Pokemon fan finds holy grail that's been "sat in the closet for decades" – an immaculate, sealed copy of Pokemon Blue with a rare error that makes the RPG even more valuable

Blastoise seen in the Pokemon Origins anime series.
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

One lucky Pokemon fan has struck gold in their own closet after unearthing a sealed copy of Pokemon Blue, left untouched for almost three decades, which was also hiding an extra secret that makes it even more valuable.

As reported by Automaton, in a post on Reddit sure to make any collector jealous, user sausagenpeppers shares an image of their immaculate copy of Pokemon Blue, which even still boasts an old KB Toys sticker on top of its plastic film. "My parents got my sister and I Pokemon for Game Boy when it came out during Christmas. They thought Blue and Red were unique games so we got both," they explain. "The second Red ended up being opened while the Blue sat in the closet for decades."

The concept of uncovering a sealed copy of any Pokemon game is exciting, especially one of the first-generation games. However, a tiny, missable detail on this fan's copy makes it the holy grail. As the Reddit user shares what the back of the box looks like, you can see a couple of tiny typos: "Collect up to 139 different Pokemon playing the Red version. Using the Game Link cable (sold separately), trade with a friend who has the Blue version to capture all 150."

Comment from r/gamecollecting

Did you pick them out? This is the same text that appears on the Red version's box – it's supposed to be altered here to say "Blue version" and "trade with a friend who has the Red version," but clearly no one noticed before a batch was sent to print. These are generally believed to be from the first run of the games (for the English translation, that is), as only a small portion of the boxes out there actually have this error.

So, what's a sealed, misprint game like this actually worth? As Automaton points out, there's currently a listing for a Wata 9.6-graded copy on eBay for a whopping $126,646, although whether it actually sells for that much is another matter. Another listing – a Wata 9.0-graded copy – is a much lower (albeit still pricey) $2,400, but once again, it's not actually been sold. One that actually sold last month – graded by Wata as a 9.4 – cost its new owner $1,536, so collectors are prepared to pay the big bucks, although perhaps not quite as much as that first listing.

Either way, sausagenpeppers definitely has a valuable item on their hands, whether they choose to sell it or keep it as a highly sought-after trophy. Or, they could choose chaos, rip the plastic film off and play the game for old time's sake. Decisions, decisions.

While you're here, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Pokemon games, as well as the best JRPGs you can play today.

Catherine Lewis
Deputy News Editor

I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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