The most ridiculous Pokemon card crimes of 2022

Throughout 2022, Pokemon card crimes plagued law enforcement and trainers everywhere. But which ones deserve special attention at the end of the year?

Pokemon cards have become quite lucrative collectibles over the years, with some selling for hundreds of thousands at auction. As such, there’s been plenty of people trying to cash in through nefarious means.

From gun-point robberies to heists involving collections worth half a million dollars, there were all sorts of wild stories regarding Pokemon-related crimes almost every week.

Here is our picks for the craziest Pokemon card crimes of 2022.

Bonnie and Clyde and Pokemon Cards

In July, a couple led police on a high-speed chase through Ohio after stealing a measly $284 worth of Pokemon cards from Walmart.

The suspects, 32-year-old Nicholas Starkey and 31-year-old Kayla Canova, were able to avoid capture despite a 5-star wanted level by speeding at over 105 MPH.

Eventually, officers lost the vehicle and the pursuit was discontinued.

Pixabay/The Pokemon Company

Prosecution throws the Pokedex at radical Pokemon fan

A radical Pokemon fan with over 500,000 cards was found guilty of stealing $70,000 worth of cards from his boss and stashing them at his mom’s house.

Warehouse worker Kyriacos Christou confessed to taking the Pokemon cards when he picked up orders and was handed a 16-month sentence. In court, however, the prosecutor couldn’t help but show him who the real Pokemon master was.

“The defendant knew his Evolutions pre-release Charizard Holo from his Granbull V Full Art Ultra Rare,” prosecutor Nick Cribb said.

Pokemon S̶w̶o̶r̶d̶ S̶h̶i̶e̶l̶d̶ Gun

Who knew France was so intense? A card collector looking to offload his collection for $15,000 was caught off-guard when a gun was pointed at his head.

After the seller was assaulted and beaten, the man had no choice but to hand over his collection as the thieves fled the scene of the crime.

Collectors in France may want to be wary of selling or buying cards until the men are caught.

Charizard card helps underage student get drunk

In what may be the silliest story on this list, a student at the University of Georgia was able to use his Charizard card to get into bars and order alcohol.

After UGAPD officers found the student unconscious in his dorm room, he revealed he had only consumed four beers.

No charges were laid for the lightweight, and it’s not clear if officers confiscated the Charizard card as evidence.

Thief smashes walls for $250K in Pokemon profits

In February, a Pokemon card thief pulled off the unthinkable by literally breaking down a shop’s walls in order avoid tripping alarms and steal merch inside undetected.

The thief was able to nab $250,000 in Pokemon cards and cleared out two entire storage rooms full of products, leaving behind only plush toys.

The loss of such valuable products left shop owner Eric Johnson in tears. “When I realized how much money and time we put into it, I just started crying,” he said.

The half-a-million dollar Pokemon card heist

In by far the biggest Pokemon card heist we’ve ever seen, a 62-year-old South Carolina man’s $500,000 Pokemon card collection was stolen.

On July 15, a police report was filed stating that an unknown person had entered his collection room in his 6800-square-foot waterfront home and stole boxes of Pokemon cards.

Polydorou says the only people who have entered this room were workers for an HVAC company. He also keeps baseball, football, and basketball cards in there, but it seems that only his Pokemon cards were stolen.

The collector said that his evaluation of the value of his cards came from recent auctions for first-edition boxes issued in 1999.