Pokémon Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary with Rare New Releases

Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary with historic and rare new releases, including day-and-night-themed cards and classic reprints that call back to decades of the game's history.

However, scalpers who normally profit by buying up rare cards and reselling them aren't very happy with the 30th anniversary set. The Pokémon Company printed significantly more product this time around, and pull rates for rare cards were higher than usual.

The rise in the pull rates is driving down secondary market prices, especially for scalpers who tend to sell rare or chase cards at very high prices.

Reportedly, some scalpers are complaining on social media, saying that they're in debt because they bought so many units to resell, and now they can't resell anything. Some others are even thinking of taking legal action against the company.

As for the fans, many of them are happy that this could make it easier for them to collect the cards. Nintendo had already acknowledged the scalping problem as of July 2026. During a shareholder AGM, company President Shuntaro Furukawa was asked about it and said the company was taking various measures to ensure cards end up in the hands of fans.