A surprising economic bubble is making it hard for anyone to buy Pokémon cards – especially children

Pokémon has been huge since the late 90s. Millions of people have fond memories of playing the original Red and Blue games, or trading cards in the playground for that elusive shiny Charizard (if your school didn’t ban them). The franchise has only grown since then – but, where the trading cards are concerned, things have taken an unexpected and unfortunate turn. It’s now almost impossible to get your hands on newly released cards thanks to an insane rise in reselling and scalping over the past year.

Selling on your old cards to collectors has always been part of the hobby, and like baseball cards or Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon cards can sometimes go for thousands of pounds. However, the resale market for Pokémon has climbed so high that even new cards are valued at hundreds, before they’ve even been released. The latest set, Phantasmal Flames, had a rare special illustration Charizard that was being valued at more than £600 before anyone had even found one. When a pack of cards retails at about £4, there’s a huge potential profit to be had.

The pain is visceral, but civil society, media and the creative community have been sent into retreat since the 2019 pro-democracy protests

• Antony Dapiran is the author of two books on Hong Kong politics and protest

White flowers at makeshift shrines and messages of support posted in a public square. A rainbow of folded paper cranes. Boxes of donated goods for the those in need. Hongkongers’ responses to the Tai Po fire disaster – in which at least 159 people have died and 31 are still unaccounted for – have, on the surface, resembled similar community expressions of solidarity last seen during the 2019 protests. But beneath the surface, Hong Kong civil society is struggling to respond to this latest collective trauma in a city that has deeply changed in the past five years.

The cauterisation of Hong Kong’s civil society that has occurred under Beijing’s national security crackdown has meant that the types of grassroots activism that would traditionally have occurred in response to such a tragedy – as they would in any other open society – are no longer possible.

Antony Dapiran is the author of two books on Hong Kong politics and protest

A surprising economic bubble is making it hard for anyone to buy Pokémon cards – especially children

Pokémon has been huge since the late 90s. Millions of people have fond memories of playing the original Red and Blue games, or trading cards in the playground for that elusive shiny Charizard (if your school didn’t ban them). The franchise has only grown since then – but, where the trading cards are concerned, things have taken an unexpected and unfortunate turn. It’s now almost impossible to get your hands on newly released cards thanks to an insane rise in reselling and scalping over the past year.

Selling on your old cards to collectors has always been part of the hobby, and like baseball cards or Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon cards can sometimes go for thousands of pounds. However, the resale market for Pokémon has climbed so high that even new cards are valued at hundreds, before they’ve even been released. The latest set, Phantasmal Flames, had a rare special illustration Charizard that was being valued at more than £600 before anyone had even found one. When a pack of cards retails at about £4, there’s a huge potential profit to be had.

Every year, 1bn tonnes of food are wasted. I value my meals and the work that has gone into them, so I am now always prepared and ready to take home delicious leftovers

I’ve always loved catching up with friends and family over a meal out. Not only is it a chance to find out the latest gossip and what everyone’s up to, but it’s also an opportunity to try out new foods and share that experience together.

But looking back, I’ve realised that I’ve been guilty of contributing to food waste by leaving meals unfinished. Sometimes, I didn’t realise how big portions would be or I’d get so focused on chatting to everyone that I would forget to eat everything until it was time to go.

Every year, 1bn tonnes of food are wasted. I value my meals and the work that has gone into them, so I am now always prepared and ready to take home delicious leftovers

I’ve always loved catching up with friends and family over a meal out. Not only is it a chance to find out the latest gossip and what everyone’s up to, but it’s also an opportunity to try out new foods and share that experience together.

But looking back, I’ve realised that I’ve been guilty of contributing to food waste by leaving meals unfinished. Sometimes, I didn’t realise how big portions would be or I’d get so focused on chatting to everyone that I would forget to eat everything until it was time to go.

Every year, 1bn tonnes of food are wasted. I value my meals and the work that has gone into them, so I am now always prepared and ready to take home delicious leftovers

I’ve always loved catching up with friends and family over a meal out. Not only is it a chance to find out the latest gossip and what everyone’s up to, but it’s also an opportunity to try out new foods and share that experience together.

But looking back, I’ve realised that I’ve been guilty of contributing to food waste by leaving meals unfinished. Sometimes, I didn’t realise how big portions would be or I’d get so focused on chatting to everyone that I would forget to eat everything until it was time to go.

Starmer to face questions over reports that local Labour groups have been asked who could lead party into next election

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage , has been urged to “come clean” over his election campaign in Clacton after a former aide claimed his party breached spending rules, Kevin Rawlinson reports.

Good morning. The most significant event of the day will probably be the meeting that Keir Starmer is hosting in Downing Street for the E3 (the leaders of Britain, France and Germany), and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Starmer to face questions over reports that local Labour groups have been asked who could lead party into next election

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage , has been urged to “come clean” over his election campaign in Clacton after a former aide claimed his party breached spending rules, Kevin Rawlinson reports.

Good morning. The most significant event of the day will probably be the meeting that Keir Starmer is hosting in Downing Street for the E3 (the leaders of Britain, France and Germany), and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Starmer to face questions over reports that local Labour groups have been asked who could lead party into next election

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage , has been urged to “come clean” over his election campaign in Clacton after a former aide claimed his party breached spending rules, Kevin Rawlinson reports.

Good morning. The most significant event of the day will probably be the meeting that Keir Starmer is hosting in Downing Street for the E3 (the leaders of Britain, France and Germany), and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.