The Pokemon TCG was first introduced to North America in 1998. It quickly became a cultural phenomena as children around the world searched for the rarest holographic cards.
Decades later, vintage collectibles from the game can sell for as much as a house. On August 19, a fan lost his mind when he discovered a booster pack at a Target store that had remained hidden since the year 2000.
Pokemon fan finds 20 year old booster pack at Target
In 2000, Wizards of the Coast did a reprint of the wildly popular original set released in 1998, and combined it with the Jungle expansion. The collection was called Base Set 2 and is now over 20 years old.
Incredibly, a fan searching Target discovered a sealed booster pack from the set under a shelf. The rare item was found amongst a load rust and gunk that Muk would love to call its home.
The excited collector, Gio Martin – who is also known by his moniker ‘Pokemon Puller’ – documented the miraculous moment, and uploaded it to YouTube. In the video, he shows where the card pack sat under the shelf for over two decades.
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A week after going viral, Martin sat down with popular Pokemon YouTuber Lee ‘Leonhart’ Seinfeld to talk about the insane discovery. “I had heard rumors that people were finding vintage packs and other vintage toys [at stores],” he said, before showing the clip of him at the Target where the 20-year-old booster pack lay with rust on it.
“The pack was stuck to the ground. I’m on the phone with my boy and I’m like, oh my God! I can’t believe, what did I just find!?” he continued, before treating viewers to an opening of the booster. Unfortunately, it did not contain any rare holographic cards – but it was still no a doubt a legendary moment for the TCG.
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Despite releasing decades ago, the Pokemon TCG has continued to explode in popularity. In 2020, the rarest card, Pikachu Illustrator, sold for over $250,000 at auction.
- Read More: Top 5 most expensive Pokemon Trading Cards
The more years pass by, the more the classic sets are going for insane money. So who knows, maybe the next $50k Charizard is sitting under a rusted store shelf somewhere.
