Pokémon Leads the Charge as Grading Submissions Skyrocket in 2025

• Posted: June 29, 2025, 9:15 pm
• in Sports Card News
• by bionic

* We may earn a commission from purchases made through our affiliate links.

The trading card landscape continues to shift in 2025, with Pokémon cards dominating grading submissions across the industry. According to the latest data from GemRate, non-sports and TCG cards now account for nearly 60% of all cards graded through the year’s first six months—surpassing sports cards by a wide margin.

Between January and June, 7.2 million non-sports and TCG cards were graded by the four major companies, a 70% increase year-over-year. Sports cards, meanwhile, saw a dip, with 5.1 million graded—a 9% decline from the same period in 2024.

PSA’s top 100 most graded cards in 2025 tell the story clearly: 97 of them are Pokémon, led by Iono’s Wattrel Battle Partners Promo (Japanese No. 232), which has seen over 45,000 submissions. Pikachu continues to be the face of the brand, with more than 345,000 total graded cards this year. The standout is the viral “Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat” card from the 2023 Van Gogh Museum collaboration, which has reached nearly 84,000 graded copies at PSA. Despite the high population, PSA 10s are still commanding prices above $900.

Only three sports cards made PSA’s top 100 this year: two rookies of Jayden Daniels from Panini Prizm and Donruss, and Caitlin Clark’s WNBA Rookie of the Year card from Panini Instant.

June alone saw TCG and non-sports cards take a 63% market share in grading. PSA led the charge with over 911,000 TCG/non-sports submissions—more than all sports card submissions combined across PSA, Beckett, CGC, and SGC.

CGC has also seen major growth, with 2.18 million cards graded in 2025 so far—driven largely by Pokémon and other TCGs. That figure is just shy of its full 2024 total. Of those cards, 1.83 million were non-sports.

Beckett, once a dominant name in grading, has fallen to fourth in submission volume. Of its 366,000 cards graded this year, 214,000 have come from the Pokémon and TCG space.

PSA’s strong numbers are partially tied to its partnership with GameStop, which began in late 2024. By May 2025, the program had already surpassed one million cards graded.

As Pokémon continues to drive record demand both in grading and retail, its influence over the hobby is undeniable. Whether in line at a card shop or behind the scenes at grading companies, Pikachu and friends are reshaping the modern collecting era.