On September 18th, Avery Garcia, better known online as Avery the Poke Kid, passed away from pancreatic cancer. Only 12 years old, Garcia’s medical journey contrasted against his love for Pokémon cards, videos of him opening packs uplifting him and the TCG community. In the week since his passing, listings have used his death to flip Pokémon cards, one asking for as much as a $20,000 premium. It has left Avery’s family aghast, requesting that the listings be taken down.
“We are not involved in or benefiting from any cards being sold in Avery’s name or likeness,” writes parents Christian Garcia and Rebecca Rosa-Valentin in an official statement. “We have not approved these sales. We have asked sellers to take their listings down. Please do so immediately. This does not honor Avery’s generous heart. We are mourning our son and caring for our children. Please let us do that in peace.”
Scalpers are not human, they are now using a child’s death to promote a $20,000 Pokémon card these people should go to prison
A 12-year-old kid dies, and instead of letting his family grieve, scalpers see his final Pokémon card and think, “How much money can I make from this?”… pic.twitter.com/lNmcJMc4Ji
— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) September 25, 2026
In Garcia’s final video, the young collector found a rare illustrated Jirachi card from a pack of the recent 30th anniversary set. The bitter-sweetness rippled through much of the community, even reaching illustrator Akira Egawa. “I want my art to bring happiness to people,” posted Egawa. “That’s one of the reasons I draw. I’m so glad I put that wish into this piece.”
Of course, not every memorial to Garcia appears to be in good faith. Since his final video was posted, demand for that exact card began to rise, with some vendors looking to twist the tragedy into a payday. One eBay seller, “Ash’s Secret Vault,” sought $20,000 for the specific Jirachi. Promising to donate 90% to charity (although the listing initially only allocated 10% to the Kids Cancer Foundation), collectors noted that the inflated price would still leave them with plenty above the asking rate.
Scrutiny over the sale caused the vendor to lash out. “After hearing about Avery’s passing, I had coincidentally just pulled a Jirachi and thought I could use it to raise money,” posted the vendor. “I wanted to help [the family] by using our highly rated storefront and eBay as a place to hopefully grab the attention of someone that DOES have that kind of money. Nonetheless, you reddit aholes will not stop my missionm [sic] you only stopped the family from getting money directly so good work.”
The vendor says that nothing related to Avery’s death has been sold. Regardless of their stated intentions, the family does not want to see the child used as a framework for fortune seeking. As of this writing, Ash’s Secret Vault has removed all charity listings, though prices on similar Jirachi cards on the site seem to be trending upwards overall.
Hoping to address short supplies and scalping frenzies, The Pokémon Company intentionally designed the 30th anniversary set to have more generous pull rates, making traditionally sought after cards easier to find. To those who use the game as speculative asset nexus, of which there are legion, this has become a clear source of frustration. With demand not coming more naturally, resellers have tried to capitalize on recurring misprints to drum up value. The scene has been a site of bedlam for years now, but citing a cancer victim to drum up sales is a new low.
