A brazen thief smashed through the doors of a trading store to steal $7,000 worth of Pokémon collectibles in a shocking smash and grab.

The unidentified thief used a sledgehammer to break into the front door of Skyluxx Grinds before entering Phi Cao's store, Bussin’ or Bustin’ Trading Card Lounge, on Tuesday morning in Tempe, Arizona. 

The burglar stole $7,000 worth of merchandise in two big storage containers before escaping into the night, AZ Family reported. 

'Imagine going to jail and catching a felony charge over shiny cardboard,' Cao told the outlet. 

'I’m really hoping someone makes an example out of this guy and have the next guy think twice.'  

Surveillance footage showed the moment the glass door shattered into a million pieces and the thief stepped through wearing a dark jacket, large sunglasses, and had his greasy hair tied up in a bun. 

He threw the weapon onto the ground before disappearing back through the broken door to grab a storage container. 

The man quickly ran behind the front counter, shoving boxes of collectibles into the bin. 

Using his arm, the man swiped the top shelf clean before picking up his goods and fleeing around 2.30am. 

A minute later, he returned with an empty storage container and began to fill the bin again, throwing in boxes and boxes of trading cards before leaving for good. 

The man has not been arrested as of Friday afternoon.  

'If you have any information regarding this five-head, receding hairline a**, greasy, balding, needs a belt, -10 agility, small feet, subhuman, [let me know],' Cao wrote on Instagram. 

'Inventory so good he couldn’t wait till we opened. Heard we only sold heat in the store so he had to go see it for himself.' 

The thief stole around $7,000 worth of inventory, but luckily for Cao, he keeps the most valuable trading cards at home, he told AZ Family. 

Cao only opened the store a few months ago, and he was warned by other card shop owners that he would eventually have his business broken into. 

'An inside joke that some other card shop owners have had with me is that it’s not a if, but when, because stuff like this does happen, especially with how hot Pokémon is right now,' he told the outlet. 

He said trading and selling Pokémon cards can bring in thousands of dollars for a collector, and that it is a hobby with a 'lot of liquid money being moved around.' 

Although other trading stores have been broken into recently, Tempe Police do not believe it is a 'broader trend,' the force told the Daily Mail.

'We are not aware of any such trend in other nearby jurisdictions,' a spokesperson told the Daily Mail.

'Detectives say Pokémon and other trading cards are targets of theft because of their resale value and the potential to find rare, high-value cards that are difficult to trace. Demand is further driven by limited availability and secondary-market interest.' 

Swiss tech heiress, Jolina Gisèle, the so-called Pokémon princess, put up her collection of 60,000 Pokémon cards, which experts believe could be worth as much as $67million.

She started her collection at the age of seven and has accumulated what is believed to be the biggest collection in the world. 

The collection includes 180 Mews and Mewtwos, 208 Charizards and 260 Pikachus as well as two highly prized 'illustrator' editions.  

In February, Pokémon turned 30 years old, and the franchise continues to sell billions of cards per year. 

From ultra-rare Charizards to one-of-a-kind special editions, some of these cards could turn you into a millionaire overnight. 

One of the most expensive cards is the 'Pikachu Illustrator' card, as only 39 were made and only 10 have been deemed in mint condition. 

YouTuber Logan Paul sold a single 'Pikachu Illustrator' card for a record-breaking $16.49million