The Pokemon Company released an official statement on their Japanese website explaining that they are out of stock on all Pokemon TCG products in Japan.
In the statement (as translated by Google translate), the company apologized for inconveniencing customers who wished to purchase their products. They also promised to boost their production system to help churn out more of the products in short supply. The source of the shortage could be attributed to customer enthusiasm over the newly released Clay Burst and Snow Hazard expansion packs. These products hit the streets in Japan on April 14, 2023, and may have helped drive sales for all Pokemon TCG products in that region higher.
The Clay Burst and Snow Hazard sets were released simultaneously as a double set and have two different checklists of cards as well as different special illustration cards that are unique to each set. The Clay Burst packs feature two very expensive Iono cards, a special rare and a special art rare. The SR is selling for around $350 to $400 on eBay and the SAR card is selling for about $1,350 to $1,450. Fans flocked to stores to get packs of these sets in order to have a chance at getting the expensive cards from packs, which potentially had a “snowball effect” on the sales of Pokemon TCG products in the Japanese market.
For more information on Pokemon TCG releases, check out ICv2’s 2023 release calendar (see “Calendar“).
Source: ICv2
