GameStop’s $68,000 Charizard Pokémon Card Turns into a Disheartening Tale

When GameStop announced it would start selling $5,000 presorted packs of Pokémon cards, many skeptics questioned who would actually buy them. After all, who would risk that much cash for a mere 0.4% chance of landing a rare Pokémon card? Surprisingly, it seems that GameStop customers are not only willing to take that gamble, but some are also hitting the jackpot.

For those who haven’t been following the chaos surrounding this, GameStop offers various tiers of both physical and digital Pokémon cards. The higher the price, the better the odds of pulling something valuable. Among the “chase” cards advertised are a $52,000 2003 Umbreon and a $61,232 2006 Mewtwo. The crown jewel of the pack is a first-edition 1999 Charizard card, valued at over $68,000.

With such slim odds of pulling any of these cards, it seemed like we might be waiting a while for someone to score big from a Power Pack—especially the Charizard. However, according to tracking site Live TCG Pulls, the elusive Charizard has reportedly been pulled three times already. Each time, the lucky winner chose to sell the card back to GameStop for a percentage of its value.

Live TCG Pulls does note that their data may not be completely accurate, as it’s based on the availability of cards in the pool. GameStop has yet to respond to inquiries about this. However, the Charizard card did briefly vanish from the list of rare cards GameStop advertises, suggesting at least one person managed to snag it recently. A dedicated Power Packs tracker mentioned they saw the Charizard leave the pool “multiple times.” As of now, the Charizard is still listed, indicating that the winner likely took GameStop up on its buyback offer.

As of now, GameStop’s social media hasn’t mentioned any Charizard pulls. On platforms like X, users have shared their own experiences of pulling other rare cards, such as the $40,000 2005 Rayquaza. One Power Packs enthusiast claimed to have pulled $50,000 worth of cards in just the last week, and unlike many others, they have no intention of selling them back to GameStop.

If the reports about the Charizard pulls are accurate, they highlight the clever strategy behind GameStop’s Pokémon venture. Even if someone gets lucky with a high-value card, most players will end up with far less impressive pulls. Those who do manage to get the “grail” cards seem eager to sell them back, allowing GameStop to potentially resell those cards multiple times. While the Charizard may have been pulled a few times in quick succession, we still don’t know how many packs were opened to achieve that.

“I’ve opened 149 packs and haven’t yet had a chase,” one Redditor shared on the Power Packs subforum.

On May 9, GameStop sponsored a YouTube streamer to host a contest where viewers opened Power Packs together. After several hours and 60 packs, most pulls were worth under $100. The standout was a $5,000 Neutronium pack that yielded a $7,000 Rayquaza card, awarded to a viewer for having the most valuable pulls. This pack was opened by the sponsored YouTuber, Roaring Sensei.

“The floor feels safer overall,” one Power Packs user who spent $5,000 in one night commented on X. “You’re less likely to get completely crushed with low-value hits. Did I hit a home run this time? No. But I had a shot at it, and that’s part of the thrill.”

Fan favorites like Pikachu, Charizard, and Gengar are popular targets for counterfeiters.