That right there is the shadiest character in the entire pokemon universe. Much worse than Giovanni or any of the other deranged crime bosses. What is this man's crime you ask? For starters, look at that bow. What is he thinking?! There's no way an adult man can pull off something that. But EVEN WORSE, is this man's terrible business practices. I'll let a screenshot of the evidence speak for itself...
What a monster. This is a man that gets his jollies trying to scam children into buying this:
(support the original artist at http://thesuperjman.deviantart.com/art/Beautiful-Magikarp-381773679)
Magikarp. For 500 poke dollars. How cruel.
Who knows what Arceus was thinking when he created this one. It is, without a doubt, the worst pokemon of all time. Unconvinced? According to the FireRed Pokedex: "It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world." Ouch. Do you hear that? That's the sound of pokemon academia blowing the horn of the hate train. But what if I told you there was another side to the story, and no, I'm not talking about Gyarados. What if I could show you that the Magikarp salesman was actually offering the deal of a lifetime?
Magikarp is one of the most common pokemon in the video games. Old rod + water + "a" button = LV.5 waste of time. But in the TCG, Magikarp cards are some of the rarest, most sought after cards ever printed. We'll start on the low end of the rarity scale [scale. like a fish? see what I did there? eh? EH?] and work our way up.
1. Shining Magikarp
Set: Neo Revelation/Awakening Legends
Rarity: Secret Holo
Japanese Pull Rate: 1:300 packs
English Pull Rate: unknown (I have been unable to find an English pull rate at this time).
Look at this glorious golden bastard. 30 Hit Points of pure destructive force. They allowed only one per deck to keep your opponent from breaking down and weeping from gazing upon its overwhelming beauty. Its certainly a rare card by booster pack standards. The English version doesn't sell for very much these days. Right around the $15-40 range (ungraded) depending on the condition of the card and its print edition. The Japanese version sells a little higher in the $60-80 price range. Its a decent karp, but there's always a rarer fish...
2. Shining Magikarp
(image courtesy of http://collectorviper.livejournal.com/5815.html)
No, you aren't seeing double. Notice anything different? The Magikarp has a sleek gold finish matching the pattern used for the Neo Destiny shinings. The rarity marker in the lower right corner is gone as well. This is the Japanese exclusive Pokemon Fan Club version of the card. Released in 2000, it could be redeemed for 600 GET points (awarded for participating in fan club activities). It is highly valued among collectors and considerably fewer were printed than the Awakening Legends Counterpart. Recent sales on ebay see this card commanding values in the $280 - $400 range depending on condition.
3. University Magikarp
In June 1998 Japanese elementary students were invited to enter a contest offered through Shogakukan's magazines for a chance to participate in a pokemon "conference" (aka card tournament) at "Celadon University," a fictional pokemon university in the non-fictional Japanese city Osaka. Students were required to solve a series of tests in the initial application and those that successfully completed the problems were invited to participate in the conference. On the first day of the tournament, players were split into age groups and further subdivided into subsections. The top players from each subsection advanced to the second day of the tournament to battle the other top players in their age category. Players with at least one victory were awarded the greatest prize in all of pokemon: Magikarp. Bask in its glory.
This baby is rare. I'm talking Indiana Jones goes on a mission to find it rare. Collectors often refer to this card and the parent-child tournament Kangaskhan as the "holy grails" of the TCG. This card was reprinted once in the Japanese exclusive WEB series, but has otherwise never been reprinted or awarded since the University tournament in 1998. The exact number of copies in existence is unknown, but most collectors believe only 30 - 50 copies have been in circulation since the original event. A card of this rarity and pedigree fetches a pretty penny on the market. Depending on condition, you can expect to pay between $700 - $2000 for one of these babies. That's crazy. For that price you could buy a used 1997 Dodge Dakota.
Nice. Question: how many chicks will you pick up in this bad boy? Answer: Not as many as you'll catch with the last card on this list.
4. CoroCoro Best Photo Magikarp
image courtesy of bulbapedia
This is it. The rarest Magikarp in the card game and one of the rarest cards ever printed. In May 1999, Corocoro magazine held a contest whereby participants were invited to submit their best pokemon snap pictures. The six winners had their pictures used in Base Set reprints. Its unknown how many copies of this card were printed, but some collectors estimate that fewer than 10 copies were printed.
Magikarp, strangely, has been featured on some of the rarest pokemon cards ever printed. So the next time a strange man wearing a bow on his head offers to sell you a Magikarp, take him up on his offer. He's probably not a child molester.
Eh... he actually might be a child molester... Jeez.
Fin.
