Real-Life Pokemon Fishing Lures Announced

Fishing has been a part of Pokemon since the original games were first released for the GameBoy in the mid-nineties. Now it looks like The Pokemon Company is bringing the Pokemon fishing experience into the real world with a set of Pikachu and Kyogre lures.

The officially licensed fishing lures are being made by Japanese fishing lure company Duo International and will be available in Japan starting spring 2021. It isn't yet known if the fishing lures will make it to North America at any point, but with the recent popularity of the McDonald's Pokemon card happy meals, The Pokemon Company must know how popular the franchise still is on this side of the pond.

If the fishing lures do remain a Japanese exclusive, it wouldn't be the first time a Pokemon product has suffered such a fate. Last year exclusive, giant plushies of Pikachu and Meowth in their Gigantamax forms from Pokemon Sword and Shield were sold in the country, leaving fans in the rest of the world with no official way of getting the cuddly merch for themselves.

Of course, a lot of merchandise does eventually make it to North America, and even if the fishing lures don't, the most dedicated Pokemon fans will likely be able to pick a set up on eBay at some point down the line. Although, as Pikachu hats were sold at $500 a pop last year from clothing company CA4LA before any aftermarket interference, eBay sellers will probably mark up what might already be a pretty hefty price tag. Unfortunately, Duo International hasn't revealed the cost of the lures just yet, but anyone looking to catch a fish a little more useful than a Magikarp can rest easy knowing Pokemon lures are on the way.

Twenty four years after the Pokemon Trading Card Game was first published, Pokemon cards have once again taken over the internet with popular Twitch streamers, YouTubers, and well-known personalities like Logan Paul and Logic spending thousands of dollars on rare cards. None of this is new for the franchise either as limited edition, first edition, and other rare cards have been making headlines for years with fans willing to spend their life savings to get a shiny Charizard.

When it comes to selling and buying the rarest Pokemon cards available, everything is organized through an auction, starting with a base price and letting the market take it from there. It was only this week that one college student managed to sell his card collection for $80,000 and pay off his student loans after buying it for much cheaper a few years back. But which Pokemon cards are actually worth something and which is the rarest of them all? Here are the most expensive Pokemon trading cards ever sold at auction.

While most players think of their favorite monsters when it comes to Pokemon cards, a number of the rarest cards are either item cards or limited-edition event based cards. One of those cards is the No. 1 Trainer Super Secret Battle card, a limited-edition card that was given out to players that won qualifying rounds in Japanese regional competitions back in 1999. In July 2020, the No. 1 Trainer Super Secret Battle card was sold on Heritage Auction for $90,000 due to the rarity of the card and its condition, making it the fifth highest selling Pokemon card of all time as of the time of writing.