2002 Pokemon Japanese Promo Spring Battle Road No. 1 Trainer PSA 10 GEM MINT

Starting in 2002, Pokémon renamed their regional tournaments “Battle Roads”, doing away with the unique tournament circuit names of previous years. The Spring Battle Road and Summer Battle Road names were then used from 2002–09, after which the tournament series was renamed again. But the series name wasn’t the only thing changing. The ‘02 tournaments were held at a crucial point in Pokémon TCG history. A new reverse-side design was implemented for the Pokémon eSeries release. To help with this transition, competitors were allowed to use cards showcasing original and new backs with various restrictions and changes. Spring Battle Road 2002 ran from March 9, 2002, to April 7, 2002, and consisted of nine regional tournaments hosted across seven Japanese venues around Japan. The top three finishers in each division at each of the nine tournaments were awarded customized trophy cards such as the No. 1 Trainer seen here. Each card showcases the winner’s name and the tournament in which they earned the card. But herein lies another change. The 2002 competitions were the last Battle Road tournaments at which winners were awarded customized cards, adding an extra layer of allure for collectors. To date, PSA has only graded 25 total examples of 2002 Spring Battle Road trophy cards, 13 of which are No. 1 Trainers. Only six of those have earned a PSA 10 grade. One of those six sold here in last month’s Premier Auction, further slimming the chances of obtaining one. While you can’t go back in time to bid in the September event or compete in Japan for this treasured No. 1 Trainer trophy, the October Premier Auction is giving you another chance to add one to your collection. Along with this 2002 Spring Battle Road No. 1 Trainer, there are also PSA 10 No. 2 and No. 3 Trainer cards live now. Considering their popularity and rarity, it’s likely to take a podium-worthy bidding performance to land them. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 10/14/2024.

This item was flash inserted on Oct 10, 2024.