Rare silver trophy Pikachu card from Pokémon TCG’s second-ever tournament sells for $444,000 at auction

A precious Pikachu Trainer card awarded to contenders in the Pokémon Trading Card Game’s second-ever tournament in 1998 recently fetched $444,000 at auction. The Pikachu No.2 Silver Trophy card was awarded to second place contestants in the 1997-98 Japanese Lizardon (aka Charizard) Mega Battle Pokémon tournament cups, which ran from November 1997 through February 1998 at locations throughout Japan. The top three placements each received a Pikachu Trainer card in Gold, Silver and Bronze matching their final position in the competitive bracket. Fourth place finishers were invited back to compete in future cups but did not receive a card. According to Goldin Auctions, which hosted the sale, only 14 of these cards are believed to exist in circulation. The first-ever 1997 tournament was the only other event where these trophy-toting Pikachu Trainer cards were distributed. Read more