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What Pokémon announced about in-store purchases
Pokémon Center Japan’s September 29, 2026 notice says it will consider introducing facial recognition in stages for sales of some Pokémon TCG-related products at some Pokémon Center stores. The notice does not say the system is already operating, nor does it establish a universal resale ban. Read the Pokémon Center Japan notice.
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The scope is deliberately limited in the announcement: each store is expected to announce whether it will participate, which products are covered and how sales will work. Until those details appear, customers cannot determine from the notice whether a particular store or product will require an identity check.
How the online lottery rules differ
A separate Pokémon Center Online Japan notice, also dated September 29, 2026, describes rules for a particular lottery rather than the planned in-store facial-recognition measure. It distinguishes between authenticated and unauthenticated Players Club application lanes. Each person may apply once per drawing, and a winning purchase right belongs only to the applicant and cannot be transferred. See the Pokémon Center Online lottery notice.
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The notice says orders may be cancelled for terms violations, duplicate orders or activity Pokémon judges inappropriate. For that drawing, most winners were allocated to the identity-verified lane; the notice gives no percentage, and that allocation should not be treated as a standing rule for every lottery or purchase.
Resale restrictions did not begin with this announcement
Pokémon had already stated a resale-related policy in a product-specific Japanese notice for the July 28, 2023 Black Flame Ruler launch. In translation, the Pokémon Card Game site said it “firmly reject[s] purchases of products for resale or other commercial purposes,” and said Pokémon Center Online could cancel orders or restrict future use if it judged purchases to be resale-motivated or contrary to its terms. That was a 2023 launch notice, not a new 2026 blanket rule. Read the 2023 notice.
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That historical notice also warned buyers about counterfeit products, independently assembled “original packs” whose advertised hit rates might not be accurate, and searched packs or boxes resold after valuable cards had been removed. A related notice for Pokémon Card 151 raised similar cautions. These warnings identify risks in some marketplace listings; they do not establish that every resale listing is fraudulent. See the Pokémon Card 151 notice.
Availability and reported order cancellations
In a March 27, 2025 statement, The Pokémon Company International acknowledged that very high demand was making some Pokémon TCG products difficult to obtain. It said it was maximizing production for future expansions, continuing reprints of affected products, and using a virtual queue on Pokémon Center for some high-traffic releases. This is the company’s account of its availability response at that time, not a measure of current stock or proof that supply has since caught up. Read the company statement.
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GamesRadar reported customer claims in September 2026 that Pokémon Center had cancelled many orders, but said it could not verify the reports and noted overselling as another possible explanation. The cited evidence does not establish how many orders were cancelled or why. A cancellation by itself therefore does not show that a customer was flagged for resale activity. See GamesRadar’s report.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What buyers should take from the policy changes
- For Japanese store visits: wait for the individual store’s announcement to learn whether facial recognition will apply to a product you want.
- For an online lottery: follow that drawing’s application instructions, submit no more than one entry per person, and do not transfer a winning purchase right.
- For resale listings: treat claims about unusual pack contents or hit rates cautiously, and remember that official warnings about counterfeits and searched products do not describe every listing.
- For a cancelled order: check the notice and terms for the specific purchase. The available reporting does not establish a general cancellation wave or its cause.
There is no reported statistic in the cited material showing how common scalping is or whether the planned identity checks reduce it. Pokémon has announced a limited measure under consideration, alongside separate online lottery controls; the effect will depend on the store-level details still to be announced.
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