Sharjah24 – Reuters: Two decades after the Japanese trading card game became the biggest thing in schoolyards around the world, Pokemon cards are fetching up to six figures at auction in a boom that appears to have been fueled by coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

For collector Zack Browning, who began collecting the cards in the 90s as a child, the popularity has made him an overnight multi-millionaire.

The potential has been picked up by auction houses, like Texas-based Heritage Auctions.

As Pokemon gears up for its global 25th anniversary celebrations on February 27, Heritage is holding its first auction dedicated to Pokemon cards. The February 25- March 25 online auction will have 200 Pokemon lots, including what Maddalena called the Holy Grail - an unsealed, 1999 Wizards of the Coast base set.

The answer lies with YouTuber Logan Paul doing a livestream in which he opened up packs of vintage Pokemon cards. In the video, Paul lucks out and acquires a coveted Blastoise Pokemon card, which he then sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Pokemon card collectors lined up outside Next-Gen Games to buy the latest Pokemon cards, Shining Fates, which went on sale on Friday (February 19). All the stock sold out within 30 minutes of the store opening, despite it being restricted to one product per person.