The Most Valuable Pokemon Cards from the Late 1990s and Early 2000s: Pikachu, Charizard, Lugia and More

The Most Valuable Pokemon Cards from the Late 1990s and Early 2000s: Pikachu, Charizard, Lugia and More

Generation 1 (aka Gen 1) of the Pokemon TCG: Pikachu and Charizard Reign Supreme

The late 1990s and early 2000s marked the beginning of the Pokémon trading card game (TCG) phenomenon, introducing some of the most valuable and sought-after cards in the hobby’s history.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the rarest and most expensive Pokemon cards from the late 1990s and early 2000s, including well-known characters like Pikachu, Charizard, Lugia, and more!

Among these, the 1999 Pokémon Illustrator card stands as the pinnacle of rarity and value. Awarded only to winners of the official Pokémon illustration contest in Japan, fewer than 40 copies are known to exist.

This card is not legal for tournament play and features unique artwork by Atsuko Nishida, the original illustrator of Pikachu, making it an unmatched collector’s trophy.

The Pikachu Illustrator Card is extremely rare and thus extremely valuable!

In fact, a PSA 9 version of this card sold on June 11, 2022 for $840,000! Yes, that’s not a misprint, it actually sold for almost $1 Million!

Another highly prized card from that era is the 1999 First Edition Shadowless Charizard from the Base Set. Known for its striking artwork and powerful in-game attributes, this Charizard variant is distinguished by the absence of a shadow along the right side of the Pokémon image and the “First Edition” stamp on the card’s left side.

The First Edition Shadowless Charizard is tremendously valuable, especially in good condition.

A well-preserved version of this card graded (e.g., in PSA 10 Gem Mint conditio) by a professional grading company can fetch tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars!

Its popularity is fueled both by nostalgia and the card’s iconic status in the Pokémon community.

The card is so popular that it has been the target of heists, including a brazen burglary of a New Bedford, Massachusetts collectibles shop that occurred in July of 2025 (most of the cards were luckily returned!).

Unlike the Pikachu Illustrator card, and the Tropical Mega Battle promo cards (covered below), Base Set Charizard cards are available online at places like eBay or TCGPlayer.

Quick aside: If you’re interested in learning more about card grading and when it makes sense to send in a card to a professional grading company, make sure to read our Knowledgebase article titled: To Grade or Not to Grade?: When Should You Send Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering or Sports Cards to Be Graded by PSA, BGS, or CGC?

Valuable Cards in the Early 2000s: Tropical Mega Battle and Lugia

The Tropical Mega Battle cards also hold exceptional value.

These cards were distributed exclusively to participants of the Tropical Mega Battle tournaments held in Hawaii between 1999 and 2001, which was a precursor to the current Pokemon World Championships.

As extremely rare Promo card, these cards were not available for public sale and featured unique illustrations and Pokémon team compositions. The limited print run and the exclusivity of the event make these cards highly coveted by collectors worldwide, often selling for exorbitant prices.

An example of a Tropical Mega Battle card.

Another remarkable collectible from the early 2000s is the 2000 Neo Genesis Lugia Foil card. While not as rare as the Illustrator or Tropical cards, this card is significant due to its popularity among players and collectors alike.

The Lugia Holo was one of the first legendary Pokémon to be featured prominently and has maintained its value due to its striking artwork and strength in gameplay.

First Edition copies of this card graded in pristine condition can command high prices in the low to mid $1,000s. What’s cool about this card is that it is still widely-available to purchase on websites like eBay and Whatnot!

This Lugia card from Neo Genesis is also super cool and expensive, especially in Mint or Gem Mint condition.

Error and Misprint Cards: The Blastoise Stage Error Card

Misprint and error cards from this period have also attracted considerable interest. Cards with printing errors—such as missing text, misaligned artwork, or inverted color schemes—were produced in very limited numbers and are regarded as unique collector’s items.

Notable examples include certain Base Set cards with reversed backs or holographic errors that have become prized for their rarity and anomaly status, or cards like the Blastoise Stage Error card, which is missing text at the top (see image below).

These error cards highlight the early manufacturing quirks of Pokémon cards and hold a special place in trading card history!

And fun fact, it’s not only Gen 1 vintage Pokemon cards that can have misprints or errors, modern cards can too. The best part is, although they are super rare, you can actually pull these cards from booster packs or boxes like Elite Trainer Boxes, which are available to purchase online and in retail stores.

This Base Set Blastoise card is sought after due to the printing error on the top right corner.

The Bottom Line: Limited Supply + High Demand = Continued Price Increases?

Our readers, followers and customers often ask us about what the future of Pokemon Trading Cards looks like in terms of price appreciation and value.

While we can’t make any guarantees or 100% certain predictions about the future, we will say that the law of supply and demand from economics does tend to impact prices.

Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, YuGiOh!, sports cards, and other collectibles also follow this law; because these cards are no longer being produced and there is only limited supply in the world, prices are very likely to stay high and increase over time.

Unless demand were to suddenly collapse for these games, we think that price appreciations are inevitable.

It’s difficult to say how much these cards will go up in price, but for examples like the Pikachu Illustrator and First Edition Charizard cards, sales in the past few years have been much higher than say 5 or 10 years ago, cementing these cards place in Pokemon lore and making them highly sought-after collectors’ items!

Thanks for checking out our Knowledgebase article!

Thanks so much for reading and we hope that this detailed rundown of the most expensive and rare Pokemon cards from the late 1990s and early 2000s was helpful!

We appreciate you checking out this Knowledgebase article and we’re interested to hear your thoughts.

Which one of these cards is your personal favorite? Do you have any of these grails in your personal collection, or have you ever seen any of these incredible cards in-person?

Let us know in the comments on this article, on our Instagram, Facebook page, or via email or DM!