Raichu rumor becomes reality: a “Prerelease” Base Set copy just sold for about $550,000
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For years it was the hobby’s favorite ghost story. An English Base Set Raichu with a green “PRERELEASE” stamp that wasn’t supposed to exist. Over the weekend, one finally crossed the auction block in a PSA EX-MT 6 holder and brought roughly $550,000, making it the third most expensive Pokémon card ever sold. It is also the first time a copy has sold publicly.
What the card is, and why it matters
In 1999, staff preparing early Pokémon League materials used a green “PRERELEASE” stamp on test cards. Jungle’s Clefable was the intended prerelease. During that process, a tiny batch of Base Set Raichu cards picked up the same stamp by mistake. No public giveaway followed. The mis-stamped Raichus stayed with employees, and official channels brushed off the story for years, which only fueled the legend.
How many exist
Accounts from former staff place the number somewhere between eight and eleven. Very few have surfaced. Even fewer have been graded. Until recently, most collectors had only whispers, a couple of photographs, and secondhand sightings to go on.
From rumor to verified artifact
The tide turned when former employees allowed their copies to be examined and encapsulated. By 2023, two examples were authenticated and graded, moving the card from myth to documented oddity. In 2025, a third copy was graded by PSA. That PSA graded example is the one that just sold, giving the hobby its first public price for a card long discussed in hushed tones.
Why a buyer paid so much
It is a perfect storm: Base Set nostalgia, an unmistakable visual twist in the “PRERELEASE” stamp, a backstory tied to the earliest days of the English game, and extreme scarcity. It is also an “error” with provenance rather than a random print flaw, the kind of origin that museum-piece collectors prefer. When history, rarity, and a recognizable character collide, the market stretches.
Graded population, at a glance
Publicly documented graded copies now sit at three total. Two were authenticated last year, and the latest one is the first known example graded by PSA and sold at open auction. More could surface from former employee collections, but the pool is small.
A quick timeline
1999: Jungle’s prerelease Clefable is prepared. A handful of Base Set Raichu cards receive the green prerelease stamp in error and are retained by staff.
2006: A former Wizards of the Coast representative confirms the card’s existence to community moderators, and photos circulate.
2023: Two staff-owned copies are authenticated and graded, finally giving the hobby firm proof.
2025: A PSA graded copy sells publicly for about $550,000, establishing the first open market comp.
What this sale means
The result places Prerelease Raichu among the highest-end English Pokémon cards and gives serious collectors a reference point where none existed. Expect renewed interest in provenance-backed oddities from the late 90s, while ordinary error cards remain a very different lane. For now, the hobby’s longest-running whisper has a number, a slab, and a spot in the record books.
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