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Pokémon Center Japan said on September 29, 2026, that it is considering a phased facial-recognition system for sales of some Pokémon Trading Card Game products at some stores. The announcement is an identity-check plan, not proof that Pokémon has introduced a universal ban on reselling cards.
What Pokémon actually announced
The September 29 notice from Pokémon Center Japan says that stores may eventually use a “facial recognition system” when selling certain products. The measure is described as phased and limited to selected stores and products. Each participating store is expected to publish its own locations, eligible products and sales procedures.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Pokemon TCG #80906 Battle Academy 2022 Deck Set - (3 Decks) 180 Total Cards | $30.15 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Pokémon TCG: Pokémon Day 2026 Collection | $53.90 | Buy on Amazon |
The notice does not name the first stores, identify the products that will be covered, give a launch date or explain how customers will enroll, how long biometric data would be retained, or what happens if a scan fails. Until store-level notices appear, shoppers cannot assume that every Japanese Pokémon Center will require facial recognition or that every Pokémon TCG purchase will be subject to it.
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Is Pokémon banning resale of Pokémon cards?
Not on the evidence currently available. The planned in-store check is intended to connect a buyer’s identity with a purchase opportunity, which could make repeated buying for resale harder. It is narrower than a legal or company-wide prohibition on all secondary-market sales.
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The announcement also does not establish that reselling a legitimately purchased card is illegal, that every marketplace listing violates Pokémon’s terms, or that the system has already reduced scalping. Its practical effect will depend on which products and stores participate and how purchase limits are enforced.
Online lottery rules are a separate measure
Pokémon Center Online Japan published a different notice on the same date for lottery-based purchases. Those terms apply to the online drawing, not automatically to ordinary store sales or every Pokémon product.
| Channel | Rule or status | Scope established by the notice |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Pokémon Centers in Japan | Facial recognition is under consideration and may be introduced in stages | Some stores and some products; details to be announced by each store |
| Pokémon Center Online lottery | One application per person per drawing; a winning purchase right cannot be transferred | The specific online lottery and its published terms |
| 2023 product launches | Resale-motivated purchases were rejected; orders could be cancelled and future use restricted | Product-specific launch notices, not a new 2026 universal rule |
One entry per person
For the online lottery, each person may submit one application for each drawing. The notice describes separate lanes for Players Club members whose identity verification is complete and for applicants without completed verification. It says the bulk of winners in that particular drawing came from the verified lane, but it gives no percentage and does not establish a permanent allocation formula for future lotteries.
Winning rights cannot be transferred
A lottery win belongs to the applicant. It cannot be assigned or sold to another person. Pokémon Center Online says it may cancel orders for violations of the published terms, duplicate orders or activity it considers inappropriate. Those provisions give the company a basis to reject transactions; they do not prove that every cancelled order involved scalping.
What Pokémon’s older resale policy said
For the July 28, 2023 Black Flame Ruler launch, Pokémon’s Japanese Pokémon Card Game site stated that it firmly rejected purchases made for resale or other commercial purposes. That launch notice said Pokémon Center Online could cancel orders and restrict future account use when it judged purchases to be resale-motivated or otherwise contrary to the terms.
The 2023 notice also warned buyers about counterfeit products, independently assembled “original packs” whose advertised hit rates might not be accurate, and packs or boxes searched for valuable cards before being resold. A related notice for Pokémon Card 151 raised similar concerns. These are official historical warnings about risks in the secondary market, not evidence that every resale listing is counterfeit or searched.
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- The Pokémon TCG: Pokémon Day 2026 Collection includes 1 foil promo card featuring Pikachu with a Pokémon Day stamp.
- This also comes with 1 Pokémon coin.
- You will also receive 3 Pokémon TCG booster packs.
- Booster Packs May Vary from those pictured.
Why availability remains part of the story
In a March 27, 2025 statement, The Pokémon Company International acknowledged that very high demand was making some Pokémon TCG products difficult to obtain. The company said it was maximizing production for future expansions, continuing to reprint affected products and using a virtual queue on Pokémon Center for some high-traffic releases. Those comments describe the company’s supply response at that time; they are not a current inventory measurement or a guarantee that a particular set is in stock.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What reported order cancellations do—and do not—show
GamesRadar reported customer claims in September 2026 that Pokémon Center had cancelled many orders. The publication said it could not verify those reports and noted overselling as another possible explanation. The available official notices do not establish the number of cancellations, their cause, or whether a broad cancellation campaign occurred.
If an order is cancelled, a shopper should first check the order email and the terms for that specific sale. A duplicate submission, a lottery-rule violation, an inventory or overselling problem, or a company determination that activity was inappropriate are all possibilities mentioned or left open by the available information. It is not justified to label every cancellation as proof of facial-recognition enforcement or anti-scalper action.
What Japanese shoppers should watch for next
- Store announcements naming participating Pokémon Center locations.
- The specific Pokémon TCG products and purchase limits covered at each location.
- Instructions for identity verification, including how customers who cannot complete a scan are handled.
- Whether facial recognition is used only for a transaction or linked to broader account records.
- Updated online lottery terms for each individual drawing.
Until those details are published, the defensible description is “a planned, phased identity check for selected Japanese stores and products,” alongside existing online lottery restrictions and older product-specific resale terms—not a blanket new resale ban.
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