Autographed/signed Pokémon Products General Thread

Since we have quite a lot of general threads by now:

Why not one for autographed cards and other Pokémon products as well?

So, I’ll start: here are all autographed cards I have in my collection:

English EX Sandstorm Pikachu autographed by illustrator Mitsuhiro Arita (and authenticated by Beckett):

This was the first signed card I bought. Won it in a PWCC auction for 55 USD. :blush:

Shadowless Red Cheeks and unlimited Yellow Cheeks Base Set Pikachus, both signed by Mitsuhiro Arita (his English and Japanese signatures respectively) and authenticated by Beckett:

Won both of these at the same time, again from PWCC auctions. I wanted to win at least one, but was glad I won both, especially since both the Pikachus and signatures are slightly different. :blush:

English #27 WotC Promo Pikachu signed by Veronica Taylor (voice actress of Ash in the English anime):

Veronica Taylor signs, just like Mitushiro Arita, cards pretty often. So her signature isn’t too hard to find in comparison to some other signatures.

Japanese 090/XY-P Promo signed by Imakuni? (an illustrator, but not the illustrator of this artwork):

Was able to win this on Yahoo Japan for a pretty good price (which I can’t remember anymore).

Japanese 068/SM-P promo signed by Ponyta Ishii (host of the official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel):

This one was actually pretty funny. I came across it on Yahoo Japan for around 3000 Japanese Yen (~30 USD). Since the card itself without signature was going for around that price at the time, I just bought it on impulse, even though I had no idea who this Ponyta Ishii that was mentioned in the auction was. :laughing: Soon after I heard he was just a pretty famous YouTuber, and thought: ah well, at least it was cheap… Only a year later I heard he was not just a random Japanese Pokémon YouTuber, but he was one of the two hosts for the official Japanese Pokémon TCG YouTube channel (together with Pippi Higuchi). Still not that special compared to an illustrator, but I’m still glad I bought it regardless.

All seven languages (+ additional English shatterfoil) for the XY Evolutions Pikachu, all eight signed by Mitsuhiro Arita:

When Mitsuhiro Arita visited Italy some people here on the forum were offering the option to send in cards to get signed by him. So, I took this opportunity to have this (most likely) one of a kind and unique set of all seven XY Evolution Pikachus signed by him, as well as an additional English Shatterfoil Pikachu from the Theme Deck I had lying around, because why not. :wink: And with only 5 euros a card it was also very cheap (it was that cheap that the price was raised to 10 or 15 euros per card two days later because too many people were sending in cards :slightly_smiling_face: ).

English XY BREAKthrough Pikachu signed by Ikue Ōtani (Japanese voice actress of Pikachu):

Came across this signed Pikachu on eBay for a pretty reasonable price. I’m still kinda doubting its legitimacy, though. I asked about opinions here on the forum in this thread. Comparing it to earlier signatures from her there are just a bit too many minor differences. I know signatures are never the same, and could slightly change over the years as well, but still…
If anyone else has any opinions about this signature, feel free to post it in that linked thread. One thing I do know is that the date is correct, since I’ve seen two other (English XY Evolution) Pikachu cards signed by Ikue Ōtani with that same date.

Jumbo Base Set Pikachu signed by Mitsuhiro Arita; Yukinori Torii; Richard Walkoski; Mike Boozer; Mike Gills; Steven Kam):

This is probably my favorite signed card. It contains the signatures of six different people. When I came across it on eBay I recognized Mitsuhiro Arita’s English and Japanese signatures, and decided to buy it. With loads of help here on the forum, we were able to determine who’s signatures these were.

Here all of them explained in a spoiler tag to keep this post somewhat compact per signed card:

I don’t think he needs introduction, but just in case relatively new collectors read this: Mitsuhiro Arita is a famous Japanese Pokémon illustrator. He’s been an active illustrator for the Pokémon TCG since the beginning. The Base Pikachu is one of his illustrations, but the recent Mewtwo GX 78/73 Secret Rare from SM Shining Legends (Mewtwo in the laboratory tube) is also his illustration for example. He signs either with his English or Japanese signature, or in this case above both. (Mitsuhiro Arita autographed cards are probably one of the easiest to find, since he signs a lot of them at Pokémon events, although they are still very popular.)

The PCL stands for Pokémon Card Laboratory. PCL employees are basically the creators of the Pokémon TCG in Japan, and they handle the R&D (Research & Development) of the Pokémon TCG. They are also in charge of designing new cards, and have authority on any matter related to the Pokémon TCG.
Source:

Yukinori Torii was showing some e-reader’s he created at one of the events. He worked in many Pokémon related games, and searching for his name on Bulbapedia results in multiple search results.

BDS is Richard Walkoski, a top level Pokémon TCG tournament organizer and judge, better known as Big Daddy Snorlax.

Source:

DMTM is Mike Boozer, better known as Dark Master Trainer Mike. He was a WotC representative and was present at Pokémon events in the early WotC days. He’s also pretty well-known for spreading the rumors and pictures of the Prerelease Raichu.

Source:

MTM is the signature of Mike Gills (the manager of organized play).

The last signature is from (Dark Master) Steven Kam. He was the manager of the marketing dept for WOTC and attended lots of Pokemon events back in the day.

Source for the last two signature of Mike Gillis and Steven Kam can be found here on the E4 forum thanks to @jkanly .

211/SM-P Promo Pikachu signed by illustrator Kouki Saitou:

Kouki Saitou was in the US a few months back. Someone here on the forum was arranging the possibility to let cards get signed again. Unfortunately I forgot after I read about that… But, when I came across this Pikachu soon after the event was over on eBay I couldn’t resist, especially because of the cute doodle that’s added. :grin:

Jumbo Base Set Pikachu signed by Veronica Taylor with certificate of authentication:


When I came across this one on eBay I liked the added Certificate of Authenticity by the comic company Dynamic Forces, so decided to buy it for my collection. Simple as that. :blush:

English Holo FireRed LeafGreen Pikachu & Japanese PtS POP9 Pikachu both signed by illustrator Midori Harada:

These arrived today (April 11th, 2019), which is why I hadn’t created this thread a few days ago when @tonysandlin gave me the idea when he asked which autographed cards I had. These are signed at an event in Belgium, which my online friend and fellow Pikachu collector Tom arranged for me.

English POP4 Pikachu signed by illustrator Kouki Saitou:

This artwork is among my favorite Pikachu artworks, so when I had to opportunity to buy this card with the signature of its illustrator, I couldn’t let it pass. :blush:

Japanese Pikachu Gold Star and English Great Encounters Seviper signed by illustrator Masakazu Fukuda:

The latest signed cards for my collection, with a nice doodle and personalized “To Kevin C”. And this is also my very first signed Seviper card for my Seviper collection. A great addition, especially on such a nice artwork.

Japanese Holo Fossil Gengar signed by Dr. Sameji:


Sorry for the glare. Might make a new picture later on…

The only other non-Pikachu signed card I have. Bought it on impulse from Yahoo Japan because I liked the shark signature. This one is signed by Dr. Sameji, who is the voice actor in some of the Pokémon Game Boy games, and who attended events and tournaments pretty often. He also hosted a Japanese Pokémon radio show from 1997 to 2001 called Inuyama Inuko’s Pokémon Hour. His signature and picture can also be found at the back of the Tropical Present fan club promo post cards, as well as in some booklets and advert cards that came with Japanese promos.


So, those are all the autographed Pokémon cards currently in my possession. Feel free to share yours. Oh, and it doesn’t necessary have to be cards. If you have a binder or artwork signed by someone related to Pokémon, or even has some signed caps or socks for all I care, feel free to post it as well. :blush:

Greetz,
Quuador

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Great thread idea! As you know, I recently got into autograph collecting, so this should be fun to read through. I’m particularly interested to see autographs by some of the lesser known illustrators.

I currently have only one signed card - an ex Legend Maker Voltorb RH by Midori Harada. Unfortunately, I accidentally had the card sent to my neighbors house (whom I’ve never met), so I’m going over there today to explain the mixup. So hopefully it doesn’t get lost hehe. Here is the card:

I plan to frame up to 12 signed cards, each with a unique illustrator, but this will be a great challenge as many of them don’t seem to sign cards often.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing what you all post.

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I only own one signed card. Quite a random one really but it fits in well with my no rarity collection.

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The English signatures are preferable for me, but Arita’s looks better in Japanese, I think.

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Awesome thread. Will definitely add to this soon!

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Incredible collection. Signed cards are showing up on eBay more and more frequently, and the prices seem to be climbing. Interesting times!

I don’t have many, but here’s my first foray there – hopefully, part of a set someday!

1st edition charmeleon

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My first yet definitely not last signed card

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Kagemaru Himeno Pokémon Illustrator.

Why is this my favorite?
Her autographs are super rare. I think I’ve seen 3 in all my years,
Signing the name badge from the Tropical Mega Battle Tournament in 2000 makes this truly a once in a lifetime item. I mean there were tons of cards made but not many of these.
Himemaru has illustrated more Pokémon cards than all the artists mentioned above except one. In fact, she is the second most prolific Pokémon illustrator in the history.


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I’ve definitely seen fewer Himeno autographs than Sugimori! She’s still signing though - and what seems to be her current Pikachu sketch is very cute!

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I have something a little different that was inspired by a Ronda Rousey signed Dratini I saw on the internet.
I went to a bottle signing event from my favorite rapper - Yelawolf, and he was nice enough to sign my Dark Arbok card. He wears a lot of snake skin, so I thought this was fitting.

External Media

You can see that he started to sign in a thick gold sharpie, didn’t like the way it looked, and switched to a thin point sharpie.

And here’s ya boy Pokenastic and Yela at the event:

External Media

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50 Cent once came to my local Woodman’s grocery store for a signing event and I was planning on attending to see if he would sign my Sorry board haha I played sorry multiple times a week that year.

Kinda cool idea to have celebrities sign Pokemon cards!

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So I’m not familiar with the events that lead to signatures. Are most of them from World Championships? Are there other events in which illustrators show up to?

To piggyback off this question, do we have a list of illustrators who actively sign cards? Are there any who do not sign cards at all?

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@frostyalpaca, A lot of them are from various World Championships, yes. It’s generally the most consistent opportunity for non-Japanese tournament attendees to get autographs during their official signing times. They can show up to different events depending on their contract with the event organizer, their contract with Pokemon, their availability, and their interest. It all has to fit to make it work.

@tonysandlin, There’s no such list, but I would say that just knowing who is scheduled to attend an event would accomplish the same thing. If they’re not going to an event, they’re generally not signing lol. The only way around this would be to arrange something personally, which I wish everyone the best of luck with.

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My Zards are hiding and I am trying really hard to complete this set up as I am a freak about design. I also prefer the signatures by Arita not in English.

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Interesting tidbit: The day before the Ishihara GX sold, a card signed by Ishihara sold on eBay for $200 best offer. The card looks like it was in HP/PL condition and the ink has something odd going on, but that’s a data point for his autograph now!

rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F153425482233

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I’m kinda new to all of this, where are people getting all these signatures? Is it from events only in Japan?

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Ive probably posted it more than i should of but heres my Fan Club Porygon signed by its illustrator Tomoaki Imakuni :blush:


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Hnnnnggggggg I need it! Amazing card! @prochaos

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Hey guys,
Here are three of my favorite signatures. These were signed at the Pokemon Regional in Dallas. I was going in thinking I would only get a couple cards signed and MAYBE one signature, but lo and behold…

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