The Pokémon Company Aims to Address Shortage of Scarlet and Violet—Prismatic Evolutions

As we look ahead to the January 17 release of the Scarlet and Violet—Prismatic Evolutions set in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, The Pokémon Company is already grappling with a significant product shortage. Despite the packs not being officially available yet, preorders are disappearing at lightning speed, leaving even the most fervent Pokémon collectors struggling to secure the new cards. According to a report from PokéBeach, an authoritative source on Pokémon TCG, stores in the U.S. are reportedly receiving only “less than 10% to 15%” of the stock they originally requested.

In response, the Pokémon TCG team posted on X to acknowledge the situation: “We know some fans might face challenges purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet & Violet—Prismatic Evolutions products at launch due to the high demand impacting availability.” They reassured fans by stating, “We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing, and we are working diligently to print more of the affected products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity.”

This isn’t a new dilemma for The Pokémon Company. Ever since the fan interest surged dramatically in 2020, getting hold of Pokémon cards has been a consistent challenge. The company has made considerable efforts to boost production, ramping it from 1 to 2 billion cards annually to an impressive 3.7 billion in 2020. The subsequent year saw them surpass this figure by more than double, producing over 9 billion cards, according to their data. By the next year, this number had climbed to nearly 10 billion. The upward trend didn’t stop, and by the year 2024, they had printed 12 billion cards, pushing the overall tally to a staggering 64.8 billion since the trading card game burst onto the scene.

Despite these vast numbers, The Pokémon Company still seems to be chasing after the unmet demand, relying on increased production to ease the shortage issues.