Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Gym Leader Influencer Caused a Real-Life Sell Out of Pokemon Cards

The gym leader/influencer of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is causing a run on the latest Japanese Pokemon Trading Card Game set. Creatures Inc. announced last week that all Pokemon TCG products were sold out in Japan after the release of "Clay Burst," one of two new Pokemon TCG sets released last week. Additionally, the company announced that they will be shipping more products to store as soon as possible and is considering printing more booster boxes of "Clay Burst" as a made-to-order product, with more information to be released in May. 

It's not exactly a surprise that Pokemon cards are popular and quickly selling out, but "Clay Burst" has probably set a new bar in terms of demand. And the reason why is a bit of surprise. Instead of fans wanting a particular Pokemon card, they're hoping to get one of the Special Illustration rare Iono cards, a trainer card featuring the Electric-type Gym Leader Iono. Currently, Iono Special Illustration Rare cards are selling for as much as $2,000 on eBay, with an average sales price of about $1,200. Iono, who is also an influencer in the game and actually runs a challenge that requires the player to help her get more subscribers and views, seems to have caused a major run on the latest Pokemon card set. 

Iono is the latest example of players spending major money on cards featuring female characters, a phenomenon documented by Kotaku earlier this year. Even the relatively low demand Scarlet & Violet set's most expensive card features a female character – the relatively obscure character Miriam's Special Illustration Rare card is selling for around $60 on average. 

While the Iono card will likely decrease in value as more cards hit the secondary market, the fact that Creatures Inc. (the company who makes the Pokemon Trading Card Game) is considering a print-on-demand model to sell the Clay Burst set in bulk speaks volumes. The new card will likely be part of the Paldea Evolved set, which will be released in the US and outside of Japan on June 9th.