Remember those days when sports cards were king of the hobby jungle? Well, in 2025, it seems the mighty have fallen, and a new contender, fluffy in nature yet ferocious in impact, has taken the world by storm. Pokémon cards, the vibrant illustrations of pocket monsters that once merely satisfied childhood fantasies, have grown into a monolithic force dominating the realm of card collecting and grading. A recent gem of a report from GemRate reveals that 97 of the top 100 most-graded cards at PSA this year belong to the Pokémon franchise.
If you listen closely, you can almost hear the nostalgic tones of the Pokémon theme song echoing across the grading desks of PSA, as the vibrant creatures replace familiar sports legends in this card-collecting saga. The statistics paint a vivid picture of this shift: 59% of card grading submissions made during the first half of 2025 were non-sports and trading card game (TCG) gems. That’s right, sports cards folks, you’ve met your match—hands off those Poké Balls!
In a tidal wave of submissions reflecting a 70% increase from the previous year, TCG and non-sports cards reached a staggering 7.2 million graded artifacts from January to June. Meanwhile, sports card submissions shuffled their way past the grading counters with a more modest offering of 5.1 million, actually marking a 9% dip during the same span—their applause barely audible over Pikachu’s electrifying thunderbolts.
Leading this legendary surge is the Japanese Iono’s Wattrel Battle Partners Promo No. 232 card, stealing the spotlight as the single most-graded card in 2025 so far, with over 45,600 copies submitted. However, Pikachu, that eternally beloved yellow rodent, remains the undisputed champion and face of the Pokémon franchise, with an impressive slew of over 345,000 graded examples blitzing through the ceramic gates of PSA in this year alone. Also, leading the pack into the ultimate gaming hall of fame is the “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat” from the artistic collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum—a card that has captured the imaginations of collectors, resulting in 84,000 graded copies and continuing to enchant with recent PSA 10 examples fetching princely sums north of $900.
In striking contrast, sports cards are barely hanging onto the frayed edge of the leaderboard, with only a trio barely clawing into PSA’s top 100. The roster includes the rookie card of Jayden Daniels from the 2024 Panini Prizm lineup, the promising Caitlin Clark’s WNBA ROY card from Panini Instant, and yet another Jayden Daniels card from Donruss—their cumulative submissions ticking modestly under 10,500.
As we traversed the month of June, the chorus of trading card fans only got louder. TCG and non-sports cards accumulated into 63% of all submissions, a whirlpool of collectible fervor that saw PSA grading alone outshine sports cards by processing around 911,000 TCG submissions, compared against a collective 743,000 sports cards from all major graders.
Riding on the coattails of this Poké Flick is CGC Cards, riding high on Pikachu’s thunderwave and grading an astonishing 2.18 million cards in 2025, nearing its entire 2024 output, with TCG and non-sports taking a dominant 1.8 million copies. Meanwhile, Beckett seems to have drawn the short end of the Poké Stick, experiencing a noticeable drop in grading volume, ranking fourth amongst their peers, with the lion’s share of their 366,000 cards closely affiliated with the TCG wave.
The powerhouse known as PSA is electrifying its way to the top, thanks to an energetic partnership with GameStop. Since the launch of this collaboration in October, over a million grading submissions have surged their way into PSA’s lineup, fueling the flames of the ongoing TCG boom.
On store shelves, another fascinating albeit predictable phenomenon unfolds as Pokémon cards sell faster than Team Rocket can say “trouble.” Widespread sellouts, long queues filled with fans young and old, and restrictions cap the flow of Pokémon goodies to eager collectors. Storied shop aisles echo with footsteps of anticipation, while the omnipresent question in minds asks –can anything halt Pokémon’s meteoric rise within the card collector’s universe?
As new Pokémon releases continue to fly off the shelves, it’s clear that this pocket-sized franchise has firmly captured the hearts and wallets of collectors worldwide, ensuring that its place atop the grading throne isn’t going to budge any time soon.
