With Pokémon Trading Card Game packs becoming increasingly difficult to find in Japan due to surging COVID-19 rates, one Japanese retailer has employed a unique method it hopes proves super effective against scalpers and helps cards land in the hands of true fans.In an effort to combat the reselling of Pokémon cards by scalpers who empty store shelves by buying packs in bulk, Japanese Twitter user @siro_gaming1 was asked a Pokemon-related question by retailer Yodobashi Yokohama in order to buy a box of Eevee Heroes and Shiney Star V. The customer explained in a tweet that he was quizzed by the retailer, "In Pokémon, who is the main character's partner?" before they could purchase the packs.
The customer confirmed they answered correctly, tweeting a picture of their purchase. Although the answer appears simple enough -- with Pikachu being Ash's main partner in the Pokémon anime -- even fans of the franchise might get such an open-ended question wrong as the question fails to specify what series or medium it's referring to.
With the Evolving Skies expansion for Pokémon TCG releasing this past June, collectors are watching store shelves closely for the recently announced Fusion Strike expansion. Fusion Strike will feature 20 Pokémon V and 13 full-art Pokémon V cards, eight Pokémon VMAX cards, 20 Trainer cards in addition to seven full-art Supporter cards and one new Special Energy card. The new expansion is set to launch Nov. 12 worldwide.
Source: Twitter via Crunchyroll