If you have tried to buy Pokémon booster packs at list price in 2026, you may have found empty shelves. The shortage is not for lack of printing: The Pokémon Company’s own count of total cards produced passed 85 billion by the end of March 2026. Demand has grown faster.
This explainer walks through the demand numbers, who is buying, what retailers and The Pokémon Company have changed, and how to buy cards without paying reseller prices, with the 30th Celebration expansion that launched September 16, 2026 as the latest test.
Trend Signal
82/100 Strong momentum
- Emerging
- Rising
- Mainstream
- Peaking
- Cooling
U.S. Pokémon sales up 87% in 2025, trading cards still driving 2026 growth
Circana put 2025 U.S. Pokémon sales at $2.5 billion, up 87%, and measured Games & Puzzles, the supercategory it tied to Pokémon, up another 45% in the first half of 2026.
Our editorial reading of the cited data, not a forecast. How it is scored
By the numbers
- $2.5BU.S. Pokémon toy sales in 2025, up 87%, the top U.S. toy propertyCircana
- 85B+Total Pokémon TCG cards produced, as of the end of March 2026The Pokémon Company
- +45%U.S. Games & Puzzles toy sales, first half of 2026; Pokémon drove it in 2025Circana
- $545MMagic: The Gathering revenue in Q2 2026, up 32%, its first quarter above $500MHasbro
Demand has outrun a huge print run
Circana’s 2025 U.S. toy report named Pokémon the top toy property, with $2.5 billion in U.S. sales, up 87%, and the first property in at least 20 years to pass $2 billion in annual sales. Games & Puzzles, the supercategory Circana said was driven primarily by Pokémon, grew 37%. Globally, Circana ranked Pokémon the number-one toy property of 2025 and its top gainer.
The growth carried into 2026. Circana reported U.S. Games & Puzzles sales up another 45% in the first half, pointed to the extraordinary performance of trading cards, and found adults 18+ and teens 12–17 were the fastest-growing buyer groups, up 25% and 33%.
Supply rose too. The Pokémon Company reports total production of more than 85 billion cards as of the end of March 2026, printed in 16 languages; its figures page gives only that running total, not a yearly print count. A May 2026 ComicBook.com report, citing the fan site PokeBeach, put the total a year earlier at more than 75 billion. The report said demand was still outpacing supply and that a new production campus will not be complete until after 2026 at the earliest.
The shortage is a demand story: printing runs at a huge scale and shelves still empty.
Resellers are part of the squeeze
Collectors and players are not the only buyers. At Nintendo’s annual shareholders meeting on June 26, 2026, a shareholder asked about bulk purchasing and high-priced reselling of Pokémon cards. President Shuntaro Furukawa said Nintendo is aware of instances where limited-quantity cards are bought in large volume and resold at high prices. Nintendo accounts for The Pokémon Company under the equity method.
Furukawa said The Pokémon Company is responding with made-to-order sales and agreements with marketplace operators, and that for online priority drawings for certain products it plans to verify accounts with My Number Cards, Japan’s government-issued ID. The ID step applies in Japan; the Q&A did not describe U.S. measures.
In the U.S., the only reports are unconfirmed. In an August 7, 2026 story carried by Yahoo, IGN said fans had posted that some Target employees were removing the plastic wrap from Pokémon card boxes in stores and that some online orders arrived cut open. Fans took it as a move against scalpers; Target had not commented, so treat it as a fan report, not company policy. An unsealed box is worth far less to a reseller because a buyer can’t verify the cards inside.
The 30th Celebration test
The Pokémon Trading Card Game turned 30 in 2026, and The Pokémon Company released the 30th Celebration expansion on September 16, 2026 as the first expansion with a simultaneous global release. Every card in its booster packs is foil, including Basic Energy, and the set adds a new Futuristic rare, 30 different Pikachu illustrations and reprints of classic cards such as Base Set Charizard.
The launch is the clearest test of whether bigger print runs are catching up. The signs to watch are how often stores restock the set through October and November and whether prices for its most sought-after single cards settle after the first weeks.
It is not only Pokémon
The trading card boom is broader than one franchise. Hasbro said Magic: The Gathering passed $500 million in quarterly revenue for the first time in its 30-plus-year history in the second quarter of 2026, reaching $545.3 million, up 32%, helped by the Secrets of Strixhaven and Marvel Super Heroes sets. Its Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment grew 27%.
Sports cards are part of it too. Circana tied 2025 growth in its Explorative & Other Toys supercategory to demand for NFL trading cards, and that supercategory grew 58% in the first half of 2026, a period in which Circana called the FIFA property one of the industry’s biggest breakouts.
How to buy cards without paying reseller prices
The practical answer is to shop where list prices apply and to buy for use. Pokémon card prices on the secondary market move with every release, and nothing in the data here suggests treating cards as an investment.
- Pre-order new sets from official or participating retailers when orders open, instead of relying on launch-day shelves.
- On the secondary market, buy sealed product only when the seal is intact and the seller is one you trust; an opened box can’t be verified.
- If you play, buy the specific single cards you need rather than chasing packs; if you collect, set a budget before each launch.
- Walk away from listings far above standard retail prices; the 30th Celebration launch is still in its first weeks.
Buy at list price for play or collecting, and let resellers keep the markups.
What to watch next
- Restock frequency for 30th Celebration products at major U.S. retailers through October and November 2026.
- Whether The Pokémon Company brings ID-verified purchasing, now planned in Japan, to U.S. online sales.
- Circana’s full-year 2026 U.S. toy report, for whether Pokémon sales grow again after the 87% jump in 2025.
Where to start
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Card storage and protection types compared
| Product type | Good fit for | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| 9-pocket zip binder for trading cards | Fits growing collections | See listings on AmazonOpens Amazon search results, not one listing: check the model on the product page. |
| Rigid toploaders for standard-size cards | Fits protecting single cards | See listings on AmazonOpens Amazon search results, not one listing: check the model on the product page. |
| Trading card storage box with dividers | Fits bulk storage | See listings on AmazonOpens Amazon search results, not one listing: check the model on the product page. |
Product types that fit the trend described above, not tested models. Check the exact listing before you buy. How we pick them.
9-pocket zip binder for trading cards
Where to look: Amazon
The simplest way to organize and show a set as it grows. Side-loading pockets make it harder for cards to slide out.
- Shows cards at a glance
- Zip closure keeps cards in
- Rings in cheap binders can dent cards
- Bulky when full
Rigid toploaders for standard-size cards
Where to look: Amazon
For the few cards you care most about. Sleeve the card first, then slide it into a toploader sized for standard cards.
- Stiff protection for one card
- Cheap in packs
- Takes space in bulk
- Tight fits can scuff edges
Trading card storage box with dividers
Where to look: Amazon
Packs add up fast. A divided box keeps commons and duplicates organized and out of the way.
- Holds hundreds to thousands of cards
- Dividers keep sets sorted
- Cards are not on display
- Cardboard boxes dislike humidity
More: Collectibles and Toys trends and how the Trend Signal is scored.
Sources
- U.S. Toy Industry Returns to Growth in 2025 — Circana
- U.S. Toy Industry Posts Strongest First Half in Six Years — Circana
- Global Toy Industry Rebounds in 2025 as Sales Rise 7% — Circana
- Pokémon in Figures — The Pokémon Company
- New Report Confirms Pokémon TCG Massively Increased Production in 2026, But It’s Still Not Enough — ComicBook.com
- 86th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Q&A Summary — Nintendo
- Target is slicing open Pokémon card boxes before they’re sold in a bid to deter scalpers, fans say — IGN via Yahoo News
- Get Ready for Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration — Pokemon.com
- Hasbro second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Exhibit 99.1 — SEC EDGAR
Questions readers ask
Why are Pokémon cards sold out everywhere?
Demand grew faster than supply. U.S. Pokémon sales rose 87% to $2.5 billion in 2025, per Circana, and a May 2026 ComicBook.com report on The Pokémon Company’s production figures found demand still outpacing supply.
Is The Pokémon Company printing more cards?
It keeps printing at scale. Its running total of cards produced passed 85 billion by the end of March 2026, and it prints in 16 languages. ComicBook.com, citing the fan site PokeBeach, put the total a year earlier at more than 75 billion; The Pokémon Company’s figures page does not give a yearly count.
What is being done about Pokémon card scalpers?
Nintendo said in June 2026 that The Pokémon Company is using made-to-order sales, agreements with marketplace operators and, in Japan, planned ID verification for some online drawings. In the U.S., IGN reported unconfirmed fan claims in August 2026 that some Target stores were unwrapping card boxes before sale; Target had not commented.
When did Pokémon 30th Celebration come out?
On September 16, 2026, as the first Pokémon TCG expansion with a simultaneous global release, according to Pokemon.com.
