Rare Graded Pokemon Game Boy Game Allegedly Destroyed by U.S. Customs

By Marc Deschamps

The earliest Pokemon games are hard to come by in their original packaging, and fetch a pretty penny when they have a high grade. That would make it all the more devastating if one of these copies were to be damaged, and it seems that's exactly what happened to one unfortunate fan. Nightdive Studios CEO Stephen Kick shared an image of a demolished formerly graded copy of the game which belonged to his friend. U.S. customs apparently broke the Wata seal to get at the game, and then proceeded to tear box's cover off to take a look inside!

An image of the graded copy of Pokemon Yellow can be found in the Tweet from Kick embedded below.

Many Twitter users were quick to voice their opinions on Wata Games and the controversies that have surrounded the company, but also noted their disappointment to see the game in this state. Kick did not say how much his friend paid for the game, but it would have been worth thousands. Unfortunately, it's unclear if the buyer has any recourse, and the whole thing is quite sad. Hopefully they'll still manage to get some satisfaction out of their copy of Pokemon Yellow!

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Pokemon Yellow released for the Nintendo Game Boy in North America in 1999, one year after the debut of Pokemon Red and Blue. The third version offered several changes over its predecessors, most of which brought it more in line with the Pokemon anime. Like Ash Ketchum, players started the game with Pikachu, who followed them around outside of its Poke Ball. Gym Leaders were given Pokemon that better matched the ones they used in the show, and the game even featured multiple encounters with Jessie and James! For all of these reasons, Pokemon Yellow has been a fan favorite over the years, and it's easy to see why someone might want a rare copy to keep on their video game shelf.

Have you ever purchased a graded copy of a video game? Are you disappointed to see what happened to this copy of Pokemon Yellow? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter and on Hive at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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