A Content Creator Offered Logan Paul $10.2 Million for His Pokémon Card — And the Reason Is Surprisingly Sweet
- - A Content Creator Offered Logan Paul $10.2 Million for His Pokémon Card — And the Reason Is Surprisingly Sweet
Maggie EkbergJanuary 19, 2026 at 3:30 AM
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Photo by Michael Owens/WWE via Getty Images | Apilarinos for Getty Images
Some people buy their dads a nice watch. Others spring for a fancy dinner or maybe splurge on concert tickets. Content creator Emmi Bunni? She tried to buy her dad a piece of Pokémon history — to the tune of eight figures.
On Sunday, January 18, Bunni posted a photo of herself standing next to Logan Paul, smiling in a bright Pikachu hoodie while holding one of the rarest trading cards on the planet. “Dreams really do come true 😭,” she wrote, tagging the 30-year-old YouTuber-turned-pro wrestler.
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The card in question is Paul’s 1998 Pikachu Illustrator, widely considered the holy grail of Pokémon collecting. According to Newsweek, only a few dozen were ever produced for winners of a CoroCoro magazine illustration contest in Japan. The artwork, which shows Pikachu happily sketching with a pencil, was designed by Atsuko Nishida, the OG creator of Pikachu's character design. It’s essentially a piece of Pokémon’s origin story.
Of those 39 cards, only about 20 have ever been professionally graded, and just one has earned the coveted PSA 10 rating — meaning it's in virtually flawless condition with perfect corners, sharp focus, and full original gloss. That's the exact card Paul owns, and it's quite literally one of one.
Earlier this month, Paul put the one-of-one PSA 10 card up for public auction, kicking off bidding in early January.
Logan Paul is selling his rare Pokémon card worth over $5 MILLION 😱Logan announced on Fox News that his PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, the only one in existence, is heading to auction this February. He originally bought the card for $5.3 million, setting the Guinness World… pic.twitter.com/r0GrnT7RxR
— Fanatics Collect (@FanaticsCollect) December 24, 2025
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Not long after the post went live, the comments section lit up, with some users struggling to believe what they were seeing. One Pokémon collector flat-out questioned whether the moment was real, writing, “This must be AI no way.”
Bunni was quick to clear things up. Replying directly, she explained that she had made a serious offer behind the scenes. “I offered Logan two times what it is being bid at auction for right now,” she wrote. “$10.2 million is a LOT for a Pokémon card, but it has true meaning to me, I think it took Logan a minute, but ultimately he did not want to pull from auction.”
In a statement obtained by TMZ, the influencer acknowledged just how wild the number sounds on paper, but explained why she didn’t hesitate. “It’s only six months of OnlyFans,” she said. “But this card is history. You don’t hesitate when something like this comes up.”
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She also shared that Pokémon collecting is something she connects directly to her dad — the person who introduced her to the hobby in the first place — making the offer less about flexing and more about honoring where it all started.
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Despite the heartfelt reason, it’s easy to see why Paul didn’t bite. Just last week, the WWE star shared an update on Instagram revealing just how high the stakes already are.
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“Woke up to $6M with 33 days to go 🤯,” he wrote, adding that the card was “officially a 2-time world record setting collectible grail,” while tagging Goldin, the auction house handling the sale.
Paul’s connection to the card goes back a few years. He first got his hands on a Pikachu Illustrator in 2021, then upgraded to the highest-graded copy through a high-profile private deal the following year, trading his original card plus millions in cash.
This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
