Massive Pokémon TCG theft forces UK stores to cancel Ultra Prism pre-release

The next big pre-release event for the Pokémon Trading Card Game planned for this weekend has been called off after stock of the upcoming Ultra Prism expansion was stolen.

Ultra Prism is the fifth set of cards in the ever-popular TCG’s Sun & Moon series, and is due for release in the UK on February 2nd.

Ahead of the launch, hobby stores across the UK had intended to hold pre-release events this weekend, letting fans try out the new decks and compete in casual tournaments, with the chance to take home some of the cards ahead of release.

That will no longer be going ahead, after the game’s UK distributor Asmodee UK announced that its entire stock of Ultra Prism pre-release sets had been stolen while in transit.

The theft has caused 80 shops across the nation to cancel their pre-release plans, with Asmodee UK saying that it was working to obtain more stock in time for a pre-release event next weekend, January 20th and 21st.

Alec Thorne, Asmodee UK’s organised play co-ordinator, added on Facebook that the company was “still trying to understand the full impact of this scenario”. There is currently no suggestion that the theft will have an impact on the release date of the full expansion.

The full list of stores affected is as follows:

• 8Bit Planet
• A Fistful of Dice
• Acme Games
• Angry Cherry
• Antics Hobby Store
• Athena Games
• Bag of holding
• BattleQuest Games
• Bazbo Comics Truro
• Beanie Games
• Bus Stop Toy Shop
• Calamity Comics
• Cataclysm Games
• Chaos Cards Tabletop Gaming Centre
• Chase Games
• Chimera Leisure Ltd
• Comicrazy
• Comics, Games & Coffee
• Common Ground Games
• Critical Hit Games Cafe
• Dark Matter Cafe
• Daydream Nation
• Den 11
• Eclectic Games
• Excelsior games
• Famous Collectibles
• Fan Boy Three
• Firestorm Games Cardiff
• Firestorm Games Newport
• Galleon Games
• Game HQ ltd
• Gamers World
• Games hub
• Geek Retreat
• Geeks Headquarters
• Golden Sun TCG
• GTG Games
• Harlequins Blackpool
• Heroes (formerly Cheap Thrills)
• Highlander Games`
• Ibuywargames Ltd
• IQ Games Centre
• Just Games
• Kabooom Entertainment GmbH
• KD Games
• Kids Stuff Toys
• Mad for Miniatures
• Magic Madhouse EXP
• Mana Gaming
• ManaFlux Gaming
• Marquee Models
• Nerd World
• Netherworld
• Netherworld Chester
• Patriot Games
• Patriot Games: Leeds
• Portal Games & Entertainment
• Premier Express, 2 Coles Lane
• Proud Lion
• Questing Knight Games
• Rewind Collectables
• Robins Hobby Cafe
• Shadow Games Ltd
• Shogun Games/GamesLoft
• Skyward Fire Games
• Sneak Attack Games
• Soda
• Stans Games
• The Gamers’ Emporium
• The Games Pit
• The Games Shop
• The Grove, Goodies, and Geekery
• The Hobbit Hole
• Toys & Games of Worcester
• Travelling Man (Leeds)
• Vault 14
• Warboar Games
• Wargames Workshop MK
• Waterstones, University of Hull
• Weekend Warlords