Dozens of Pokémon trading cards showing the Pokémon logo

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) was the very first thing I was introduced to when I learned about the series back in 1999. I would look at each of the cards to learn their names, element type, moves and lore. I especially appreciated their fantastic artwork, and it made me want to collect them all together into a folder, and preserve them as a sort of mini gallery. The excitement of opening each booster pack for the chance to pull a holographic card is as enjoyable today as it was when I was a child.

In recent years, I have seen a noticeable shift in attitudes towards the TCG, fuelled in part by notable online personalities across certain streaming platforms who purchased significant numbers of rare cards and sealed TCG products, and brought it to a wider audience. It’s hard to identify the specific date of when the frenzy began, but around November 2020 I saw a huge number of people selling off their old cards and making huge amounts of money doing so.

In November 2019, I began to purchase the remaining few cards I needed to complete the Base, Jungle and Fossil sets I collected as a kid, and was able to do so for prices that I felt were fair and reasonable. I realised a year later how lucky I was to have chosen that moment to complete those Wizards of the Coast sets. As a collector and fan, I was saddened to see how people were willing to give up their childhood memories for some quick cash, and while I respect that not everyone has the same attachment to their belongings as I do, I can’t be the only one who feels this way.

This led me to write the first opinion piece for the Johto Times: The State of the Pokémon TCG. I hope that you will give it a read by clicking the link below, and sharing your opinions in the comments, even if you disagree!

I wanted to share another reminder that the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop’s will be closing on March 27th at 23:59 UTC. I felt it was particularly important to do so again after one of our readers (Brian) got in touch with me last week to confirm that he didn’t know about the closure, and was able to pick up Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter, thanks to our update.

In relation to this, I thought it would be fitting to share a recent tweet from Serebii.net that includes a short video showcasing the different Pokémon products that you may want to grab before the eShop closures:

Serebii Reminder: The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops will stop allowing new purchases/downloads on March 27th at 23:59 UTC

Be sure to download/buy the any desired Pokémon game before then as you will then be unable to do so if you haven't got them alreadyhttps://t.co/gDbXkHSvkT pic.twitter.com/0eLb1sk77u

— Serebii.net (@SerebiiNet) March 5, 2023

Feature: The State of the Pokémon TCG

Dozens of Pokémon trading cards showing the Pokémon logo

As a child I had so much fun going to the store to buy some Pokémon cards, taking booster packs and theme decks home and opening them up to see what kind of awesome cards I would get. Whether it was the holographic Dragonite from the Fossil set, or a first edition Ampharos and Slowking from Neo Genesis, I would be so thrilled by them. They’d go into a folder, and I’d stare at them for hours, admiring the amazing artwork and being surprised at my luck in finding some really cool cards. I would create a deck with them and play the game with a friend. I usually always lost, but I had tons of fun doing it! However, in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have seen a shift among fellow trading card fans, with the love of collecting and playing the trading card game for fun seeming to decrease.

Pulling a card from a packet of Neo Revelation and finding a holo Misdreavus card would have originally been an exciting experience, but that excitement now seems to be focused on how much money can be made from selling the card on an auction website. Rather than looking at a card’s beautiful artwork, the focus is now on it’s centring. Why bother reading what’s on the front, when the whitening on the back tells the story of its perceived value? The journey began with achieving a complete set, and now ends with a grading company as its final destination.

But who am I to dictate how people enjoy the Pokémon Trading Card Game? I’m not some gatekeeper telling people how to enjoy their hobbies, and if you’re offended by what I am saying, I’m sad for you. I would ask that you spare a thought for the biggest losers here: the younger Pokémon fans who want to experience the game and the joy of collecting, who are finding it more challenging due to the selfish adults with a financial incentive to buy up all the cards as soon as they go on sale, moving from store to store with no care for anything except their greedy pockets. Suddenly I feel lucky to have grown up during a time and in a place where this wasn’t the reality.

Pokémon cards from the Base set, featuring the first twelve holographic cards from my personal collection

Before writing this feature, I also considered if I really could begrudge someone for wanting to make some money by selling off their collections or flipping cards for profit during a global financial crisis. Is that fair of me? As people get older and have families, maybe it’s a necessary sacrifice to make in order to pay bills, buy a car, or in some cases, rare and expensive cards could be sold in order to place a deposit down on a new home! Of course, I am not saying that we should have compassion for the deliberate scalpers here. Maybe the finger of blame should be pointed at companies instead of individuals? How about a certain fast food restaurant who didn’t train their staff to limit the number of trading cards they could hand out? Or perhaps those brick and mortar and online stores could enforce a strict limit on the number of products that can be purchased?

Or, maybe it's The Pokémon Company themselves who should be blamed for not providing enough prints, so everyone could have a chance to own that seventeenth reverse promo Charizard they decide to release that year? Keeping cards in print for longer, and making older sets easier to obtain, could give people a chance to complete them. It would also be great to see individual cards sold separately through official platforms to help those who are close to completing their collections, the opportunity to do so.

Perhaps all of this doesn’t really matter at all, and perhaps this grumpy old man is just shouting at things, out of touch, bitter that he can’t complete his own collection, and complaining that the world is not the way it used to be. Who is going to truly care where profit is concerned anyway? I guess it’s back to the coffee shop to moan about it all with my friend, and chat about the good ol’ days over a cup of hot chocolate and a folder of vintage Pokémon cards, remembering how good things used to be.