CGC Trading Cards Certifies Set of Pokémon Promo Cards Combining Pikachu and the Mario Bros.

Pikachu, the yellow mouse that serves as the mascot for the global Pokémon franchise, ranks among the most famous animated characters of all time. Known as the Japanese answer to Mickey Mouse, Pikachu has appeared in movies and video games, as well as on the face of more than 200 different cards from the Pokémon trading card game.

While Pikachu’s image alone brings instant popularity to any item on which it appears, a quartet of “mash up” cards issued by the Pokémon company in 2016 have become collectors’ favorites for showing Pikachu dressed in the garb of two other wildly famous animated characters: Mario and Luigi. CGC® Trading Cards has graded over 50 of each of these cards, including the four below:

Click images to enlarge.

• Mario Pikachu 293/XY-P Promo from the Mario Pikachu Special Box, graded CGC Pristine 10
• Mario Pikachu 294/XY-P Promo from the Mario Pikachu Special Box, graded CGC 9.5

Click images to enlarge.

• Luigi Pikachu 295/XY-P Promo from the Luigi Pikachu Special Box, graded CGC Perfect 10
• Luigi Pikachu 296/XY-P Promo from the Luigi Pikachu Special Box, graded CGC Pristine 10

The artwork on the cards features Pikachu with the beloved plumbers’ trademark mustaches and signature outfits, which include work boots, overalls and monogrammed hats. The attacks assigned to the cards, titled “Coin Gather,” “Super Jump” and “Super Dash,” also acknowledge the Mario brothers. In the set, a “full art card,” which extends the artwork outside of the normal borders to cover the complete face of the card, accompanies a standard card for each Pikachu Mario and Pikachu Luigi.

The ongoing popularity of Pikachu and the Mario Bros.

Pikachu was introduced to the world in 1996 via the Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green Game Boy video games. He first appeared on Pokémon cards during the same year.

Mario was introduced to the world in 1981 as the hero of the Donkey Kong video game and went on to become the mascot of the Nintendo video game company. Mario first appeared with his brother Luigi in 1983 in the now iconic video game Mario Bros. The Mario Bros. game challenged players to pilot the two plumbers through the sewers of New York where they collected coins and dismissed a gallery of strange creatures.

The popularity of the Mario Bros. game prompted numerous spinoffs over the years. The Mario video game series, which includes such hits as Super Mario, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros., is currently the bestselling video game franchise of all time.

CGC expects to see a lot more of Mario and Luigi in 2022 when it launches CGC Video Games, a new division dedicated to providing high-quality authentication, grading and encapsulation services for video games. The team building CGC Video Games, which is led by top video game expert Matt McClellan, is already at work developing a video game holder that promises to be the new industry standard, as well as building the most comprehensive video game database in the industry.

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