The Pokémon Company
Role in each timeline
- Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves
Publishes worldwide Pokémon card-production figures and sets Japanese Pokémon Card Game sales policies.
The Pokémon Company across every timeline
Every dated entry that names The Pokémon Company, from all 1 timeline, newest first.
20263 entries
- The first products go behind Japan's ID check, and all four are 30th Celebration Regulatory
Pokémon Center Online named the first items that would require buyers to prove their identity through the Digital Identification App, built by Japan's Digital Agency, and the government-issued My Number Card. All four were Pokémon Card Game products from the 30th Celebration series and were due on sale the following month - the Mega Expansion Pack 30th Celebration Box at 7,200 yen, the Mega 30th Celebration Futuristic Box at 27,500 yen, the Espeon and Umbreon Premium Deck Set at 6,200 yen, and the nine-type complete Card Set at 10,800 yen. Because the My Number Card is issued to residents of Japan, the check limits those four products to them.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves - Japan will require a government ID card to buy the scarcest cards Announcement
Pokémon Japan said that from around August 2026, customers would have to verify their identity with the government-issued My Number Card to enter lotteries and buy selected trading card products from Pokémon Center Online, and to register for certain official events. Because the card is issued to Japanese citizens and long-term residents, the requirement effectively limits those purchases to people living in Japan.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves - Ten billion more cards in a year, and the shelves still clear Report
The Pokémon Company's figures report for the year ended March 2026 showed 10 billion Pokémon cards printed worldwide, the third year running that the annual addition has been near that level. The company had printed 43 billion cards in total between October 1996 and March 2022; the four years since have added roughly the same amount again, taking the cumulative total to about 85 billion.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves
20253 entries
- Printing falls back to 10.2 billion cards in the first year of the shortage Report
The Pokémon Company's figures report for the year ended March 2025 showed 10.2 billion cards printed worldwide, 1.7 billion fewer than the record 11.9 billion of the year before, a fall of about 14 percent even as the sell-outs began. The cumulative total passed 75 billion cards in 16 languages across 90 countries and regions. Before 2019 the company had been printing an average of 1.5 to 2 billion cards a year.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves - London Pokémon Center pop-up excludes Prismatic Evolutions Response
The Pokémon Company confirmed that the London Pokémon Center pop-up would not sell Prismatic Evolutions products. Video Games Chronicle reported that the set had sold out globally.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves - Pocket's launch and two sell-out sets leave the card shelves empty Report
The shortage that has run ever since began with the release of the Pokémon TCG Pocket mobile app in October 2024. The two expansions that followed it, Surging Sparks in November 2024 and Prismatic Evolutions in January 2025, both sold out quickly, and supply has not caught up since.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves
20241 entry
- Pokémon card production reaches 11.9 billion cards Financial
The Pokémon Company reported that 11.9 billion Pokémon cards were produced from March 2023 to March 2024. The total was reported as a production record.
on Pokémon Cards: Record Printing, Empty Shelves