How do we know a Japanese Pokemon product is going to be exclusive? For example the Misty’s and Brock’s Gym Boxes were thought to be exclusive, however it turns out the cards in those boxes are now in Hidden Fates. The box itself is exclusive but the contents aren’t.
I don’t think it’s ever safe to assume anything released in Japanese will remain exclusive unless the release was something obscure.
I think the recent Munch promo cards are a good example of something obscure as these were commemorating a specific art exhibition in Japan; it feel it’s safe to assume those will remain exclusive for quite some time as a cross over would likely involve a similar event with the same demand for Pokémon-related items in a gift shop. That’s not to say that they will never make their way over into a different language, it’s just that the conditions for them to appear are somewhat niche.
Anything mass produced, like the Misty and Brock Battle Boxes you mention, will very likely eventually appear in English in some way or another over time. It’s a relatively inexpensive way for TCPi to generate revenue - translating cards which already have existing artwork is a lot cheaper than producing new cards from scratch.
6 Likes
Makes sense, and it’s a real shame.
I think it’s fairly safe to assume any of the stamped promos will remain exclusive.
As for product, that’s a little harder.
1 Like
Gotcha. Thanks!
Guess you will have to trust your gut and do as much research as you can haha. I was super excited about the Ultra Shiny GX boxes and I was like, yessss finally a set that didn’t come to English and printed to holy hell. Couple months later, oh hi Hidden Fates! FKKKKKKK you haha
Except that all current Japanese sets are printed to demand…
Ultra Shiny GX had at least three print runs.
1 Like
Yeah, wasn’t sure when I was thinking of sets. I love the set regardless. I should stick with the Japanese promos, they are doing it right.
1 Like
Yup I was so happy when they didn’t dump GX Ultra shiny into any of the sets and then bam Hidden Fates. Lol 
Just to clarify some misinformation, Japanese sets aren’t getting multiple print runs. Typically it’s one print run, then a small amount of stock later on. My distributor will offer exactly 1-2 cases more, which is nothing close to a full print run.
Shiny GX had a larger re-issue, but it still wasn’t anywhere near the first print run. It also wasn’t more than 3, or even 3 print runs. If you had to put a mathematical number to represent the amount of print runs per jp set, it would be an average between 1.1-1.5.
1 Like
It’s not a miscommunication and I haven’t given any misinformation. My information come direct from a Japanese source, who provided evidence behind it, which I’m not willing to share unfortunately.
It also matches up with what happened. The set sold out, they printed more, the shelves became stocked again. Rinse, repeat.
I really don’t care if anyone doesn’t believe it, but I’m not going to be quiet when someone says it isn’t true when it is.
Shiny GX did not receive 3 full print runs. Rather than doubling down and being aggressive and vague, I will add numerous references: I have it in writing from my distributor who I’ve done business with for almost a decade. I work closely with multiple Japanese businesses and know their purchase orders for every set. This is a quantifiable answer.
Furthermore, the most recent set had ¥300,000,000 in pre-orders, and distributors won’t be able to fulfill those orders. They are denying any new Pokémon business, because they can’t fulfill orders. This has been the case now for over a year. In fact I had Japanese businesses buy my stock because they had such a shortage on boxes. I also get priority with my distributor and my pre-orders haven’t been fully fulfilled in over a year.
They do a re-issue around a couple cases, but these aren’t full print runs. Even shiny GX which was above average, it was maybe 1.5 in total.
Honestly, I’m surprised anyone outside of Japan is even interested in Japanese sets considering the value prospects of foreign sets. Any additional print runs shocks me.
That’s a personal bias that doesn’t represent the market reality. I sold out of the new set dream league in 24 hours, while also pricing it above all Japanese businesses. I sold hundreds of shiny GX boxes no less than $100 per. There is plenty of demand.
4 Likes
Yes, definitely not vague or aggressive in your response, which I appreciate.
But it’s wrong and that’s fine, we are all entitled to opinions.
After the initial release, GX Ultra Shiny was guaranteed printed a second time. It was hinted at a third time as they monitored the performance and selling trend of the second. I was confident of a third but I don’t have evidence of it. Given the amount of stock still left in the wild it led me to believe a third was a no-brainer.
They have a history of doing multiple prints for sets that extend beyond the 1st Ed / Unlimited types that ended with XY.
A classic example of this is unlimited XY2. A set that didn’t exist until a second print run, way after it had actually sold out.
Im not sure why it shocks you honestly. After the finish of XY, they shifted production to shorter runs and had an increase in the player base. That led to (with the help of clever promos) shelves drying up very quick.
Some sets you just cannot buy at the retail level anymore. Unlike XY where I can still buy retail stock, the vast majority of SM stock is sold out and not as easy to find for retail.
I’ve also sold some of my stock to Japanese retailers, with some boxes being bought for well over what I paid.
Japanese product sells and sells well. It doesn’t suffer the English saturation issues.
Genuine question. So Japanese gets a minimal print run that doesn’t fill demand. And English overprints everything ?? It that what is happening ?
1 Like
@admiral77 In general, yes. English does throttle stock a bit more, but its completely arbitrary. While japan isn’t printing to demand, you know what to expect. Where English is more volatile.
@ozenigma, This situation is quantifiable and isn’t a matter of opinion. Ironically I would love what your saying to be true about printing sets to demand, so I could buy more product, it simply isn’t happening.
To expound on my previous points, even the initial print run isn’t enough. Distributors are literally denying any new business, because they can’t fulfill orders for current businesses. So even if you want to agree to disagree on print run numbers, they aren’t even printing the initial print run for demand. Its been this way for almost all of Sun and Moon.
Also, the re-issue is primarily because businesses were so upset. Before the re-issue, it was one print and over. Then they offered a couple cases but it was literally and figuratively too late. For example, I got an email this month for an allocated re-issue of 1-2 cases for ultra S&M. I could have used that a year ago… 
1 Like
It shocks me because long term the values don’t hold up. I’m not saying that in the present, shortages don’t occur. A lot of things sell today that will be forgotten tomorrow-like beanie baby’s ugh. I suggest it’s mainly because there is no personal attachment from our youth. There’s not a single member of this high end collectors forum that collected Japanese base set cards in 1996…except maybe one lol. You don’t hear people saying here their first connection to Pokémon was Jpn cards. Now German, French, etc yes. And that’s what they collect even today. Smallish markets though.
Older, rarer, minter, better…cheaper? That can probably be said for all the Japanese original sets yet, the values languish far behind their English counterparts. For example the last three Jpn Base Charizards sold in the 3 hundreds. The english in the 1500s even though they’re newer, more common, lesser quality, hence worser(sic).
I do respect the dissent and overall communication. That’s pretty much what e4 should be all about;)
1 Like
@garyis2000, Not every era is identical. Every modern mini set is dominated by Japanese. Everything from CP6-Current has grown in japanese, and is stagnant in English. Of course things could change with time, but this patern is true for the past 5 years.
Why original JP sets are so cheap is because the boom happened with mostly english. Where today there is activity in both languages. Japan alone is experiencing a boom right now, which has a more global impact that 20 years ago. Everything in general is more global, where in the 90’s most of the japanese set cards were allocated to japan.
2 Likes
I honestly like the Japanese cards more than I do the English ones. I think the quality overall is better. The cards are nicer and even though they don’t hold the same value as English I find the sets more fun to collect because for the most part they are small sets and I can focus on them to get closer to completing. I bought 6 boxes of Dream League it’s the most beautiful set I’ve seen!
I like GX Ultra Shiny but it’s huge! I managed to buy of boxes of GX before the price jump.
Remix bout is also a beautiful set.
I guess overall I find more joy in opening a pack of Japanese cards than English.
As far as the Misty and Brock boxes go I really liked the boxes themselves. The cards were an added bonus.
I am intrigued by the much lower value of Japanese cards though. Considering there’s less print than English.
2 Likes