For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Pikachu.
Pikachu (Japanese: ピカチュウPikachu) is a Lightning-type Basic Pokémon card. In English, it was first released as a Wizards Black Star Promo. Its Japanese release was the first-ever release of Pokémon TCG cards, as a CoroCoro promo in the November 1996 issue alongside the glossy CoroCoro Jigglypuff.[1] It is often referred to as Ivy Pikachu by collectors.
Card text
Growl
なきごえ
If the Defending Pokémon attacks Pikachu during your opponent's next turn, any damage done by the attack is reduced by 10 (after applying Weakness and Resistance). (Benching either Pokémon ends this effect.)
Thundershock
でんきショック
20
Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now Paralyzed.
When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms.
ほっぺたの両側に小さい電気袋をもつ。ピンチのときに放電する。
Release information
First release (1996)
November 1996 monthly CoroCoro comic, displaying the insert from which the original Pikachu and Jigglypuff were peeled. Magazine goodies like this were called furoku.
The Pokémon TCG was due for release with the Japanese Base Set in October 1996. To get kids excited about the upcoming cards, Pokémon partnered with CoroCoro comic to release two TCG cards for free to subscribers ahead of the main release. Kids could get these prerelease cards only by buying the November 1996 CoroCoro issue, which came out October 15th, 5 days before the Base Set.[1] The two cards were the Sugimori-error Pikachu and the glossy Jigglypuff. Distributors had initially been skeptical of Pokémon cards[2], but the promotion was a success and the TCG was an instant hit[3].
In an ode to the promotion that started the TCG, Media Factory has reprinted the original Pikachu and Jigglypuff a number of times. The original Pikachu can easily be distinguished from its reprints by the illustrator written on the bottom-left, which mistakenly lists Ken Sugimori. The original Jigglypuff is glossy. Both the Pikachu and Jigglypuff had early 3D art created by Keiji Kinebuchi, who also created the art for a number of base set cards.
Japanese base set poster from 1996 depicting the 2 Pikachu and Jigglypuff CoroCoro promos collectible alongside the base set for a total of 102+2 cards. Card description reads: コロコロ付録カード : CoroCoro furoku card コロコロ11月号 の付録カード。: The bonus card from CoroCoro's November issue. もちろんゲームでも使えるぞ!! : And of course, you can use it in the game too!!A two-page spread in the November 1996 issue showing base set cards freshly printed from a "Pokémon Machine" and reminding kids that the Pikachu and Jigglypuff peeled from CoroCoro comic could be used alongside the main release. 今月の付録は、製品といっしょに使えるぞ‼ : "This month's furoku can be used together with the retail products!!"
In Japanese sources at the time, the Pikachu and Jigglypuff Corocoro promos were advertised alongside the original base set to be collected as "102+2" cards. A poster (right) included as a furoku in the next month's Corocoro comic shows all 104 cards together.
Copies of the Pikachu or Jigglypuff promos in good condition are rare. Most copies came with a "lip" (a small bend) along the top edge of the card from the curvature of the magazine. The cards were released in large numbers[4], but at the time of their release, it was not widely anticipated that the TCG would be a success.[5] This gave little reason to make extra efforts to prevent damage to the cards. As of July 2026, out of 1,485 copies graded, none have received a PSA 10, a grade given to the best-condition cards. This makes the CoroCoro Pikachu with Sugimori error the most-graded Pokémon card on PSA's population report to have no examples of a 10, exceeding Prerelease Clefable.[6] There are two PSA 10 copies of the glossy Jigglypuff on the population report, but due to earlier discoveries of matte reprints that were mislabeled as the original promos[7], their authenticity is uncertain.
For additional context, partial scans of CoroCoro comics can be viewed online, with zoidsland and a Japanese blog being two of the richest sources.
Japanese variants (1996-1999)
4 variants with the same artwork were released before the card could be found in international markets in 1999. The card was also printed with the same TCG abilities but different artwork that came from the Pokémon Blue Sugimori art set.
The Marketing Pikachu variant has the same artwork as the first-release cards but with minor differences that match the images in CoroCoro magazine, including on the back of the furoku, on images of the cards printed in the November issue, and on the Base Set poster. The marketing card can be uniquely identified by the shortest distance between Pikachu's tail and the right border, which is shorter than in all other prints. The Pikachu lists Kinebuchi as illustrator, and a Jigglypuff has not yet been identified. At present, only 3 copies have been accounted for.[8] If the copies found are truly the ones used to create the CoroCoro comic images by Shogakukan employees, then the marketing card would most likely have been printed before the original two promos from the November 1996 issue. The marketing Pikachu was never released.
The How to Play Pokémon variant was released alongside Jigglypuff as a promo in a booklet called Easily Understand How to Play Pokémon Cards (original: すぐわかるポケモンカードの遊びかた). It was released November 30 1996.[citation needed] This variant is uniquely identified by its non-glossy surface and corrected illustrator.
The Toyota Promo variant had Pokémon Blue Sugimori art instead of the Ivy Pikachu art, and came from a Toyota Auto Campaign between October and December 1997.[citation needed] This card came along with an Arcanine promo, sealed in a card booklet presented to visitors at participating dealerships. The same reprint was included in the Intro Pack as part of the Bulbasaur Deck on July 30 1999. These cards are the same from the standpoint of the trading card game, but are often not considered variants to collectors because of the different art.
The 1998 Corrected Illustrator variant came from a mail-in sweepstakes which offered another glossy copy of the original print, and was published in the October 1998 issue of CoroCoro Comic released on September 15, 1998. People wishing to enter the prize draw were required to affix the application ticket on the bottom left of the article page to a postcard and send it to Shogakukan. Two thousand winners were sent a set of four cards mounted on two plain sheets: Pikachu and Jigglypuff on one; Meowth and Brock's Onix on the other. This print credits Keiji Kinebuchi as the illustrator, allowing it to be distinguished from the original print.
The Grey Star variant was an English print on glossy Japanese card stock, released only in Japan. It came in a two-card insert alongside Jigglypuff in the Spring 1999 issue of Hyper CoroCoro, released on March 1, 1999. This print features a gray star symbol with a yellow "PROMO" superimposed on it, similar to the Black Star promotional cards released outside Japan.
English and later releases (1999+)
The 1st Edition Black Star Promo was the first appearance of the Pikachu promo outside of Japan. It was found in 1st Edition Jungle packs, released June 16 1999, and is identical to the Wizards Black Star Promo release but can be identified by its 1st Edition stamp. For many years, this was assumed to have been an error; however, the emergence of a prototype Jungle booster pack, together with preliminary images showcasing the upcoming North American release of the expansion in Volume 2 of the Japanese publication Pokémon Card Trainers, suggest this was intentional. Both booster packs include similar text on the Poké Ball graphic not present on final 1st Edition Jungle packs: "Capture the rare Pikachu card! Look on inside wrapper!". A summary of primary sources of the card was published on the elitefourum.[9] The card is far less common than any of the holo cards in the Jungle set, and is sometimes referred to as the first secret rare. On June 7th, 2021, Twitch user murkd_ opened three Jungle packs on stream which each contained three 1st Edition Ivy Pikachu cards (9 total). Each filled the pack's usual uncommon card slots.[10]
The Black Star Promo Pikachu was its first widespread US release, as a Wizards Black Star Promo through the Pokémon League in July 1999. A German version was also released in 2000.
The Portuguese Black Star Promo is best known for maintaining the Ken Sugimori error that was present in the original release. It was included in the Pikachu World Collection, available to purchase exclusively at Pokémon Park 2000 held at Sydney University, Sydney, Australia from September 12 to October 4, 2000. This print features a gold foil Pikachu tail stamp opposite the Black Star Promo symbol. English versions of the Wizards Black Star Promo print with a 1st Edition stamp were given to winners of the Pokémon Trading Card Game League Create-a-Card Activity in March 2001[11]; these had previously been included in limited quantities in 1st Edition Jungle booster packs.
The XY Promo was a Japanese commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the TCG, using a layout resembling that of the Original Era print. It is part of the XY-P Promotional cards. It was available as part of the Trade Please Campaign 20th, which began on September 16, 2016 for as long as supply lasted. Customers visiting participating Pokémon Centers, Pokémon Stores, and Pokémon Store Outlets, as well as those attending the 20th Anniversary Festa venues in October, could trade 20 Pokémon TCG cards featuring a classic reverse (those released during the Original and Neo Eras) with a member of staff for one of two "courses" whilst saying the secret password "Trade Please!". The "A Course" included this card and a reprint of the Trade Please! promotional card available during the original campaign in 1998. The "B Course" included a Charizard card and the Trade Please! card. Only one trade could be completed per day.
↑ 1.01.1October 1996 monthly CoroCoro comic page 176-177.October 1996 monthly CoroCoro comic page 176-177, which is a two-page preview of what's included in the upcoming November issue.
Translation of relevant sections: Large text below the Pikachu card:
ゲームカード独占企画 — Exclusive game-card feature (sidebar)
ポケモン — Pokémon (blue text)
ピカチュウ・プリン スペシャル版 2大キャラ — Pikachu & Jigglypuff (big green text), 2 big characters (red blurb), Special edition (red)
ゲームカード 完全ふろく— Game card, complete supplement (in green)
発売先行 — Ahead of release (white on black. Advertising that you could get the promos before the main release of the TCG). Small text just above the Pikachu card:
10月に下旬発売のカードとほぼ同じ仕様の2枚をぞ! — Two cards in nearly the same spec as the ones going on sale in late October! Bottom black banner (with release date):
月刊コロコロコミック 11月号 10月15日発売！– Monthly CoroCoro Comic, November issue, on sale October 15!
[Note: CoroCoro issues release around the middle of the previous month. It is normal that the November issue released in mid-October]
↑Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), Pokémon Story, p. 225-226 + 239
↑Hatakeyama & Kubo (2000), Pokémon Story, p. 246-247.
