Pokemon Center Destined Rivals Items Preorder DROP - Experience + Analysis

Earlier today, the Pokemon Center dropped the Destined Rivals ETB, Booster Boxes, and Booster Bundle items. As expected, the queue system went up and was instantly inundated with folks trying to secure the PC exclusive Destined Rivals ETB. Here is my personal experience...

I woke up early and my friend showed me the new ETB artwork. I was under the impression that there would be no drop until later this week. Considering the PC preorder drops tend to occur on Thursdays and Fridays, I would have assumed the same would happen this week, so I didn't pay too much attention. I almost decided to fall back asleep, but then I heard people mentioning a potential drop today. So upon hearing  that, I decided to stay up a bit longer, and I am glad I did! Shortly after, I saw the queue system notifications going off, so I decided to jump on the Pokemon Center website immediately. I was trying to queue up from my phone and PC, hoping to get in from one of those locations. It took around 15 minutes before I was in the website on my phone. I quickly navigated around, but was unable to find the Destined Rivals product. I went from New Releases, TCG section, and just aimlessly wandering about, trying to find it. Then I clicked the product link from a Discord server and was able to find the ETB. I quickly made my order and upon a few error messages here and there, it went through! 

This time, the Pokemon Center website only allowed a limit of 1 per person. I tried to make another order to test this out but was promptly hit with an error message. I then proceeded to find the Booster Boxes and Booster Bundles for this set, but had no luck. Even after using the direct product links, I was hit with "No Product Found" Pikachu message. I eventually refreshed enough times to where the product went live but it was too late... It was unavailable. However, some people managed to secure both items! I guess it came down to luck...

Eventually, the Pokemon Center website logged me out and sent an "Oops something went wrong" message, which I started to assume I had spent too long on the website, and was pushed back out into the queue. 

I saw many folks error out, get sent back into queue when trying to make their order, or hit with a refresh AS they were waiting in queue. Plagued by a lot these issues, the Pokemon Center queue system continues to highlight how it is from perfect. To only way to secure any exclusive product ready to drop is to hit the queue almost immediately when it goes live, otherwise, chances remain low.

My personal experience today was decent. I mean, I managed to secure the PC exclusive ETB for Destined Rivals but many people shared their tumultuous experience today with facing errors and many other issues. 

I truly hope Pokemon Center improves this process, but I also realize that with 2 million+ people waiting in queue (most probably being bots), it will inundate the servers and cause slow down, glitches, and just wild experiences.

Let's hope we there will be another restock soon to give those that were unable to secure another chance. 

Ethan's Typhlosion - Illustration Rare Revealed!

Ethan's Typhlosion illustrated rare has been revealed for the Heat Wave Arena set! This set is slated to release on March 14th, 2025 in Japan, and showcases various trainer Pokemon, ranging from Misty's Starmie, Ethan's Ho-Oh, and Cynthia's Garchomp (just to name a few). 

Looking at the artworks for these cards, the hype will be off the charts the moment this set releases. 

As someone who is getting back into collecting Pokemon cards again, I definitely need to cop all these illustration rares! The artwork, color, and attention to detail is beyond impressive. I can confidently say RIP my wallet, but then again, trying to secure it is another story. Until that moment comes, we can enjoy the artwork and anticipate getting our hands on these cards some day!

 

TPCi Acknowledges Prismatic Evolutions High Demand - Official Statement

The Pokemon Company International has put out an official statement about the upcoming TCG release for Prismatic Evolutions.

It should come at no surprise that the demand is extremely high due to the special illustration rares for Eevee and Eeveelutions. With the Pocket TCG app driving forth an incredible uptick in interest and fans rushing out to buy modern sets, and to social media driving forth poke-investing for singles and sealed products, this set is driving a lot of demand to the point it is almost close to impossible to order one. Unless you got lucky pre-ordering or spent a crazy amount towards scalpers, trying to secure any Prismatic Evolutions product is definitely a task to say the least.

With that said, it is good to see Pokemon officially acknowledging this and releasing a statement. Hopefully more product can be printed and released for more fans to enjoy. As someone who is grew up with collecting the cards and is currently getting back into it due to the PTCG driving interest again, I am looking forward to picking this product up. Let's just hope that Pokemon can actually pull through with releasing more of this product so the scalpers have nothing to grasp onto. 

You can read the official statement below...

Pokemon TCG Pocket Future Plans Announced + Pokemon Center Update

Recently, the Pokemon TCG Pocket app account announced its future update plans within a post on Twitter. This brief statement gets us ready for upcoming content within the coming months. While it didn't go into specific details, we can infer that November, December, and January will be jam-packed with events and packs. The app has been receiving regular updates every couple of weeks to highlight various features, whether it is the wonder pick, solo battling against AI, or solo battles against other players. So we can assume these features will be the focus for future events, in addition to the upcoming trading feature. I'm sure we will receive the A2 packs very soon, too. 

The statement reads as follows:

"To all of you playing Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket,

This is the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Operations Team. First off, we would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who waited in anticipation of the release, as well as everyone who has given the game a try. We are continuing to develop and operate the game so that everyone can enjoy it even more, and we plan to hold a variety of in-game events in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket going forward.

Now then, today we would like to announce new content planned to be released in a future major update.

To begin with, we plan to add new booster packs by the end of the year. In addition, we are aiming to add a feature that allows certain cards to be traded starting in January, 2025. We are planning to gradually expand the selection of cards that are able to be traded.

Also, we have other new features in development outside of the trade feature introduced here. We plan to announce more details about the update as the dates for the addition of these features are finalized, so please look forward to it.

We hope you continue to enjoy Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Don't forget to open your packs each day!

- Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Operations Team"

 --

The Pokemon Center website was updated to reveal the release of two new Trainer Figures:

• Iris & Salamence Pokemon Trainers Figure
• Ghetsis & Hydreigon Pokemon Trainers Figure
  

 

 

Pokemon TCG: November 2024 Collectors Chest Pre-Order Available

The Pokemon TCG November 2024 Collectors Tin pre-order is live on Amazon. This product contains the following:

• 6 TCG booster packs
• 3 foil cards, featuring Pikachu, Dipplin, and Teal Mask Ogerpon
• 1 coin featuring Terapagos
• 4 colorful sticker sheets
• Mini portfolio to store cards
• Code card for Pokemon TCG Live

This product will be released on November 15, 2024, so within a few days!

It's good to see Pokemon continuing to different item categories for their TCG. With the release of Pokemon TCG Pocket, I'm expecting an influx of new players within the scene, getting interested within the TCG. As someone who started collecting Pokemon cards from the 1990s when the first season of the show started airing, the Pocket app has rejuvenated my interested in collecting again, so this product does seem rather enticing for me, especially considering it comes in a collector's chest. 

There is an ongoing shortage on the Pokemon Center website when it comes to a lot of TCG collector products, especially some of the newer Elite Trainer Boxes, specifically Surging Sparks, which has caught the attention of collectors recently. As someone who is waiting for that to come back into stock, I have been turning my attention towards other upcoming releases just to quench the anticipation for the restocking on the Pokemon Center website.

With the holidays right around the corner, I wouldn't be surprised if we're hit with another batch of new releases when it comes to plushies, ornaments, TCG items, and toys. If anything exclusive comes out, I'll be sure to report on it. 

PokeVew hasn't really been much of a TCG-reporting site, but with my renewed interest in it, I'm definitely reporting a bit more heavily on the TCG Pocket app updates and new TCG items being released.

 

New Pokemon Website Revealed! The Pokemon Works

Following the announcement of a dedicated team between Game Freak and Ilca being created, we now have further details about the collaborative efforts! The Pokemon Works website has officially launched. 

Within the About Us section of the website, it states the following:

--

"We are a development team born from two companies, Pokémon Inc. and Iruka Inc.

Our goal is to provide a rich experience that extends the world of Pokémon to everyone, regardless of generation, country, or region. As a team focused solely on Pokémon, we are a group of Pokémon lovers who hone our skills and creativity to develop not only games but also services such as “Pokémon HOME”.

The road to development is sometimes difficult. However, it is in times like these that we must maintain a strong sense of “Let's do it! But it is in times like these that we test whether or not we can maintain our strong “I'm going to do it! This desire to convey the appeal of Pokémon, no matter the difficulties, is the driving force that keeps us moving forward.

Pokémon are your partners and friends. That is why we will create more realistic and accessible Pokémon experiences for you to enjoy your encounters and adventures with Pokémon, while respecting their worldview and “character.

Through the development of games and services, we hope to continue to connect the thoughts of many people. We look forward to your continued support.

Takuya Iwasaki, Representative Director"

--

It is quite interesting to note that the website utilizes Gengar, Snorlax, and a Pikachu silhouettes. Is this potentially teasing an upcoming project(s) between the two companies? Do these Pokemon serve a bigger role for what's about the come? Or were they just picked out as random as potential favorites by the company worker's? We will keep our eyes peeled as more information is released!