The Pikachu Illustrator card is one of the rarest Pokemon cards ever made, with only 39 known copies in existence worldwide. All of these come from Japan, which counts as part of Asia, so that means there are 39 Pikachu Illustrator cards in Asia.
This card was a special promo released back in 1998. It went to the top 39 winners of an art contest run by CoroCoro magazine in Japan. Kids sent in their drawings of Pikachu, and the best ones got this unique card as a prize. No other versions were printed anywhere else in the world.
Pokemon fans track every single one of these cards closely. Experts and collectors confirm the total at 39 through sales records, grading reports from places like PSA, and owner statements. Some have sold for millions at auction, like one that went for over five million dollars a few years ago. That scarcity drives the huge prices you see on sites like PokemonPricing.com.
Since the contest was only in Japan, every known Pikachu Illustrator is Asian-origin. None have popped up from other regions like Europe or North America. If a new one ever surfaces, it would shake up the market big time, but for now, all 39 stay tied to Asia.
Prices for these cards stay sky-high because of that low number. A top-grade one can fetch five figures or more easily. Lower grades still pull in thousands. Keep an eye on auction sites if you are hunting one, but good luck, they hardly ever come up for sale.
