DALLAS, TX.- A PSA Mint 9 Pikachu Illustrator realized $1,406,250 the first day of the Heritage March 27–28 Trading Card Games and Manga Signature ® Auction, setting a new public auction record for its grade and leading the auction to a Heritage Auctions Trading Card Games record total of $7,620,617. The result illustrates the continued collector demand for Pokémon Trading Card Game cards 30 years after Pokémon were introduced to the world with the Japanese release of two Nintendo Game Boy cartridges, Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green.

After the hatching of those first video games, the entertainment juggernaut would evolve to include mobile games, movies, home video, toys and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Early trainers could buy a pack of 11 cards for about $4. Nowadays original Base Set Booster Packs routinely sell for thousands of dollars apiece, while rare cards — such as the Pikachu Illustrator card, which was awarded as the grand prize of one of the first three illustration contests publicized in CoroCoro Comic — go for far more. The third-party authentication company PSA has certified 15 copies of the card at Mint 9, with only one copy graded higher. The Illustrator featuring the franchise mascot is often called the “Holy Grail” of the hobby.

“Pokémon continues to prove it’s no longer just a kids’ game — it’s one of the hottest collectible markets in the world,” says Heritage Auctions Trading Card Games Managing Director Jesus Garcia. “The sale of the Pikachu Illustrator for over $1.4 million is a testament to how far the market has evolved. As the 30th anniversary celebration continues, we’re seeing nostalgia reach new heights, driven largely by millennials who grew up with the franchise and are now at a stage where they can pursue truly high-end pieces. This combination is driving results that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.”

A complete Master Set of 332 Pokémon Skyridge cards, all graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA, also topped the million-dollar mark. The Master Set, the only known fully PSA-10-graded complete set, achieved a record $1,218,750 for the set.

Another of the hottest cards in the hobby is the First Edition Base Set Charizard. One of only 125 copies worthy of a Gem Mint 10 from PSA, this copy pulled in $550,000.

The $600,000 price for an original sketch by renowned Pokémon artist Ken Sugimori was the highest price ever paid for Pokémon original art and the highest Shikishi of all time. Sugimori created the artwork for some of the most sought-after cards in the hobby as well as for the original video games. This PSA-authenticated artwork depicting Misty and Pikachu is signed by Sugimori in both English and Japanese and dates to June 23, 1998.

The $125,000 sale of a sealed Japanese booster set and $212,500 for a Sealed Pokémon Skyridge Booster Box also set all-time highs.

For the first time in Heritage history, the Trading Card Games auction included a devoted Manga auction, which included debuts of several massively popular characters and franchises. Fittingly for the pop culture trend-setting Heritage, the initial Manga sale set some world records of its own.

The November 1954 issue of Omoshiro included Kagaku Bouken E Monogatari Gojira, a 122-page manga adaptation of the original Godzilla film released concurrently with the movie, the first Manga to feature the now-classic monster. Garcia calls this issue the “Holy Grail of Manga,” and this copy set the issue record price with its $81,250 final price.

The Dragon Ball Z production script from episode 95 of the series, “Transformed At Last! The Legendary Super Saiyan, Son Goku,” earned a record $52,500. The episode first aired June 19, 1991, in Japan and is among the most important in the series. It features the first Super Saiyan transformation, occurring as Goku is enraged by Frieza’s carnage — a pivotal moment, showing Super Saiyan is not just a legend.

The debut appearance of Dragon Ball, in Weekly Shonen Jump No. 51 from 1984, was another cultural milestone featured in the auction, and it commanded $45,000.

The current best-selling Manga and collected comic book volumes of all time, One Piece, also got its start in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump when, in No. 34 from 1997, creator Elichiro Oda began the epic with the story of a boy who wished to become a pirate. This piece of Manga history realized $42,500.

“Heritage has built record-breaking markets for comics, video games, trading card games, action figures and more,” Garcia says. “As leaders in the pop culture collectibles marketplace, it was only fitting that we celebrate Manga, the art form that has attracted generations of fans all over the world and shaped global pop culture.”