A WELSH couple are taking their childhood dream one step further by opening their second Pokémon shop in Newport.
Richard and Caitlin Evans, 37 and 33, opened the first Brown Bear Games store, at Goodsheds on Hood Road, Barry, in March.
Their first business venture having gone “better than they ever imagined”, the husband and wife duo have snapped up the opportunity to open another space in Newport Arcade.
Mr Evans, from Penarth, exhibited his business potential at a young age when he sold a rare Raichu card - an evolved form of the iconic Pikachu - for £1 at school.
The card now sells for around £1,000.
“When lockdown came around, I had nothing but time on my hands,” he said.
“I started opening packs [of cards] on Instagram, and all of a sudden, I had thousands of followers.
“The stock level just went crazy. We opened a website and that went well, and it got to the stage when a small shop was the right thing to do.”
The Newport Arcade store will be significantly bigger than the one in Barry, something that will allow the Evans’ to sell merchandise and, they hope, host Pokémon tournaments on the first floor.
They are aiming to welcome their first customers in Mrs Evans' home city of Newport by the end of November.
“We are the best at what we do, and one reason for that is because I genuinely love Pokémon,” Mr Evans said.
“It was a childhood hobby, and now it’s my dream job.”
You can find Brown Bear Games on Instagram with the username brownbeargamesltd.
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