Japan's scalper plague just hit the wall harder than a lost 10-pull on a banner. The Pokémon Company announced it's rolling out My Number Card ID checks for priority lotteries on Pokémon Center Online and certain domestic tournaments starting around August 2026, scanning the chip via smartphone to lock down Players Club accounts without storing your actual number.

Production ramps were supposed to fix this mess, but here we are watching resellers feast while kids get leftovers. Independent stores already got sidelined for big chains, and now even tournaments need the biometric handshake—probably from all the event drama lately. Foreign buyers and pros flipping stock? Sayonara to your easy money.

Whales like me already got the cards; this just makes sure the rest of the pond isn't drained dry. Apply for that My Number Card yesterday if you want in on the next set drop.