarded, and experts speculate less than 6 are still in existence. With a double-star rarity to its name, anyone who owns the Pokemon Illustrator card could bank upwards of $20,000-100,000.