The world's largest collection of Pokémon cards, figures, games, and more is expected to sell in the UK later this month for up to £300,000 ($338,000).
As reported by the BBC, the collection will be sold as a single lot at Hansons Auctioneers in Teddington, with a guide price of between £250,000 and £300,000, an expectation backed by the auction house.
The collection of Pokémon merchandise - which has been verified by Guinness World Records as the biggest - was amassed over 25 years and includes 20,000 individual items.
The seller, who wished to remain anonymous, told Hansons Auctioneers that "from childhood, every penny of pocket money and savings went on Pokémon and when it came to Christmas and birthdays, Pokémon presents dominated.
"It’s been brilliant to be recognised by Guinness World Records but, more than that, my hobby has helped me make new friends. I am a quiet soul, a bit of an introvert. Pokémon has helped me gain confidence."
Highlights of the collection include sealed packs of the Pokémon Trading Card Game's Base, Team Rocket, and Jungle sets, alongside a shadowless Base Set Blastoise, and the Pichu and Squirtle Pokédolls, which are among the first plushies released in Japan.
The collection is worth every penny according to Hansons Auctioneers' David Wilson-Turner, who said that Pokémon products are only growing in value as a result of the kids who grew up with it now being adults with money.
"This is a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own the single largest collection of Pokémon memorabilia that has ever come to the market," he said. To keep it away from Team Rocket, "it is currently being stored in a secure lock-up".
Joking aside, Pokémon products are consistently the target of thieves who want to cash in on their high value. An independent gaming store in Minnesota reportedly had around $250,000 worth of Pokémon merchandise stolen in February while in March last year a man was arrested in Tokyo for allegedly launching a literal heist in order to steal the treasured cards.
One year later, a Georgia man didn't steal Pokémon cards directly but instead misused money from the government to buy one, using a COVID-19 relief payment to buy a rare, shiny Charizard.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.