A Pikachu in a red raincoat has made headlines after Fanatics Collect reported an auction result of 8.4 million USD including buyer's premium. But the story begins long before the auction: with an illustration contest where the participants' own drawings could become real Pokémon cards.
What collectors call the Raincoat Pikachu is a Japanese Art Academy promo card from 2015, with illustration credited to Y. Fujishima. To understand what makes the card special, one must follow both the drawing and how it was distributed. The auction amount is a separate part of the story.
Cover image: Fanatics Collect, reproduced via Creative Bloq. Card illustration: Y. Fujishima.
A raincoat tailored for Pikachu
The motif shows Pikachu out in the rain, with an umbrella and a red raincoat adapted to both ears and tail. These very details were noted by the jury when the image was selected.
In the archived official Japanese contest page, the entry can be found under the participant name Onigiri. Illustrators Kagemaru Himeno, Tomokazu Komiya, and Mitsuhiro Arita comment on the feel of the image, the coloring, and how the raincoat is shaped for Pikachu, among other things. It is a rare opportunity to see which detail in an illustration the jury actually noticed.
PSA's registry identifies the finished card's variant as Art Academy–Y. Fujishima. Onigiri is the name in the contest presentation, while Y. Fujishima is the credit you encounter when identifying the card.
The prize was the winner's own motif on 100 cards
The Japanese contest accepted entries from December 13, 2014, to February 1, 2015. There were two categories: dress up Pikachu and illustrate a favorite Pokémon. Five entries per category would win the Pokémon Card Game prize.
The reward was not a regular booster box. The official contest page describes a set of 100 cards featuring the winner's own illustration. It is this documented distribution that the figure 100 refers to. That piece of information does not alone establish how many copies exist today, or exclude additional production and archive copies.
This gives the card a clear connection to an individual entry and a specific contest. For the collector, it is a different kind of background than an illustration printed for a regular expansion release.
Art Academy gave more fans the same opportunity
The contest also had international arrangements. Nintendo UK presented the European and Oceanian portion on February 16, 2015, with an entry period from February 18 to March 29. It should not be confused with the earlier Japanese dates.
Participants used Pokémon Art Academy on Nintendo 3DS or 2DS and submitted their images via Miiverse. Nintendo described a game with 40 drawing lessons, but here a digital image could also become a physical card. Each winner in that setup would receive 100 copies.
In Nintendo's original announcement, it is stated that these winner cards would not be sold in regular Pokémon TCG products or be permitted in official Play! Pokémon events. Sweden is not included in that page's list of participating countries. An international contest does not, therefore, automatically mean that all markets were included.
What is verified about the auction?
Fanatics Collect shows the following on the original item, WA245 lot 468F1:
- Card: 2015 Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu, XY-P.
- Grading: PSA 10 Gem Mint, certificate 24753376.
- Reported result: 8,400,000 USD including buyer's premium, with 64 bids.
- Date: The item is marked sold on September 28, 2026. The auction description indicates closing on the evening of September 27, US Pacific Time.
PSA's certificate registry matches the variant and grade. There is no specific grading called "Mint" other than PSA 10 Gem Mint; those words are part of the grade's name.
The identities of the buyer and seller are not apparent from the reviewed original item. We have also not been able to verify payment and final transfer. Therefore, we describe the amount as Fanatics' reported auction result. The public result is verifiable, but does not tell the full terms of the deal.
The million-dollar headline is not a price for all copies
PSA's page also lists another PSA 10 copy with a Heritage result of 156,250 USD on June 26, 2026. That is a different certificate. This information shows why the same motif and grade are not enough to treat two transactions as the same object or draw conclusions about a general price increase.
Our analysis: The Raincoat Pikachu's merit lies in the meeting between fan illustration and official contest prize. The card's background can be appreciated even without accepting an individual auction result as the market value for the entire variant.
It should also be distinguished from the Pikachu Illustrator from the 1990s CoroCoro contests. Both have links to illustration contests, but they are different cards, with different motifs and distributions. Raincoat Pikachu is not a new version of the Illustrator.
Sources and limitations
Reviewed on October 7, 2026. The card's history is based on Pokémon's archived Japanese contest page and Nintendo's announcement from 2015. Copies and results were checked at Fanatics Collect and PSA. The article does not provide a complete record ranking and does not confirm private owner identity or final payment.