1997 CoroCoro Surfing Pikachu — ARS Grade 1
A truly distinctive piece for vintage Pokémon and low-grade slab collectors.
This is the original Japanese Surfing Pikachu (なみのりピカチュウ) LV.13, released as a promotional card with the September 1997 issue of Monthly CoroCoro Comic.
This early Japanese promotional release features the charming artwork of Pikachu surfing the waves by Toshinao Aoki, printed on the distinctive glossy card stock associated with this CoroCoro release.
🏄 An Early Japanese Surfing Pikachu
Long before the many later appearances of Surfing Pikachu, this artwork was distributed during Pokémon’s original Japanese boom.
The card was originally included with Imakuni? as a two-card insert in CoroCoro Comic, making it a memorable piece of early Pokémon promotional history.
Card Details
🏆 ARS Grade 1 — A Different Kind of Collectible
This card has been professionally authenticated and graded ARS Grade 1.
While high grades traditionally receive the most attention, Grade 1 cards have developed their own following among collectors who specifically enjoy extreme low-grade examples and complete grading-scale collections.
For the right collector, achieving the very bottom numerical grade while still having an authentic, fully encapsulated card creates a very different kind of appeal from a conventional high-grade example.
The extensive wear visible on this card is therefore not hidden or minimized — it is part of the character of this particular ARS 1 collectible.
ARS is a Japanese grading company established in 2020 and describes itself as Japan’s first TCG-specialized grading organization.
📦 Card & Holder Condition
ARS Grade 1 — Professionally Graded & Encapsulated
The card exhibits heavy wear consistent with its assigned Grade 1, including substantial edge and corner wear, surface wear, whitening, and other age/handling-related deterioration clearly visible through the holder.
Please refer to the detailed photographs for the exact condition of the graded card.
The ARS holder itself is clean and well preserved, with no significant damage apparent in the photographs.
The holder is normally kept inside a protective sleeve and was removed from the sleeve only for photography.
The exact ARS-graded card shown in the photographs is the item you will receive.
🚚 Packaging
The graded card will be returned to its protective sleeve and carefully packed with waterproof protection and rigid reinforcement for safe international shipping.
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