An $8.4 million Pokémon card was never sold in a store. It was a contest prize. Here's what the "Raincoat Pikachu" actually is, why one sold for that much, and the checks to run before you trust a listing or a headline.
What sold, and for how much
A PSA 10 copy of the 2015 Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu #XY-P sold for $8,400,000 (including Fanatics' 20% buyer's premium) after 64 bids, closing Sept. 28 in Fanatics Collect's 245th Weekly Sunday Auction, per the Fanatics Collect lot page and Men's Journal. Dexerto calls it the second-most-expensive Pokémon card ever sold, behind Logan Paul's $16.49M Pikachu Illustrator.
Where the card came from
The Pokémon Art Academy × Pokémon Card Game contest ran in Japan from Dec. 14, 2014 to Feb. 1, 2015. Entrants used the Nintendo 3DS game Pokémon Art Academy to draw either a Pikachu in a costume or their favorite Pokémon, per Bulbapedia's entry on a sister card). Each winner received 100 printed copies of their own card.
Artist Y. Fujishima won the "Dress Up Pikachu" category with a Pikachu in a red raincoat under an umbrella, per Men's Journal and Dexerto. That's the whole print run: 100 cards, handed to one person, never sold at retail. Collectr's post on the sale (cited by Men's Journal) puts the PSA 10 population at 57.
Why it hit $8.4M
It's Pikachu, and it's scarce. The hobby's mascot, a fixed print run of 100, and a top grade. All three were in the room at once.
It's in a hot lane. The same contest produced a Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip card that sold for $3,720,000 in PSA 10 at Fanatics' September Premier Auction on Sept. 25, per Sports Illustrated Collectibles, which reports a PSA 10 population of 3 for that card. Two Art Academy promos cleared seven figures within four days.
The timing. The sale landed during Pokémon's 30th anniversary, with Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration out since Sept. 16 and Pikachu everywhere.
The part most headlines skip
Before this month, the public PSA 10 sales were tiny by comparison. Dexerto cites Raincoat Pikachu PSA 10 sales on Fanatics Collect at $12,600 in July 2024 and $19,200 in June 2025. That's a jump of roughly 440x in about 15 months.
That's thin data. One auction with two determined bidders sets a price. It doesn't prove what the next copy will bring. If you own one, this sale is a reason to research, not a number to quote.
Verify before you buy (or brag)
- Run the cert. Every PSA slab has a certification number. Look it up on PSA (or our PSA Verify tool) and confirm the card name, grade and images match the slab in hand.
- Read the label. The listing should match the full description: 2015 Japanese XY Promo, Art Academy, Fujishima Pikachu, #XY-P.
- Treat raw copies with extreme caution. With only 100 printed, an ungraded "Raincoat Pikachu" deserves the same skepticism as any too-good-to-be-true grail.
- Check the sale history yourself. Pull recent results from Fanatics Collect's sold-items history instead of trusting a screenshot.
- Remember the premium. Fanatics' result includes a 20% buyer's premium, so the hammer price was lower.
AOM signal: The Raincoat Pikachu sale says contest-prize promos with tiny, fixed print runs are now in the grail conversation. It doesn't set a price for every Art Academy card. Watch for the next public PSA 10 sale before you treat $8.4M as the going rate.
Check Current Listings
- Art Academy promo cards on eBay
- Japanese XY promo Pikachu on eBay
- Fanatics Collect sold-items history (verify comps)
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Keep Exploring
- This Week in Record-Breaking Sales: Pikachu Week
- PSA Verify — check a grade before you buy
- Pokémon terminal
Signal, not an appraisal. Figures reported by Fanatics Collect, Men's Journal, Dexerto, Sports Illustrated Collectibles and Bulbapedia; verify live before buying or selling.
