In a twist of fate that might make Pikachu say “Pika-wow!”, the humble Pokémon card has evolved into a titan of the trading card universe in 2025. According to new data from GemRate, these colorful rectangles of nostalgia and strategic gameplay have roared past sports cards in sheer volume of grading submissions, heralding a seismic shift in one of the hobbies where the stakes can range from delightful to downright expensive.
We have entered a golden age for Pokémon enthusiasts, with 97 of the top 100 most-graded cards at PSA—the preeminent authority in card grading—belonging to the franchise that turned pocket monsters into a global phenomenon. Non-sports and trading card game (TCG) cards now account for 59% of graded submissions across the four major authenticators during the first half of the year, with an astonishing 7.2 million such cards receiving grades from January through June. This represents a remarkable 70% increase when compared to the previous year. In comparison, sports card submissions languish in relative obscurity with 5.1 million graded, marking a 9% decline over the same period.
Leading the pack in graded submissions is the Japanese Iono’s Wattrel Battle Partners Promo No. 232, with over 45,600 copies taking a trip to the grading labs. But let’s face it, Pikachu is still the real MVP (Most Valuable Pokémon). His adorable visage, in various forms, has accounted for an eye-opening 345,000 graded examples in 2025 alone. Chief among these is the ballyhooed “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat” from the Van Gogh Museum collaboration—a card that has achieved near-mythical status with 84,000 graded examples, despite still commanding prices over $900 for perfectly graded PSA 10 versions.
Conversely, sports cards have only managed a modest showing among PSA’s top-graded submissions. Only three cards have cracked the top 100: the 2024 Panini Prizm Jayden Daniels rookie card, the 2024 Panini Instant Caitlin Clark WNBA Rookie of the Year card, and another Jayden Daniels card from Donruss. These cards saw submissions in the range of 8,800 to 10,500 each, figures that are dwarfed by their Pokémon counterparts.
The monthly breakdown for June echoes this evolving trend. TCG and non-sports cards constituted 63% of submissions, with PSA alone grading 911,000 cards in these categories. This figure triumphantly outpaces the combined sports card tally of 743,000 across all four major grading entities, solidifying Pokémon’s mightier-than-thou status.
CGC Cards, one of the key players in the grading scene, has also capitalized on Pokémon mania. The company has already graded 2.18 million cards in 2025, nearly reaching its entire 2024 output. Of these, over 1.8 million hail from the TCG or non-sports domain, underscoring the popularity surge Pokémon has engendered. Meanwhile, Beckett seems to have hit a speed bump, slipping in rankings to fourth place among the major graders. Of the 366,000 cards Beckett has handled in 2025, about 214,000 are Pokémon or TCG-related, as their sports card numbers dwindle.
PSA’s tsunami of submissions hasn’t occurred in a vacuum, though. Part of this trend can be attributed to its partnership with retail giant GameStop, launching in October. This collaboration has already netted over a million submissions for grading, feeding into the boom and transforming the hobby’s landscape with the swiftness of a Quick Attack.
On the retail frontier, Pokémon’s magnetic pull has led to sellouts and fervent crowds akin to lines for the latest tech gadget releases. It’s not just about nostalgia or player enthusiasm—it’s a strategic assault on shelves that has retailers enforcing limited-per-customer policies to manage the craze.
Given the current trajectory, it’s fair to predict that Pokémon’s domination will continue to charge ahead at full thunderbolt speed. The ravenous appetite for new releases and meticulously graded classics suggests that Pokémon has become more than just a game—it’s a cultural staple with a grip as firm as a Charizard’s Flamethrower, scorching its way into the record books and the hearts of collectors and investors alike.
