Pokémon Center Buzzes with Excitement Over Surprise Release of Top TCG Sets

If you’re still staring at Psyduck while waiting for the queue timer at The Pokémon Center to tick down, get ready for some new trading card game products to hit the shelves. This latest drop isn’t part of the 30th anniversary TCG collection; instead, it’s a mix of several popular Pokémon sets.

Currently, the backend is loaded with products that might be available for purchase, including:

Each item has a limit of one per household. As usual, wait times are lengthy, and these new products are likely to sell out quickly. Both the Ascended Heroes and 151 sets are in high demand on the resale market. Expect bots to be a common sight, but don’t let that discourage you. The first hour of any new TCG release often comes with connection issues for everyone trying to get in. The wait time displayed can change rapidly; during the last drop, my wait went from over 35 hours to just two hours in that initial period. The strict purchase limits may help more fans snag these products.

At the moment, the 151 products are sold out, but the Ascended Heroes packs and Poké Balls haven’t gone live yet.

As always, avoid refreshing the page, even if it goes blank. Unless the page crashes, it will refresh on its own eventually. Don’t try to access the site from multiple devices on the same connection. VPNs will get flagged, and attempting to purchase more than the limit with the same billing or address info could lead to an IP ban, known as error 17. A less severe issue, error 15, might pop up during checkout. While this can be resolved, a ban could prevent you from accessing The Pokémon Center for months on that connection. If you find yourself blocked or banned, consider switching to mobile LTE or a different network.

Lastly, if you manage to get through the queue and finalize your purchase, be sure to take a screenshot of your receipt. Confirmation emails can take a while to arrive, so having a personal record is a smart move. You can find more tips on successfully pre-ordering on The Pokémon Center’s site.

The RPG will still feature turn-based battles, but they are expected to play out differently.