In a tough Pokémon economy, is it harder to become the very best?

Pokémon has produced more than 75 billion trading cards in its nearly 30-year history.

Some collectors covet cards with sparkling art or six-figure price tags, but the trading card game also continues to attract players born decades after the franchise’s debut as a Japanese video game in 1996.

Many of those people were among the more than 1,400 who competed in the top tier of competition for trading card game players in Anaheim last weekend.

Many attendees were there for the experience and the people.

“This is the only way I get to see [my friends] because they all live in different states,” said Asha Cherian, a 13-year-old competitor from Hollywood. “I think that's what makes me keep going.”

Others, meanwhile, were there to shop the event’s exclusive pop-up — either for themselves or to resell in an increasingly hot and sometimes contentious market for all things Pokémon.

Like chess, with monsters

Here’s how the game works: Each player has a 60-card deck. The goal is to collect six prize cards or knock out your opponent's last Pokémon to win. The cards represent the now more than 1,000 “pocket monsters” and various tools and abilities that can enhance a player’s strategy.

“There's a lot of parallels to a game, maybe like chess, very analytical, thinking about both sides of the board,” said Ciaran Farah,  a professional Pokémon player and Asha’s coach.

The game also requires literacy (players have to read the cards) and quick math (subtracting damage from your opponent's Pokémon).

Chance also plays a big part in the Pokémon card game. The card you need to win could be waiting at the top of your deck or buried at the bottom.

“Eventually, you kind of accept it,” Asha said. “You got lucky, or you got unlucky, and you just gotta move on with it and focus on the next game.”

Collecting them all can get expensive

The value of the rarest Pokémon cards exploded in recent years.

Influencer Logan Paul holds the Guinness World Record for buying the most expensive Pokémon card ever. In 2022, he paid $5 million for a Pikachu card. That’s an outlier, but there are rare cards, particularly of the fire dragon Charizard, that regularly sell for thousands of dollars.

“They're basically treating it like stocks,” said Dani Sanchez, a longtime Pokémon fan and content creator in L.A. “They'll be buying and selling cards just based on the value of them only.”

Rarity, age, condition of the card, and demand are all factors in a card’s value.

Resellers are part of the reason it’s hard even to find the newest sets of cards in stores. In January, a fight broke out at an Atwater Village Costco over a boxed set of cards.

Dragapult is the centerpiece of the deck Asha took to the 2025 Pokémon World Championship. This version of the card sells for about $11 as of August 2025, according to the site Pokemon Wizard.

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Mariana Dale

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LAist

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But the way the trading card game is set up doesn’t require players to buy the cards coveted by collectors.

“The art might be super cool … it might be worth a hundred dollars, but that doesn't always mean it's good,” Asha said.

For example, Asha’s favorite card is Dragapult, an aqua ghost dragon with two tiny, wide-eyed sidekicks. A special illustrated version of the card can cost about $90, but there also are versions that sell for less than a quarter.

Players can start with a premade deck or build one from scratch with single cards. The cost is relatively affordable compared to other trading card games — a $60 deck won the World Championships last year.

Asha’s strategy is to wait for single cards to be resold at local card shops or online.

“The big thing I think that the kids get out of it is community,” said Scott Leslie, who coordinates Pokémon events for kids — and adults — at a Burbank’s Geeky Teas and Games. “It is a place where they can be themselves, have fun all the way from just a casual hanging out and trading the cards all the way up to … working toward being that Pokémon master.”

The 2025 Pokémon World Championships drew an estimated 25,000 people to Anaheim, according to organizers.

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Mariana Dale

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LAist

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Competing to be ‘the very best’

Only about 100 players Asha’s age in North America get a spot at the Pokémon World Championships.

Asha earned her slot, in part, by playing at local, regional, and international tournaments.

Asha’s dad, Sharath, started taking her to local competitions several years ago.

“The goal is just getting better and better each day,” Sharath said. “That's what I've seen, and so I'm proud of her for that.”

Asha ultimately leaves Worlds not as a champion, but nevertheless in the top 20% of players.

Asha, center, glasses, competes at the 2020 Dallas Regional Championships. She started playing the card game around 1st grade.

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Courtesy Sharath Cherian

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In addition to playing Pokémon, Asha also likes to knit.

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Courtesy Sharath Cherian

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She often is one of few girls competing at Pokémon tournaments, but she said it’s not really something she thinks about.

Asha said other interested girls shouldn’t worry either.

“Everyone's nice anyway, so you can easily make friends," she said. "I don't think the age or the gender really matters.”

She remembers her first entry-level Pokémon competition at a local card shop.

“ I played against all these people, and they all had super-strong decks,” Asha said. “I didn't know what was going on, and a really nice guy gave me a card to help me improve my deck.”

Sharath said playing against people from all ages and backgrounds helped grow Asha’s social skills.

“She goes to an all girls school, but now she also has all these boys that she's friends with, too,” Sharath said.