Nintendo is forcing a Pokemon TCG store in New York City to change its name, following concerns over the beloved franchise's branding and trademark. The massively popular TCG based on the monster-catching series is easily one of the biggest collectible card games in the world, with a long and storied history throughout its nearly three decades. The Pokemon TCG has grown into one of the biggest branches of the Pokemon brand, with tens of thousands of cards for players to collect across its many expansions. The past year has seen a particular boom for the TCG as well.
Pokemon saw a big year for the trading card game in 2025, with 2026 welcoming an equally exciting start. The Pokemon TCG kicked off 2025 with one of its most highly-anticipated expansions yet, debuting Prismatic Evolutions as a new set focused around the Eeveelutions. 2025 brought the release of a multitude of fan-favorite sets, including expansions like Destined Rivals and Phantasmal Flames, while 2026 has already started off strong with the launch of Ascended Heroes. However, one New York-area Pokemon shop has seen a less than ideal start to the year, experiencing both a robbery and Nintendo intervention.
Pokemon TCG Shop Forced to Rebrand by Nintendo
New York-based Pokemon TCG shop The Poke Court revealed that it will officially be changing its name. The store revealed that Nintendo had recently reached out to The Poke Court with concerns about the shop's name and logo, which used a Poke Ball to represent its Pokemon focus. The Poke Court shared that it will be rebranding as The Trainer Court on both its online store and physical retail location, with new signage and branding to reflect the change. The Trainer Court also showed off its new logo, featuring a stylized C with a star in the middle and shedding the older Poke Ball imagery.
The Trainer Court's rebranding efforts come not long after the shop was the victim of a major robbery. The Trainer Court shared that the shop was held up by a trio of armed robbers during a big event in January, with a significant quantity of cards and sealed product stolen from the shop. The Instagram post from the store showcases some of the video footage from the security cameras during the robbery, including the culprits smashing out the glass in multiple display cases. The Trainer Court confirmed that all the employees and attendees were "physically safe" after the robbery, with Nintendo likely contacting the store after the raised exposure from the event.
The recent popularity of the Pokemon TCG has put many of the game's recent releases in high demand from fans. Retailers like GameStop and Wal-Mart have moved to limit purchases on Pokemon TCG products, with "scalping" and re-selling plaguing the Pokemon community. The boom has also led to many older high-end cards skyrocketing in price, including cards like the Evolving Skies alternate art Umbreon reaching nearly $1,700 USD on the secondary market. The Pokemon Company confirmed that it will be re-double its printing efforts as well, in an attempt to curb recent shortages of the TCG.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
