Grading First Partner Cards: A Complete Guide
You open your First Partner Illustration Collection pack. Three illustration rare promos slide out — Charmander, Rowlet, Piplup. All three look clean.
Now what? Sleeve them and forget about it? Send all three to PSA? Or is grading a $14.99 promo card even worth the $25–80 grading fee?
This guide covers the full decision: which grading company to use in 2026 (with real pricing after PSA’s February price hike), how to prepare cards for submission, the break-even math, and how to track your graded First Partner cards once they’re back.
For which of the nine promos to prioritize, see our First Partner Illustration Collection grading watch list.
PSA vs CGC vs BGS: Which Grader in 2026?
The grading landscape shifted in early 2026. PSA raised prices across most tiers in February. CGC is gaining market share with faster turnarounds and lower costs. BGS remains the choice for collectors chasing perfect subgrades.
PSA — The Market Leader
PSA commands roughly 70% market share in Pokémon card grading. A PSA 10 (“Gem Mint”) is the most recognized, most searched, and most liquid grade in the hobby. PSA 10 graded cards trade at 20–30% higher prices than equivalent CGC or BGS grades.
Best for: Collectors who plan to sell, trade, or tokenize graded cards on RWA platforms like Courtyard or Beezie — PSA is the dominant label on these platforms.
Downside: Slowest turnaround times and highest costs after the February 2026 price increase.
CGC — The Speed Play
CGC has emerged as the strongest PSA alternative for modern Pokémon cards. Their standard tier runs $15–18 per card with 20–45 day turnaround — significantly faster and cheaper than PSA. CGC Pristine 10 grades are gaining recognition, trading at roughly 80–90% of PSA 10 values.
Best for: Bulk modern card submissions where speed and cost matter more than maximum resale premium. Ideal for the mid-tier First Partner cards (Squirtle, Piplup, Litten) where grading margins are tighter.
Downside: Lower global recognition than PSA. CGC slabs have roughly 50–80% of PSA’s liquidity on secondary markets.
BGS — The Perfectionist’s Choice
BGS (Beckett) uses subgrades — centering, corners, edges, surface — each scored on a half-point scale. A BGS 9.5 (“Gem Mint”) is prestigious, and BGS Black Label 10 (perfect 10 across all four subgrades) is rarer than PSA 10, commanding 4–6x raw value for premium cards.
Best for: Collectors who value subgrade transparency and are chasing perfect scores. BGS Black Labels on high-demand cards like Charmander carry extreme premiums.
Downside: BGS 9.5 is more common than BGS 10. If you don’t hit 10s across all subgrades, the resale premium is lower than a PSA 10.
2026 Pricing Comparison
Prices effective as of February 2026. PSA increased most tiers by $3–5 on February 10.
| PSA | CGC | BGS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget tier | Value Bulk: $24.99 (20-card min, club membership required) | Bulk: $15 | Base: $14.95–$17.95 |
| Standard tier | Value: $32.99 | Economy: $18 | Standard: $34.95 |
| Mid tier | Value Plus: $49.99 | Standard: $55 | — |
| Express | Express: $149 | Express: $100 | Express: $79.95 |
| Rush | Super Express: $299 | WalkThrough: $300 | Priority: $124.95 |
| Budget turnaround | 75–95 business days | 20–45 business days | 75+ business days |
| Express turnaround | 15 business days | 5–7 business days | 15 business days |
| Subgrades | No | Optional | Included |
| Max value (budget) | $500 | Varies | Varies |
Sources: PSA, CGC, Beckett. Prices exclude shipping and insurance.
The practical recommendation for First Partner cards:
- Charmander, Bulbasaur, Rowlet (high demand) → PSA. The 20–30% resale premium over CGC justifies the higher fee and longer wait.
- Squirtle, Piplup, Litten (moderate demand) → CGC. Tighter margins make the lower $15–18 fee more sensible. If the PSA 10 premium for these cards turns out to be significant post-release, you can always submit future copies to PSA.
- Turtwig, Chimchar, Popplio (personal collection) → CGC or BGS. Cheapest option wins when you’re grading for yourself, not for resale.
How to Evaluate Card Condition Before Submitting
Grading companies assess four areas. Your card needs to be near-perfect in all four to hit PSA 10 or CGC Pristine 10.
Centering
The border width should be even on all sides. For illustration rare-style cards like the First Partner promos, centering issues are more visible because the full-art format has minimal borders. PSA allows up to 60/40 front and 75/25 back for a 10.
How to check: Hold the card at eye level and compare left-to-right and top-to-bottom border widths. Use a centering tool or phone app for precise measurement.
Corners
All four corners must be sharp with no whitening, bending, or rounding. Even microscopic whitening drops a card to a 9.
How to check: Use a loupe (10x magnification) under good lighting. Check the back corners especially — the dark blue Pokémon card back shows whitening more readily than lighter cards.
Edges
Card edges should be clean and smooth with no nicks, chips, or rough spots. Print-line edges (a common factory defect on modern cards) can also affect the grade.
How to check: Run your fingertip lightly along each edge. Any roughness is a warning sign. Check under magnification for micro-chipping.
Surface
Front and back surfaces must be free of scratches, print lines, dents, and ink spots. Modern holo and textured cards are especially susceptible to surface scratches from handling.
How to check: Tilt the card under direct light at various angles. Scratches and print lines that are invisible head-on often become visible at an angle. Check both sides.
Honest assessment: If your card has any visible issue in these four areas without magnification, it’s unlikely to grade PSA 10. Grading a PSA 9 candidate is rarely worth the fee for modern promos — the PSA 9 premium over raw is minimal.
Card Preparation and Submission
Handling mistakes before submission cost more cards their top grade than any factory defect.
Immediately After Opening
- Sleeve the card the moment you pull it. Use a perfect-fit inner sleeve (KMC Perfect Fit or equivalent). Don’t handle the raw card surface.
- Place in a Card Saver 1 or rigid toploader for storage until submission. Card Savers are preferred by PSA for shipping.
- Store flat in a cool, dry place. Extreme humidity warps cards. Room temperature, low humidity.
Before Submission
- Inspect under magnification. Use a 10x loupe to check all four grading areas. Don’t submit cards that won’t hit your target grade — the fee is wasted.
- Don’t clean the card. No microfiber cloths, no wipes. Cleaning risks surface scratches that are worse than whatever you were trying to remove.
- Fill out the submission form accurately. Declare the correct card name, set, and estimated value. Incorrect declarations can delay processing.
Shipping
- Use Card Saver 1s (semi-rigid holders) — PSA specifically requests them. Toploaders are accepted but Card Savers are preferred.
- Sandwich between rigid cardboard in a padded bubble mailer. Cards should not move inside the package.
- Ship with tracking and insurance. USPS Priority Mail is standard. Don’t use regular envelopes.
The Break-Even Math
Grading only makes sense financially if the graded value exceeds raw value plus the grading fee. Here’s the framework.
Break-even formula: PSA 10 market price > Raw card price + Grading fee + Shipping (both ways)
For a First Partner promo:
- Raw card cost: ~$5–15 (estimated post-release for individual promos)
- Grading fee: $15–80 depending on company and tier
- Round-trip shipping: ~$15–25
Total investment per card: $35–120
If a PSA 10 Charmander trades at $150+, grading is clearly profitable. If a PSA 10 Popplio trades at $30, you’ve lost money on the fee alone.
The key variable is post-release pricing. Don’t mass-submit all nine promos on day one. Wait two to three weeks for secondary market prices to form, then make grading decisions based on actual data — not speculation.
| Card | Grading Priority | Suggested Grader | Break-even likely? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charmander | High | PSA | Yes — Charizard-line demand historically supports premium |
| Bulbasaur | High | PSA | Yes — strong collector demand for #001 |
| Rowlet | High | PSA | Likely — growing fanbase, limited supply promo |
| Squirtle | Moderate | CGC or PSA | Possible — depends on post-release pricing |
| Piplup | Moderate | CGC | Possible — growing Gen IV nostalgia |
| Litten | Moderate | CGC | Possible — Incineroar competitive relevance helps |
| Turtwig | Personal | CGC or BGS | Unlikely for profit; grade if you collect |
| Chimchar | Personal | CGC or BGS | Unlikely for profit; grade if you collect |
| Popplio | Personal | CGC or BGS | Unlikely for profit; grade if you collect |
Break-even assessments based on historical promo performance. Actual values will be updated after March 20 release.
Why Promo Cards Grade Differently Than Set Pulls
One factor works in favor of grading First Partner promos: constrained supply.
Standard expansion cards can be pulled from hundreds of booster boxes. First Partner promos are only available through this specific $14.99 product, with three random promos per pack. To collect a specific card in PSA 10, you need to either pull it in gem condition yourself or buy a raw copy from someone who did.
This supply ceiling has historically supported higher PSA 10 prices for promo illustrations compared to set cards of similar artwork quality. The 25th anniversary promos from 2021 demonstrated this pattern clearly — promo PSA 10s now trade at significant premiums over comparable set pulls.
The counterpoint: If the print run is massive (which is likely for a mass-market Pokémon release), the supply constraint is weaker. Population reports after March 20 will tell the real story.
After Grading: Tracking Your Collection
Once your graded cards return, tracking their value across a fragmented market is the next challenge. Graded Pokémon cards trade on eBay, TCGplayer, and increasingly on RWA platforms where they’re tokenized as blockchain assets.
If your PSA 10 Charmander is listed on Courtyard for $200 while a comparable copy sits at $170 on Beezie, you’d only know by checking both platforms individually. Caggy aggregates graded card listings across Courtyard, Beezie, CollectorCrypt, and Phygitals — real-time floor prices, FMV estimates, and cross-platform comparisons in one dashboard.
For a full walkthrough of tracking methods, see our graded card portfolio tracking guide.
If you’re also opening Perfect Order packs releasing one week later on March 27, the same grading principles apply — but the chase card dynamics are different. See our Perfect Order chase cards and grading guide for the set-specific breakdown.
Track your graded Pokémon cards on Caggy →
FAQ
Is it worth grading First Partner illustration rare promos? For Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Rowlet — yes, if pulled in gem mint condition. For the remaining six, evaluate after secondary market prices form post-March 20. The grading fee needs to be justified by the PSA 10 premium over raw.
PSA, CGC, or BGS for Pokémon cards in 2026? PSA for maximum resale value (20–30% premium over alternatives). CGC for speed and cost efficiency ($15–18 per card, 20–45 day turnaround). BGS for subgrade transparency and the Black Label 10 chase. Use PSA for high-demand cards, CGC for bulk modern submissions.
How much does PSA grading cost in 2026? After the February 2026 price increase: Value Bulk $24.99 (20-card minimum, club membership required), Value $32.99, Value Plus $49.99, Regular $79.99, Express $149, Super Express $299. Turnaround ranges from 15 to 95+ business days depending on tier.
How long does grading take? PSA budget tiers: 75–95 business days (4–5 months). CGC standard: 20–45 business days (1–2 months). BGS base: 75+ business days. Express options are available at all three companies for 5–15 business day turnaround at higher cost.
What card condition is needed for PSA 10? Near-perfect centering (60/40 front, 75/25 back), sharp corners with no whitening, clean edges, and scratch-free surfaces front and back. Use a 10x loupe to inspect before submitting. If any issue is visible to the naked eye, a PSA 10 is unlikely.
Can I sell graded First Partner cards on Courtyard or Beezie? Yes. Both platforms support PSA-graded cards. Once tokenized, graded cards appear in your wallet and can be listed on the marketplace. Caggy tracks graded cards across all four RWA platforms — see our platform comparison for details.
Should I wait to grade or submit immediately? Wait two to three weeks after the March 20 release. Let secondary market prices form so you can calculate break-even accurately. The only exception is if you’re targeting the early high-price window for top-tier cards (Charmander, Bulbasaur) — but even then, PSA turnaround means your graded card won’t return for weeks to months anyway.
Published: March 5, 2026 Grading prices as of February 2026. Verify current pricing at psacard.com, cgccards.com, and beckett.com before submitting. This is not financial or investment advice. Graded card values fluctuate based on market conditions and card population.