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Pokémon Card Frenzy Turns into Brawl at Costco in Wild Video

CultureWatch, Read, Listen
By Craig Garrett
January 18, 2025 | 12:03 p.m. CST
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Images via cfg1978 / Shutterstock and X /@Disguised Toast

Gotta catch ’em all… fists, that is. A chaotic scene recently unfolded at a Los Angeles Costco as adults brawled over boxes of Pokémon cards. The Poké-pugilists were caught trading blows in a shocking video.

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According to TMZ, the footage was captured at a Costco warehouse in Atwater Village, where a dispute broke out over the right to buy a set of collectible trading cards.

Footage captures a chaotic scene as shoppers scramble to grab the merchandise, with one man taking an elbow to the face during a heated tussle with another customer. Costco employees did their best to play peacekeepers, but the brawling crowd wasn’t having it— Pokémon cards wait for no one.

A representative from the Atwater Village Costco informed TMZ that store staff intervened to diffuse a tense situation among several customers on Thursday. The altercation was successfully de-escalated, and no serious injuries were reported. Police were not contacted, no arrests were made, and Costco is addressing the matter internally.

Pokémon Card Fans React to Costco Brawl Footage

“Did I miss something? Are these Pokémon cards worth fighting for again?” one confused X user wrote. “Going to Costco already sucks enough,” a second X user joked.

“This is sad. ALL grown men, too!” a third onlooker added. “You know they ain’t buying them for their kids. These are man-children our parents warned us NOT to become,” another X user agreed.

“Costco needs to do better. Give each customer a ticket to purchase only one. They need to learn from Best Buy,” another onlooker suggested.

While the footage of folks brawling over Pokémon cards feels like a new low, there’s at least an explanation beyond simply being crazed fans.

It seems the stakes are high when it comes to these Pokémon cards. The sought-after 151 Blooming Waters Premium Collection is currently selling online for $120 to $150. However, Costco is offering the same collection for under $60, creating a lucrative opportunity for resellers to turn a profit.

Meanwhile, the chaos has led Costco to step in. To create a more organized process for picking up the boxes and to prevent scalpers from buying in bulk, Costco has set a limit of two Blooming Waters sets per customer, according to social media reports.

“This is exactly what needed to be in place from the start. Better late than never I guess,” one fan bemoaned.