Pokémon Fans Rally Around Young Fan Scammed at Pokémon XP

Published Aug 30, 2026, 6:08 PM EDT

Hannah has been writing about horror, sci-fi, and all things nerdy since 2021. At Collider, she covers news and conducts interviews, along with contributing features that dive deep into genre storytelling and why it works. If there’s something lurking in the shadows, she’s probably already writing about it if she's not too busy watching a tape from her VHS collection.

Sign in to your Collider account

Pokémon has always been a franchise built around trading. From swapping creatures with a Link Cable in the earliest games to trading cards across tables at conventions, sharing the things you love with another fan is baked into the DNA of the franchise. For younger fans in particular, events like the Pokémon World Championships can be the place where that community suddenly becomes real. This weekend, tens of thousands of fans descended on San Francisco for the 2026 Pokémon World Championships and the inaugural Pokémon XP, a massive three-day celebration taking over the Moscone Center. Pokémon XP has offered everything from panels and workshops to exhibitors and opportunities for fans to trade with one another. Unfortunately, one young fan walked away from one of those trades without the card he'd spent years working for.

On Saturday, August 29, Eric Bahn shared on social media that his son had been scammed by an adult while trading cards at Pokémon XP. Bahn said the incident occurred at approximately 10:45 am on the second floor of Moscone South, near Booth 87. According to Bahn, his son lost his most valuable card in the trade, one he had spent years saving and trading other items to obtain.

A Young Pokémon Fan Lost His Most Valuable Card in a Trade at Pokémon XP

Image via The Pokémon Company International

The card was no ordinary pull, either. Bahn subsequently shared an image identifying it as a PSA 9 Rayquaza VMAX #218 from Evolving Skies. Bahn said he returned to the venue in hopes of finding security footage and spoke with staff, but the card has not been publicly confirmed as recovered. Rather than focusing solely on getting the card back, however, Bahn said his son had a message for the person who took advantage of him: "Please stop hurting children." He also said he didn't want what happened to him to cause other kids to lose their trust in the Pokémon community.

That community has since shown up for him in a pretty big way. Pokémon creator Pat Flynn, better known online as Deep Pocket Monster, responded to Bahn and offered to reach out privately to help. Other collectors have offered cards and packs of their own, including a PSA 10 Japanese Detective Pikachu promo, while another offered to check his collection for the missing Rayquaza. A Pokémon Premiere Event Manager for Latin America and Oceania also reached out to ask whether the family would be returning to the event, saying he had something for the young fan.

This is a developing story. Please refresh your page for updates from Collider at Pokémon Worlds.

• 

  Rica Matsumoto

  Satoshi (voice)

• Ikue Otani

  Pikachu (voice)