Wannabe Team Rocket Arrested For Hiding In Store For Pokémon TCG Set

1 hour ago 2

Published May 1, 2026, 8:46 AM EDT

Scott Baird is a Staff Writer at DualShockers with over a decade of experience writing about video games, board games, and tabletop RPGs. He has been writing professionally since 2013 and covering games since 2018, with work spanning news, reviews, lists, guides, interviews, and event coverage.

Before joining DualShockers, Scott contributed to publications including The Escapist, Dexerto, TheGamer, CBR, and Gamepur. He has also worked as a full-time Pokémon writer at Dexerto and a features writer at TheGamer. Scott holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Film & TV Production.

The desire for Pokémon Trading Card Game sets has led to even more criminal activity, as a person was arrested in Los Angeles for remaining inside a store after it had closed, on the eve of new cards being sold there.

After the Pokémania boom of the late '90s, many assumed that Pokémon merchandise would plummet in value. Turns out, that couldn't have been further from the truth, as not only has retro Pokémon memorabilia skyrocketed in value, but cards from the modern Pokémon TCG sets have become extremely valuable.

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With increased value comes criminal activity, even for the Pokémon TCG, resulting in rampant scalping and even violence in stores. The latest incident reported by NBC Los Angeles involved a suspect who was arrested at a Pasadena store after closing time, on the eve of the release of new Pokémon TCG cards, while other customers camped outside.

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The store in question was a Best Buy, which was preparing to sell cards from the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet - 151 set, containing Pokémon from the Kanto region seen in Pokémon Red & Blue. The 151 packs and boxes have become extremely hard to get because some of their cards are so valuable.

The police were called to the Best Buy at 1:00 am after someone had been spotted moving around inside the store. They showed up and arrested Patrick Keys, who is believed to have remained inside the store after closing rather than breaking in afterward.

The 151 packs and boxes have become extremely hard to get because some of their cards are so valuable.

The fact that the incident happened just before the Best Buy was set to sell new 151 cards suggests that the suspect may have wanted to be inside the store before it opened to be able to buy them as soon as possible, similar to Randy Marsh's Black Friday storyline in South Park's Game of Thrones episode.

Hopefully, the Pokémon TGC price bubble bursts soon, and people can go back to being normal about new expansions. In the end, it's a game intended for kids with sparkly artwork, and not worth risking jail over.