The Poncho, Mario, and Luigi Pikachu Pokémon cards have seemingly taken the world by storm. A limited print set with some amazing character mash-ups and bam, some of the most expensive Pikachu Pokémon cards you can find.

Unfortunately, most valuable cards do have fake versions of them. And these special Pikachu cards are worth enough that a large number of fakes have entered into the market.

There are an unbelievable amount of fake Pokémon cards floating around. So much so that I have another article diving deep into how to not get caught picking up fakes.

This article particularly though will cover everything regarding real and fake Poncho, Mario, and Luigi Pikachu’s. You should leave this article with a good understanding of what to look for when trying to pick up one of these adorable cards!

Let’s get to it.

Fake Gold Poncho and Cosplay Pikachu Pokémon Cards

Let’s start with the most obvious fakes. Believe it or not, there are actually real gold Pokémon cards, but these above are not them.

The “Gold” Pokémon cards you see above are very cheap knock-offs that come in far more than just Poncho Pikachu’s. They can be bought of AliExpress or even at Wal-Mart for far less than real Pokémon cards cost.

If you have a kid that likes them? Let them enjoy. Unfortunately though, these are not authentic Pokémon product and are hardly worth anything at all.

Let’s get to the next one.

Proxy/Fake Poncho and Cosplay Pikachu Pokémon Cards

Unfortunately for all of these cards, they are not very difficult to fake. They don’t have texture and have a pretty standard holo pattern that is not difficult to mimic.

That being said, there are a few things to keep an eye out for to ensure you don’t grab a fake one. Let’s look at some fake versions below and review.

Fake Mario, Luigi, and Poncho Pikachu Cards

Let’s note a few things.

First, there should not be a “rainbow tint” to these cards at all. The top row except for the 2nd card all have that tint which is a giveaway that they are fake.

Next, we can see from the Magikarp Pikachu and right bottom Gyarados Pikachu that their holo pattern is completely wrong. The real versions of these cards have star patterns like the below. Not circles, “cracked ice” holo, or otherwise.

Next, we can see that the lettering isn’t consistent. This is one of the first checks you should do when checking for fake cards. Simply do an eBay or other search to find what the real card looks like. Check the letterings, spacings, and fonts and make sure they match up.

A giveaway for a few of these is the lettering (or lack thereof) along the bottom silver edge. It should read “©2015 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.” for the Ponchos and “©2016 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.” for the Mario and Luigi versions.

Lastly, since these are Japanese cards, the back should be the Japanese back as well. If they have the English card back, then they are most certainly fake.

Let’s get to our last fake section.

Fake PSA Graded Poncho, Mario, and Luigi Pikachu’s

Unfortunately, even fake graded Poncho Pikachu’s have made it into the market using real PSA certifications. Fortunately, graded cards typically have pictures of the real card, so they can be easily checked.

Simply look up the Certification number through the PSA website and look at where the stars are placed exactly. If they match up, you should be good to go! If not, then it is a fake.

A few other ways to check its real are:

  • Look at the image of the barcode to make sure it looks the same
  • Make sure that the PSA image in the center matches
  • Look online to see if you can find a fake version of the certification number it has.

To make it a little easier, I’ve added some of the cards that have fake PSA certification numbers below. This is not exhaustive but it is at least a start.

  • 76267861
  • 64569349
  • 79587284
  • 79587285
  • 75511751
  • 77991249
  • 73886854
  • 47661332
  • 47661334
  • 60574559

Real Poncho and Cosplay Pikachu Cards

Now that we’ve looked through some fake versions, let’s look through some pictures of real ones.

Real Poncho, Mario, and Luigi Pikachu Cards

Notice the consistent holo patterns and how the text size and colorings all look good. It can still be hard to tell as the the pictures aren’t all crystal clear.

If you’re looking to buy though, make sure they send you additional pictures so that you can look at every part of the card. Run through all of the checks above before buying. It could be an incredibly expensive scam.

Still not sure? Check with the friends at Reddit and post the card(s) in question.

Summary

Hopefully this article has given you a good idea of what fake and real Poncho and Cosplay Pikachu cards look like! If you feel like anything was missed, please let me know at [email protected]!

To look into other fake Pokémon cards, check out my other article.

Didn’t see enough expensive Pikachu cards? I’ve got you covered.

Thanks for reading!

By Uncategorized