CGC Trading Cards Certifies TikTok-famous Washing Machine Charizard

CGC Trading Cards™ has certified many incredible cards, but nothing like the rarity that recently tumbled into the grading room. This highly sought-after Pokémon Charizard card had the graders heads spinning because it was machine-washed.

TikTok influencer im.ivy.r recently posted a video of a rare Delta Species Charizard card that accidentally ended up in the washing machine. The card in the video is part of the Pokémon TCG Crystal Guardian Series that was released in 2006. Fans of the popular trading card game quickly became aware of the unfortunate event and caused the video to go viral with 14.5 million views to date.

After the incident, im.ivy.r submitted the card to CGC Trading Cards for authentication, grading and to preserve the now-famous card. It was graded CGC 1.0, which is given to extensively damaged cards with large tears and other extreme defects.

Im.ivy.r commented, “It’s hilarious to me that what started as a heartbreaking mistake somehow turned into a viral video. I guess it resonated with people, especially first generation Pokémon fans and collectors like myself who grew up playing and trading their cards when they weren’t expensive. Shoving them in your pocket was a normal thing. Obviously, my goal when submitting the card was not to get a 10.”

CGC Trading Cards has graded thousands of Pokémon cards including test prints and miscuts, but never one that has gone through a wash cycle.

“Accidentally running a card through the washing machine is every trading card collector’s worst nightmare,” said Matt Quinn, CGC Trading Cards Senior Grading Finalizer. “It’s regrettable that this happened to a card as rare as a Crystal Guardians Charizard, but now we can say that another benefit of certification is that an encapsulated card is much less likely to get washed.”

Despite this Charizard’s grade, due to the fame the card has gained on TikTok, there’s no telling what the future has in store for it.