How Pokemon is making 2025 their best year ever — and what it means for collectors

How does Pokémon do it? Within just a few short years of the media franchise’s initial launch as a Game Boy game in 1996, Pokémon characters and lore had permeated hearts and imaginations around the globe. And now, nearly 30 years later (sorry, we don’t like that math either), the collection of mythical creatures remains as ingrained in pop culture as ever.

In fact, the past few years have seen a remarkable spike in interest and massive fluctuations in the value and availability of collector cards. But the growth of a hobby always brings change — in ways that can be as challenging as they are exciting.

As we join in on the global buzz around the new Scarlet & Violet - Prismatic Evolutions TCG expansion release, we’re looking back on how Pokémon has so expertly built up to this moment, how they’re making 2025 their biggest year ever, and how they can keep the hobby fun for new and old collectors alike.

Nostalgia meets newness

One thing is clear: Pokémon has absolutely mastered the balance of appealing to long-time fans while attracting a new generation. While there are always new releases, characters, and updates to the lore coming out to pique the interest of a fresh wave of fans, the franchise has never turned its back on its origins. New eras and expansions, like Scarlet & Violet, continue to build upon the universe, but OGs like Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle are still essential in the lineup.

Pokémon perfectly leans into the power of nostalgia and the appeal of fond memories for those who have been in the hobby since childhood. For example, by including a re-release of all 151 original Pokémon as part of Scarlet & Violet series, the franchise maintained familiarity and old-school appeal even while the cards were refreshed with newer gameplay mechanics. 

Consistently bringing together past and present is clearly one of the keys to the hobby’s enduring appeal. It’d break too many hearts to leave the original characters out of the game’s new era — but nor would it stay interesting without bringing in new faces and gameplay elements.

Strategic production choices

Pokémon don’t just hatch willy-nilly — each new magical creature is the product of careful breeding and incubation. Similarly, every Pokémon release is thoughtfully considered and strategically introduced to the world to maximize excitement and buzz.

The passion of TCG collectors doesn’t just come down to cute characters, lore, and nostalgia. The complexities of scarcity and demand in the Pokémon universe keep the hobby engaging to those who enjoy the challenge of searching for rare cards, as well as those who approach building their collections as a financial investment. Therefore, Pokémon must take a strategic approach to hit rate or the likelihood of finding a sought-after card in a pack.

Finding a rare card in the wild has to be uncommon enough for it to feel like a thrill when it happens, and for the card to maintain a higher trade value — yet attainable enough to keep collectors engaged. How well is Pokémon striking this balance? Well, it depends on which Youtuber you ask at any given moment, but the hobby’s continually growing popularity indicates that they’re getting something right.

Engaging the community

Community and connection have always been at the heart of the Pokémon fandom. From original fans bartering cards on the playground at recess to Pokémon Go players meeting each other out and about in real-world locations that had been virtually transformed into Pokestops and gyms, the fandom has always brought people together expertly. 

To engage the community, a brand must understand them and how to reach them, which the franchise has also consistently done well. By bringing the TCG game to digital with the Pocket version for iOS, Pokémon is connecting with people where they’re already putting their attention: their phones. Asking the uninitiated to engage with a new medium or channel can be a challenge, but once people are hooked, they’ll feel motivated to expand into other ways to engage with the Pokémon universe.

Pokémon has also expertly deployed collabs and partnerships to continue reaching new fan bases, such as by linking up with McDonald’s. Limited-edition Happy Meals are sold in Pokémon-themed boxes and include a TCG booster pack, introducing the hobby to a whole new generation and sparking a hunger to be part of the fandom. 

Moves like these get people talking, leading to a massive amount of Pokémon content across YouTube, social media, and online discussion boards. The brand has engaged influencers, hosted online discussions, and encouraged fan art and content to keep the buzz going. 

With a grassroots buzz that always feels authentic, Pokémon makes every release feel like a shared experience — and one that continually captures new fans along the way.

Building anticipation

You might think that when a brand has already released countless trading cards, video games, merch items, collab pieces, TV shows, movies, art, apparel — the list goes on — it would be natural for things to start feeling a bit stale after a while. But Pokémon still manages to build massive levels of hype around every new major drop. 

The staggered Scarlet & Violet - Prismatic Evolutions release has been built around a consistent drip feed of teasers to keep fans guessing about each phase of the drop. Cryptic social media posts and short teaser videos drop clues about which cards might generate the biggest demand, and fans enthusiastically analyze the odds that they might catch one themselves.

One unique strategy the brand employs is dropping Japanese releases in advance of the English packs with “guaranteed hits,” or a sure bet of finding a certain number of rare cards. While fans have to depend on the luck of the draw for English packs, the Japanese releases build hype by offering a sneak peek at the most exciting cards for each release. 

Sticking the landing

So now that all that hype has been built up, the Scarlet & Violet - Prismatic Evolutions era is here. At the time of this publication, we’re in the midst of the release cycle. Products started dropping at the beginning of 2025, and are scheduled for the next few months before "Journey Together" takes over, and then the most anticipated "Destined Rivals" series comes before Summer. So the question now is: how will this expansion stack up to fans’ expectations?

Early responses indicate something not entirely surprising — the fandom’s recent growth has brought about its share of challenges. We're seeing more resellers and cook groups set their sights (and bots) on Pokemon.

That’s leaving some newer fans who were stoked to take part in their first major expansion feeling a little left in the dust — especially if their pockets aren’t deep enough to simply keep buying up packs until they get lucky with some rare cards. These challenges have even led some people to declare that Pokémon “isn’t fun anymore.”

But Pokémon isn’t leaving the hobby in the dust. They recently put out an announcement on X acknowledging the difficulties that fans have had in acquiring the new products and promising to print more of the affected cards along with the upcoming new releases.

This is a great move that speaks volumes about the franchise’s enduring understanding of and appreciation for its fanbase. As long as they also make moves to block bots, discourage resellers, and keep things fair for fans, we expect this frustration to be a minor blip along the way for another massively successful Pokémon era. 

Interested in learning more about how EQL can help you harness the energy but control the chaos of a hot new release? Get in touch.