Pokémon Center update could change everything for 30th anniversary pre-orders
The Pokémon Center’s 30th anniversary trading card pre-order drops have been plagued by bot attacks and scalpers, leaving collectors frustrated after hours of waiting only to find products sold out within seconds. The website currently relies on CAPTCHA verification to control traffic flow before queue entry, but this measure has proven ineffective at stopping sophisticated purchasing bots programmed to make instantaneous purchases.
According to retail-tracking Discord servers with access to The Pokémon Center’s backend infrastructure, The Pokémon Company is preparing significant security upgrades to address the problem. While specific details about the new measures remain unconfirmed, the changes suggest a move beyond basic CAPTCHA protection toward more robust verification systems designed to identify and block automated purchasing activity.
The initiative marks The Pokémon Company’s apparent effort to restore fairness to the pre-order process and improve the experience for legitimate collectors. The bot and scalper problem has escalated with each successive pre-order wave, making these security improvements potentially transformative for the community.