charmander pokemon card value Cards | Dex Mint / near mint condition trading card Used Pokémon Card Charmander AR

"How Competitive Pokemon Works"

These fancy cards, such as the adorable, enormous Espeon VMax taking a nap on a whole building or Charizard and Vensaur duking it out in one of the modern games most valuable cards, these are the reason I cant go to Asda without considering a flutter on a few booster packs - but therein lies the problem

What began as the brainchild of a Japanese video game designer who loved collecting bugs as a child has like so many of its iconic creatures evolved, transforming into a hobby that has spawned its own quasi-stock market: one so potentially lucrative that multimillion-dollar auctions and armed robberies of shops selling the cards are parts of its news cycle

At the extreme, this can become one of the best cards around, as with Brian Hacker's deck at Pro Tour Rome

It feels like each card has a story behind it, whether its Spidey mid-swing through New York, or a clever reference to a scene you wouldnt expect, like him hiding from Norman Osborn on the ceiling after the fight with the Green Goblin

What was once a hobby for kids has now boomed into a serious space for collectors who aim to own every card and maintain their value