The fight against counterfeit Pikachus and Charizards continues. Earlier this week, a police investigation in Annaka, Japan led to the seizure of 1,000 cards believed to be counterfeit. including Pokémon Trading Card Game products. The 21 years-the old suspect they supposedly belonged to was caught selling several of them last year for hundreds each.
As first spotted by a Pokémon trading card fan site PokéBeach, This is reported by the Japanese media that the police received a tip about the alleged extraction of counterfeitscards of the previous buyer. The man allegedly sold four fake Pokémon cards to two customers in October 2022, earning about $1,250 USD in the process. However, customers realized something was wrong and eventually contacted the police.
That’s when Nintendo apparently stepped in. Media reports say that during the investigation, the police asked the manufacturer Mario to evaluate the cards. When Nintendo confirmed the cards were counterfeit, the investigation led law enforcement to the suspect’s home, where they discovered 1,000 counterfeit cards, 400 of which were from the Pokémon trading card game.
Forgeryit included both Japanese and English replicas, ranging from the original 151 Mewtwos sets to the highly coveted full-art rainbow Charizards with Sun and MoonBurning Shadows expansion. Although the man apparently sold them online, police are still unsure who he got them from or where they were printed.
Creatures Inc., a company that partially owns Pokémon, announced last month that hacking would require working with online markets down on the countercard sales. “The production and sale of these products for profit interferes with the normal provision of Pokémon card game products and services, and we will take steps to suspend sales and take legal action in cooperation with the company that operates the sales platform,” the company wrote on his website. “We are continuing to respond, investigate and review.”
