In the pantheon ofPokémon, few are as recognizable or as universally beloved as Charizard, and an auction for a Cheeto shaped like the iconic fire-breathing dragon proves it with a staggering final bid. According to a report byPeople, the (fittingly) Flaming Hot ‘Cheetozard’ sold for an unprecedented $87,840 on March 2nd after receiving 60 bids from rabid Pokémon fans looking to get their hands on the fabled Cheeto.
TheCharizard-shaped Cheeto was originally put up for auctionon auction site Goldin. The actual final bid was $72,000, with the total coming out to just under $88,000 after taking into account Goldin’s fees. Though that is an astronomical fee for one piece of food, it is difficult to deny that the Flaming Hot Cheeto does bare an uncanny resemblance to Charizard. The Cheeto was embedded into the top half of a custom-made Pokémon card, really selling the idea of Cheetozard.
The Cheetozard appears to have been discovered and sold to a collectible shop named 1st and Gold in Georgia in 2019. The Cheeto then went on to gain massive attention on social media in 2024 when the shop posted a video to Instagram showing the snack off and requesting offers. That post gained serious traction, with over 500,000 likes. Apparently, fans took the offers so seriously that 1st and Gold felt like an auction was necessary.
Cheetozard Might Actually Be Perfect
Everything About The Cheeto Works So Well
While nearly $88,000 is a lot of money to spend on a Flaming Hot Cheeto, there is something that is undeniably perfect about the Cheetozard. The biggest factor is that it really does look like a Charizard. While that might seem like a low bar, this isn’t a staring-at-clouds scenario where the object in question only sort of looks like what others allege. Adding to that is that the Cheeto in question is Flaming Hot, which fits with Charizard’s fiery nature quite well.
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Of course, Cheetozard is far from the first piece of food to resemble some recognizable figure that has gained national media attention. The most famous example is probably the tortilla that appears to have Jesus' face burned into it, which became a national sensation in the late 1980s. While the Cheetozard might inspire feelings of nostalgia more than religious awe, that nostalgia must be incredibly potent for someone to have dropped such a massive sum of money.
The effect of seeing patterns in natural or random occurrences is known as pareidolia.
Ultimately, it makes sense that the Cheetozard would sell for so much.Pokémon is the highest-grossing brand in human history, garnering legions of fans of all ages. Given the sheer devotionPokémonbrings out, there’s no wonder that something like the Cheetozard would sell for such an astronomical amount.
