In the ever-evolving realm of trading cards and collector items, the year 2025 will surely be remembered as the year Pokémon cards firmly established their dominance over their sports card counterparts, ushering in a new era for collectors and aficionados alike. Gone are the days when sports cards reigned supreme. This seismic shift in the collectibles market, specifically grading submissions, underscores a trend that has been simmering just beneath the surface for some time now—the undeniable allure of Pokémon.
According to freshly unveiled data amassed by GemRate, Pokémon has overtaken the grading world, with the franchise’s cards comprising an astonishing majority of submissions to third-party grading companies. Of the top 100 most graded cards at PSA, an industry leader in card authentication and grading, a whopping 97 belong to Pokémon. This trend is all the more intriguing because it reflects a profound change in collector preferences—from traditional pastimes to more contemporary, potentially nostalgia-driven ones.
Among the broader card collecting community, non-sports and trading card game (TCG) cards, primarily Pokémon, accounted for 59% of all grading submissions across the quartet of significant authenticators during the first part of 2025. This shift is not just a minor breeze; it’s a full-scale gale sweeping through the world of collectible cards. A total of 7.2 million TCG and non-sports cards were graded in the first six months of the year, marking a staggering rise of 70% compared to the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, submissions for sports cards, once the darling of the grading world, fell to a modest 5.1 million, registering a 9% decline.
The jewel in Pokémon’s glimmering crown this year is undoubtedly the Japanese Iono’s Wattrel Battle Partners Promo No. 232, boasting over 45,600 submissions. Yet, veteran fans will not be blindsided by who commands true celebrity status—Pikachu. More thundersome than ever, Pikachu alone saw over 345,000 graded examples just this year. Leading the Pikachu frenzy is an unlikely art collaboration—“Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat,” an exclusive from a partnership with the Van Gogh Museum, clocking in nearly 84,000 graded copies. This specific card has not only become PSA’s most submitted Pokémon card, but also a cultural phenomenon, with PSA 10 flawless examples fetching prices north of $900 in the collectors’ market.
In contrast, the sports card scene seems to be overshadowed. Just three sports cards managed to break into the top 100 in terms of submissions: the 2024 Panini Prizm Jayden Daniels rookie card (#347), the 2024 Panini Instant Caitlin Clark WNBA ROY card, and another Jayden Daniels card from Donruss (#389), each recording between 8,800 and 10,500 submissions. It appears the traditional grip of sports cards in the collector’s world is loosening.
June’s statistical breakdown further emphasized this new hierarchy, with TCG and non-sports cards capturing 63% of all submissions, and PSA grading a substantial 911,000 of these cards. This figure starkly contrasts the combined sports card submission of 743,000 spread across the four major grading companies, reinforcing the burgeoning shift in trends.
CGC Cards, a key player in this movement, has embraced the Pokémon wave wholeheartedly, grading 2.18 million cards this year—nearly mirroring their entire 2024 output. Of these impressive numbers, over 1.8 million belong to TCG or non-sports categories. Meanwhile, Beckett, another grading stalwart, finds itself grappling with a volume drop. Now ranked fourth amongst the major grading entities, Beckett has graded 366,000 cards this year, with roughly 214,000 crossing into Pokémon territory.
PSA’s remarkable surge can also be attributed to its strategic partnership with GameStop, launched in October. This collaboration has engendered over a million grading submissions, further propelling the flourishing Pokémon phenomenon.
On the retail front, Pokémon’s insatiable popularity continues to fan demand’s flames, resulting in frequent sellouts, winding lines, and restrictions limiting the number of cards per customer. New releases perpetually vanish from shelves at quantum speed, and demand—seemingly unquenchable—soars to unprecedented levels, hinting that Pokémon’s grip on the hobby scene is a long way from waning.
As we ponder this trading card renaissance, we see that the iconic franchise, born from video games over two decades ago, has shown an uncanny ability to thrive and even dominate in diverse arenas—morphing childlike wonder into collectible prestige. Pokémon has not just evolved; it has transformed the game, drawing in collectors, investors, and hobbyists from across the globe in its enduring appeal. The year 2025 demonstrates that in the grand duel for collector’s favor, Pokémon has decisively trumped the titans of sports.