Kabuto King, a Pokémon TCG fan on the platform formerly known as Twitter, is on a mission to collect "every first-edition Kabuto in the world". Since joining X in August 2025, they say they've collected 1,748 copies of this (officially) Common Pokémon card, and their efforts seem to be a major driving force behind its subsequent huge increase in value. According to TCGPlayer, First Edition Kabuto's price climbed 1,397% between August and December 2025, from around $2.50 to over 38 bucks today.
First edition Kabuto is very far from being considered one of the most desirable or expensive rare Pokémon cards of all time; for most of this year it's been worth between a dollar and a dollar fifty. But Kabuto King has been posting on X regularly since August, celebrating new additions to their collection and, increasingly, sharing price charts as the card's market value has grown.
Kabuto King seemed determined to get more eyes on their project, and they've tagged everyone from Guinness World Records to Elon Musk and Mr Beast in posts. Several major brands have actually replied to them, including marketplaces like TCGPlayer and Collectr, and even Gamestop.
The 'King' says they already owned 69 Kabutos when they first joined X on August 7, though within one day of their first post, that number had ballooned to 241. When Dexerto reported on the King's quest in September, they'd already hit 1,042 Kabutos. And since then, things have only gotten weirder.
The price of first-edition Kabuto cards rose steadily in August, and by mid November it had reached the seven dollar mark. However, starting November 17, TCGPlayer reported a tremendous spike in price, with the most recent average sale price (as of December 1-2) listed at $38.47. That's 1,397% more expensive than it was in the first week of August.
Price increases of that size and speed are often a result of copies appearing to grow scarcer than the market expected, within a short period of time. Kabuto King has suggested that's what happened here, claiming that in recent months it was becoming more difficult for them to source cards.
"I predict as I approach 2000-2500… they will become near impossible to find" says one X post from late September.
"Fair warning to anyone wanting this card to complete a set… it is becoming harder and harder to find and sellers are increasing prices", says Kabuto King in another X post from October 4, one day after posting that "since starting this collection the pace of new listings has declined 90%+".
If the King's posts about the number of cards they've accumulated are accurate then, based on TCGPlayer's current price for first edition Kabutos, their collection is now worth over $67,000. But they've indicated in multiple posts that they're not interested in re-selling the cards.
"Kabuto is/was NEVER about the money," Kabuto King says in one X post, "but people need to understand that it will be a $20+ card within a year simply because there weren't 100k+ copies like people thought". In one post, they ask their 22,000 followers to sign any Kabuto cards they intend to donate to the collection, adding "that also prevents me from reselling them".
The oddness surrounding this collection doesn't end with Kabuto King's own purchases, though. The King's project - and its large following of Pokémon TCG enthusiasts - have apparently attracted attention from crypto bros.
BAGS, a cryptocurrency trading application, has even created a $KABUTO currency. The BAGS site says it "helps creators, artists, and entrepreneurs fund their ideas with coins that anyone can trade". On this platform, it says, you can "launch a coin for yourself or anyone else on the internet", and promises that 1% of all "trading volume" from that cryptocurrency will be paid to the nominated beneficiary, who can then "cash out to [their] bank account".
According to the $KABUTO page on the BAGS site, the coin was created by X user 0xkitty_0_0, and the page lists Kabuto King's X username in the "Royalties To" box. At press time, the $KABUTO coin's reported total earnings are just over $2,300. However, Kabuto King has said on X that they were "not involved in making this coin, nor do I own any of this coin".
"To my understanding they support content creators by giving them the 'trading fees' related to the coin," they say. "Any 'fees' I receive I plan on using to grow the Kabuto Army!"
Wargamer has reached out to Kabuto King to find out more about their mission, what they plan to do with their collection, and just why on earth they've spent so much money on it. As and when they reply, we'll report further on this strange tale.
Collecting a ridiculously large number of one single Pokémon card is a hobby in itself these days, and people frequently attempt it - even if they don't all cause as much of a splash as Kabuto King has. If you could only collect one Pokémon card, what would it be? Let us know in the free Wargamer Discord community.