Pokemon acquires US trading card game distributor, so our stock woes could be about to change

Pokemon TCG stock all sold out in online stores — (Image credit: Pokemon Company)

Pokemon has announced that it will acquire major US trading card game distributor Excell Brands.

Although the two companies have worked together for a long time, The Pokemon Company president Kenji Okubo says that this decision "reflects our long-term commitment to supporting the Pokemon community and the broader trading card ecosystem." The press release adds that the acquisition will help meet what it calls "increasing expectations" surrounding order fulfillment and the overall customer experience, which is a nice way of acknowledging that it's bloody impossible to find stock for one of the best card games.

"It wasn't very effective..."

An Elite Trainer Box and Booster Bundle for Ascended Heroes against a blurred background — (Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

If you're a Pokemon TCG collector or player, you'll know that stock is dicey for the latest expansions. At the time of writing, the best place to find Ascended Heroes stock is either Amazon or Walmart... though it's worth noting that most listings are drastically overpriced. Best Buy items are still reading "coming soon," though, so that's worth keeping an eye on.

Considering how notoriously difficult it is to get expansions in the run-up to, during, and after launch, this news may offer fans a sliver of hope going forward. While we're unlikely to see a complete reversal of our (mis)fortunes due to unscrupulous resellers scooping up as much stock as they can, it's worth noting that Excell is a distribution partner to most major US retailers that stock the Pokemon TCG – including Amazon, Walmart, and Target. In other words, this could be seen as a first step toward fixing the current situation.

It feels as though this has been a long time coming. Last year, The Pokemon Company issued a statement around barren TCG stock, with promises of "maximizing production," so I can only assume scooping up Excell Brands is part of that mission. Time will tell, I suppose.

Until then, you can get the latest on where to buy Pokemon TCG Ascended Heroes or where to buy Pokemon TCG Perfect Order via our guides.

For more tabletop goodness, don't miss the best board games or the best tabletop RPGs.

I've been writing about games in one form or another since 2012, and now manage GamesRadar+'s tabletop gaming and toy coverage. You'll find my grubby paws on everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news.

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