Pokemon scalpers ignore tornado warning & camp in the middle of thunderstorms

https://www.dexerto.com/pokemon/pokemon-scalpers-ignore-tornado-warning-camp-in-the-middle-of-thunderstorms-3197894/

Michelle Cornelia May 21, 2025 · 3 mins read
Pokemon scalpers ignore tornado warning & camp in the middle of thunderstorms
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Pokemon scalpers were reportedly camping outside a store to secure cards despite being in the midst of awful weather and even getting a thunderstorm warning.

Collecting Pokemon cards is supposed to be a fun and affordable hobby that fans of all ages can enjoy. Though thanks to scalpers going out of their way to clear out shelves in the blink of an eye, this has not been the case for a long time now.

We’ve seen some truly crazy incidents regarding this issue throughout the years. If a vending machine queue leading to a fight breaking out in public isn’t wild enough, someone out there went as far as following an employee from store to store to get restocked cards.

Following the release of the Prismatic Evolutions Super-Premium Collection, though, it’s clear that things just got even worse. First spotted by Polygon, scalpers would seemingly rather keep their spot in line and possibly put themselves in danger than listen to a tornado warning.

Pokemon scalpers go out of their way to camp in the middle of “awful” weather

In a Reddit thread, one user expressed their frustrating experience when they wanted to get the new Prismatic set. “I decided to try and wait for the new prismatic super premium collection for a midnight release,” they explained.

Despite already planning to do so, things didn’t go smoothly for them. Not only was the weather for the night “awful,” but they claimed that there was a “tornado warning” and “thunderstorms until around 2:30 AM.”

Much to their surprise, though, despite that being the case, they spotted two people already camping in the store when they got there at 3 AM. 

Upon speaking with them, they found out that these people had apparently been waiting in this location since the day before, which is no doubt surprising considering the weather situation.

Ultimately, they were left upset because these people said, “Sorry, but we are getting all of it, you can’t get any,” while having a trunk loaded with Pokemon stuff, including a Charizard Ultra Premium Collection.

This is just one of the many shenanigans scalpers have done lately. In a separate thread, another user even shared a picture of one particular Gamestop that can be seen flooded with people trying to get in to secure their goods.

Either way, it’s clear that these types of people aren’t backing off and giving others a chance anytime soon, as some of them are willing to go to the extreme just to make a quick buck off Pokemon cards.