Collectors of Pokémon cards are excited when they have rare cards in their boosters. However, opening packs has become excessive lately, and the actual fun of collecting is becoming less of a priority. Such trends can especially be seen on platforms like Twitch. This makes MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen sad.
It makes me sad to think that I eventually threw away my binder full of childhood Pokémon cards. The transition to adolescence led me to radically declutter my childhood room. Instead of Barbie dolls and Pokémon cards, I suddenly had posters from Bravo and CDs by Britney Spears at the top of my trend list.
To this day, I regret that I also threw away my binder with my cards during that process. I vaguely remember that I even owned copies from the first editions – unfortunately, my parents didn’t store the binder in the attic like they did for other children, so I could now check it and be happy about it.
However, it’s not about the value for me, but about the design and the nostalgia behind the cards. Thanks to my MeinMMO colleagues, I recently came across shocking trends and videos that make me even sadder than I am when I think of my old Pokémon cards.
Even Pokémon TCG Pocket helps me compensate for the loss:
Pokémon cards are only for profit
In the videos I’m talking about, boosters are primarily opened to draw particularly rare Pokémon cards. It doesn’t matter which Pokémon are depicted on the cards – it’s solely about profit.
- The boosters are used for absurd challenges to generate attention and “entertaining videos”. Opening the boosters feels more like gambling than enjoying the opening (via TikTok).
- Many scalpers snatch cards in large quantities right in front of the players who just want to have fun collecting and trading. Pokémon cards are so sought after, that a store even refused to sell the new edition because they were afraid of the rush.
- In many cases, only the value of the cards matters. Content creators on TikTok buy older packs and display the current market price with each card to calculate whether opening it was financially worthwhile.
- The actions of a well-known German influencer fall into a similar category. He bought boosters worth 15,000 €, which other people could purchase and let him open. The atmosphere felt like a casino. Other streamers complained, for instance, that they had spent 800 €, but “didn’t pull a fucking Holo.”
The hunt for boosters has even reached the point where boosters for “Prismatic Evolutions” were sold out almost everywhere. The makers of the Pokémon trading card game revealed on X that new prints are on the way.
That the capacities for the old expansion are so high means that the new edition “Scarlet & Violet – Travelling Companions” is hardly available anymore. At shops like Smyths or Card Corner, the new boosters are already sold out. Even on idealo, no offers are currently displayed (as of March 18, 2025).
The cards are so much more than that. There are such beautiful designs, such great motifs, and really exciting effects that one can use in tournaments or battles with friends. For me, it doesn’t matter how valuable the cards are – only the motif and the card texts count.
The lengths some people go to get special Pokémon cards is shown by an event at the Van Gogh Museum. Here, the distribution of exclusive cards had to be stopped because adults were fighting over these cards: Greedy players fought in a museum to sell exclusive Pokémon cards for a high price – Now the museum halts the event
