The Pokémon Trading Card Game has been around for nearly three decades, and despite over 1000 Pokémon being introduced since Gen 1, the reigning favorite has always been Pikachu. A Pikachu Illustrator card even sold for a record-breaking $16.4 million earlier this year. Now, however, a different Kanto Pokémon is threatening to replace Pikachu as the most-graded character.
Pikachu's popularity isn't just within the TCG. From being Ash's sidekick in the anime to being the franchise's mascot for 30 years, Pokémon and Pikachu are basically synonymous. And that's why a new report from ComicBook is so surprising: Apparently, Pikachu is about to get usurped by another fan-favorite Pokémon in the Pokémon TCG.
According to the report, the percentage of Pikachu cards being graded for the Pokémon TCG has fallen by a good bit, posting a -10% growth since February 2026. That negative growth still has Pikachu at the #1 spot (for now) of any character from any TCG, but Mickey D. Luffy from One Piece posted +42% to get the #3 spot and another Kanto Pokémon is hot on Pikachu's heels at #2.
Charizard gets the #2 spot and posted +23%, putting it within 36 cards of...
