Of all the Gametraders in Adelaide, the Seaford store has been there alongside many a child (and parents), throughout many different pop culture passions over the years, but here we hope to shine some light on the recent upsurge in collecting, selling and trading of Pokemon Trading Cards in Adelaide. What mysteries lie in wait for us to unearth, what caused this sudden passion to blossom within so many families?

Our Pikachu Detectives here at Gametraders have been tirelessly working to uncover the mystery of this passionate burst of attempting to collect them all. For some of us, this is not our first collecting adventure, many of us regret not having kept better condition of our childhood prized cards. Having touched the lives of many over the last 15 years, we have shared many ups and downs alongside the local communities, whether that be through tournament engagements or collectors alike; our passions have always supported and pushed us to be the go-to game store in Adelaide.

So, let’s have a look at the history and the now of Pokémon trading cards in Adelaide!

The 1990s – Giving us the hardest choice of all; Red or Blue.

Nothing brings back the fond memories like dusting off the Old Nintendo 64 and realizing your joystick has been Mario Partied to death or switching channels to see what Cheez TV had to offer. For most of us that 7am animation fixation was none other than Pokemon.

School yards were with rife with Pokemon Trading Cards in Adelaide being snuck in past the educators gaze, allowing us kids to throw down with our pals in the school yard, hoping to be the best like no one ever was. From simple black and white beginnings of collecting wacky, wild creatures, earning badges and trading with friends hoping to catch the strongest of them all and achieving that lifelong goal so many children have, and still do, of being a Pokemon Master.

Later in the 90’s is where things spiked as more people became Poke’ Maniacs, collecting Pokémon trading cards in Adelaide especially as the franchise gained more traction and invaded houses across the country! From the TV screen to print the tie-in TCG themed cards which were the brainchild of Ishihara-San and Atsushi Nagashima who shared a passion for tabletop games and found that the Pokemon Algorithm of the videogame could be mirrored onto table-based play.

For those readers old enough to share our nostalgic vibes, the hours spent queuing at Adelaide game stores to get limited events unlocked in our games plus other events popping up at major shopping centers across the country; it was a wild panic to catch em’ all. And now the past repeats itself as that same craze strikes again through emptied shelves and crazed collectors once more strive to understand the power that is inside of Pokemon.

YouTube, Hype & Pandemic Blues

While Pokémon trading cards in Adelaide waned a little in popularity in the mid 00’s, there has been a huge reprise in purchases with a reported increased sales of 574% in the 2019-2020 period alone! We’re constantly ordering more and more to meet the demand of collectors from Adelaide and across Australia.

As social media becomes the main form of connection between people, YouTube has helped spike the popularity of Pokemon through unboxing videos, live streams and visually sharing the excitement of opening product from the comfort of our own homes. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak Pokemon had sparked a new fire for players globally through the 2016 release of Pokemon Go! Encouraging players to adventure out into an augmented world to collect, trade and battle with friends. Honestly – the first week that released is the closest we’ve come to world peace in a long time! Everyone was only too happy to help each other catch Pokemon.

The lockdowns and pandemic blues seem to have encouraged trainers to get their caps back out give their collections another crack, through means of cracking packs hoping to find rare Pokemon worthy of spending their time and money.

We saw a wonderful number of new buyers for our Pokémon trading cards in Adelaide throughout this time and are always happy to see the incredible community growing and growing with each iteration of the once humble videogame.

Collecting Nostalgia

As the premier Gametraders in Adelaide, we have come along way from the old yellow and black branding. We know that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to collecting and displaying our nostalgia, not just Video Games but Trading Cards too! Whether it’s anime figures, pop vinyl figures, board games or Magic: The Gathering – there really is a collection for everyone, and we are proud to house them all. We have an absolute ball having a look through all the latest and greatest iterations and releases, and heavily regretting our parents telling us those Pokemon Cards won’t be worth anything! Tell that to the hundreds of base edition Charizard’s lost to the school trades, trays and Teacher’s desks over the 90’s!