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Japanese CGC to PSA Crossover: Base Charizard, Eevee Heroes and Modern Odds

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Japanese CGC to PSA crossover odds are not published by PSA, CGC or anyone else, so every figure here is our estimate. On population math the Japanese cards we could measure lean the hopeful way: a CGC 8.5 1996 Japanese Base Set Charizard ranks among PSA 9s, and about two in three CGC 9 copies of the Eevee Heroes Umbreon VMAX 095 rank among PSA 10s. English vintage Charizard runs the other direction, which is the main lesson: the answer belongs to the card, not to the grading company.

As of October 23, 2026: CGC’s public census shows 3,186 numerically graded 1996 Japanese Charizards and 242 Eevee Heroes Umbreon VMAX 095s; PSA’s archived 2025 pages show 15,412 and 7,653. PSA charges its normal grading fee for a cross, pass or fail, with Standard, the lowest level taking orders, at $59.99. CGC prints three different 10 labels and PSA prints one.

Japanese CGC to PSA crossover estimates beside modern English cards

The table below lines up four cards on the same test. For each, we ranked every numeric CGC slab from best to worst and found the slice a given CGC grade occupies, then checked which PSA grades fill that same slice of PSA’s ranking. The last two columns give the share of the CGC slice that sits inside the PSA grade one step up. This is Pokemon Pricing’s estimate; it compares populations and measures no individual card.

Card CGC 10s (any label) PSA 10s CGC 9 slice inside PSA 10 CGC 8.5 slice inside PSA 9 or better
Japanese Base Set Charizard (1996) 4.3% 6.0% 10% all of it
Eevee Heroes Umbreon VMAX 095/069 72.3% 87.0% 66% the entire band
Evolving Skies Umbreon VMAX 215/203 (English) 55.9% 72.5% 46% 81%
151 Charizard ex 199/165 SIR (English) 34.5% 32.9% none 11%

On both Japanese cards, PSA’s 10 covers a bigger share of its population than CGC’s 10s do, so each CGC grade maps onto an equal or higher PSA grade. That is the pattern collectors often assume holds everywhere. The 151 Charizard ex is the counterexample in the modern English group: CGC’s 10s cover a slightly wider slice than PSA 10, 95% of that slice ranks inside PSA’s 10s, and a CGC 8.5 lands mostly on PSA 8. The PSA figures come from archived pages captured between April and July 2025; CGC was read on October 23, 2026.

What the estimate assumes

  • Comparable pools. We assume each company graded a similar mix of copies. We have no data on who sends Japanese cards where, and the pools almost certainly differ.
  • Random candidates. Real crossover submissions are hand-picked. A well-centred CGC 9 sent on purpose should beat the population figure; one sent on hope may not.
  • Centering is only half-published. PSA writes its 10 and 9 limits down: roughly 55/45 and 60/40 across the front. CGC’s Gem Mint 10 also uses 55/45 and its Pristine 10 needs 50/50, but CGC describes its Mint+ 9.5 by eye appeal rather than a centering number, so a CGC 9.5 tells you little about whether the card clears PSA’s line.
  • Small samples move. CGC has only 242 numeric copies of the Eevee Heroes 095, with 4 at 8.5. One new submission batch can shift the bands.

The 1996 Japanese Base Set Charizard

This is the original card No. 6 holo, the card PSA lists as Charizard-Holo #6 in its 1996 Japanese Basic set. CGC keeps a separate line for the No Rarity Symbol printing, so check that your slab and the population row describe the same card. The counts used here are the main Holo Rare line.

Grade CGC: share of numeric slabs at or above PSA: share at or above
10 (CGC: 3 Perfect, 17 Pristine, 118 Gem Mint; PSA: 923) 4.3% 6.0%
9.5 (CGC only, 33 slabs) 5.4% no PSA 9.5
9 (CGC 194; PSA 3,344) 11.5% 27.7%
8.5 (CGC 243; PSA 50, worked out from pop higher) 19.1% 28.0%

PSA’s 9-or-better slice reaches 27.7% of its numeric slabs, past CGC’s 8.5 line at 19.1%, so on this card the whole CGC 8.5 band, and CGC 8 as well by a hair, ranks inside PSA 9 territory. At the top, CGC 9.5 and every CGC 10 sit inside PSA’s 10 slice, and about 1 in 10 of the CGC 9 slice does too (10%). Compare our English Base Set Charizard crossover analysis, where a CGC 8.5 lines up with PSA 8s: same Pokemon, opposite result.

Eevee Heroes Umbreon VMAX 095/069

CGC lists two Hyper Rare Umbreon VMAX lines in Eevee Heroes, 094/069 and 095/069, and their populations are separate. We used 095, the one with a matching archived PSA page (Umbreon Vmax-Hyper #095). Collectors attach nicknames to these cards; card numbers are the safer guide.

Modern Japanese cards grade high at both companies. CGC’s 095 line has 11 Perfect 10s, 68 Pristine 10s and 96 Gem Mint 10s among 242 numeric slabs, so 72.3% carry a 10 label of some kind. PSA had 6,657 PSA 10s among 7,653 numeric slabs in the July 2025 capture, 87.0%. Because PSA’s 10 covers more of its pool, CGC 9.5s (only five of them) fall inside PSA’s 10 slice and 66% of the CGC 9 slice does as well, about two in three. A CGC 8.5 or 8 ranks inside PSA 9. The flip side is that a PSA 10 here is ordinary: crossing a CGC 10 only changes the label, not the rank.

Three CGC 10 labels and one PSA 10

CGC’s scale tops out at Pristine 10, which CGC describes as virtually flawless with 50/50 centering, above Gem Mint 10, whose limits are about 55/45 front and 75/25 back, the same as PSA 10. Perfect 10 was a rare older grade that CGC no longer assigns; existing slabs keep it. CGC’s population report files older slabs under current labels.

The 2023 scale change also matters for Japanese cards slabbed in 2021 and 2022. CGC’s merger notice says “Cards previously graded Gem Mint 9.5 are exactly equivalent to Gem Mint 10 under the updated grading scale”. An Eevee Heroes Umbreon in an old Gem Mint 9.5 holder is a 10 by CGC’s reckoning, while a newer Mint+ 9.5 label is a full step below.

The label ladder shows up in prices. Take Mega Charizard X ex, card #223 from the Japanese Mega Dream ex set. Goldin sold it as follows; the paid column adds Goldin’s 22% buyer’s premium, which carries a $19 minimum:

Label on the CGC slab Hammer Paid with premium Sale closed
Mint+ 9.5 (current scale) $36 $55 9/27/26
Gem Mint 10 $75 $94 9/27/26
Pristine 10, first lot $122 $149 6/21/26
Pristine 10, second lot $140 $171 6/21/26

We found no PSA sale of this card to set against them, so there is no crossover comparison to make. At these prices PSA’s cheapest fee would swallow a large share of the hammer, or all of it, which settles the crossover question before odds come into it. For Pristine-specific odds across cards, see the CGC Pristine 10 to PSA 10 page.

Japanese 151 Charizard ex SAR: one CGC sale between two PSA sales

For the Japanese Pokemon Card 151 Special Art Rare Charizard ex #201, Goldin sold a CGC Gem Mint 10 for $677 ($555) on 5/31/26. Around it, PSA 10 copies sold for $1,708 ($1,400) on 1/11/26 and $549 ($450) on 8/03/26. The CGC slab landed between two PSA results seven months apart, and the PSA price fell by more than two thirds over that stretch. We have no population counts for this card, so no estimate either. What it does show is that on a fast-moving modern Japanese card, the date of a sale can matter more than the holder.

Modern English cards for contrast

On two English modern cards Goldin buyers paid more for the CGC slab than the PSA one in our pairs. An Evolving Skies Umbreon VMAX 215 in CGC Gem Mint 10 made $3,050 ($2,500) on 8/21/25 against $2,684 ($2,200) for a PSA 10 on 8/02/25. A 151 Charizard ex 199 CGC Gem Mint 10 made $1,476 ($1,210) on 2/08/26 against $1,178 ($950) for a PSA 10 on 2/15/26. These are single sales; other PSA 10 Umbreons sold higher in 2026. They are a reminder that a CGC-to-PSA swap at the same grade is not automatically worth money on modern cards.

The population picture differs between those two as well. On Umbreon 215 the CGC 9 slice sits 46% inside PSA 10 and a CGC 8.5 sits 81% inside PSA 9 or better; on the 151 Charizard ex, CGC 9.5s rank entirely with PSA 9s and only 11% of the CGC 8.5 slice reaches PSA 9. The CGC 9 to PSA 10 crossover page runs this comparison across more cards.

Fee math for Japanese crosses

PSA’s tiers on October 23, 2026, with Value paused: Standard at $59.99 insures cards to $1,000, Express ($199.00) stretches that cover to $2,500 and Super Express ($349.00) to $5,000. PSA sets the tier by what the card is worth once graded and moves a card up a level if its value outgrows the one you chose. The sums below are ours, on PSA’s fees and the average-price column of PSA’s archived pages for each card, and they ignore shipping, insurance, selling costs and tax. For PSA’s full price history this year, see our PSA grading cost guide for 2026.

1996 Japanese Charizard, CGC 9 aiming at PSA 10

PSA 10 averaged $3,473.76 and PSA 9 $829.50 on the June 2025 page, a gap of $2,644.26. A PSA 10 at that value needs Super Express at $349.00, so the cross must succeed 13.2% of the time to cover its fee if your CGC 9 is worth what a PSA 9 averaged. Our population figure for this step is 10%, below break-even before any pre-screening, so on this card the PSA 10 attempt only makes sense for a copy that is clearly better than an average CGC 9.

1996 Japanese Charizard, CGC 8.5 aiming at PSA 9

PSA 9 averaged $829.50 and PSA 8 $384.33, a $445.17 gap. A PSA 9 at that value fits Standard at $59.99, so the break-even pass rate is 13.5%. The population bands put the whole CGC 8.5 slice inside PSA 9, so this is the cross where the estimate and the fee point the same way.

Eevee Heroes Umbreon VMAX 095, CGC 9 aiming at PSA 10

PSA 10 averaged $2,211.62 and PSA 9 $1,076.97 in July 2025, a $1,134.65 gap. That PSA 10 average fits Express at $199.00, giving a break-even of 17.5% against a pop-implied 66%. The most recent PSA 10 on that page, $2,711.17, would sit above Express’s $2,500 cover, and PSA would then move the card to Super Express at $349.00. The crossover grading hub sets these Japanese numbers against every other grader and grade pair.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Japanese CGC cards cross over to PSA well?

No grader publishes crossover results, so nobody can give a rate. On our population comparison, Japanese cards look friendlier to a cross than English vintage: a CGC 8.5 1996 Japanese Base Charizard ranks among PSA 9s, and roughly two in three CGC 9 Eevee Heroes Umbreon VMAX 095s rank among PSA 10s.

Can PSA cross over a CGC Pristine 10 Japanese card?

PSA’s crossover service covers cards graded by other companies, and PSA has a single 10 grade. CGC’s Pristine 10 requires 50/50 centering, tighter than the 55/45 PSA allows for a 10, but PSA grades the whole card and publishes no crossover results, so a Pristine label is not a guarantee.

Is a CGC Pristine 10 worth more than a CGC Gem Mint 10?

For Mega Charizard X ex #223 from Japanese Mega Dream ex, Goldin sold Pristine 10s in 2026 for $149 and $171 while a Gem Mint 10 sold for $94 and a Mint+ 9.5 for $55. One card, a handful of sales.

Which Japanese Umbreon VMAX did you use?

Card 095/069 from Eevee Heroes, the line PSA lists as Umbreon Vmax-Hyper #095. CGC also has a separate 094/069 Umbreon VMAX line, so match the card number before comparing populations or prices.

What does PSA charge to cross over a Japanese card?

The same as any card: PSA’s grading fee for the tier that fits the card’s value after grading, charged even if the card stays in its CGC slab. PSA’s floor on October 23, 2026 was the $59.99 Standard level, insured to $1,000.

Do modern English cards cross the same way?

Not reliably. On the 151 Charizard ex SIR a CGC 9.5 ranks entirely among PSA 9s, while on Evolving Skies Umbreon VMAX 215 it ranks among PSA 10s. Check the card, not the era.

Sources

No grading company publishes crossover pass rates. Any crossover odds on this page are Pokemon Pricing’s estimate, labelled as one, built from the published grading standards and population reports on the dates shown. Fees, populations and sale prices change; check the grading company’s current price list before submitting. This article is collector information, not investment advice. Pokémon and all card names are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and GAME FREAK inc.; Pokemon Pricing is not affiliated with them or with any grading company.

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