YouTuber Logan Paul’s new Pokémon ploy ends in embarrassment

You didn't think Logan Paul was done trying to artificially inflate the Pokémon trading card game market, did you? After breaking records with a $16 million Pikachu card sale, and a shameless attempt to ruin the manga community, the infamous YouTuber is back with yet another scheme. This time, Logan Paul wants the public to get excited about an esoteric Pokémon collectible from a Japanese magazine. It's not quite working out the way he'd hoped, though.

Paul is often blamed for kindling the current frenzy around Pokémon cards. Some TCG fans believe that the YouTuber uses his enormous platform to drum up excitement around his Pokémon card collection to ensure that the value of his cards remains high. And when the bulk of Logan Paul's reported $150 million net worth is tied up in his Pokémon card collection, there's arguably motivation in ensuring that value doesn't drop.

Recently, the influencer has turned his attention to a niche collection of CoroCoro magazine cards. These cards come in an uncut sheet that was released a week before the actual trading card came out in Japan. Some — notably Logan Paul and his fans — say that CoroCoro's sheet contains the first true Pokémon cards ever sold. Hardcore fans contest this, and say that the first true Pokémoncards were cards printed by Bandai. If Logan Paul is aware of this, he hasn't let on. If all he wants to do is jack up the prices of items he already owns, the truth may be irrelevant.

Image: Logan Paul (YouTube)

Paul has turned his search for these cards into a cinematic saga, complete with a nearly one-hour YouTube video that takes the viewer on his journey to get the supposed holy grail Pokémon cards. And to his credit, Paul is a good storyteller. In the video, he emphasizes how unlikely it is to find these cards in good condition and with perfect centering. The magazines can individually fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since the cards come in a sheet, peeling them and cutting them comes with the danger of damaging them.

Paul spent about six months collecting CoroCoro magazines, spending an estimated $2.7 million. After selecting the best candidates, he sent them to be appraised by authentication and grading service PSA. A good appraisal could have significantly boosted the value of the cards. Instead, Paul's cards were graded abysmally low. Despite his hopes, he failed to be the first person to own a CoroCoro card graded by PSA as a 10.

After uploading the video chronicling all of this, Paul tried saving face on social media. He called his goal "statistically impossible." Despite spending an incredible amount of money, he tried to frame his quest as a "relatable" one that "every collector" understands.

"obsession —> pursuit —> failure —> regrounding —> ascent," Paul cryptically wrote.

Paul intends to have another go at it on July 30, when he'll peel another CoroCoro sheet in front of a live audience. He claims that this one will be perfect. One could thus see his previous video as a marketing stunt. Then again, no matter the outcome, it was always a ploy.

Were this literally anyone else, Pokémon fans might celebrate the pursuit of a niche card no matter the grade. But since it's Logan Paul, some are just pointing and laughing. The social media post Paul shared after the video is full of disdainful replies that call him a "larper" or comments that correct his assertion that CoroCoro produced the first real Pokémon cards.

"You ruined a whole community," one Pokémon fan wrote on X. "I hope you know that."