Calgarians hope to catch 'em all as Pokémon card craze hits local shop
Pokémon fanatics test their luck at local game card store
Pokémon cards are flying off the shelves right now at stores around the world, and one local Calgary game-card store owner says it's because a new generation of game cards is reigniting nostalgic joy among fans.
"The Pokémon TCG (the trading card game) is just absolutely booming, especially in the last few months here," said Danny Tran, owner of Celly Sports and Games, located in Calgary's southeast.
"In the three years that we've had the store, we've never seen the product fly off the shelves as fast as it is as of recently."
Tran explains that a specific set of cards is responsible for sales skyrocketing in recent months.
Pokémon 151 is a limited collector set that includes 151 original Pokémon from the mythical Kanto region, the first region introduced in the franchise. This has brought collectors out of retirement, with buyers hoping to find their favourite characters from their childhood.
Buyers are able to purchase packs of cards in the hopes of catching 'em all.
"It basically brought the nostalgia and everyone back into collecting," Tran told CBC Radio's the Calgary Eyeopener.
Pokémon cards first hit the market back in the late 1990s. Tran says he recalls saving up to buy cards and build up his own collection.
"Just growing up, I remember vividly when it came out. I was in Grade 3, and I would be taking my allowance to the local Mac's, buying a pack here and there," he said.
Tran says his love of collecting cards sparked back up after opening his store in 2021.
Originally, the business was focused on sports cards, but Tran says the business model has shifted to accommodate the growing fascination with Pokémon cards.
Now, the majority of the cards they sell are Pokémon-related.
"I know that nine times out of 10, if someone's coming in [to the store], they are looking for Pokémon products or they're wanting singles to collect, finish their collections and everything," said Tran.
"So we have adhered to what the public wants."
Most notably, according to Tran, card investors, collectors and resellers have flocked to buy the new card packs for a specific card: the re-release of the iconic 1999 Charizard, a dragon-like character that captured the hearts of Pokémon video game lovers.
"Investors and people who resell have seen some of the cards go up in value. And one term that's thrown around a lot is a first-edition shadowless Charizard — that card actually goes for thousands," he said.
"A lot of people nowadays with the 151 are anticipating that the Charizard in that set of 10 to 20 years down the road will become as expensive and valuable."
New launch sells out in seconds
Tran says he could have never anticipated how Pokémon 151 would impact their business, and he's preparing for a new set to launch on Jan. 17.
"We are going to be running into issues where it will sell out immediately," he said.
"We received a bunch of stock, but we did half of it as a pre-order online on Christmas Eve. We opened it up at 10 a.m., there was about 600 people on the website — it sold out within 45 seconds."
Tran says he anticipates people will be lining up outside the store the morning the new set of Pokémon cards launches.
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