An eight-year-old Virginia boy recently turned to selling his collection of Pokémon cards to help pay for a family puppy's medical treatment, according to a local TV report. Normally, news of Pokémon is related to the latest games or issues with a shortage of trading cards. In this case, the franchise helped pull in more than twice the money in donations needed for the cause.
The puppy, Bruce, was diagnosed with parvo, a contagious canine virus. The infection left Bruce extremely lethargic. While the survival rate for the disease is about 68 to 92 percent, according to the American Kennel Club, some other symptoms can include fever, vomiting, weight loss, and weakness. Puppies are the most vulnerable dogs and need three vaccinations to become immune, increasing the risk to Bruce.
The boy, Bryson Kliemann, was in fact organizing his cards when he noticed that Bruce was sick, ABC affiliate WCYB explains. His mother took Bruce to the vet, only to learn that treatment would cost $700, an amount the family couldn't afford. Bryson soon decided to set up a roadside table with a sign reading "Pokémon 4 Sale." A photo of this was sent to his mom, who then shared the image on social media and eventually set up a GoFundMe account. The latter was originally targeting $800, but donations finally topped $1,900, the surplus going towards future vaccinations and helping the area's other dogs. Bruce was separated from the family for a week during his initial treatment but has since been reunited while treatment continues.
Although digital games like Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Go are often the face of the franchise, Pokémon cards have surged in popularity during the past year, thanks in part to streamers on Twitch and YouTube looking to boost ratings while stuck at home during the pandemic. Some of the most popular videos have involved unwrapping packs in the search for rare cards. This and a general increase in Pokémon's popularity has resulted in an epidemic of scalping, even forcing Target to remove Pokémon cards from retail for safety reasons. Copies of the rarest cards can sometimes command as much on eBay as entire collections.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game first launched in Japan in October 1996. It was later brought to the U.S. by Wizards of the Coast, now best known for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering. Since 2003, though, the game has been in the hands of The Pokémon Company, a joint venture between Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. The latter two are responsible for actually developing the franchise's video games.
Source: ABC/WCYB