Featured slabs

The Grail Gallery

A rotating gallery of standout graded cards from the Rip Social collection. Select pieces may be available by inquiry, with each conversation handled personally.

Gold Star Torchic PSA 9
2004 / EX TEAM ROCKET RETURNS / ENGLISH

Gold Star Torchic-Holo #108 / PSA 9

Gold Star Torchic is one of the defining chase cards of the EX era. Released in 2004 in EX Team Rocket Returns, the set that introduced Gold Stars to English collectors. It pairs a deceptively simple Masakazu Fukuda illustration with the rarity's unmistakable gold-star mark.

The census tells the story: 233 examples in PSA 9 and only 19 in PSA 10. A Gem Mint copy recently sold for a record $2.7 million, reinforcing Torchic's place among the most iconic and consequential English Pokemon cards of the modern hobby.

Set
Team Rocket Returns
Year
2004
Grade
PSA 9 Mint
Card number
#108
Population
Pop 233
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Gold Star Rayquaza PSA 9
2005 / EX Deoxys / English

Gold Star Rayquaza-Holo #107 / PSA 9

Gold Star Rayquaza is one of the defining chase cards of the EX era. Pulled from EX Deoxys in 2005, it pairs the black shiny Rayquaza artwork with the Gold Star treatment that made these cards feel different the moment they appeared in a pack.

With a PSA 9 population of 237, this is the kind of slab that anchors an advanced Pokemon collection: scarce enough to feel special, recognizable enough to stop people immediately, and tied to one of the most beloved legendary Pokemon of the mid-2000s.

Set
EX Deoxys
Year
2005
Grade
PSA 9 Mint
Card number
107/107
Population
Pop 237
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Skyridge Reverse Holo Snorlax PSA 10
2003 / Skyridge / English

Skyridge Snorlax Reverse Foil #100 / PSA 10

Skyridge is one of the rarest and most respected short printed Pokemon sets ever released, landing at the very end of the Wizards of the Coast era. Within that set, Snorlax is a quiet standout: subtle mountain artwork, e-Reader borders, and the kind of calm composition that gets better the longer you look at it.

Reverse foils from Skyridge are notoriously difficult to grade because the surface and edges leave so little room for handling wear. At Pop 16 in PSA 10, this is arguably Snorlax's best card from the set and one of the cleanest ways to represent both the character and the scarcity of Skyridge.

Set
Skyridge
Year
2003
Grade
PSA 10 Gem Mint
Card number
100/144
Population
Pop 16
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
First Appearance Lugia TAG 8.5
2000 / Topps Pokemon The Movie 2000 / English

First Appearance Lugia Hologram #5 / TAG 8.5

This is Lugia before the TCG made Lugia a staple chase. Released with Topps Pokemon: The Movie 2000, this First Appearance Hologram is the first Lugia card ever made, tying the character directly to the movie era that introduced it to collectors.

The card is extremely fragile, with a dark foil surface and oversized presentation that make high grade copies brutal to find. With no 10s known and this TAG 8.5 sitting at Pop 1, the appeal is less about a normal set chase and more about owning a true origin piece for one of Pokemon's most iconic legendaries.

Set
Topps Pokemon The Movie 2000
Year
2000
Grade
TAG 8.5 NM-MT+
Card number
#5
Population
Pop 1
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Japanese Vending Series Snorlax PSA 10
1998 / Japanese Vending Series 1 / Japanese

Vending Series Snorlax #143 / PSA 10

Japanese Vending Series cards came from a distribution lane that felt completely different from booster pack collecting. This 1998 Snorlax carries the rough, hand drawn personality collectors love from the Vending era, with artwork that feels closer to a character study than a standard TCG pose.

The draw is the origin story: vintage Japanese distribution, a unique vending machine release method, and one of the hobby's most beloved Pokemon in an art style that does not really exist anywhere else.

Set
Vending Series 1
Year
1998
Grade
PSA 10 Gem Mint
Card number
#143
Population
Pop 318
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Poncho-Wear Pikachu Shining Charizard PSA 10
2016 / Japanese XY Promo / Japanese

Poncho-Wear Pikachu Special Box #207 / PSA 10

Poncho Pikachu promos are among the most recognizable modern Japanese promo releases, and this Shining Charizard version is one of the loudest examples from the run. It came through the Mega Charizard X Pikachu Special Box and blends Pikachu's mascot status with Charizard's collector gravity.

The strength here is cultural: iconic costume concept, Japanese promo history, Gem Mint presentation, and artwork that instantly communicates why Poncho Pikachu became its own lane of collecting.

Set
XY Promo
Year
2016
Grade
PSA 10 Gem Mint
Card number
#207
Population
Pop 2,392
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Arceus Lv.X Black Star Promo PSA 9
2009 / Diamond & Pearl Black Star Promo / English

Arceus Lv.X Black Star Promo DP53 / PSA 9

Arceus Lv.X DP53 is one of the strongest mid era Black Star Promos, released through the Arceus Collector's Tin during the Diamond & Pearl era. The card captures the mythic version of Arceus before modern chase card design took over, with a bold Lv.X layout and a holo treatment that is difficult to preserve cleanly.

This is a genuinely hard grade: only one PSA 10 exists, and PSA 9 examples sit at Pop 19. That low population gives this slab real weight for collectors who care about mid era promos, condition scarcity, and Arceus as one of the franchise's most important legendary Pokemon.

Set
Black Star Promo
Year
2009
Grade
PSA 9 Mint
Card number
DP53
Population
Pop 19
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Generations Radiant Collection Pikachu PSA 10
2016 / Generations Radiant Collection / English

Generations Radiant Collection Pikachu RC29 / PSA 10

Generations arrived during Pokemon's 20th anniversary celebration, and the Radiant Collection gave the set a softer, more character driven identity. Pikachu RC29 is one of the defining cards from that subset, built around bright full art storytelling rather than battle focused artwork.

The appeal comes from condition, era, and charm rather than population scarcity. It is a joyful Pikachu slab from a milestone release, giving the Vault a lighter modern era note alongside the heavier vintage and low pop pieces.

Set
Generations Radiant Collection
Year
2016
Grade
PSA 10 Gem Mint
Card number
RC29/RC32
Population
Pop 458
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Gold Star Pikachu PSA 9
2006 / EX Holon Phantoms / English

Gold Star Pikachu Holo #104 / PSA 9

Gold Star Pikachu sits at the crossroads of mascot appeal and late EX era scarcity. Released in EX Holon Phantoms, it carries the unmistakable Gold Star treatment with Pikachu posed against a cosmic, electric backdrop that feels immediately tied to the mid 2000s Pokemon chase card era.

The draw here is not only condition, but identity: Pikachu as the face of Pokemon, placed inside one of the hobby's most beloved rarity lanes. It gives the Vault a flagship mascot piece that pairs naturally with the heavier legendary Gold Stars already represented.

Set
EX Holon Phantoms
Year
2006
Grade
PSA 9 Mint
Card number
104/110
Population
Pop 448
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab
Crystal Kabutops PSA 10
2003 / Skyridge / English

Crystal Kabutops Holo #150 / PSA 10

Crystal Kabutops comes from Skyridge, the final and most mythic stretch of the Wizards of the Coast era. The Crystal Type cards were experimental, hard to pull, and visually distinct, giving this Kabutops a presence that feels more like a set centerpiece than a standard secret rare.

In PSA 10, this slab represents several layers at once: a short printed set, a major e-Reader era chase, and a fossil Pokemon shown with sharp, crystalline artwork. With a Gem Mint population of 223, it brings another high end Skyridge anchor into the Vault.

Set
Skyridge
Year
2003
Grade
PSA 10 Gem Mint
Card number
150/144
Population
Pop 223
Availability
Private inquiry
Inquire about this slab