X Factor star Simon Cowell and the Pope are both secret Pokémon fans

It’s been a bizarre month for pokémon trading card fans thanks to both Simon Cowell and the Pope becoming involved with the hobby.

Even though Pokémon is a globally popular multimedia franchise, it always feels like a surprise when famous celebrities express any genuine interest in something that’s primarily meant for kids.

Off the top of our head, musicians Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry have shown fondness for the franchise, through their music collaborations, and actor Bill Nighy got hooked on the series while filming the live action Detective Pikachu movie.

Now, we can potentially add X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell to the list, as word has spread that he was spotted in London searching for Pokémon cards.

Recently, a trading card show was held at the Boxpark food court in Croydon, where people could gather to buy, sell, and trade all kinds of trading cards.

One such trader, known as Onfire Trading Cards on Instagram, met with Cowell during the event, snapping a photo of the two together as proof.

According to the trader, Cowell ‘was picking up all sorts’ while he was there, including a very rare Rayquaza VMAX card. While Onfire Trading Cards hasn’t disclosed how much Cowell spent on it, IGN reports that the card’s value is upwards of a$2,700 (about £2,000).

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Cowell’s net worth, as of this year, is reportedly $600 million (about £444.5 million), which is honestly a lot less than we expected, but still enough to comfortably spend thousands on Pokémon cards.

Judging by the comments, people are shocked to learn that Cowell is a Pokémon fan or likes collectingtrading cards, though it’s possible he’s actually buying the cards for a young relative, such as his 11-year-old son Eric.

Some fans on the Pokémon TCG subreddit have expressed envy at Cowell having the money to spend on rare cards, since it has become an increasingly expensive hobby.

Not to mention, Pokémon cards have become a popular target for scalpers, with particularly rare and unique cards, like the limited-edition ones made for the Van Gogh Museum from 2023, which were hoarded and sold to desperate collectors for upwards of £1,500.

This isn’t the only odd celebrity story involving Pokémon cards to make headlines lately. Just last week, a Redditor by the name of ReptileCake took one of his cards to the Vatican to be signed by Pope Leo XIV.

The reason for this? Purely for the sake of a pun, since the signed card featured the pokémon Popplio; a gag the Pope apparently found at least a little funny.

‘He laughed, probably as a courtesy, but he did know about Pokémon cards, he even showed it around to the guards around him. Then I asked him to sign a copy for me and he was happy to oblige,’ said ReptileCake.

They added that they have no intention of ever selling it: ‘It’s a personal artefact that I will cherish for eternity.’

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