Although the next language in alphabetic order would be Indonesian, it will still take a while before I receive the last few Indonesian cards. My Indonesian contact is pretty occupied with work right now; and he also wanted to try to pull the Pikachu himself before spending 400+ USD for the Vmax Hyper Rare. He also has to travel to Jakarta (a different Indonesian island than where he lives) in order to internationally ship cards out to me, so that adds some extra time as well. Long story short, I’m expecting my Indonesian cards late-June or July. Since that’s still a few months away, I decided to switch the order of my ‘Pikachu around the World’ series a bit.
Just skipping it and go to Italian would be the obvious choice, but since Italian is pretty similar as the previous two parts: French and German, I decided to just not follow the order at all anymore, and have a bit of variety in the parts. For today, I’ll just do the smallest part:
Polish:
Let me start with a picture of all Polish Pikachu cards in my collection. This language is complete, which isn’t too surprising considering there are only four Polish Pikachu cards.
The first Polish set was released on January 12th, 2010, which was the Diamond & Pearl set (this set was released three years prior in English, on May 23rd, 2007). It also including the three Theme Decks: Royal Frost; Inferno Zone; and Terra Firma (of which all cards could also be found in the set). This set didn’t contain any Pikachu cards.
On July 8th, 2010 the Japanese Pikachu World Collection 2010 was released, and in November 2010 the English version. Both contained an unique Polish Pikachu artwork, which is also the only Polish card released outside of sets a.f.a.i.k.
The second, and also last Polish set was released on June 1st, 2012, which was Mysterious Treasures (released five years prior in English on August 22nd, 2007). The two Theme Decks of this set weren’t released in Polish. This set did contain both a non-Holo and Reverse Holo Pikachu:
And that is it already. Just two Polish sets and three theme decks were released, and only those two Pikachu World Collection 2010 cards as additional releases.
It may be pretty briefly, but it’s still nice to have such a niche language available on Pokémon TCG cards.
Two recent miscut additions. I’m especially happy with the Holo EX Emerald Seviper that arrived today, even though it’s in played quality and Italian instead of English. (For anyone wondering: the Water Pokémon above Pikachu is Froakie; no idea about the Pokémon above Seviper, but it’s another Grass-Type Pokémon).
The next language we’re going to do (still skipping Indonesian if we look at it in alphabetical order) will be one that’s still rather similar as the French and German parts:
Italian:
Let me start with a picture of all Italian Pikachu cards in my collection. This language is complete, which I’m pretty happy with considering there are 156 Italian Pikachu cards.
This part will be pretty similar as the French and German parts, in that I will only go over the actual Pikachu releases, instead of the entire history like I did with the smaller languages. I will also not mention set numbers and alike, unless it’s an Italian-exclusive release, since those can already be read at the earlier English part.
The first set with Italian Pikachu cards was again the Base Set, in both 1st and unlimited edition. The Italian Base Set was released somewhere at the start of 2000 (I’ve been unable to find the Italian release dates for the WotC and EX eras, so if anyone knows an Italian Pokémon wiki besides Pokémon Central Wiki, lmk please).
Next we’ll have the Italian Jungle set, also released somewhere in 2000, again in both 1st and unlimited edition.
There is also a W-stamped Italian Jungle Pikachu, which unlike the English W-stamped Jungle Pikachu is in unlimited edition instead of 1st edition. This card was included in volume 2344 of the Topolino comic (which is the Italian name for Disney comics like Micky Mouse and Donald Duck), released on October 31st, 2000.
No idea how it was distributed, but somewhere in 2001 we had the Italian birthday Pikachu promo #24 release. The Italian version of the birthday Pikachu is actually the easiest to find and least valuable; even easier than the English and Japanese releases, and much, much easier than the German version…
In April 2001, the second Pokémon movie: Power of the One, was released as Italian version on VHS and DVD, which included the #27 promo Pikachu.
This same Italian Pikachu with golden Pikachu tail stamp was included in the Pikachu World Collection 2000 set, released at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia on September 13th, 2000.
Near the end of 2001 or start of 2002 the #25 Flying Pikachu, #26 ‘Snap’ Pikachu, and #28 Surfing Pikachu promos were released in Italy, most likely at some events similar as the Pokémon League in the US (although this is just a guess, I have no idea how these three cards were distributed, nor exactly when).
Next we have the EX Sandstorm set, released with three different non-Holo codes and a Reverse Holo somewhere in 2004.
As well as one from the EX Trainer Kit Latios Half Deck, also released somewhere in 2004.
Again not sure how these were released, but somewhere in 2006 the Italian 012 promo Pikachu with 10th Anniversary stamp was released. In English these were given to attendees of the Journey Across America tour, but I highly doubt the same can be said for this Italian release, haha.
Then came the Italian EX Holon Phantoms set with three different Pikachu artworks, including the Gold Star Secret Rare, released somewhere in 2006 as well.
Next we have the Diamond & Pearl era, for which release dates are thankfully known. The first one is the Italian Mysterious Treasures set, with a non-Holo and Reverse Holo, surprisingly enough released on August 1st, 2007, three weeks before this set was released in English in the US.
Then we have the Platinum era, with the three Secret Rare Pikachu cards from the Italian Rising Rivals set, released again four days before the English release on May 16th, 2009.
As you may have noticed when you compare it to the English sets, we’ve skipped the Supreme Victors and Stormfront sets, which didn’t had an Italian release.
Next we have the Italian Arceus set, released on November 4th, 2009 on the same day as its English release.
Then we have the HeartGold & SoulSilver era, starting with the Italian set by the same name, released on February 10th, 2010, on the same day as its English release.
Two non-Holo cards of this artwork were also included in the HS Trainer Kit - Raichu Half Deck, released in May 2010.
And there is also an Italian version with Pokémon Day stamp, given at the Italian Pokémon Day of June 12th and 13th, 2010 (which isn’t even mentioned on Bulbapedia…).
Simultaneously with the HeartGold & SoulSilver set on February 10th, 2010 they also released Three Pack and Two pack blisters, of which one contained the Holofoil HGSS03 promo Pikachu.
On July 8th, 2010 the Japanese version of the Pikachu World Collection 2000 mini set was released, and in November 2010 the US version. This set of nine Pikachu cards in nine different language also included an Italian Holofoil Pikachu with unique artwork:
Followed by the Secret Rare from the Black & White era, from the Italian set with the same name. This Italian set was released on May 25th, 2011, a month after its English release.
Simultaneously with the Italian Boundaries Crossed set on February 1st, 2013 we had some Three and Two Pack blisters. One of them contained the BW54 promo Pikachu, which unlike its English release is Holofoil in Italian.
Then we have the XY era, starting with the Italian set with the same name. This set was released in both English and Italian on February 5th, 2014.
There is also an Italian Holofoil version of this Pikachu, although I’m not sure how these were distributed mid-2014.
Next we have the Italian Roaring Skies set, released on May 6th, 2015, on the same day as its English release.
Near the end of 2016 there was also an Italian release of the McDonald’s Collection 2016, containing this same Pikachu artwork as McDonald’s Holofoil.
Then we have the Italian Generations set, released in both English and Italian on February 22nd, 2016. This set contains no just a non-Holo plus Reverse Holo Common Pikachu, but also a Full Art in the Radiant Collection portion of the set.
A month later, on October 12th, 2016, the Italian Pikachu-EX Red & Blue Collection box was released, containing both a Jumbo and regular sized version of the XY124 Full Art Pikachu EX promo. This box was delayed by about a month (which I also mention on page 2 of my collection thread ), since it was supposed to release on September 14th, 2016 instead.
Then we have the last set of the XY era: XY Evolutions, released on November 2nd, 2016 in both English and Italian. This set contains a non-Holo plus Reverse Holo Common Pikachu, as well as a non-Holo Secret Rare Flying and Surfing Pikachu.
The Shattered Foil version is also released in Italian, in the Pikachu Power theme deck, released on the same day as the set.
In September and October of 2017, the McDonald’s Collection 2017 was available in Europe (including Italy), which contained the 5/12 McDonald’s Holofoil Pikachu:
Then we have the Italian Shining Legends set, released in both English and Italian on October 6th, 2017.
This same artwork also had a Waterweb Holofoil release in the Shining Legends Special Collection - Raichu GX, released on January 5th, 2018.
As well as a Shatter Foil release in the Let’s Play, Pikachu! theme deck on May 3th, 2019.
The McDonald’s version of this artwork wasn’t released in Italian.
Simultaneously with the Shining Legends set on October 6th, 2017, the Shining Legends Pin Collection - Pikachu box was released as well, containing the Holofoil SM76 Pikachu promo:
Next we have the Italian Crimson Invasion set, released on November 3th, 2017 in both English and Italian.
This artwork also had a McDonald’s Holofoil version in the McDonald’s Collection 2018, released near the end of 2018.
On November 5th, 2017, the 20th Pokémon movie: I Choose You! was released in cinemas in Italy, where you’d receive the SM108 Ash’s Pikachu promo with tickets.
Then we have the Italian Team Up set, with two Full Art Ultra Rare and one Hyper Secret Rare Pikachu & Zekrom GX cards, released on February 1st, 2019 in both English and Italian.
On March 1st, 2019, a month after the Team Up set, three Tag Team Tins were released, of which one contained a Pikachu & Zekrom GX SM168 Full Art promo.
On May 9th, 2019, the Detective Pikachu movie was released in cinemas in Italy. Attendees would receive the SM190 Detective Pikachu promo with their ticket.
The SM190 Detective Pikachu promos with stamp were included in special editions of the Detective Pikachu movie DVDs (1 card) and Blu-Rays (2 cards). Just like the French release, the Italian DVDs and Blu-Rays contained a random language (English, German, French, or Italian) instead of the intended Italian copy. Ironically, I’ve bought the sealed Italian SM190 Detective Pikachu promo with stamp below from a French seller, and a raw French SM190 Detective Pikachu promo with stamp from an Italian seller… Despite being a pretty recent release, this might actually be the rarest Italian Pikachu card.
Followed by the Italian Hidden Fates set, released on August 23rd, 2019.
Four additional non-Holo cards of this Pikachu with numbers were included in the Battle Academy box, released on July 31st, 2020.
Next we have the Italian Cosmic Eclipse set, with both a non-Holo plus Reverse Holo, as well as Full Art Character Rare Pikachu. This set was released in both English and Italian on November 1st, 2019.
Simultaneously on November 1st, 2019, the Pikachu-GX & Eevee-GX Special Collection box was released, containing both a Jumbo and regular sized version of the SM232 Full Art Pikachu GX promo, as well as a regular sized SM232 Holofoil promo Pikachu.
Then we have the Sword & Shield era, starting with the Italian set by the same name. This set was released in both English and Italian on February 7th, 2020.
Next we have the stacked Italian Vivid Voltage set, released on November 13th, 2020. This set contained two Full Art Ultra Rare, one Secret Rare, and one Hyper Secret Rare Pikachu.
On February 19th, 2021, the Shining Fates Collection - Pikachu V box was released, containing both a Jumbo and regular sized SWSH061 Full Art Pikachu V promo:
And the latest Italian Pikachu card that was released is a reprint of the Base Set artwork. This Jumbo Pikachu with holofoil 25th anniversary logo was released with a (small) ‘Pokémon First Partner’ Jumbo binder, released somewhere in March 2021.
And there you have it. All Italian Pikachu cards (minus the two McDonald’s Collection 2021 Pikachu cards, since I stopped collecting all languages after February 27th, 2021 and will only continue with all English, all Base Set artwork variations, and one of each Japanese exclusive artwork). Since it’s a pretty big languages, I’m happy to have this language 100% complete in my Pikachu collection as well.
Unless the Indonesian set that contains Seviper will release in the very near future, in which case my Indonesian package will be shipped out and I can make the Indonesian ‘Pikachu around the World’ part, the next part should be a very exciting one for most with loads of exclusive Pikachu releases: Japanese. But more on that later.
The package of my US middleman arrived yesterday, with a lot of exciting things.
First of all a 229/BW-P Full Art Pikachu promo signed by Tsuguyoshi Yamato, the 2004 Pokémon TCG World Champion for ages 15 and over (Master division). You may notice the signature is different than the one present on the released 2004 World Championship Deck - Magma Spirit. Thanks to this IG post of @alecpokemon , I’ve learned that the signature used on the deck is his actual name: Yamato Tsuguyoshi 大和嗣佳, whereas the signature he used on the Pikachu below as well as on the card Alec posted is Yamato Tamashii 大和魂, which means Japanese spirit or Spirit of Yamato.
Pretty happy I came across this card on eBay at the right time, since it was even the cheapest 229/BW-P Pikachu available on eBay at the time if we’d ignore the signature.
Next we have an XY Evolution Pikachu that’s square-cut at just the left-hand side. Since I already had one that was square-cut at just the right-hand side I’m pretty happy to add it to the collection as well. Now let’s see if I can find a fully square cut version of it as well.
As I recently mentioned I’ve also picked up my three favorite Charizard artworks now that I could still afford them, of which the shiny Charizard V was in this package as well:
I also had two packages from Mexico arrive at the US, since that was closer by and cheaper than directly to The Netherlands. The first Spanish Pikachu from the Majestic Dawn set (with stamp) I had already received a few weeks ago with the help of @papafrankgod . That Spanish Pikachu is exclusively released in Argentina, and the other three Pikachu cards that arrived today are exclusively released in Chile and Mexico. (In the past most Spanish cards were also released in Spain, but they stopped doing that for most promos since the Sun & Moon era, making them a lot harder to track down for me.)
And last, but certainly not least, I also have some new Full Art Supporter additions. I’ve also decided to buy the Japanese Tag All Stars ones, since I doubt we’ll see them in English at this point. Four of those were in the package today as well, so now that I have all of them here is an update for the latest additions of that collection as well:
Great update as always @quuador! Your Full Art Supporter collection is always a pleasure to see - those are some of my favourite modern cards.
Is there a specific website you used to track down those cards from Mexico? The only resource I’m aware of in South America is MercadoLibre but that’s rather lacking on the Pichu front.
I’ve personally posted on some Mexican and Chilean FB groups for Pokémon TCG. I’m currently omw to work, so can’t really check which ones anymore, but I’ve been in contact with loads of people after posting a picture of the cards I was looking for. The cards above are from 2019 and 2020, though. Older cards (including Pichu) might be tougher to track down. All Spanish Pichu cards, except maybe the Argentina exclusive from the same Burger King set as my Masjestic Dawn Pikachu should have been released in Spain as well. Most of my Spanish cards I’ve got from CardMarket and frikea.es over the years.
@joponnes Never had any issues with Italian sellers personally tbh. I’ve had less lost packages with Italy than Germany, France, or the US personally.
A very special arrival today: the German birthday Pikachu promo. In the 6.5 years I’ve been collecting Pikachu I’ve only seen it three times thus far, including this one. Even a lot of people from Germany don’t even know this card exists in German, it’s that rare.
It may have been my most expensive bought card thus far, but dang am I happy to add the rarest non-English/non-Japanese Pikachu card to my collection.
What an INSANE addition!! Huge congratulations! Now you should write your name on it just because you can
Also:
I can comfirm that. Haven’t heard of it prior to your thread and have been on the lookout for one ever since, but never found one. It’s really interesting that there are some absurdly rare German promos from that era that hardly anyone in Germany knows about
Ikr. I’m still missing the German Flug-Pikachu and Surf-Pikachu to 100% complete the German portion of my collection, which I’ve only seen twice each thus far. Same applies to the Spanish Surfing/Flying Pikachu promos. Some of these foreign WotC promos, especially the ones without Wizards in the copyright information at the bottom, are so dang hard to find.
Either way, just 12 more Pikachu cards left to find until I’ve “Catched 'em all” (for the first 25 years of Pokémon at least).
Post is such a mess right now… This package traveled from Australia to The Netherlands, halfway across Earth (roughly 15,000 km), in about three weeks (which is pretty fast tbh). But then it traveled from my capital Amsterdam to my local post office (roughly 200 km) in almost three more weeks… But, it’s finally here!
A nice English Base Set Pikachu variation which I’ve only seen one time before (in Tom’s collection). This is not an official release, so it can be classified in the same category as the COLLECTOR stamped Charizard; LPPCollecting stamped Ivy Pikachu promos; French Vermot 2018 Ash’s Pikachu promos; etc. Regardless, I’m happy to add this Pikachu to my collection, with the authenticity certificate and similarly stamped Psychic Energy. Especially since just 2000 of these Y2K stamped Pikachu cards were made and distributed.
Although I don’t know too much about it, I do know these cards were created near the end of 1999 and given around the start of 2000 to celebrate the new millennium.
Was wondering if you had this in your collection or list
It is a pikachu promo which was handed out exclusively at an event in Korea. It is numbered as Black Star Promo 1/p, and was made by the Daewon Media Company around the time when they released the ADV set in 2004. This is the only Korean card to have the Japanese back.
), since it was supposed to release on September 14th, 2016 instead.
Despite being a pretty recent release, this might actually be the rarest Italian Pikachu card.
But, it’s finally here!
