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Pokémon princess, 20, with £90 MILLION collection poses for glamorous photoshoot as she denies being ‘fake AI’ and reveals how she gathered so many valuable cards
A 20-year-old Swiss woman known as the "Pokémon Princess," Jolina Gisèle, has spoken out to deny claims she is an AI-generated persona, insisting her reported £90 million Pokémon card collection is genuine. Speaking to Tatler for its September edition, she explained how a childhood hobby shared with her father grew into one of the most valuable private collections of its kind, after her hoard first drew public attention and scepticism in March.
The collection, kept in a Swiss vault, reportedly comprises 60,000 cards, including 208 Charizards, 260 Pikachus, 180 Mews and Mewtwos, and two rare "illustrator" edition cards, with a shadowless Charizard alone valued at up to £740,000. Jolina said the collecting began modestly in rural Switzerland but escalated after the mid-2010s when she and her father, Urs, an AI security entrepreneur, began sourcing rarer cards on eBay, at times worrying her mother about the spending. The family has now said they wish to sell the entire collection, citing the effort involved in assembling every card intact, though little is publicly known about Jolina beyond her recent media appearances.
In short
- Swiss collector, 20, denies being an AI hoax over £90m Pokémon card hoard
- Collection includes rare Charizards, Pikachus and "illustrator" cards
- Family says they now want to sell the entire 60,000-card collection
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Her detailed account of the collection's origins—beginning as a childhood hobby with her father and escalating through systematic eBay sourcing—combined with her father's documented wealth in the technology sector, provides a credible foundation. The specific inventory figures, documented rarity of certain cards, and storage in a Swiss vault align with standard practice among serious collectors, whilst her willingness to speak publicly with an established publication makes maintaining an elaborate fiction increasingly implausible.
The case against
The extraordinary value ascribed to the collection—£90 million held by a twenty-year-old—warrants scepticism absent independent verification. The immediate accusations of AI fabrication when the collection first drew attention in March suggest something in the original presentation was questionable; beyond family statements, no third-party valuations, expert authentication, or external confirmation of the collection's contents or claimed value has emerged publicly.
Explained simply
Pokémon cards feature characters from the Pokémon games and stories, and people collect them to play with or keep. Some older or scarce cards can sell for large sums, depending on their condition and how many were made.
Jolina Gisèle says her interest began as a childhood hobby she shared with her father, Urs. They later sought out rarer cards, including sought-after Charizards and two “Illustrator” cards, and built a collection reported to contain about 60,000 cards.
The collection has drawn attention partly because of its reported value and the unusual scale of its holdings. Gisèle has also faced online claims that she is an AI-generated persona, which she denies; the family says it wants to sell the collection.