Pokémon Center Launches Second Wave of 30th Anniversary Merchandise Pre-Orders
Get ready, Pokémon trainers, because a new wave of excitement is on the horizon! Following a hectic launch last Wednesday, The Pokémon Center is rolling out another batch of pre-orders to celebrate its 30th anniversary. This latest drop features a selection of Pokémon Trading Card Game products that will be available starting October 2. Here’s what you need to know.
The lineup includes:
However, the highly coveted Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Boxes (ETBs) are not part of this release. According to chatter from various sources, it seems The Pokémon Company will continue to unveil more products in waves.
Each bundle has a limit of three per customer, while the tins are limited to one. For context, during the last drop, ETBs, which had a limit of two, sold out in just five hours. Other products with stricter limits took nearly seven hours to disappear. This level of availability is quite rare for Pokémon TCG sets these days, indicating that The Pokémon Company is ramping up production.
As always, it’s best to connect via a PC with a wired internet connection if you can. Mobile devices often refresh pages when inactive and can go to sleep quickly. Some phones allow you to adjust auto-refresh settings or sleep modes, but generally, users on mobile report more issues than those on PC.
Avoid connecting multiple devices from the same IP address to the site, as this could lead to being flagged. However, you can use a phone on LTE alongside a wired PC to increase your chances of getting in.
Fans have noted that attempting to place multiple orders to the same address can sometimes result in cancellations. Checkout issues have been common, and it may take several attempts for The Pokémon Center to process a credit card.
Be cautious about refreshing the website. If you’re in a queue with a timer, the screen might go blank. Let the site do its thing; it will eventually reload. Reloading can push you to the back of the line and may trigger an error 17, which occurs when The Pokémon Center suspects bot activity, preventing you from accessing the site.
If you encounter an error, this is the one time you should refresh — the site should return you to the queue. Otherwise, if your page is loading, don’t refresh, even if it appears blank. The site will refresh on its own, though it might take a few minutes.
Expect the first hour to be particularly glitchy, with the website potentially failing to load. Once things stabilize, the timer may not be accurate. It might show seven hours left, then drop to two, only to jump back up to three. During the first wave, I found myself under an hour only to be pushed back to a three-hour wait. I did manage to snag everything I wanted, except for the ETB. If you want to succeed, be prepared to spend a lot of time at your computer.
Sometimes, the website may crash unexpectedly, sending you back to the end of the line. While this can be frustrating, just get back in the queue. Many users had to restart their wait times on Wednesday and still managed to secure items. So, even if you join the queue late, don’t lose hope. Your chances of scoring something are still high.
If you get banned on your wired PC, you can always try connecting via LTE on your phone. Some users have reported success by unplugging and resetting their router. Bans can last from a few hours to several months, which is why it’s crucial to refresh the page as little as possible.
Once you make a purchase, don’t panic if you don’t receive an email confirmation right away. Receipts can take an hour or longer to arrive, so it’s wise to take a screenshot of your confirmation screen.
This might be the most impressive TCG collection The Pokémon Company has ever created. The set features 30 different Pikachu, each illustrated by a different artist, along with reprints of classic cards like the original Charizard holofoil. It also introduces a new rarity, Future Rare, which gives cards a unique chromatic appearance. While this new rarity has sparked some debate, the artwork across the set is outstanding.
The theme revolves around day and night cycles, with art and holofoil designs reflecting this concept. At least one card is split into two. Renowned artists such as Okubo, 0313, Yuu Nishida, Ameliacart, Okachee, and Shinji Kanda contribute to the set, which includes iconic Pokémon like Gengar, Meowth, and Jigglypuff.
The general consensus is that this set will be more popular — and potentially harder to find — than Ascended Heroes. Pre-orders outside of The Pokémon Company are already selling for significantly more than the retail price.
Good luck, trainers! While scalpers with bots had a field day last Wednesday, regular fans had more success than usual. This second drop appears to be more stable, with fewer reports of crashes, and it didn’t take over an hour for the site to let anyone in.
If all else fails, don’t forget that the new Pitch Black set was released last Friday, and most retailers currently have plenty of single packs available.
A Canadian youth has even become the first to discover a fully golden ‘God Pack.’
