From Empty Shelves to Full Closets: How the 2025 Shortage Turned Me Into a Pokémon Investor

If you asked me a year ago what an “ETB” was, I probably would have guessed it was some new government agency. Back then, I was just a parent trying to buy Pokémon cards for my kids. It was simple: go to Target, grab a couple of booster packs off a fully stocked shelf, and watch their faces light up when they pulled a shiny card.

Then came 2025.

I don’t know if it was the release of the Pokémon Pocket app that brought everyone back to the hobby, or just a perfect storm of hype, but suddenly, the shelves were bare. I’m not talking “low stock”—I’m talking completely barren. Target, Walmart, Best Buy—it didn’t matter where I went. The card section looked like a swarm of locusts had moved through it.

The Scarcity Mindset

When you can’t find something your kids love, a funny thing happens to your brain. You enter “hunter mode.”

Because I couldn’t just casually pick up packs anymore, I went on a mission. Every time I walked into a store, I’d check the card aisle. If there was anything—a lonely blister pack, an obscure collection box, things I normally wouldn’t look twice at—I bought it. I wasn’t even thinking about what set it was from; I was just desperate to have something on hand for the next birthday or good report card.

I was spending more money and time just trying to maintain a simple hobby for my children. I realized I was caught up in the panic-buying frenzy that was leaving those shelves empty in the first place.

Entering the Rabbit Hole

Frustrated with overpaying for scraps left by scalpers, I turned to the internet for answers and stumbled onto a corner of Reddit that changed everything: r/pokeinvesting.

I spent hours reading. I realized that while I was desperately trying to find packs for my kids to rip open immediately, others were playing a completely different game. They weren’t just opening; they were holding.

The Hard Lesson of Grading

Once I went down the rabbit hole, I didn’t just stop at sealed product. I learned about professional grading—how turning a raw card into a PSA 10 Gem Mint slab could exponentially increase its value.

I started buying already-graded slabs for stable investments, but I also got a little greedy. I looked through my kids’ binders, pulled out their best “chase” cards that looked perfect to my untrained eye, and sent them off to PSA. I was dreaming of perfect 10s.

Reality hit hard when that submission returned. Instead of a box of gems, I was staring at 7s, 8s, heartbreaking 9s, and even a dreaded 5 (turns out my kids had enjoyed that card a little too much before I sleeved it). The elusive 10 remained completely out of reach. It was an expensive lesson that reinforced why keeping things sealed is often safer than gambling on a grader’s magnifying glass.

A New Strategy for Their Future

That experience shifted my mission entirely. I realized I could still collect for my kids, but instead of short-term fun (or failed grading submissions), I could build them a long-term nest egg.

I stopped frantically buying random loose packs. I started being strategic. Following the advice from the PokeInvesting community, I began targeting:

• Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Boxes (ETBs): These often have exclusive promos and are better long-term holds than retail versions.
• Sealed Booster Bundles & Boxes: The “gold standard” for holding value.

Now, when I manage to find good stock, I don’t immediately hand it over to be torn apart. I tuck it away in a safe spot in the closet. My kids still get packs to open here and there, but the bulk of my “hunting” now goes into their future. Maybe in 15 years, we can pull out those dusty, sealed ETBs from 2025 and realize that the “great shortage” was actually the best thing that could have happened to their collection.