Pokemon Card Collecting Turns Violent: What Happened to the Hobby?

Pokemon card collecting has turned violent with robberies, store chaos, and assaults. A longtime fan reflects on how a kids' hobby became a dangerous rush for money.

Remember when collecting Pokemon cards was just about trading with friends at school? You'd grab a few packs with your lawn-mowing money, rip them open, and hope for a holographic Charizard. No one knew how to play the actual game—the cards just looked cool. Those were simpler times.

Now? Things have gotten seriously out of hand. Scalpers are fighting for product, kids are trying to get in on the TCG, and violence has become a regular headline. Robbers stole over $100,000 in rare cards from a California store in December 2025. Another group made off with nearly $120,000 in cards at gunpoint in New York in January 2026. Police had to break up a chaotic Costco scene over Prismatic Evolutions in April 2026.

And it's not just big heists. A Connecticut man was arrested for assaulting someone at a Target after being confronted for exceeding the store's limit on Pokemon card packs. A 72-year-old Ohio man pleaded guilty to using a GPS tracker to stalk a woman stocking Pokemon cards. That's right—a GPS tracker. For trading cards.

Look, I get why people want these cards. The artwork is gorgeous, with full-art variants that look like tiny masterpieces. And yes, some cards resell for hundreds or even thousands on eBay. In this economy, flipping vintage cards can be tempting. But resorting to violence over illustrated cardstock? That's a whole new level of absurd.

This is supposed to be a children's hobby. Pokemon is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and instead of celebrating, we're reading about shootings and assaults over packs. Do these people even know how to play the Pokemon TCG? I didn't back in middle school, and neither did my friends. We just liked the cards.

The real tragedy is that kids are losing out. When you can only take one, take one. Leave the rest for your son or daughter. They might be trying to trade with friends for that one card to complete their collection—and that's the real joy. What do you think? Will you still be collecting Pokemon cards after all this?