SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Pokemon trading cards are having a major moment right now, but you probably know that already if you went looking for them at stores during the holiday season. NPR's Vincent Acovino has our story.
VINCENT ACOVINO, BYLINE: It's noon on a Wednesday in late November, and at a Target in Washington, D.C., a line of about eight people has formed in front of the trading card section. It looks to be mostly men in their 30s, and they're waiting for Pokemon cards. Just then, a vendor pulls up, Pokemon products in hand. He has just six sealed items with him, not enough for everyone in line, but he makes a point to distribute them fairly.
UNIDENTIFIED VENDOR: One each.
ACOVINO: One each, he says. And at the front of that line, cards freshly secured, is Yosh Siagian.
YOSH SIAGIAN: I was here since 10 a.m. But this is nothing compared to some stores out in Virginia, in Northern Virginia.
ACOVINO: Siagian is a Pokemon card collector, and he even runs a card show just outside Washington, D.C. There, people gather to buy and trade cards - rare cards, like the ones he brought with him to Target that day.
SIAGIAN: It's kind of heavy.
ACOVINO: Opening up a hard-shell case, he shows me the goods.
SIAGIAN: I just had somebody spend $600 today.
ACOVINO: While you're in line?
SIAGIAN: Yeah, cash. I didn't want to make it look like I was dealing drugs, so I was trying to be low-key about it, but...
ACOVINO: Pokemon cards are having a big moment. Content creators like Logan Paul post videos opening packs of cards to millions of followers. Even Pope Leo was photographed signing a fans card. And here's NFL quarterback Joe Burrow rattling off some of his favorite Pokemon at a press conference.
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JOE BURROW: I mean, I liked Blaziken for a little bit. Zapdos, Mewtwo - never liked any of the ghost characters very much.
ACOVINO: In 2025, Pokemon was the most searched collectible on Ebay, which means scalpers are everywhere, and cards are so popular that it can be hard to find sealed packs selling at their suggested retail price. So that's why people are flocking to the kind of card shows that Yosh Siagian hosts.
SIAGIAN: Everywhere across America, we've been seeing local card shows pop up.
ACOVINO: Standing outside of the Beltway Card Show in Silver Spring, Maryland, is where I found 13-year-old Austin James Dumont (ph), a young collector eager to show off his haul.
AUSTIN JAMES DUMONT: I did buy it today, although I think I'm going to hold on to this for a long time. Pokemon Evolutions.
ACOVINO: His dad, Chris Dumont (ph), is just behind him.
CHRIS DUMONT: So I used to collect baseball cards, and so I was seeing if he was going to be interested in baseball cards, and that really didn't take, but Pokemon started taking, and it was something that we could share 'cause it's a combined - the shows are often combined, even though I would offer, now there are more Pokemon tables than there are sports card tables.
ACOVINO: Inside the show, collectors and entrepreneurs of all ages exchange cards, cash. Every successful deal ends with a handshake. In a room with all Pokemon cards, I find 10-year-old Ethan Morales (ph). He shows me a card he just got.
ETHAN MORALES: And then this Ninjask, I just like about it how it's just flying in the nighttime because I like the nighttime because when I was 9, I used to catch fireflies. So he reminded me of them.
ACOVINO: Mari Cruz (ph), a vendor at the show, is set up just behind Ethan. She makes a point to be extra nice to the kids, she says.
MARI CRUZ: I also try and, like, sweeten the deal up a little bit when I can 'cause, you know, it's a kid, and you want them to have the most fun they can 'cause at the end of the day, it's just, like, shiny cardboard.
ACOVINO: Cruz takes care to show the kids exactly how she prices her cards, transparency that can be tough to come by when you buy online.
CRUZ: I think if you come out to a physical event like a card show, you can see that there's still very much a positive side to the hobby. You can just see, like, when you give a kid a card, like, their face lights up. Like, that's, like, the most positive thing you can get. So...
ACOVINO: Swayed by the holographic cardboard and the nostalgia, it's a message that this 32-year-old millennial will do his best to keep in mind - save some cards for the kids, especially those who didn't have any luck this holiday season. Vincent Acovino, NPR News.
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