The game was first released in 1996 and has recovered in recent years. The pandemic has caused a surge in demand for certain cards.

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The strong demand for Pokémon trading cards has steadily increased in recent years, and then soared further during the pandemic, causing Target to temporarily stop selling these cards on the grounds that it poses a threat to the safety of customers and employees.

A Target spokesperson said that “out of caution,” in-store sales of Pokemon trading card game packs and MLB, NFL and NBA cards will cease on Friday. The company did not elaborate on what led to the decision or what threatened people’s safety, but media reports hinted at customer unruly behavior and long queues outside the store while waiting for replenishment.

"The safety of our guests and our team is our top priority," a Target spokesperson said in a statement.

According to a picture circulating on the Internet, at a Wal-Mart, a document signed by "store management" stated that "due to customer misconduct and increased demand," these cards will not be in stock.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said that the sign posted in the store was wrong, "We have not suspended the sale of any trading cards."

Wal-Mart said in a statement: "Like other retailers, we have seen increased customer demand, and we are determining what changes need to be made to meet customer needs while ensuring a safe and enjoyable shopping experience."

The Pokémon card game, first released in 1996, is a strategy game that allows players to fight each other with their beloved characters in the wider Pokémon franchise. Although the value of old cards has risen, the demand now is for new cards, such as those sold in mainstream retail stores such as Target and Walmart. Each pack contains a few ordinary cards of low value, but collectors will occasionally be lucky to find a rare card in its original state.

It is more difficult for collectors to get a card than ever because of the significant increase in value over the past year. Institutions that confirm the authenticity and condition of rare cards are already overwhelmed and frantically trying to hire more raters to cope with the months-long backlog.

For many Pokémon fans who have played from the beginning, these cards are an after-school game, similar to Magic: The Gathering: Party, they never intended to use these cards as an investment because they were handled roughly and followed. As the owner grew up, he was stuffed into the shoebox upwards. But like baseball and football cards, some high-end collectors are looking for rare cards and are now reaping their astronomical value in return.

Last December, a rare Pikachu card was traded into a card worth 900,000 US dollars. In March, a holographic fire-breathing dragon card was sold for $311,800. YouTube star Logan Paul (Logan Paul) spent millions on cards.

Charlie Herlock, a Pokémon card expert and dealer, said, but it's not just high-end collectors who have benefited from the boom.

Rating cards—a necessary step to get the highest price in markets such as eBay—had ever made sense for most of the rarest cards. But now, a card that was once worth 10 dollars is worth 20 dollars, and a card that was once worth 20 dollars is now worth 50 dollars. Suddenly, there is a huge demand among collectors who would not spend about 10 dollars for the cards in the past. Rating, he said.

This led to the madness of rating agencies.

Collectors Universe President and CEO Joe Orlando (Joe Orlando) stated in March that its PSA certification and grading service department receives more cards every five days than it has received in the past three months, and its number of employees and headquarters . After a large number of submissions in March, the company stopped accepting new submissions in order to process all outstanding orders.

He wrote in a post on the organization’s website: “It would be dishonest if I or anyone else said they believed that the price of certain cards would increase by 10 to 20 times during the pandemic.” “The market The changes were rapid and they were angry because the number of submissions that started to impact PSA was also the same."

CCG, another rating agency, purchased a new building and increased the bonus for new employees from $1,000 to $2,500.

The company wrote in March: "We have added incentives to motivate and reward our employees and attract new talent." "We will not rest until this situation is resolved."

In addition to the doubling of the value of the old cards, the new Pokémon cards also experienced a similar boom. Alan Narz, owner of Orlando Big League Sports and Pokemon Cards, said a few months ago that he would be excited about three new customers every month. Then, during a pandemic, he sometimes sees 25 new customers a day.

He said that during the pandemic, the value and interest of sports cards also surged, but Pokémon has always been the main source of new interest.

"The number of new people we saw is crazy," Mr. Narz said. "I can't imagine that in my life, trading card hobby shops like ours will see so many new people come in again."

He said that part of the reason for the increase in demand can be traced to social media influencers, who have found many viewers by streaming their own video packages. He said that because people cannot spend money on bars, theaters and sports events, some people spend their expendable money on playing cards.

But as demand increases, there is still a severe shortage of supply. Mr. Herlock said that apart from the global supply chain issues during the pandemic, there are not many facilities for highly specialized printing of cards. He said that smaller card stores hardly sell any new cards, and distributors pay more attention to large retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart.

This leads to chaotic scenes in large stores sometimes. Mr. Hurlocker said that for some Pokémon fans camping outside the store before restocking, this is not just a chance to get rare cards, but also an opportunity to participate in this phenomenon.

"At this point, I know very well that they had a great time," he said. "Either they like this kind of competitiveness, or they have made friends along the way, or they just want to talk about their time to camp for Pokémon products in the future."