I originally thought this one was obvious, but after talking to some people I think there’s more to discuss.
To clarify this poll is to determine the grail card. Not to rank grail cards. That is why the list can be kept short and when there are card duos like lugia - ho oh and shining Gyarados - Magikarp I can remove the species that is objectively less popular
Also cards that are grails due to low pop alone are removed because they’re not icons in the same sense as the others. And their grail status is contingent on their value alone, which can drop dramatically as soon as pop increases (rip milotic)
(For the record I like ho oh far more than lugia but I am not gonna lie to myself and say it could be the icon of the era)
I wanted to keep the list short. There are a few things that I think are pretty objective:
Ho oh is less popular than lugia so no need to include it. This is just a poll to determine the grail card not a ranking of grails
Same thing, Magikarp is less popular than gyarados
Tough at first glance, but after a minute it has to be Lugia (1st edition).
Lugia was the hyped “new” Pokémon previewed during the first generation; star of Movie 2000, and a box mascot. No other cards of the late Gen 1 or Gen 2 tcg were as highly anticipated as that card.
Is the E-Series getting its own separate poll too? Since that was still Gen 2 & crystal Charizard/Lugia/Ho-Oh are definitely up there on the grail scale.
That lugia is just ugly, I was not yet born when that card was released so I dont know anything about what kids wanted then. But I cant wrap my head around why people would want it know, probably my least favorite popular card of any era
It’s the same as with any other vintage card: the history, nostalgia & prestige of having the rookie of one of the most popular Pokémon of all. When that Lugia first came out, trust me, it was what kids wanted!
I agree it’s an ugly pose on the card though. I’d take Neo Rev Ho-Oh every single time (and I say that as someone who owns a 1st ed Neo Genesis Lugia).
It’s kinda funny because I don’t remember Lugia ever being the grail of neo series until 2020. Before then it was shining charizard & T17. I think even slowking sold higher because it was much lower pop.
Strange how we had completely different experiences there!
Back when Neo Genesis released, it was definitely all about Lugia & to a slightly lesser extent, the starters. By the time the Shinings released, Pokémon was mostly done here in the UK and noone really cared.
There was that lull in the years after, but I think it’s telling how much Lugia shot up during the boom, compared to everything else from the Neo era.
@hisoka107 could speak more to exact values since he follows the ex psa 10 sales much closer than I do, but over the last year or 2 it about doubled in pop and halved in price from a max of 10k I think
My experience was very similar to yours.
In Singapore when the Neo series was released , pretty much all focus/marketing/chase-as-a-kid was pretty much all Lugia.
I’m a gen 3 kid, didn’t know lugia was such a hype card back then. Lugia was actually my 1st ever high end purchase back in 2018. I always thought it was underrated for what it was. But everyone kind of slept on it in favor of all the very low pop cards until 2020.
Espeon is the best!