Pokémon: 'It's a passion, not just a card game'
BBCShop owners selling Pokémon cards say they are shocked by how popular the items have become.
Stores in Lincolnshire which sell, trade and buy the collectibles associated with the Japanese franchise, which started life as a computer game and evolved into an animated series, said they have had to expand to cope with demand.
Toni Marlow, who runs Pokégains in Gainsborough, said it had become a passion to fans, who see it as more than just a game.
Dr Fiona Ellis-Chadwick, a senior lecturer in retail management at Loughborough University, said the stores brought "excitement" and offered a different experience for shoppers.
Introduced by Nintendo in 1996 for the Game Boy console, the game sees players having to catch, train and battle virtual monsters.
Trading cards are among the most popular items of merchandise for fans.
Ms Marlow said she was moving to a larger shop on the high street after experiencing a rise in the number of people visiting her store.
The 33-year-old said: "It still shocks me to this day that it's happened and that we've made this a successful business.
"We have someone who comes here at nine o'clock on the dot every morning and they stay until we close at five.
"To us it's a passion, it's not just a card game. It is family."
Across the county in Lincoln, another Pokémon card shop moved to a bigger location after growing out of its original premises on an industrial estate.
Geek Out moved to a shop off the city's high street in September 2024 and assistant manager Ben Magyar said customers have formed friendships through the store.
"Everybody is going crazy for it," he said.
"We have regulars turning up every day pestering to see what new cards have come in. Others stop by just to show what they've pulled.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
Mr Magyar said he put the appeal down to the fact he believed there were cards for everyone.
"It is pocket art that you get to keep and collect," he added.
The first set of Pokémon cards was released on October 20, 1996, containing 102 cards.
By 1999, the popularity in the trading card game boomed and it is estimated that more than 30 billion cards have been printed, with some rarer cards fetching thousands.
Dr Ellis-Chadwick said the current climate for retail was tough for the majority of high street stores because customers "know what to expect".
However, Pokémon trading shops "aren't predictable" and offer an alternative experience.
"These stores know there's a community out there and there is an opportunity to grow that community," she added.
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