Growing up in America during the 2000s, being surrounded by Pokémon cards was a common part of adolescence for many people’s childhoods. The holographic sparkle and epic character designs of Pokémon drew many children into an undying love for the franchise. Pokémon cards have remained relevant for decades and are possibly even more popular today than they were during our childhoods. In January 2025, the Pokémon Company released the Prismatic Evolutions set, which sparked an explosion in the community of dedicated collectors and young fans.
Pokémon began in February 1996 as a role-play video game developed by Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak for the Game Boy. Later in the year, the Trading Card Game (TCG), an anime, and a manga series were released to further promote the franchise. Over the next decades, the Pokémon TCG cultivated a culture of collectibles similar to Yu-Gi-Oh and baseball cards.
With the release of the Prismatic Evolutions series today, collectors and young fans alike are flocking to their nearest big box stores in hopes of getting their hands on the booster box, but what about the Prismatic Evolutions series specifically has fans going wild? The series contains a 1 in 2000 chance of pulling a God Pack. Standard booster packs contain 10 cards with 1 in 10 having the opportunity to be a Secret Rare. God Packs, on the other hand, feature every card as a Secret Rare.
The appeal of the God Pack lies in the culture of collectibles and gambling. The God Pack for Prismatic Evolutions showcases various evolutions of the Pokémon Eevee, with the rarest being Umbreon EX, which can sell for up to $3000. Many collectors are mass purchasing the series in hopes of finding a God Pack or reselling the product online for three times its original price. YouTube Pokémon card collector “Pokemr” has mentioned that, “whenever these Pokémon crazes happen, the people who suffer the most are the fans,” he adds, “We don’t really get to open any fun products because everything is just so overpriced because scalpers think they can make a quick buck off us.” A childhood classic card franchise is slowly being taken over by those who are more concerned about the financial profit of obtaining a card rather than owning a product because of the joy it provides. With the high risks also come high rewards, though. Tyler Li, a lifelong Pokémon fan, remarked, “It’s all by chance. Everyone has the same opportunity to get a God Pack—no one has better odds than anyone else.”
Videos across social media platforms, such as Reddit and TikTok have been circulating of people camping at stores on the release day and fighting over the Pokémon booster boxes. Big Box stores that carry Pokémon cards are noticing this trend, limiting their stock to one item per customer or even refusing to sell the product at all. Because of the increase in demand, prices for the Pokémon TCG have steadily increased. Regarding the price increase, the Pokémon Company released a statement: “We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity.”
It looks as if there is no end to the road that Pokémon cards are blazing for the world of collectible card games. With many new sets to come in the future, it is almost certain that the craze of the Prismatic Evolutions set will not be the last Pokémon card craze. As competition increases for acquiring rare cards, stores will likely continue to run low on stock, allowing less access to the beloved card game. The Pokémon Company plans to print Prismatic Evolutions until April 2025, so it is likely that resold Prismatic Evolution sets will only grow in value.
