These are the most expensive Pokemon games, from popular classics to little-known rares.
The Pokemon video game brand is one of Nintendo’s goldmines in a sea of them. Even though the Big N doesn’t own the rights directly, it still makes a lot of money from how well the monster-catching adventure games sell.
The popularity of the series hasn’t gone down over time, and the games still have value. More than that, older games are getting harder and harder to find, and factory-sealed copies have been known to sell for a lot of money on sale sites.
Pokemon Snap ($500)
Few people thought that Pokemon Snap would become one of the most popular Pokemon games ever. This photo-taking trip on rails lets you go to different places to take pictures of Pokemon in their natural environments.
The original Nintendo 64 game became a cult classic. In April 2021, it was redone as New Pokemon Snap, which brought back people’s interest in and obsession with this classic. Since then, the original Pokemon game has become one of the most expensive Pokemon games, on par with the value of the Let’s Go Bundles.
Nintendo Switch Pokemon: Let’s Go Bundles ($750)
The majority of these games are much older than anything on the Nintendo Switch, which makes sense. So, how do these sets of Switch consoles reach the $700 mark?
It’s probably a mix of the (well, personally) appealing designs of the Joy-Cons, the unique look of the Switch dock, and the fact that there’s a whole Switch in there. People who collect limited-time console gifts will be interested in this, even if it’s not a huge amount.
Pokemon FireRed ($1100)
Pokemon FireRed still sells more than LeafGreen, just like Red used to sell more than Blue did. The resell value of FireRed is a few hundred dollars higher. That means that sealed copies of LeafGreen will go for about as much as those Let’s Go packs, but Charizard’s timeless mug will go for more.
Again, loose carts aren’t all that special, but fans will need to save up. Or, we guess, be born into money. That also works.
Pokemon Gold & Silver ($1100)
There was a short time when some experts thought Pokemon would become popular. A big trend, but still a trend.
When Gold and Silver, games from the second generation, came out, it was clear that this was not true. Even though they didn’t sell as many books and didn’t have any follow-ups, they still blew up the sales charts. And rightly so, because they are very good.
Silver, the game that goes with Gold, doesn’t tend to bring in quite as much money. Not in North America or Europe, at least. Here, Japanese copies can easily compete with Pokemon Gold, but that’s a different story.
Pokemon Emerald With Carrying Case Bundle ($1800)
Unopened copies of Pokemon Emerald sell for hundreds of dollars, but this limited-edition bundle with a cool carrying case is on a whole different level. Even loose ones are expensive, because it’s hard to keep the carrying case in good shape after all these years.
As the version that came after Ruby & Sapphire, Emerald had to sell less. Fans say it’s a much better version of the Hoenn area and that it should be added to the list. But maybe it was just the game.
Pokemon Red & Blue ($2000)
A bit of trivia: Pokemon Red has always been worth much more on the market than Pokemon Blue. Even though more books of Red have been sold over the years, this is still the case. Charizard’s picture on the cover and the main character’s real name, Red, likely have something to do with this.
At the moment, though, we’ve put both forms together because they’re pretty much the same. Red isn’t hitting as many home runs as he used to, but that could (and probably will) change over time.
In any case, you can buy the original Pokemon games for cheap, or you can spend a lot of money to get copies that are sure to be real and are all sealed up nice.
Nintendo 64 Pokemon Stadium Battle Set ($2400)*
This one is more expensive because it comes with a Nintendo 64 system, but a “new-in-box” version is still quite expensive. In fact, the Nintendo 64 that comes with the bundle isn’t even a Special Edition, and it doesn’t have any special art on it.
This set came with everything you needed to play Pokemon Stadium, like a console with a normal controller, an extra Atomic Purple controller, an Expansion Pack, a Trainer’s Manual, and even a game print with a special holographic trading card. Collectors want it a lot, so it sells for a lot of money.
Pokemon Crystal ($3000)
For people who don’t know, Pokemon Crystal is like Pokemon Gold and Silver, but cooler. You could choose to be a woman for the first time in the series. But more than that, the original trip through Johto is expanded in many important ways.
It sold well, but just like Yellow, Emerald, Platinum, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, it wasn’t going to get as many parents to buy the coin because so many kids (and adults) already had Gold and Silver. Yellow doesn’t have the same price tags as Red and Blue, but Crystal easily beats them.
Pokemon SoulSilver Lugia Figure Bundle ($3100)
Gold and Silver were great. They balanced out some of the weirder parts of Red and Blue (Psychic-types were basically gods, for example) and made them better in almost every way.
HeartGold and SoulSilver, the remakes from 2010, had to climb a high Mount Moon to get as much praise as the originals. They succeeded and then some, and “HGSS” is still the best Pokemon game in the eyes of millions of Pokemon fans.
This package comes with the original Pokemon SoulSilver game for Nintendo DS, as well as a figure of Lugia and a special Poke Walker jacket. Its price is out of this world, but it’s not as good as the other one so it gets its own spot.
Pokemon HeartGold Ho-Oh Figure Bundle ($3100)
Which Johto monster, Ho-Oh or Lugia, is cooler? The cruel wheelss of capitalism don’t care what you say. In the Pokemon market, the answer was once Ho-Oh, which made a difference of $1200.
But since then, the prices of both Lugia and Ho-Oh have come down quite a bit.
If you’re trying to decide whether to buy Wordle Unlimited game or something more useful, keep in mind that $3,100 could also pay your rent for a few months in many places in North America. Do what you want with that information.
Pokemon Box Ruby & Sapphire ($5200)
Back when Ruby and Sapphire were the hottest games, there were three ways to trade Pokemon with your friends. You could do what most of us did and use a Link Cable to connect two Game Boy Advances, or you could buy the Game Boy Player device to connect it to a GameCube.
Or, if you lived close enough to the New York City Pokemon Center in North America (or got a one-run GameCube deal in PAL countries), you could buy Pokemon Box Ruby & Sapphire, a cool little thing that worked like the Game Boy Player but had more features.
Since it is so rare, the price has gone through the roof in the last 20 years and is still going up. We are clearly in the land of “only if you’re rich” now.
