Good Faith and Pokemon Chaos

POKÉMON’S 30TH CELEBRATION ARRIVES WEDNESDAY… SUPPOSEDLY!

Purple Dragon Games is celebrating the release of Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration by doing something unusual: we are opening on Wednesday, September 16, even though Wednesdays are normally one of our closed days! The doors will open at noon, and we will be here for a few hours to sell the new anniversary products. There is, however, one tiny catch—our shipment is also scheduled to arrive on September 16.

Yes. The product is supposed to arrive on the exact day we are supposed to sell it.

We placed our order during the proper ordering window and allowed plenty of time for shipping, but somewhere along the journey, our boxes apparently encountered a wild Delay. This is nothing new between Purple Dragon Games and the mail service. At this point, delayed packages are simply recurring characters in our store’s story. The good news is that the shipment is marked for delivery Wednesday. Supposedly. Allegedly. According to the sacred tracking scroll.

So, in good faith—and with perhaps more optimism than wisdom—we are opening our doors at noon. We fully expect the shipment to arrive and would prefer not to be standing behind an empty display case looking like fools while Pokémon chaos unfolds around us. But what can you do? It is Pokémon’s 30th anniversary. Sometimes you simply choose hope. If the shipment arrives as promised, we expect the first wave of Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration products to include items such as Elite Trainer Boxes, Poster Collections, Tech Sticker Collections, Pokémon ex Boxes and smaller collections featuring special promotional cards. The exact selection will depend on what physically emerges from the delivery truck. Nothing is guaranteed until the boxes are safely inside the store and we have confirmed the contents with our own eyes.

Why is this release such a big deal? Pokémon is celebrating 30 years with a special expansion built around the history of the Pokémon TCG. The set features an enormous foil-filled celebration, 30 different Pikachu cards, special artwork, anniversary treatments and a Classic Collection revisiting memorable cards from the game’s past. The booster packs are also only available inside special collection products, rather than being sold as ordinary individual packs. That makes every box part product, part anniversary souvenir and part treasure hunt.

WHAT IS IT?

The September 16 launch is only the first wave. Pokémon is releasing the anniversary products gradually instead of putting everything on shelves at once. This means Wednesday’s products may disappear quickly, and waiting for the next wave will not necessarily give you another chance at the same items.

The second wave is currently scheduled for October 2. That release is expected to bring the 30th Celebration Booster Bundle, containing six booster packs, along with the Day & Night Mini Tins. The Mini Tins include booster packs, stickers and collectible artwork—and the complete group forms a larger anniversary design featuring Unown spelling out “ANNIVERSARY.”

Later waves will bring even more surprises, including Espeon ex and Umbreon ex Battle Decks, premium Day and Night collections, Ditto, Mewtwo and Mew products, and the enormous anniversary Ultra-Premium Collections. The celebration is not arriving all at once. It will keep unfolding throughout the fall. But the first chapter begins Wednesday, September 16, at noon—assuming our delivery driver completes the quest.

There are two possible endings:

The shipment arrives, the case fills up and the products sell very quickly—so you will not want to wait. Or we all gather around an empty case, stare thoughtfully into the distance and watch the tracking page together. Either way, the doors will be open.

You have been warned. The suspense builds.