Pokemon fan spent an eye-watering amount on a Charizard-shaped food item

A hardcore Pokémon fan spent thousands of dollars on a Charizard-shaped Flamin’ Hot Cheeto.

Yes, really.

While some gamers don’t mess around when it comes to their favourites, it’s fair to say that most wouldn’t be dropping thousands in exchange for arguably the most ridiculous collectible going – a crisp that just so happens to be the shape of a character.

But, that’s exactly what happened when a Pokémon fan spent $88,000 in an auction to purchase a Flamin’ Hot Cheeto that went viral online because it is shaped like the dragon-like Pokémon, Charizard.

In 2024, the store 1st and Goal Collectibles said in a post on their Instagram that they had been doing some clearing out and found “Cheetozard”, which they said they had had for around five years.

They added a display box with a Pokémon card background and the three-inch Cheeto was reportedly acquired by the online card marketplace, Arena Club.

Goldin

There, it was let go as part of a mystery card pack prize giveaway and recently made it into an Goldin auction where the winning bid out of 60 reached a staggering $72,000, plus a 22 per cent fee, taking the buyer’s total to $87,840.

On 2 March, an intense bidding war saw the price rise from a then-high bid of $13,400 to $72,000 – even more pricey than some of the most expensive official Pokémon cards.

Elsewhere, a Cheeto had a big impact for an entirely different reason, after a hiker’s dropped snack wreaked ecological havoc on a cave in a New Mexico national park. Meanwhile, chef Gordon Ramsay was recently left horrified by a Cheeto-stuffed cheeseburger.

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