PokéMon: Super-Fan Owns Largest Collection Of Memorabilia

PokéMon: Super-Fan Owns Largest Collection Of Memorabilia
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Barcroft

Lisa Courtney has given new meaning to the catchphrase 'got to catch them all' by amassing the world's largest collection of Pokémon memorabilia.

Lisa, 26, from Hertfordshire, has been collecting Pokémon since she was nine years old and now has over 16,000 items, which she keeps at home.

She has thousands of trading cards, hundreds of cuddly toys, models, t-shirts, badges, toys, flannels and posters dedicated to the Nintendo franchise.

Lisa's collection has grown so big that her mum Sharon moved from the largest to the smallest bedroom in the house they share - to make way for the mammoth hoard of memorabilia.

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The lasting love affair with Pokémon began when Lisa saw a picture of Pikachu in a Nintendo magazine when she was nine.

"The first toy I ever got was a large Psyduck plush toy from Japan - my mother and grandmother ordered it from a mail order company before Pokémon hit the UK," Lisa told Barcroft Media.

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We had to guess what we were ordering because the names of the Pokémon hadn't even been translated into English yet. I started collecting when I was getting bullied at school, Pokémon was the only thing that made me feel happy.

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Lisa has held the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Pokémon memorabilia since 2009 when she had 12,113 items.

She now spends seven hours a week on the internet browsing for new Pokémon releases to buy and trade, she also visits car-boot sales and charity shops at weekends hunting for rare memorabilia to add to her collection.

The committed collector even travelled to Japan when the eleventh Pokémon movie was released to get exclusive merchandise not available in Europe.

"With the help of my late grandparents, I visited Japan for my 21st birthday," she said. "I went for the release of the eleventh movie in an attempt to get some exclusive Shaymin merchandise – it was amazing."

Lisa's family and friends support her obsession – she gets more items from them every birthday, Easter and Christmas - making her the easiet person ever to buy for. No vouchers for Lisa!

"I try and get new merchandise as soon as the new characters come out – it's often difficult as they are only available in Japan and America or are too expensive," she explained.

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My most valuable piece is my large Ho-Oh plush toy, it was a prize in Japan, only available in raffles and in their amusement arcades. Only 100 were ever made but I bought mine for £60 online – it's probably worth several times that now.

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"My favourite piece is my Absol PokeDoll, who I nickname 'Hiei' after a character from one of my favourite shows.

"I will always collect Pokémon, I will never stop, there's always something new to get."