So, this is a 1:30 AM rant/ramble, so anyone who reads this, please take everything I say with some salt and grace. ‘Cause I wanna talk about the Pokemon TCG scene right now, and by proxy, the One Piece TCG while I’m at it. Anyone who is gonna see this and start being mean or what not, please just keep going. I have neither time nor energy, I just wanna vent. It’s probably nothing you haven’t seen or heard before, in any case. Apologize for the massive wall of text below.
So. I’ve been collecting Pokemon cards on and off for years, since I was a small child on the school bus. My first ever card was actually a Druddigon card written in all Korean, which I thought was the coolest thing ever. Been collecting them ever since. I’ve got binders full of different cards I’ve collected over the years and all of them are close to my heart. They are great and I always appreciate the detailed art that goes into each drawing. Cause Pokemon artists? They go hard. The little details we get to see in the special illustration rares? They are amazing to see.
That said… When things are popular, there is an opportunity to make money. Lots of money… Enter, the Scalpers. Look, I realize that the economy sucks right now, I really do. Hell, I can understand the appeal of it… But we’ve gotta remember that this is a children’s card game. Let me repeat. A children’s. Card. Game. Yet the main clientele? Can’t even get their hands on cards period these days. It sucks, cause my dudes, lots of these kids actually play the game, or are just starting to collect themselves.
Then we see adults acting like immature animals, tossing out cards that are considered “worthless”, hoarding Pokemon drops, getting into physical fights with each other, hell there has even been people murdered and dealers finding trackers on their cars after events! Some people really be acting like Seto Kaiba out here, except they are forgetting Seto wasn’t a good guy in the slightest! He was an asshole! It’s no different to the scalpers here. They have taken a children’s card game and ruined it for everyone involved. They’ve made it toxic to a degree that I truly don’t think it will ever recover from.
It’s the same with One Piece, only worse because of how popular One Piece is. I can’t even find a place where packs are remotely affordable! If I can even find any packs at all… To say nothing of cards going missing in the mail when sent to PSA for grading, or coming back damaged… I realize that certain influencers are responsible for this wave of scalping, but it’s just… Frustrating, man.
Kids shouldn’t deserve to suffer from the greed of grown adults. They’ve made should be able to have cards and play the game as it was intended to be played! Not have to fight grown people just for the chance to have cards at all. Cards are meant to be played with and appreciated. I realize that might sound hypocritical of me to say, but most of my own cards, admittedly, aren’t in the best of shape. I am a collector. I don’t care about the condition of a card, so long as I can tell what it is. Heaven knows I’ve found some gems that make my brain tingle. It shows that they have been well loved.
I am very lucky to have a few local game stores that sell these types of cards. One, mind you, has been broken into twice within the past year that it’s been open, if that tells you anything about the levels scum will sink to in order to ruin a hobby… I am thankfully friendly with the owner of one of these stores and truly, that man deserves nothing but the best, both shops do. They’ve got nothing but my praise and solidarity. They host actual game nights, official leagues and tournaments, the works. Best of all, my favourite of the two has an asshole tax and can outright kick scalpers out of his shop if they are obviously scalping. He’s also got a regulars discount, on rare occasions. Heaven knows that’s how I was able to get my hands on my first ever ETB. Granted, I spent all my customer loyalty doing it as well. Still worth it though.
I have also done my best to try and bring a bit of the fun back to the kids as well. See, I never pick my packs myself. As a treat, I always get three packs of Pokemon, and a pack of One Piece if it’s there. These days I’ve been getting four packs of Pokemon, just because they are Japanese and admittedly more affordable, but semantics. All the same, I never pick my own packs. I leave the choice up to the owner, the cashier, or if there is a kid also looking for Pokemon, I ask them to pick for me. I am here purely for the love of the game itself. If it is a kid, I also make sure to get an extra pack for said kid, spread the love of the game around. It’s always gone over well, parents never mind and kids are always grateful to get an extra pack. I get my treat, they get theirs, everyone wins.
The only way to make things better, is to make sure our younger friends are able to get their hands on some of these special cards as well. To kill the magic, is to kill the spirit of the game itself. To kill the fun and the joy that comes with it. It will get to the point where no one will be able to afford these special things anymore, if prices just keep going up and up.
I’m not sure where I’m going with this ramble, it’s late and I’m tired. I guess what I’m trying to get at is, let our younger Pokemon Trainers get their feet in the door at least. I’m not accusing anyone and I doubt my words will reach far, but to all those who read this, I do ask that you support our young friends in this community where we can. If you collect, donate your dupes to the kids you know wanna get into the hobby, if you play, point them in the right direction of a league. Be kind, be welcoming. Pokemon is a world where anyone can be whatever they wish and where kindness ultimately wins most days. We older Trainers are stewards of this hobby and we gotta make sure that those truly new can get a chance as well.
It’s a children’s card game. So let the children play as well.
