Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip Sets New Pokémon Card Record at $3.72M

Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip Sets New Record for the Pokémon Character

Mudkip collectors had a remarkable stretch in late September as multiple high-end cards for the Pokémon character set new benchmarks at auction. The biggest headline came from a 2015 Japanese XY Promo Art Academy Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip in PSA 10, which sold for $3,720,000 at the Fanatics September Premier Auction.

The sale made the card the most valuable Mudkip collectible ever by a wide margin. It also pushed the character into a rare tier of Pokémon collectibles that have now crossed the seven-figure threshold.

According to the auction result, the card is one of only 100 copies in existence, and only three have received a PSA 10 grade. That combination of limited availability and top-tier condition helped drive the final price to a level that far exceeded prior Mudkip sales.

Why the 2015 Art Academy Promo Stood Out

The record-setting card comes from the 2015 Pokémon Japanese XY Promo Art Academy series and features artwork by Daisuke Ochiai. While the auction included several major lots, the Mudkip card still emerged as the second-most expensive card from the collection.

For more collecting context, read Ohtani, Jordan cards headline Goldin Summer 100 Auction.

Its final price was especially notable because it sold in an auction crowded with other headline-grabbing items. Even so, the Mudkip promo drew enough attention to reset the record books for the character and establish a new high-water mark for Mudkip cards overall.

Another Mudkip Broke the Million-Dollar Mark Days Earlier

The Daisuke Ochiai promo was not the first Mudkip card to make history that week. Four days earlier, a 2004 Pokémon EX Team Rocket Returns Mudkip Gold Star in PSA 10 sold for $1,020,000 at a Fanatics Weekly auction.

That sale made it the first Mudkip card to cross the million-dollar mark. Before that result, no Gold Star Mudkip had sold for more than $70,000, making the jump to seven figures a dramatic shift for the character’s market.

Related coverage includes Daisuke Ochiai Mudkip PSA 10 Sells for $3.72 Million, Setting New Record.

At the time of its sale, the Gold Star Mudkip was the most valuable Mudkip card ever by nearly $900,000. It now sits among the top Gold Star Pokémon cards ever sold, tied for second with a CGC 10 Rayquaza Gold Star from EX Deoxys and trailing only a PSA 10 Torchic Gold Star, also from EX Team Rocket Returns.

Recent Mudkip Sales Show a Rapid Rise in Value

The week’s biggest results were part of a broader run of strong Mudkip sales. A 2004 Pokémon Kids WB Poke Card Creator Pack Mudkip in PSA 10 sold for $111,931 on Alt and became the first Mudkip card to surpass $100,000.

That result briefly set the all-time Mudkip record before the Gold Star and Daisuke Ochiai promo sales surpassed it. The Kids WB promo had not been a card widely discussed in the same way as the Gold Star issues, but the auction result showed how quickly demand can shift when a rare Mudkip card reaches the right audience.

Another notable sale came from a 2004 Pokémon EX Team Rocket Returns Gold Star Holo Mudkip in PSA 8.5, which sold for $69,562.80 on September 17. At the time, it was the highest-graded Gold Star Mudkip in the world and held the record for the character until the PSA 10 version sold days later.

Mudkip Joins the Top Tier of Pokémon Collectibles

The recent auction results place Mudkip in a very small group of Pokémon characters with cards that have reached extraordinary values. The Daisuke Ochiai promo now stands as the clear leader among Mudkip cards, while the Gold Star from EX Team Rocket Returns remains another milestone in the character’s collecting history.

For collectors, the week of September 20-26 marked a turning point. A character that had long been associated with lower-profile chase cards suddenly found itself at the center of some of the most expensive Pokémon card sales ever recorded.

With a PSA 10 population of just three for the Daisuke Ochiai promo and only 100 copies known to exist, the card’s auction result gives Mudkip one of the strongest modern-era scarcity stories in the Pokémon market. The sale also underscores how condition, rarity, and collector demand can combine to produce record-setting prices for unexpected characters.

The latest results leave Mudkip with a new all-time benchmark at $3,720,000, a million-dollar Gold Star sale behind it, and a growing list of high-end sales that have transformed the character’s place in Pokémon card history.