Raichu evolved from one of the most popular and loved Pokemon from the entire game, as well as the animated show that still grows as popular among both children and adults, Pikachu. That being said, given that the Pikachu cards are very valuable to collectors, the Raichu Pokemon card editions and different collections should be just as attractive to collectors around the world. But, how to know which Raichu cards are more significant and rarer compared to the other ones?
It’s no secret that Pokemon Cards are in circulation for a long time and people still play with them. Because they are still used for games and playing, they put up with some minor to major wear and tear.
Raichu is a quite popular Pokemon card, and whether it was featured in earlier editions or those more recent, everyone will want to have it in its collection, especially if they can’t get ahold of a Pikachu card.
However, some Pokemon collectors have extra passion and ambition on their hands, which is why they’re willing to go the extra mile to obtain and acquire the most valuable Raichu cards. Which Raichu cards are the most valuable? Well, the First edition Raichu cards of course!
They are the most valuable cards that anyone can own, especially because not many of them were printed into collections in the early Pokemon card days. However, if you own a Raichu Pokemon card that is in pristine or near-mint condition, you can get a lot of money for it.
Perhaps, this money can’t pay off your student loans or a car loan, but you can definitely get a lot of money for it. As time was passing, the Raichu cards circulated more and were also printed and registered more at PSA, which means that they became first uncommon and now common.
Nevertheless, depending on the condition, grade, language, and whether the card has some manufacturing error you can still get some decent money on these. Still, Raichu makes a favorite card to many collectors, who are mostly after the error cards and those printed in Japanese, rather than English and other languages.
But, if the condition is pristine, they’ll opt for any kind of Raichu card, unless they’re hunting a specific edition, like some of those made in the 1990s. The holographic cards are also more valuable, and can easily be seen in well-preserved condition.
As you can see, there are a lot of things to be put into consideration when you’re buying or selling Pokemon cards. Collectors that just embarked on the journey of collecting Pokemon trading cards may find this journey to be filled with struggle, but those experienced also know about the rewarding and joyful feelings of collecting the card you’ve been hunting for a while.
If you’d like to feel the joy of getting a lot of money for selling a valuable Pokemon Trading Card of Raichu, you should continue reading this article and learn more about Raichu Pokemon Card and its value on different online marketplaces.
We also listed the most valuable and rarest Raichu Pokemon cards which will help you compare your own cards and see whether they’ll be valued on the market or not. Read on!
Quick Summary: Raichu cards are quite abundant on the market. Some of them have never been translated from Japanese, which also adds up to their value. That being said, some Raichu cards have a value that goes from as low as $1 to up to $8,000 if the card is extremely valuable and rare.
About Raichu Pokemon Card
As you may already know Raichu is a stage 1 Pokemon that evolves from Pikachu, one of the most popular and valuable Pokemon from the series as well as PCG. The first Raichu card was released in 1996, with the first version being Japanese.
It made a part of the Base Set and continued developing and evolving since then. Overall led to more than 30 individual Raichu cards, and some of them made it to the unique cards in both Japanese and English. Still, it’s worth mentioning that some of the earliest Raichu cards were so rare, they were never translated into English, or some other language for that matter.
As mentioned earlier Raichu Pokemon Cards make the Stage 1 evolution cards, even though they evolve from Pikachu. Just like Pikachu, they are the electric card type, and as it’s known, electric Pokemon are weak compared to some other Pokemon types, such as the Fighting-cards. For that reason, many versions of the Raichu cards made it to the Trainer cards.
Nevertheless, as time passed Raichu became more common, which makes collectors thirsty enough to hunt the rarer variants of this card, mainly seen in the Base Set of Pokemon Cards. That being said, the cards featured as holo cards, especially those exclusive, will be more valuable.
Are Raichu Pokemon Cards Worth Anything?
Even though some more recent Raichu cards are more common than many collectors hope to know, Raichu cards that were printed from the peak of Pokemon Trading Cards have the highest value. The cards you may see may be listed for $15 to $50 for good and near-mint conditions and $75 to $100 in mint conditions, but some of the cards have a much higher value.
That’s because Raichu cards are tied to a very interesting story from the peak of their production. Although Japanese versions were handled natively in Japan, the American prints were handled by Wizards of the Coast, a company that distributed Pokemon cards in the United States in the late 1990s.
Something that made cards printed by Wizards of the Coast even more special was a very hyping advertising campaign that was often led by Prerelease events that would take place around card and gaming shops, as well as bookstores and all places geeky.
The Prerelease events were special because collectors that were taking their role pretty seriously, would have the potential chance to get the newest Pokemon from the collection, which would give them the key advantage compared to the competition, especially because Prerelease events took place a week before the actual release.
These events were also popular because fans of the PCG could participate in the trading event, tournaments, free play, and even giveaways of some other cards that collectors didn’t have a chance to get before.
That being said, Wizards of the Coast had a special plan with its exclusive “Prerelease” event that featured a promotional card that wouldn’t be part of the actual packs. That being said, collectors gathered to compete at tourneys that’d reward them with a one-time exclusive card.
The Prerelease Clefairy card, however, came with huge trouble. The company was making thousands of promotional singles, but it accidentally resulted in an error. The card got printed atop hundreds of Raichu cards, which practically made the card useless, but made it way more interesting to the collectors.
The company then decided to destroy and quickly get rid of the Raichu promo cards, but some of them were still left behind although handed to the company’s employers. Some rumors say that this card doesn’t exist and that this error has never occurred because the Wizards of the Coast did its best to not let the card spread.
On the other hand, the Prerelease Raichu card is one of the most valuable and rarest English cards on the market. Some collectors believe that its value exceeds $5,000 as it’s so rare. More importantly, it is believed that there are around only 6 such cards in the world, or at least in better than only good condition.
When it comes to the most valuable Japanese Raichu editions, Great Raichu is considered both the rarest and most valuable Japanese release card. It was released through Daisuki Club Action Point in 2009. Its value is certainly under that of the potentially imaginary Raichu Prerelease card, but you’ll still need to give around $500 to have it in a good condition.
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Raichu Pokemon Card Value
As mentioned earlier in the article, there are many variants of the Raichu card, and the value of those cards greatly depends on the condition, grade, collection, year, and many other factors. That being said, a 1999 Holo Base Set card may cost as little as $20 if it’s in heavily-played condition.
On the other hand, some of its variations may be as expensive as this one, which was sold for $5,000 in mint condition. On the other hand, some Raichu cards are considered even more valuable. This Shadowless Raichu card from the 1999 Base Set sold for exactly $9,000 in 2021. It’s a Wizards of the Coast-issued hologram card in pristine condition, which just contributed to such a high price.
Error Raichu cards also range in values, but those values are usually pretty high. Error cards in poor condition can be sold for from $50 to $100. However, if you maintained and took care of your error card for a good while and thought it may be a good idea to sell it, now is the time.
Error cards with grades from PSA 8 to 10 can be sold for several hundred dollars. Such is this hologram card which sold for $600. The cause of this error is the misprint on the card, which is something many collectors find valuable now.
Another Raichu error card caused a high value. This Raichu Hologram card that got printed a bit off-center was sold for $700. Keep in mind that if your card is in the played state it may not be worth much even if it has an error. That’s why it’s always a good idea to get it professionally evaluated to be sure.
Rarest & Most Valuable Raichu Pokemon Cards
A lot of Raichu cards are in circulation, and they often appeared in various sets and editions, which is why it doesn’t surprise us why there are so many Raichu cards. Nevertheless, only some of them are truly valuable.
In this section, we listed the five most valuable Raichu Pokemon cards. Keep in mind that not all of them are so easily available, as some of them may be extremely rare and even more expensive. Still, it’ll give you a good idea of what to look for if you’re looking to get a really valuable Raichu Pokemon card.
Pokémon Raichu #14 Shadowless Base Set Rare Hologram Trading Card (1999)
- Sold for: $9,000
If we ignore the Prerelease cards that are so rare that they’re impossible to hunt down online and buy, this is one of the most valuable Raichu Pokemon cards. When searching online, it looks like it’s readily available, but it’s incredibly rare and hard to find. Its Shadowless epitome and the fact it’s a hologram-type card make it super valuable.
It was also released by the Wizards of the Coast company. The card sold for $9,000 and was in mint condition, but even cards rated at 7+ will be incredibly valuable. That being said, if your Raichu Shadowless from the Base Set wasn’t in too visibly played condition, you can get a lot for it.
Japanese Pokemon Neo 4 Destiny Shining Raichu (2001)
- Sold for: $8,000
We mentioned earlier that some of the most valuable Pokemon cards that belong to Raichu were never translated into English. Although the Raichu from Neo 4 Destiny Shining collection was translated into English, this Japanese card is visibly more valuable on the market than its English counterpart.
Nevertheless, even English-translated cards, as well as those in another language can be quite valuable when in good condition. You can get hundreds of dollars for the near-mint 8.5 cards, and likely over a thousand dollars for the mint condition graded at 9.5 or higher.
This card is in mint state, it was released in 2001 as part of the Neo 4 Destiny collection and sold for an amazing $8,000 in 2021. Some near-mint cards can be sold for as much as over $1,500 if they’re in Japanese.
Pokemon Skyridge E-series Raichu Holo H25/H32 (2003)
- Sold for: $1,000
This is another Pokemon card that is quite popular among collectors and also relatively rare, which fires the collectors even more. It was released in 2003 as part of the Skyridge E-series which many collectors deem valuable.
This rare hologram card has been graded by PSA with the 10 mint grade, which means that it has been in extremely good condition and is rarely used for playing or other sorts of circulation.
If in good condition, this card can be found anywhere from $150 to $500 on online marketplace like eBay. Still, even the cards that are in near-mint condition are considered quite valuable for collectors and PCG in particular.
Pokemon Rocket Dark Raichu Holo #83 (2000)
- Sold for: $8,000
If one card has been truly valuable in the 2000 feature of Pokemon Rocket, that’s the Dark Raichu card, which also shipped as a holo card which now gives it a quite high value. You’ll see that these cards can be found for extremely high value. After all, this one has been sold for $8,000 on eBay in 2020, which just shows how valuable it is.
It’s interesting to note that this card has been graded as PSA 9, yet it was listed as a mint card. That being said, even though there might be some small traces of wear and tear that the card withstood since 2000 when it was released, its value is still unprecedented.
It was released by Wizards of the Coast and it enjoyed vast popularity since its release day. The card is also quite popular and sought after by collectors, as you can see from the listings on eBay.
Raichu Prime Heartgold HG Undaunted Pokemon (2010)
- Sold for: $800
Although this Raichu card is from the newer generation of Pokemon cards, it’s still quite sought after by collectors, and despite it being released 12 years ago, it’s considered relatively rare. That being said, if you’re looking to find this card in mint condition, you’re going to pay nearly $1,000. There are some rumors that this special card could be sold for even more, but we were unsuccessful in verifying how much it is for exactly. Some of these cards that are of a bit lower quality than mint can still be found from $50 to $300 on the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Raichu cards are quite popular among players and collectors. If you have some additional questions regarding Raichu Pokemon cards and their value, you can refer to this FAQ section.
Where Can You Buy Raichu Cards?
The best place to buy Raichu cards is eBay. Raichu Pokemon cards are abundant, especially older editions. Another popular place to buy Raichu cards is Amazon. However, keep in mind that not all cards there are rare or super-valuable.
How to Evaluate Raichu Pokemon Card?
Evaluating Pokemon cards can be an incredibly hard task, especially if you weren’t a card collector for a long time. Don’t worry, even the most enthusiastic fans often struggle with that and leave the cards up for professional evaluation at companies such as PSA.
Nevertheless, something you can easily do is evaluate the card based on the year and collection it was featured in, whether it’s an exclusive, its overall condition, and whether it contains some error that may make it even rarer compared to its competition.
Whether the card is holo and whether there are a lot of those cards printed also gives a lot of information about its actual value. Nevertheless, if you’re still unsure, it’s best to leave it up to a professional card grading company to decide how valuable it is.
