Halloween is still a few months away, but the Pokémon TCG kickstarted the spooky festivities on July 26 by announcing the Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle. These bundles include 40 mini booster packs, and each pack contains three Pokémon cards featuring some of the franchise’s most spine-chilling characters – that’s Gengars, Pumpkaboos, and Mimikyus galore.
According to a press release from The Pokémon Company International, these cards are intended as “a fun and innovative alternative to candy for trick-or-treating”. “Families can enjoy passing out Trick or Trade BOOsters to neighbours and friends, while young Trainers trade cards in search of their favourite ghoulish Pokémon after a night of trick-or-treating”, it says.
The BOOster Bundles will be available from September 1. The press release says the bundles will be available “at participating grocery stores and mass retailers”, but no other details are provided. However, the press release was released online for website users in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and New Zealand, so Pokémon fans in these countries will likely be able to get their hands on the Halloween packs.
The Pokémon Company International also manages Pokémon for European fans, but the press release does not appear on European versions of its website. It’s not yet clear if there are any plans to bring the BOOster bundles to European retailers.
Pokémon seems to have big plans for Halloween beyond just BOOster bundles. An interactive website will reportedly launch in September “that will serve as the hub for seasonal entertainment and merchandise across the Pokémon brand as they are revealed in the coming months”. New Halloween Pokémon merchandise will also be available “in the coming months” from the Pokémon Centre for fans in the US, Canada, and the UK.
“With so many parents who grew up with the franchise, this inaugural Halloween campaign will give Trainers across generations another way to connect and bond over their love of Pokémon,” said Andy Hartpence, senior director of brand marketing at The Pokémon Company International. “In the years to come, Halloween will continue to be a celebratory moment for Pokémon, as we treat fans to festive ways to engage with the brand and highlight the much-loved spooky side of the popular and endearing franchise.”
Check out the rest of the official press release here. For more of the TCG, check out our guide to rare Pokémon cards. Or, if you’re after something more within your price range, here’s a guide to the best Pokémon booster boxes.