Logan Paul’s Pokémon Blunder Takes a Turn for the Worse

Logan Paul spent July building excitement for a livestream at the end of the month, where he planned to unveil some rare Pokémon cards. When the event finally took place, it didn’t go as the YouTuber and part-time wrestler had envisioned.

To recap: Earlier this month, Paul shared a video revealing that he had invested millions in acquiring what he claimed were the first Pokémon cards ever printed. These cards were part of a CoroCoro magazine release that came out just a week before the official trading card game launched in Japan. They were presented on sticker sheets that needed to be peeled apart.

It was clear this was a marketing ploy to inflate the value of the cards in his collection. The key point here is that the CoroCoro sticker cards are not the first Pokémon cards ever made; that title actually belongs to an earlier set released by Bandai.

After spending all that money, Paul hinted that he had one last sticker sheet to peel, hoping it would achieve the highest PSA grade of 10. The higher the grade, the more valuable the card. The livestream, which lasted four and a half hours, featured Paul opening various trading cards, including sports cards, but he saved the main event for near the end.

When he finally started peeling the stickers, things quickly went south. The Jigglypuff card he tried to reveal was stuck to the sheet, foreshadowing further issues later in the stream. Even before he managed to separate the card, it was clear it wouldn’t receive a 10 grade due to poor centering. Paul spent five minutes trying to free the card.

“Sometimes, when you take a big swing, you miss big, bro,” he remarked to a live audience of 31,000 viewers. He attempted to downplay the situation by stating that a PSA 9 card could still be worth around $150,000, but it’s worth noting he had paid $400,000 for it.

Next, he peeled a Pikachu CoroCoro card, which also had centering issues and a noticeable nick. Paul then spent nearly 10 minutes discussing the card’s dimensions. In the end, he declared that, despite its visible flaws, it was actually a PSA 10 card.

He wrapped up the stream by claiming he had “made Pokémon history, theoretically.”

By “history,” he likely meant spending millions on assets that are now worth a fraction of what he invested. Many Pokémon fans believe he has negatively impacted the hobby and are voicing their frustrations.