A huge scandal has rocked the Pokémon TCG community over the last several days as multiple viral posts featuring what many reported as stolen Secret Rare cards began making the rounds on social media.
While not all information can be verified as true, these thefts have fans of the Pokémon card game concerned about how it could impact the products that reach store shelves.
The main Twitter post that went viral featured stacks of thousands of Secret Rare Pokémon cards from Nov. 2021’s Fusion Strike set. As reported by PokeBeach, this is not the first time images like this have been shared around, though this one is actually from an investigation that concluded back in Jan. 2022.
Trading Card World, a store and card community in Dallas, TX that was involved in the situation even openly shared how its staff was wary of the sheer number of Secret Rare cards being offered by a seller—going as far as to tell the person contacting them about the cards they were likely fake or stolen.
From there, information was shared and The Pokémon Company International was contacted, which worked with TCW to retrieve and return the cards. TPCi then opened a full investigation and a private investigator was flown out to collect the cards and continue gathering details. They eventually closed that particular case in Jan. 2022.
According to TCW, TPC acknowledged the employees played a critical role in the recovery of stolen items and it was the “largest return of stolen property to date.”
“Trading Card World was asked to keep this information confidential while an active investigation was underway. With respect to that request, TCW has kept this story and their important involvement out of the spotlight,” TCW said. “I hope you all can appreciate the sensational aspect of the story and help to keep the facts straight while publicity seekers look to gain attention with misleading information.”
Following that initial post of stolen Fusion Strike hits being shared, additional images of stacks of Secret Rares from other sets like Evolving Skies also started circulating along with horror stories from fans who have seen similar instances.
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This prompted TCG fans and collectors to conclude these stolen cards likely impacted the pull rates for the sets since someone from the printing facility or elsewhere on the production line before they are organized—since we know Secret Rare cards are printed away from other cards since the paper has unique textures.
That info was confirmed by an internal TPCi video about card production that was shared last September and showed the entire process used to create a set of Pokémon cards from start to finish. And, thanks to that, we also can assume the person who stole the cards only got away with a single box of Fusion Strike Secret Rares since we see the box used to store them all in the video and in the leaked image from the investigation.
This does not mean some Fusion Strike products weren’t left a little light on Secret Rares due to stolen cards, but the community is likely overreacting to how impactful the theft actually was. However, it is a good thing fans are being so outspoken because this has happened many times in the past and does give wary buyers a reason to avoid sealed products if TPCi and its partners don’t crack down on this. Though, as shown by the investigation reports, it seems like they have been active in doing so.
As noted by PokeBeach, when running prints for products a printing partner can produce nearly 27 million cards per day, and the Pokémon brand as a whole prints billions of cards each year. The likelihood of one stolen box of Secret Rares damaging a line is very small, though the potential does still exist each time rare cards are stolen.
It is also worth noting that smaller-scale theft and leaks happen frequently, as images of unreleased Pokémon cards shared prior to a product’s release typically come from packs ripped ahead of shipment or launch.
