Pokémon Fans Rally Around Young Fan Scammed at Pokémon XP
A young Pokémon fan was scammed out of his most valuable trading card by an adult during a trade at the inaugural Pokémon XP event in San Francisco, prompting his father to speak out and the wider Pokémon community to rally in support. The incident highlights the risks facing younger collectors at large trading events, even as the franchise's community spirit ultimately produced a wave of goodwill in response.
The boy's father, Eric Bahn, said the scam happened around 10:45am on 29 August near Booth 87 at Moscone South, with his son losing a PSA 9 Rayquaza VMAX #218 card from the Evolving Skies set that he had spent years saving and trading to obtain. Bahn sought security footage and spoke to venue staff, though the card's recovery has not been confirmed. His son asked the scammer to "stop hurting children" and said he didn't want the incident to damage other kids' trust in the community; since then, Pokémon creator Pat Flynn and other collectors have offered replacement cards, packs and assistance, while a Pokémon event manager also reached out to the family.
- Young fan scammed out of rare Rayquaza card at Pokémon XP event
- Father publicised the incident; card's recovery unconfirmed
- Pokémon community, including a franchise creator, offered support and cards
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Trading card games like Pokémon have a huge collecting community, where rare cards can be worth significant sums of money depending on their condition and rarity. Pokémon XP is a newly launched official convention held in San Francisco, bringing together fans, including children, to trade, buy and sell cards in person, often face to face with strangers.
At this kind of event, trades between attendees are usually informal and rely on mutual trust, which can leave younger or less experienced collectors vulnerable to being misled or cheated by more experienced traders. This is the situation a young fan reportedly found himself in, losing a high-value card during a trade with an adult at the convention.
The story matters because it touches on how trading events are run and supervised, particularly where children are involved, and how the wider fan community responds when something like this happens. It also involves recognisable figures within the Pokémon collecting world, whose reactions have shaped how the incident has been perceived publicly.