Japan has run out of Pokemon cards
Pokemon cards might not seem as popular as they were when they first swept playgrounds and caused school-wide bans when that one kid made a terrible trade and cried about it '90s...but they are.
The Pokemon Trading Card Game has going since 1996 in Japan and 1998 in the USA, and for many, they served as the introduction to the world of Pokemon even before the games themselves.
As players evolve from young traders to adult battlers, the popularity of Pokemon cards has never been more justified. Even with over 1000 'mon in the Pokedex and a steady stream of cards, it looks like the numbers are starting to wear thin in Japan.
Japan has run out of Pokemon cards
Click to enlargeWe genuinely didn't think this could happen. The Pokemon Card company has come forward to officially reveal that Japan's stock of Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet expansion pack cards is running low, making them very hard to find on the market.
It's the Clay Burst and Snow Hazard booster packs especially that are being snapped up, but Pokemon cards are hugely popular anyway. As a result, The Pokemon Trading Card Game website in Japan has issued a statement.
"We are currently out of stock of all Pokemon Card Game products," the announcement reads. "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to customers who were unable to purchase." It's a truly unprecedented problem, and it's surprising that Japan wasn't prepared for the eventuality.
How can Japan buy Pokemon cards now?
There are bound to be a few packs floating around in retail somewhere, but the official card game site can't sell cards directly any more - and that's a big problem.
As pointed out by Kotaku, the popularity of Clay Burst and Snow Hazard comes from the fact Pokefluencer Iono can only be found in the former. Because Iono has a Special Illustration Rare Card, YouTuber Ptcgradio has dubbed it "the most expensive card we've basically seen.
There's no word on when new swathes of booster packs will be arriving on the market, but in the meantime, it looks like the birthplace of Pokemon will be experiencing the franchise the least. What a bitter twist of fate.
