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Listen, we know that Team Rocket made it seem really cool and fun to steal Pokémon, but that doesn’t mean they were appropriate role models for kids. It sounds like some people in Michigan didn’t get that memo. A pair of robberies in Detroit have reportedly seen hammer-wielding suspects making off with thousands of dollars in Pokémon cards before blasting off without a trace.

The robberies occurred in mid-May when two people in masks allegedly smashed their way into RIW Hobbies & Games in Livonia, Michigan. After using hammers to break into the store while it was closed, they appeared to randomly target merchandise throughout the store for destruction before setting their sights on the prize they came for – Pokémon cards.

If that sounds like a strange target for criminals, remember that Pokémon cards are currently in a boom period. “It’s kind of like a cycle,” Pam Willoughby, the owner of RIW Hobbies & Games explained in a news broadcast about the break-in. “Every 18 to 24 months, you see it go up and down and now, it’s at an all-time high.”

That wasn’t the end of the Pokémon-related crime spree, though. A few days later, Eternal Games in Warren, Michigan – just a 30-minute drive from RIW Hobbies & Games – reportedly had their own break-in that followed a similar pattern. A single masked assailant wielding a hammer broke in and hopped over the counter to help themselves to stacks of Pokémon cards.

This isn’t even the first Pokémon card crime we’ve reported on here at Popverse. Earlier this year, a similar crime syndicate popped up in Australia, specializing in Pokémon cards and cryptocurrency, because why not focus your crime career on two highly volatile commodities at the same time?

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