The latest special set for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, celebrating the franchise's 30th anniversary, has been met with significant disruption during its pre-order phase, repeating issues that have plagued recent releases.
The 30th Celebration set features popular Pokémon such as Pikachu, Mew, Mewtwo, and Eevee, and includes a variety of products like booster packs, binders, figurines, and special foil promo cards. Notably, the set contains 30 different variants of Pikachu. The demand for Pokémon TCG products has led to widespread scalping, with retailers often limiting purchases or taking measures to deter resale.
Pre-orders for the 30th Celebration set were initially available exclusively through the official Pokémon Center website. Prospective buyers faced lengthy digital queues, with some experiencing wait times of several hours. Those who managed to access the site encountered technical difficulties, including errors, CAPTCHA malfunctions, connection problems, and blank screens. Some users attempting to repeatedly access the site due to errors were reportedly flagged as bots and banned from purchasing cards entirely.
The most sought-after item, the Elite Trainer Box priced at $60, sold out rapidly. Resale prices on platforms like TCGPlayer have already reached hundreds of dollars, indicating continued scalping activity. As of the initial pre-order period, only bundles of booster packs remained available, with expectations that these too would quickly sell out.
The set is scheduled for release on September 16, with some products arriving later. The ongoing issues suggest that inventory may struggle to meet demand, a pattern observed with previous Pokémon TCG releases, amplified by the special anniversary nature of this set.