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High-end Pokémon card auctions tend to place PSA slabs front and center. The company remains the dominant force in the graded-card market, and the majority of headline-grabbing sales seem to involve that familiar red-and-white PSA 10 label. This particular auction told a different story. Seven rare cards from the Pokémon TCG recently combined to sell for $29,040 through Fanatics Collect, and every one of them was housed inside a CGC slab. The group included five cards that established new sales records or market benchmarks, plus two CGC 10 Pristine cards that appear to have made their first publicly documented sales.
The results arrive amid a substantial run of record activity for vintage Pokémon cards. Recent auctions have produced new highs for everything from ultra-rare Snorlax cards to sealed Pokémon booster boxes. This time, however, the attention belonged exclusively to CGC. Let’s take a look at the cards that made auction history.
CGC Pristine 10 Aquapolis Tyranitar: $11,100, POP 3Previous Record Sale: $4,550 in October 2024 via eBay
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
Aquapolis is packed with memorable artwork, but few cards from the e-Card expansion carry the same combination of popularity and scarcity as its holographic Tyranitar. A CGC 10 Pristine copy of Aquapolis Tyranitar towered over the rest of this auction, drawing 49 bids before landing at a staggering $11,100. That more than doubled the previous publicly documented record of $4,550, set in October 2024. More precisely, the new result represents an increase of approximately 144%, adding $6,550 to the card’s prior high, which is not a routine price bump. It is a Giga Impact-level leap for a card that was already worth several thousand dollars in this exact grade.
Tyranitar is one of the most popular Pokémon introduced during the second generation, while Aquapolis belongs to the brief and increasingly coveted e-Card era. Add a CGC Pristine label to that equation, and the final price begins to make considerably more sense. Still, collectors should be careful about treating $11,100 as the automatic value of every high-grade Aquapolis Tyranitar. Pristine-grade sales are extremely infrequent, and thin markets can move dramatically when two serious bidders decide they need the same card.
CGC Pristine 10 Rocket’s Hitmonchan ex: $4,080, POP 4Previous Record Sale: $3,999.99 in May 2026 via eBay
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
Not every record needs to obliterate the previous high. A CGC 10 Pristine Rocket’s Hitmonchan ex from EX Team Rocket Returns sold for $4,080 after attracting 30 bids. The previous record was $3,999.99, established through an eBay sale in May 2026. That works out to an increase of only $80.01, or almost exactly 2%. Compared to other cards herein, that percentage may look almost insignificant. From a market perspective, however, it remains useful information. The result confirms that the previous sale near $4,000 was not necessarily an isolated outlier and gives collectors another public data point for an extremely scarce Pristine copy.
Team Rocket Returns has become one of the defining expansions of the mid-2000s Pokémon TCG. Its Pokémon-ex cards, Gold Stars, dark-themed artwork, and stamped reverse holos have given the set unusually broad collector appeal. Rocket’s Hitmonchan ex may not command the same immediate recognition as a Charizard or Mew, but a virtually flawless copy from a coveted EX-era set does not need to win by knockout. This one took the record by unanimous decision.
CGC Gem Mint 10 Holon Phantoms Mew: $2,250, POP 13Previous Record Sale: $1,800 in May 2026 via eBay
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
Mew does not need a Gold Star beside its name to attract serious bidding. A CGC 10 Gem Mint copy of Mew from EX Holon Phantoms reached $2,250 after 22 bids. The highest previous publicly tracked CGC 10 Gem Mint sale was $1,800 in May 2026. Card No. 111/110 was a secret rare within Holon Phantoms boasting classic artwork from original Pokémon designer Ken Sugimori. The holo Mew is also distinct from the non-holographic version distributed through the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew DVD release, an important detail when comparing listings and past sales.
Mew has already been responsible for one of the year’s most spectacular Pokémon card results. A PSA 10 Mew Gold Star recently reached $192,000 as part of an auction filled with record-breaking Legendary and Mythical Pokémon cards. The Holon Phantoms secret rare operates in a much lower price tier, but the same underlying ingredients remain present: an iconic Pokémon, a difficult-to-find card from a long-gone era, and a top-end grade. That recipe continues to work.
CGC 8.5 Aquapolis Reverse Holo Psyduck: $2,760, POP 18Previous Record Sale: $750 in November 2025 via eBay
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
Psyduck’s appearance proved historic in a different way. According to PriceCharting’s archived sales history, a CGC 8.5 copy previously sold for $750 through eBay in November 2025. The latest $2,760 result obliterated that mark by $2,010, representing a 268% increase and the largest percentage jump among the cards featured here. Its $2,760 sale price was 268% higher than that previous result, representing an increase of $2,010. That is a remarkable jump for any card, let alone one graded with a less-than-gem-mint CGC 8.5 evaluation.
The result also demonstrates why the number printed on a slab does not tell the whole story. Collectors are not simply buying a numerical grade; they are buying a particular card, finish, set, condition, grading-company label, and opportunity. Reverse holo Aquapolis cards are notoriously difficult to find in good condition, and Psyduck remains one of the most recognizable and beloved Pokémon from the original generation. Psyduck’s perpetually confused expression also feels rather appropriate here. Anyone who watched a $750 sale become a $2,760 benchmark within eight months may be nursing a headache of their own. Though, of course, this ‘duck is beaming with joy as it enjoys playing on a swing set. Never change, Psyduck.
CGC Gem Mint 10 Team Rocket Returns Togepi: $2,010, POP 3Previous Record Sale: $950 in January 2026 via eBay
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
Togepi may be small enough to hide inside an eggshell, but collectors certainly did not treat this card like a lightweight. A CGC 10 Gem Mint reverse holo Togepi from EX Team Rocket Returns sold for $2,010, more than doubling the previous record for the card in the same grade. According to eBay, another CGC 10 copy sold for $950 in January 2026. The latest result increased the record by $1,060, representing an enormous 111.6% jump in just a matter of months. CGC’s population report also listed only three examples in the grade, leaving precious few opportunities for collectors pursuing one of the cleanest copies available.
Stamped reverse holo cards from the this era of the TCG have become increasingly desirable among vintage Pokémon collectors. Unlike conventional reverse holos, these cards feature the expansion logo stamped directly onto the artwork, giving each set its own immediately recognizable look. Beyond that, the holo method actually embosses the various energy symbols onto the card, further adding to their scarcity and curb appeal.
A similar appetite for distinctive reverse holo treatments has also helped drive enormous prices for cards from the Pokémon TCG’s Legendary Collection, although that set uses its famous fireworks pattern rather than an expansion stamp. Togepi brings another powerful ingredient to the equation: nostalgia. The egg-shaped Pokémon was introduced in the anime before the release of the second-generation video games, making it one of the earliest glimpses fans received of what was coming after the original 151.
Combine that popularity with a scarce CGC 10 grade and one of the era’s most recognizable reverse holo treatments, and this record-setting result becomes considerably less surprising.
Previous Record Sale: N/A
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
The auction’s most definitive first appearance belonged to Metagross ex from EX Power Keepers. This CGC 10 Pristine copy sold for $3,960 after receiving 34 bids. More importantly, the card was listed as a population-one example, meaning it was the only copy CGC had awarded that exact grade at the time of the auction.
Public sales records contain several transactions involving CGC 10 Gem Mint copies, but no previous verified sale of a CGC 10 Pristine example could be located. The $3,960 result therefore creates the first meaningful public benchmark for the card in this grade. Mid-era cards continue to see impressive returns, and Metagross remains one of the most interesting and powerful pseudolegendary ‘mon of all time – and now with a POP 1 CGC record sale to boot.
CGC Pristine 10 Dragon Frontiers Milotic: $2,880, POP 3Previous Record Sale: N/A
Image Courtesy Fanatics Collect
A CGC 10 Pristine reverse holo Milotic from EX Dragon Frontiers brought in $2,880 after an impressive 40 bids. Previous CGC 10 Gem Mint copies have been sold publicly, but no verified Pristine transaction appeared in the available sales history. Like Metagross, the auction therefore establishes a new exact-grade benchmark, which is always impressive in the rampant Pokémon TCG space. Milotic is especially well suited to the stamped reverse holo treatment. The Dragon Frontiers version presents the normally Water-type Pokémon as a dual Fire/Metal Delta Species, while the expansion stamp gives the artwork another element unavailable on the standard holo card.
Forty bids also indicate that this was not a quiet transaction decided by one collector placing an ambitious opening offer. Multiple bidders pushed the card toward $3,000 before someone finally emerged with the most expensive publicly documented CGC 10 Pristine copy of this stunning mid-era card. For a Pokémon canonically celebrated for its beauty, that is a fittingly attractive result.
CGC Pokémon Slabs Are Building Their Own Record BookThe most notable element connecting these seven cards is not the expansion, the Pokémon pictured, or even the era in which they were printed. It is the grading company displayed at the top of every slab. All seven were graded by CGC. Together, they generated $29,040 in sales while creating five records or new market benchmarks and two apparent first-time public results in exact grades.
That does not mean collectors should assume every rare CGC slab is about to double or triple in value. Many of these cards have tiny populations and extremely limited sales histories. In a thin market, one determined bidding battle can establish a price that may not be repeated immediately. The ultimate takeaway is that rare CGC-graded Pokémon cards are increasingly developing sales histories of their own. They should not be treated merely as discounted substitutes for PSA equivalents, nor should Gem Mint and Pristine copies be lumped together indiscriminately. As more one-of-one graded cards and seldom-seen slabs reach major auctions, collectors are beginning to discover what those distinctions are actually worth.
Which of these CGC Pokémon card record sales surprised you the most? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!