It was a big weekend for Pokemon. February 27th was Pokemon Day which is based on the original day in 1996 when the Pokemon Red and Green version video game series were released in Japan. Of course Pokemon has its own day! It’s looking like 2022 is already becoming a big year for major Pokemon card sales. Goldin Auctions has already reported a record sale, and Heritage Auctions brought major collectors to bid on a pack break of the original 1999 trading card series.

Collectors Dashboard had profiled what the individual packs were selling for and ultimately sold for with the Collect-A-Con opening the auctioned packs on February 27. Neither Collect-A-Con or Heritage Auctions or PSA have released any press releases about the pack break event.

For readers that think Green is a typo “Pocket Monsters: Red and Pocket Monsters: Green” were first ahead of Pokemon Blue. Announced on this Pokemon Day February 27, 2022 was the upcoming release of Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet coming to Nintendo Switch later this year. Described as a new evolutionary step by allowing you to explore freely in a richly expressed open world.

The website expressed the new style of Pokemon game by saying:

“Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders. You’ll be able to see the Pokémon of this region in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streets—all over! You’ll be able to experience the true joy of the Pokémon series—battling against wild Pokémon in order to catch them—now in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.” -Pokemon.com

According to Google Trends data, searches spiked at the end of January for the release of the Nintendo Switch game, “Pokemon Legends: Arceus”. According to Nintendo, results from a month earlier show the popular game console Nintendo Switch has sold over 100 million of the gaming devices to date. Nintendo also said the release of Pokemon games is expected to drive future demand for the game consol.

Have sales of the cards developed in 2022? Umm, yes and then some.

Goldin Auctions had two record sales in 2022: one for a PSA graded NM 7 Japanese Promo Pikachu Illustrator Card (Image below by Goldin.co) for $900,000.00 on February 23. The card stands as the all-time record for a public Pokemon card sale according to their data.

In January of 2022, Goldin sold a PSA graded GEM MT 10 1995 P.M. Japanese Topsun Charizard for $493,230.00 after the premium and promoted the sale as a record for the character.

For an outside reference, the PWCC Marketplace data shows a 1995 Pokemon Japanese Topsun Blue Back No Number Charizard PSA 9, so 1 grade lower, sold for $98,850.00 a year earlier on Feb, 27, 2021. PWCC has 10 other Pokemon cards that have fetched $100,000 or more in the last two years, with at least three being $300,000 or higher.

Also, on February 23 Goldin Auctions sold 1999 Pokemon Base Set Uncut Sheet with First Edition & Shadowless Cards Featuring First Edition Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise Cards for $171,600.00 after 22 bids. The uncut sheet was significant because it features all 16 holographic cards from the 1999 base set including two Charizard cards. Goldin listed a 1999 Pokemon Base 1st Edition #4 Charizard, Holographic, MBA Black Diamond Certified – SGC Gold Label Pristine 10 1 of 1 card (image below by Goldin) that sold for $360,000.00 after 17 bids.

eBay has been tracking strong sales in its auctions with more than 1 bid so far in 2022.