A Pokémon fan had the best Monday morning of his life this week. He walked into work and found a sealed card pack from 1999 sitting on his chair, left there by his elderly boss who had no idea what it was worth.
The X account ThePokeDads shared a photo of the find on April 20, setting off a wave of reactions from the Pokemon community. According to Dexerto, the fan wrote: “Now this is a crazy way to start my Monday. My boss is in his 80s, knows nothing about cards, just knows I’m into Pokemon cards and he left this on my chair for me to see today.”
It turns out the boss had been clearing out his basement and came across the pack. Rather than toss it in the trash, he dropped it off for his employee.
What makes this pack so special
This was not a standard booster pack. The item in question is a “The First Movie” promotional pack, which was handed out exclusively to moviegoers who saw Pokemon: The First Movie in US theaters back in 1999. The film, which first released in Japan in 1998, centers on Mewtwo and featured an iconic showdown that left a generation of kids in tears.
Once the theatrical run wrapped up, those packs stopped being distributed entirely. They never made it to store shelves and have only been available through the second-hand market ever since. The cards inside depicted scenes from the film, featuring Mewtwo, Pikachu, Squirtle, and other fan favorites in moments drawn directly from the movie.
Community members in the replies quickly chimed in to explain the value. A mint, unopened copy of this pack can sell for up to $100 online, though the fan himself estimated his particular one was closer to $50. Even at that price, it is a meaningful collectible for anyone who grew up with the franchise.
Pokemon card values have been making headlines a lot lately. Just this week, a UK man named Andrew Braund discovered that three Charizard cards from his childhood collection, all from the 2003 Skyridge set, ended up selling at auction for more than $40,000 combined, enough to cover the cost of his entire wedding. Stories like these are a reminder that old Pokemon cards sitting in a basement or a closet can sometimes turn out to be worth far more than anyone expected.
He is keeping it sealed
Despite the buzz and the real-dollar value attached to the pack, the fan has no plans to open or sell it. He told followers it is “staying sealed” and confirmed he had already ordered a protective case to store it in.
That decision will likely only help its value over time. Among collectors, sealed and ungraded First Movie promo packs are already considered desirable, and the Pokemon TCG resale market has shown no signs of cooling down in recent years. Per Cardlines, early Pokemon sets like the 1999 Base Set are still considered among the most iconic and sought-after releases in the game’s history, with certain cards from that era regularly fetching thousands of dollars in graded sales.
For this fan, though, the sentimental value clearly outweighs anything the resale market could offer. A piece of Pokemon history landed on his work chair because an 80-year-old boss decided it was worth saving. That story alone was apparently enough to go viral.
