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Kanye West's children enjoyed a private shopping trip, as they spent thousands of dollars on the Pokémon cards based on the popular video game and animated series.
Kanye West's kids enjoy a private shopping experience
According to Page Six, a source shared that Ye took his kids to LA Sports Cards in Burbank earlier this week, noting, "They shut the store down for him to shop. His kids were so excited."
"He spent thousands upon thousands on Pokémon cards for them and they were going crazy opening them up," the insider claimed.
Kanye shares daughters North, 13, and Chicago, 8, and sons Saint, 10, and Psalm, 7, with ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
On Thursday, the card store shared a series of photos of the rapper in their shop posing alongside some of their employees.
"Always a pleasure having you @ye," the caption read as Kanye posed in all black with his arms folded alongside an emotionless face. "Thank you so much for stopping by!"
A popular hobby in the West-Kardashian household
This was not the first time Kanye's kids enjoyed a lavish shopping trip for trading cards.
Kanye was seen with his youngest son in May with a friend carrying a large black back and white box, as they left the store.
The spot is also popular with Kim, as the SKIMS founder was spotted visiting separately in February.
Psalm's 7th birthday party was also Pokémon-themed with Kim throwing him a lavish party earlier this year to celebrate.
In August, Kim was spotted alongside Steve Aoki at the LA Sports Card Expo where Saint pulled out an incredibly rare Kyogre card from a Storm Emerald Pokémon pack as vendors looked on in disbelief.
While unique, Saint's pull is valued at $12-$20 ungraded, though a PSA-graded version is said to be worth around $230.
About the Pokémon cards frenzy
Once a childhood pastime, Pokémon cards have now become a multi-billion dollar speculative, as continuous new releases and limited print runs creates an artificial sense of urgency, prompting impulsive buying.
They are collectible trading cards used to play a competitive game or collect as a hobby.
Each card shows a creature's artwork, health points (HP), elemental type and attacks.
The interest in the Pokémon cards has increased in recent years, as it fuels queues, sellouts and frenzy at retailers in the US, the UK and beyond.
There have even been reports of smash-and-grab thefts of stores that stock cards. Prized cards resell at multiples of what they retail for. The rarest can sell for millions of dollars.
A rundown of Pokémon
Pokémon captured people's attention in 1996 when the first games were released for the Nintendo Game Boy. The trading cards followed shortly after.
While Pokémon continued to print cards, their popularity declined in the 2000s.
However in 2016, things changed when the company released "Pokémon Go", a smartphone game that had people chasing across cities to "catch" Pokémon in the real world.
The launch of Nintendo Switch in 2017 and new Pokémon games for the console brought nostalgic millennials and new gamers into the world.
In February, influencer Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for more than $16 million after buying it for just over $5 million in 2021.
