Raichu

Raichu is card 14 of 62 in Fossil, released in October 1999, a Rare Holo. It is a Stage 1 Lightning-type with 90 HP.

As a Stage 1, it evolves from Pikachu, which places Raichu deeper in its line and means most collectors hold it alongside the cards it evolves from.

Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita. Arita painted the Base Set Charizard and much of the early holo run, and his work has a painterly weight that set the visual tone of the Wizards era.

The Pokédex entry printed on Raichu reads: "Its long tail serves as a ground to protect itself from its own high-voltage power."

The fully evolved Pikachu. Larger, orange-yellow body, with a long tail. Rare in the wild; usually requires a Thunder Stone evolution. Base Set holo Raichu is one of the famous "where is mine" cards. Its print run had inconsistent centering, and a famously rare prerelease variant exists.

Based on recent eBay sales, raw copies trade from $33 to $70 depending on the print and a PSA 10 runs from $2,000 to $7,500. The 1st Edition print is the most valuable, with a PSA 10 near $7,500. The table on this page breaks the price down by print and grade, updated 2026-05-22.

Fossil shipped in 1st Edition and Unlimited, with no Shadowless print. The Edition 1 stamp under the artwork separates the scarcer 1st Edition Raichu from the Unlimited copy.

Grading Raichu comes down to the holo surface and the borders. The era's foil scratches easily, so even a pack-fresh Raichu can drop from a 10 to a 9 on a single hairline. Inspect the window at an angle and the corners against the frame.

If you are buying Raichu, work in order: confirm the print variant first, then the grade, then price against recent sales for that exact variant and grade. For a raw Raichu above a few hundred dollars, insist on angled-light photos of the holo so you can spot hairlines.