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Pokémon Center S'pore at Jewel cancels in-store launch of card set after 1,000 people turn up, cites 'safety reasons'
The walkway was packed with people waiting to enter the store.
January 17, 2025, 01:19 PM
Pokémon fans were left outraged after the Pokémon Center Singapore cancelled a Pokemon card set launch 30 minutes before it was scheduled to happen.
Many had waited outside the store for hours, only to leave empty handed.
The launch of the Prismatic Evolutions series, featuring the popular Eevee, was supposed to take place at 10am on Jan. 17 at the Pokémon Center Singapore.
A Pokémon fan, Chankit, estimated that around 600 people turned up at the retail outlet located at Jewel Changi Airport. Police subsequently confirmed that the crowd peaked at over 1,000 people.
Photo courtesy of Chankit.
GIF from video by Chankit.
GIF from video by Chankit.
Chankit, 28, said that the crowd was "really crazy", and that they were so packed together that he could not move.
According to footage that he shared with Mothership, the walkway outside Pokémon Center Singapore was packed with people waiting to enter the store, and the crowd stretched for several storefronts down.
Even though the Pokémon Center Singapore had earlier announced that it would not allow overnight queuing, there were fans who started queuing the night before.
Chankit heard that one person started queuing from 11pm yesterday (Jan. 16).
As for Chankit himself, he took a cab from his place at 7am and reached Jewel Changi Airport at around 8am.
He waited until the store announced the news.
"It was really a waste of my time and energy," he said.
Chankit said that he saw security staff attempt to disperse the crowd. At one point, a female staff urged the crowd loudly to go away.
He also saw staff from the Pokémon Center Singapore being escorted into the store by security personnel.
When the store announced that the launch was cancelled, there was an audible "Wah" coming from the crowd, said Chankit, who added that he heard a couple of people questioning the police.
According to a clip that Chankit sent to Mothership, a man was complaining to a Jewel Changi Airport staff that there was "no plan" to handle the crowd.
However, after the announcement, the crowd started to disperse relatively quickly.
Photo courtesy of Chankit.
Chankit thinks that many of those who went down were scalpers planning to resell the cards online for much higher prices.
He thinks that the Pokémon Center Singapore should have a better system in place when launching popular merchandise.
"I feel they should have done a balloting system, like in Japan, that way it would have been more fair for everyone," he said.
"At the very least, there should have been some sort of queue management. It was just a confusing mess and we don't know who was at the front.
Also, it would have been nicer if they announced the cancellation earlier cause people were still coming in when they made the announcement."
Pokemon Center Singapore subsequently put up an Instagram post explaining that in-store sales of the Prismatic Evolutions set have been halted for the time being, so as to "ensure a safe environment for our guests".
Multiple users pointed out in the comments that the card set was sold out within seconds of its launch on Shopee:
Mothership has reached out to Jewel Changi Airport and Pokémon Center Singapore for comment.
Top images courtesy of Chankit
Edit: The police confirmed on the evening of Jan. 17 that more than 1,000 people were there at the launch. We have reflected this new figure in the article headline and body.
