Rare Pokémon cards could be worth thousands - these are the ones to watch out for

Starting with the first video games – Red and Blue – which were released in 1996, the franchise has sprawled to include everything from a cartoon series, movies and of course a card game.

You may not have managed to catch ‘em all, but you could still have some valuable Pokémon cards hidden amongst your collection.

It’s over two decades since the earliest cards were released and still the most desirable Pokémon cards can fetch thousands of pounds.

A recent study from Progressive Money has revealed the three most desirable cards and they could fetch you a small fortune.

The top card, according to current valuations, is the Charizard card, released in the 2003 Skyridge Series of cards. On average, the card currently fetches a sum of £1,670.

The card is closely followed by the second highest earner in the collection, the Espeon card, from the Pop Series Five, which sells on average for £1,330.

In at number three is the Umbreon card, also from the Pop Series Five. On average, sellers of the card can make £1,050.

While other cards to look out for include the Charmeleon card from the original collection of cards – it could fetch £225. Second to Charmeleon is the Raichu card, which can make in excess of £80.

This is closely followed by the Charizard card, which has an average resale value of £70.

Robin Russel-Fisher, Finance Director at Progressive Money, said: ‘Pokémon cards have been iconic collectors items, all across the globe, for many years now and it’s really interesting to see the impressive sums these cards can fetch.

‘There must be thousands of former collectors up and down the UK that have collections stashed either in the loft or under their beds, unaware of the potential value of some of the cards.’