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Pokemon cards are always going to be a popular trading card game (TCG), and courtesy of Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), we know which cards were graded with the greatest frequency this past year. This doesn’t necessarily mean these are the most powerful cards in the game right now or even that they’re used in a single competitive deck.
This is all about perceived value and rarity. These cards certainly have a chance to be worth significant money, which can increase once they have been “graded.”
Having a card graded authenticates its quality. It’s no different than checking the value of a car or a piece of jewelry. It’s very interesting to see which of these Pokemon cards were the ones sent to PSA the most to be graded.
The most-graded Pokemon cards in 2023
10) Pokemon Japanese Sword & Shield VStar Universe 221: Full Art/Mewtwo Vstar (2022)
Clocking in around $22 USD, I can see why Mewtwo Vstar might be among the most-graded Pokemon cards. Its Psy Purge ability lets you deal at least 90 damage to a target. For each Psychic Energy you discard off this card as a result of this power (maximum 3), you can deal 90 damage.
He also has a devastating VStar Power in Star Raid. It’s a guaranteed 120 damage to each of your opponent’s Pokemon V. On top of that, it sports the incredible art of the Mewtwo getting ready to attack Charizard.
9) Pokemon SWSH Black Star Promo 261: Full Art/Charizard VMax Sword & Shield Ultra-Premium Collection-Charizard (2022)
Pokemon cards have a long history of gorgeous and interesting promo cards. In this case, the topic of discussion is Charizard. The Black Star Promo card has the amazing art of Charizard Vmax, wreathed in flame, breathing a gout of fire into the sky. Its value ranges from $14-85, making it a solid collectible.
The cart itself is useful, dealing 100 damage with Claw Slash and G-Max Wildfire for 300 damage. It’s a very interesting Vmax card. Possibly, it is popular simply because it’s Charizard - and we all love that fire starter.
8) Pokemon Japanese SV1V-Violet ex 100: Miriam Super Rare (2023)
There are many who think Miriam is a valuable, often-graded Pokemon card because of the “waifu tax.” Waifu Tax refers to the notion that a card with a cute girl on it will see constant price hikes because people want cards with cute girls on them.
Her value reflects this, capping out around $174 USD for a PSA Grade 10 card. It’s a decent replacement for a card that has been rotated out of standard: Ordinary Rod. It’s a relatively useful card, so its price reflects both that and the value people put on the card art.
7) Pokemon Japanese Sword & Shield Incandescent Arcana 069: Full Art/Braixen (2022)
Braixen, one of the starters from Pokemon X and Y, is one of the most popular Pokemon cards of the year. Part of it could come back to “waifu tax,” given that Serena is on it alongside Braixen. This could be a potent card in its own right, though.
For each Serena card you have in your discard pile, this card’s Flare Parade ability does an additional 60 damage on top of the baseline 60. This could make it a real late-game monster with a variety of settings. However, when it comes to a graded card, it is worth $26.12 at best.
6) Pokemon SWSH Black Star Promo 262: Full Art/Charizard VStar Sword & Shield Ultra-Premium Collection-Charizard (2022)
A reasonably valuable card, clocking in at a maximum of $90 USD, this Black Star Promo card once again features the popular Charizard. From the Sword & Shield Ultra Premium Collection, it also features an enemy MewTwo from the above card of the same name. It connects the two pieces of art in an interesting way.
As far as Pokemon cards go, it has the VStar power of Star Blaze, which hits for 320 damage, and Explosive Fire, which normally hits for 130 but adds 100 more damage if it has taken any damage (and still has damage counters in play).
5) Pokemon Japanese SV1a-Triplet Beat 080: Magikarp Art Rare (2023)
I didn’t admittedly expect to see a Magikarp on this list of most graded Pokemon cards. As a Pokemon, its only use is getting to its evolved form of Gyrados. Nonetheless, it’s a cute Pokemon, and the vibrant, brilliant holo card of the fish swimming up the waterfall is fantastic. Even though the Pocket Monster itself isn’t especially powerful, if you want a well-graded version, it will set you back $58.68.
4) Pokemon Japanese Sword & Shield VStar Universe 212: Full Art/Charizard VStar (2022)
Another version of Charizard among the most-graded Pokemon cards? That’s right, it makes yet another appearance on this list of Pokemon cards. It’s the same card, essentially, as the Full Art Charizard above (with Starblaze and Explosive Fire), but it’s a Japanese card.
Not in a promo box, it’s still a full-art Charizard card. It's not a holo and has the same piece of art as well. The only difference is whether it’s from a global set or the Japanese set. Interestingly enough, it’s worth less, at $79 USD.
3) Pokemon Japanese Sword & Shield VStar Universe 246: Full Art/Elesa’s Sparkle (2022)
The incredibly popular Gym Leader, Elesa, makes an appearance as Unova’s Electric-type Gym Leader. It’s a cute piece of art focused on the gym leader, so once again, it appears as if the “waifu tax” is taking place. As one of the most-graded Pokemon cards, it’s valued at $86.96. It is, however, also a useful card if you’re running Fusion Strike Pokemon.
It lets you choose two of them, and for each of them, you can pull a Fusion Strike Energy card and attach it to the Pocket Monster in question. She’s an incredibly useful Supporter card for that reason.
2) Pokemon Japanese Sword & Shield Incandescent Arcana 074: Full Art/Altaria (2022)
The Full-Art Altaria card features another popular character: Lisia. A Pokemon coordinator from Sootopolis City, she’s also the niece of Wallace. A popular idol in the Hoenn region, she’s seen on the card hugging the Altaria. However, it’s not a particularly expensive card - even a PSA 10 is valued at $31.82, making it an easy purchase.
As far as abilities go on Pokemon cards, it’s fairly useful. Using Magical Echo, it can take all the damage counters from a Benched Pokemon of yours and put them on your opponent’s Active Pocket Monster. That could be an easy KO, depending on how things shake out.
1) Pokemon Japanese SV Promo 001: Pikachu Scarlet & Violet Pre-Order (2022)
The most-graded Pokemon card of the entire year is, of course, the franchise mascot, Pikachu. To celebrate the release of the Scarlet and Violet cards, the first promo card was everyone’s favorite electric mouse.
It’s not a great card in and of itself, but the adorable Pikachu, surrounded by the other current-generation starters, really makes for an adorable piece of artwork. Its basic attack deals 30 damage but adds another 10 for each Benched Pokemon you have. It’s all about the art in this case.
Pokemon cards will continue to be popular purchases well into 2024 and beyond. If you want to be amazed by prices, here’s the list of the 10 most expensive cards of all time.
