There's no question about it - the Pokemon Trading Card Game has skyrocketed in popularity to rival its initial craze at the turn of the century. The card's resurgence has caused rampant scalping and unruly behavior from prospective buyers, so much so that Target halted all in-store sales altogether, until now.
About midway through May, Target announced it would stop selling Pokemon cards and pro sports cards until further notice after a particularly violent event in Wisconsin. A man reportedly pulled a gun in the Target parking lot after four men assaulted him in an attempt to steal several trading card packs.
News of the policy change comes as a result of an interaction on Twitter. Target announced its Target Deal Days sale, a direct response to compete with Amazon's Prime Day, which occurs around the same time. User BgsPro123 asked if the retail chain would sell the Pokemon TCG again, to which the AskTarget handle responded "the week of June 1, 2021," meaning fans should be able to once again purchase Pokemon cards in-store. The cards will be sold every day, rather than be restricted to certain days or times, although there is a bit of a catch. Customers will be limited to only two items per guest, per day.
The new policy regarding Pokemon trading cards seems to be a bit more lenient than the one Target had established a few months ago. In April, Target mandated its stores to only allow the purchase of the cards every Friday at 8AM. Customers were required to go to the customer service desk and inquire about the item stock, as they had been removed from display shelves entirely. Purchase quantity of the Pokemon cards had also been limited to just one per customer, as long as they are priced at $19.99 and above. The new policy doubles the product limit, as well as removes any and all time restrictions.
While the removal of Pokemon cards from Target stores was taken out of an abundance of caution, many fans are excited about the collectibles' brick-and-mortar return. Interestingly, competitor Walmart never stopped selling the cards in its stores, despite widespread rumors it would follow suit. Walmart's steadier supply apparently hasn't satiated consumer demands, with a video recently going viral for showing scalpers stampeding into a store to get Pokemon cards.
In other Pokemon news, a boy who sold his Pokemon card collection in order to pay for his puppy's surgery reached The Pokemon Company itself, leading to the boy receiving plenty of new cards to replenish his collection. One thing is certainly true - Pokemon cards are back, and bigger than ever.