Pokémon TCG: Destined Rivals Launch Ran Into the Same Old Issues, With Scalpers, Shortages, and Outages

The latest Pokémon TCG set, Destined Rivals, has been fully unveiled and the first pre-orders are already underway. If you’ve been collecting for a while, it might not surprise you that it’s been a fairly chaotic launch window though, with scalpers and store issues already reportedly plaguing the new set.

Fully unveiled on March 24, Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals is set to launch starting on May 30, 2025. A few factors make this a particularly sought-after set. First, it marks the return of Trainer’s Pokémon cards. Those old enough to remember vintage Trainer’s Pokémon cards, like Brock’s Sandslash or Rocket’s Mewtwo, should take a moment to stretch their back and adjust their posture before expressing excitement for this returning archetype.

They’re popular ways of tying beloved Trainers into the actual Pokémon cards in cool ways. Additionally, Destined Rivals is also centered around Team Rocket, the bad-team faction of Pokémon’s first generation. Suffice to say, much like Prismatic Evolutions and its Eevee-lutions earlier this year, Destined Rivals has the makings of a very popular set.

So, when the pre-orders went live, it should be little surprise that frustration quickly ensued. People trying to get into the Pokémon Center website to buy an Elite Trainer Box, a themed box of packs and other niceties that’s a common pick-up for people looking to crack into a set, were left staring in from the outside.

And, still unsurprisingly, scalpers immediately hit online auctions like eBay with their ETB pre-orders. Listings of several hundred dollars for the typically $54.99 box were seen hitting the site. Again, this is for a confirmed pre-order of the Pokémon Center-specific ETB. Serebii’s Joe Merrick summed it up well, outlining his own experience waiting for hours in queue to get a Destined Rivals ETB.

“I truly hate this,” Merrick wrote. “The way almost all Pokemon TCG content has shifted to financial. The way that people just treat it as investment. The way people just want to flip it. It’s disgusting. Shame on all involved.”

This is, sadly, par for the course. The aforementioned Prismatic Evolutions set had shortages, and the Blooming Waters 151 box also came and went fast. It’s not uncommon to see notifications and signal-boosts of sets restocking on various retailers. Already, TPC has said in a FAQ online (per PokéBeach) that more inventory of the Destined Rivals ETB will become available later this year.

Even on top of scalper issues, some purchases are reporting that their ETB orders are being cancelled. Demand and popularity for the Pokémon TCG seem to be through the roof, but sadly, it also seems to be marring the actual hobby for most trying to just crack some packs or play some matches.

While Pokémon TCG Pocket offers virtual solutions for the woes of physical scarcity, it’s an understandable frustration for those who’d like to simply partake in the hobby. A stroll down your local store’s card aisle will, more than likely, paint a clear picture of what it’s like trying to pick up some packs right now. It’s doubly frustrating when these drops have been exciting ones to see. Hopefully we see some remedies soon.

Eric is a freelance writer for IGN.