If someone polled random people and asked them to name a Pokémon character, Pikachu would likely rank highly in the results. The electric mouse, who doubles as Ash’s trusty companion, remains beloved by fans and recognizable to those outside the Pokémon Trading Card Game realm. But in the gold and silver era, the second generation of Pokémon brought another loveable electric mouse, Pichu—the pre-evolved, or baby, form of Pikachu. The 2000s added another level of desirability to the adorable Pokémon twist by introducing the spikey-eared Pichu. The new character first appeared during a special event in the Heartgold and Soulsilver video games and made its anime debut in the 2009 film, Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life. That same year, various publications in the Japanese Pokémon network sponsored an illustration contest with the theme of Pichu or Arceus as the submission theme. After the three-month submission period, each publishing partner would select a winning design and award the illustrator 100 examples of their design on a Pokémon card. But, when it came time to distribute the prizes, winners reportedly received between 1-13 complete sets of cards depicting all the winning designs instead. This means that there are fewer examples of these award-winning cards than anticipated. In this month’s Premier Auction, PWCC presents a Pop 3 PSA 10 example of the Pokémon Fan winner’s submission, an illustration that would even make non-Pokémon fans stop and admire.
