There are plenty of unusual things people buy with the expectation that they will be able to sell them for more in the future. Among these “alternative investments” are artworks, rare wines and vintage cars or watches.

Sure, there are more “traditional” investments such as shares, bonds, or just stashing money into a savings account. But as prices across many economies have surged over the past few years, eating away at the return on many of these investments, people have looked to branch out to less conventional — and seemingly more lucrative — markets.

Pokémon cards are a lucrative business, with one card alone selling for $7.9 million three years ago.Credit: Max Mason-Hubers

What if I told you there was a resale market where the value of the assets has climbed more than 3800 per cent (about 23 times more than the Australian sharemarket) since 2004? Well, if your first thought was about the Pokémon card market – currently valued at nearly $US20 billion ($30 billion) – you’d be right.

Nineties kids, their parents and grandparents might remember the popularity of Pokémon trading cards. They were first released in 1996 in Japan, featuring dozens of creatures (or “Pocket Monsters”), and took off in popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, becoming a global phenomenon.

Like most things, the craze died down, eventually, with only a minority of the population continuing to enthusiastically trade and collect the cards. Few people at this time would have predicted that one day, a single Pokémon card would sell for nearly $US5.3 million ($7.9 million) – but more on that later.

So, why did Pokémon cards surge in........

© The Sydney Morning Herald