A strange corner of the Pokémon world recently watched the value of a once-ignored card, the Kabuto, shoot upward.
A single collector known online as @KabutoKing_ has spent months buying first-edition Kabuto cards, and the resale market shifted in response to the forced scarcity.
The card, which hovered around three or four dollars only two months ago, climbed to nearly $28 according to one TikToker tracking the trend.
Even though most Pokémon enthusiasts never cared much about Kabuto, the card suddenly took over conversations. People began posting theories, jokes, and criticisms, and the story spread fast through collecting communities.
TikTok creators weighed in on the Kabuto shortage
TikToker @rasmrfeed uploaded a video explaining how the hoard kept growing. He said that where @KabutoKing_ owned around 1,000 first-edition Kabuto cards just a month ago, that number since swelled to about 1,700.
Additionally, he claimed only a few hundred copies remained on the market. TikTok viewers latched onto the idea that one person could erase the supply almost entirely.
“But if he burns every single Kabuto, besides, like, five Kabuto,” @rasmrfeed explained, it “might be the most valuable card in the game. He has turned what is an undesirable Pokémon card into something that any Pokémon collector might want. And he is pushing 2,000 of these things.”
Meanwhile, @tylernol4thypain posted a separate TikTok summarizing the debate and ongoing collection of Kabuto cards. He noted, “And that right there is what is wrong with America and with capitalism.”
@tylernol4thypain create scarcity, jack the prices, practice greed, fuck anyone who wants a Kabuto First Edition Pokémon Card cause they can literally suck eggs #kabuto #pokemon #capitalism ♬ original sound – Tyler
The collector is auctioning off one Kabuto for charity
The person in question is known on X as @KabutoKing_, and posts updates regularly. While many are crying capitalism about the Pokémon card collector, others suggested that he may simply be autistic.
Kabuto King isn’t just doing this for the collection, however. One of their cards, which they have signed as “Kabuto King,” is currently up for auction on eBay, raising money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
While the auction couldn’t be altered for the proceeds to go directly to the hospital, PSA Card has offered to authenticate Kabuto King’s “signature” and eBay waived the processing fees of the auction, which currently sits just shy of $13K, so that the entirety of the money will go to charity.
Still, criticism continued. On X, @CaZWrestlin said, “This would be cool and almost wholesome, but it’s not about the love of the pokemon or the cards, it’s about the money and creating an artificial market. It’s just sad.”
Another person, @daledelsureste, shared a photo of their own first-edition Kabuto and joked, “Gonna buy my parents a beach house in a few months.”
Additionally, @Maxthecat5905 suggested, “I love everyone claiming that he’s trying to corner the market when he probably just has autism and too much time on his hands.”
“Thanks to @KabutoKing_, I’m sitting on 2x generational wealth just in case the crypto and stock markets dump further,” @DeonardoLiCap tweeted.
“Feeling at peace while holding the only asset that matters. Never selling. These two first edition Kabuto are now family heirlooms.”
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