SHAH ALAM - From a weekend pastime to a million-ringgit windfall, 25-year-old Damiral Imran just cashed in his Pokémon card collection for a whopping RM1.87 million and it’s got everyone buzzing.
Pokémon superfan Damiral has officially levelled up by selling his full card collection for a mind-blowing million.
"My Pokémon card collection has officially been sold for RM1.87 million. From a small room in Shah Alam to making history in the world of Pokémon.
"Every card, every box and every sleepless night was worth it. This is not the end, but the beginning of something greater," he posted on the Pokémon Trading Card Community Malaysia Facebook group.
His post blew up instantly, especially after he revealed what went into the sale and it was not your usual Carousell deal.
Damiral threw in wild offers: a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S trade-in, RM1 million in cash, a RM50,000 finder’s fee and even a free One Piece collection worth RM50,000.
The 25-year-old from Penang started collecting around August last year, beginning with One Piece before switching teams to Pokémon in June.
Within a year, he had over 2,500 cards, each worth anywhere from RM2 to RM50,000.
What was interesting was that he travelled across the world for it: Japan, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore; all in pursuit of his dream collection.
His priciest catches? The Hiroshima Pikachu Poncho Magikarp Gyarados (RM153,000), the 2016 Pokémon JPN Expansion 20th Anniversary 1st Edition (RM17,000) and the 2023 Pokémon SVP Pokémon X Van Gogh (RM10,000).
All of them were snapped up in one shot by entrepreneur Tay Wee Shen.
The Pokémon cards are not just childhood nostalgia anymore. They are like investment gold.
According to Money.co.uk, over 34.1 billion cards have been sold since 1996 and some rare editions go for hundreds of thousands worldwide.
Moral of the story? Never throw away your old Pokémon stash. It might just be your retirement plan.