A Category 5 tropical scalping storm is ravaging the Pokémon Trading Card Game scene, and there’s no sign the weather will clear up in the immediate future.
Faced with this unprecedented wave of cynical mass-buying and re-selling, one Japanese gaming store has implemented a rather cheeky security system to ward off wannabe deck dealers: a Pokémon quiz. And believe it or not, it’s working.
The store in question is Bic Camera Ikebukuro, which sells Pokémon Trading Card packs alongside cameras and camera equipment. Word of Bic Camera’s unorthodox anti-scalping efforts comes from X user Ryo Saeba, who posted a photo of an in-store announcement board advertising the quiz and its rules.
As outlined on the board, the quiz applies only to customers attempting to purchase Ninja Spinners booster packs, a Japanese-exclusive expansion with some very rare cards, including a Mega Greninja with unique art. The quiz comprises 15 questions drawn from a larger pool crafted by Bic Camera staff. The questions are in Japanese, and you have to answer them in Japanese for them to count.
Now, you might think, “Can’t someone just look up the answers on their phone?” Don’t worry, Bic Camera thought ahead: the store has outlawed using your phone during the quiz, and they will bar cheaters from purchasing booster packs if they catch them. The store even threatened to stop selling Ninja Spinners entirely if too many cheaters put their hands in the cookie jar. Yikes.
The safeguards don’t end once you’ve turned in the quiz, either. Customers who pass can snag only one booster pack, preventing scalpers from hoarding packs for resale. On top of that, the store will remove the pack’s plastic packaging before handing it out, tanking the pack’s resale value.
According to Saeba, this quiz has proven surprisingly effective. While Pokémon fans are acing the test, scalpers in it for the grift haven’t been so lucky. I can only imagine how embarrassing it is to be laughed out of a store because you don’t know Greninja’s name.
In the wake of this success, many Japanese Pokémon fans are encouraging other gaming stores to follow Bic Camera’s lead, and it’s not the worst idea. Pokémon card scalpers have gone to incredible (and incredibly illegal) lengths to secure inventory for resale, but many of them seem to draw the line at actually knowing anything about the franchise they’re trying to profit from.
As ridiculous as it might seem, a simple test might be enough to scare all but the most dedicated grifters away. If Bic Camera’s methods keep working, maybe we’ll start seeing anti-scalping Pokémon quizzes pop up in game stores across the world. It’d be a fantastic way to test your Pokémon knowledge, if nothing else.
