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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.
