Some Pokémon fans will need a government-issued ID to buy cards now

ID verification has come for Pikachu

For years now, fans have been begging The Pokémon Company to do something about the scourge of resellers who empty out retail stores the moment a new shipment comes in. On Wednesday, The Pokémon Company revealed an extraordinary solution: the requirement for government-issued identification to buy Pokémon cards.

The company announced the measure will take effect at official Pokémon Centers in Japan starting in August. Japanese residents will need to present a document called My Number Card, which is essentially an ID card. Beyond card purchases, fans will also need ID to participate in events and tournaments, which have also struggled with an explosion in attendance numbers. The Pokémon Company says it will not use or store any personal information.

The Pokémon Company explained that the move was being done "as part of our efforts to provide all customers with equal opportunities and ensure they can enjoy our services safely and securely."

While there are currently no announced plans to institute a similar requirement outside of Japan, the experiment will likely influence future decisions the company makes about selling cards at large. Already, The Pokémon Company has cautioned Japanese citizens to consider applying for an ID in advance, as the process can take months to complete. Polygon has reached out to The Pokémon Company representatives for comment and will update this story when it responds.

Although limited in location and scope, the requirements are still noteworthy. Official Pokémon Center releases, which contain exclusive goodies, packaging, and cards, are highly coveted by the fandom. Elite Trainer Boxes of new Pokémon Card sets are priced exorbitantly on resale sites. These ETBs are not reprinted, and they contain extra booster packs. Pokémon Centers are also some of the best ways for fans to secure new products. While retailers sell out moments after opening, queues on the official Pokémon Center website can also last for hours.

But as Pokémon cards increase in value, so have concerns surrounding safety. Pokémon fans routinely report altercations that occur while attempting to purchase cards. Armed robberies of cards are on the rise. Earlier this year, a Pokémon Center employee in Japan was also killed by an alleged stalker. While that incident did not involve Pokémon cards, maintaining the welfare of its employees and customers may be top of mind at the moment for the Japanese branch of the company.

The ID requirement comes after a long string of attempts to curb card resellers. The Pokémon Company increased card production to the extent that a quarter of all cards in existence were printed in the span of two years. But when scalpers literally fill up their shopping carts with Pokémon boxes, the increased production has done little to solve the resale problem. The company also launched a fleet of vending machines that could theoretically make cards available to more people. Despite limits being built into the system, people still camp the machines, or use glitches to force sales.

The Pokémon community has also come up with clever ways to combat scalpers. One shop in Japan asked customers to pass a quiz before they were allowed to purchase anything. At some local card shops, the packaging is ripped upon sale or customers are asked to open boxes immediately. The idea is that people are less likely to buy products that have already been opened.

So far, no one has solved the Pokémon card conundrum. It remains to be seen if ID requirements will actually help, or if they might just create more headaches for actual fans.