Pokémon fans queue for hours for 'biggest' card drop

People have queued through the night outside a toy shop to get their hands on "the biggest Pokémon drop in 10 years".

Dan Spragg, from Stroud in Gloucestershire, waited alongside other fans ahead of the new release of Pokémon Trading Card Game cards, which marks the franchise's 30th anniversary.

He and his friends arrived outside Smyths Toys Superstores in Gloucester at 19:00 BST Tuesday, ahead of the store opening at 09:00 Wednesday.

"I've been a collector since Pokémon first came out in 1999, and the industry's blown up again. It's that nostalgia. It brings back a lot of good memories," Spragg said.

Spragg, who said he managed to squeeze in a nap in his car while someone held his place in the queue, said "Pokémania has taken over every city in England".

Paul Ransome, from the Forest of Dean, also camped outside the toy shop on Tuesday night, where he said people were "playing music and having a good time".

Bethany Butler was first in line at Firestorm Games, on Westgate Street, in Gloucester city centre.

Butler, who was buying the cards for her partner and daughter, arrived outside the shop at 07:15 and sat in a camping chair while she waited for the doors to open at 10:00.

"It's nostalgia for my partner, who's been into Pokémon since he was a child, and it's something they collect together.

"It's nice for them to have something from a special 30th anniversary release, especially as the cards are so hard to get nowadays," she said.

George Read, manager of Firestorm Games, described the morning as exciting but said there was "always that little bit of nerves".

"I had over 100 messages yesterday from people contacting us on Instagram, but we operate on a first come, first served basis to keep it fair for everyone," Read said.

Rich Page is opening a new shop selling trading cards and board games in Highworth, Wiltshire. He said Pokémon is "timeless".

"People thought it was going to be a phase back in the day, and it's still here 30 years later," he said.

"I think it's something families can share. People are re-experiencing their childhood with their own children.

"It's become intergenerational," Page added.

Pokémon, originally called Pocket Monsters, began as a game released for the Nintendo Game Boy in Japan in 1996.

Following the success of the first games, a company called Media Factory released the Pokémon Trading Card Game in October that year.

Since then, more than 85 billion cards have been produced, and an ultra-rare card sold for $16.5m (£12m).

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