Pokémon Center Reopens Pitch Black Pre-Orders at $26.94 as Anti-Bot Glitches Snarl Checkout
Updated
Updated · Polygon · Jun 30
Pokémon Center Reopens Pitch Black Pre-Orders at $26.94 as Anti-Bot Glitches Snarl Checkout
1 articles · Updated · Polygon · Jun 30
Summary
Pokémon Center has reopened pre-orders for Mega Evolution: Pitch Black, with June 30 listings limited to Booster Bundles at $26.94 and Display Boxes at $299.90 ahead of the set’s July 17 release.
Hours-long queues, freezes and checkout errors are hitting buyers as The Pokémon Company’s aggressive anti-bot system flags refreshes, autofill, VPN use, multiple devices and even unstable connections as suspicious behavior.
Error 17 can effectively block purchases by treating users as bots, while Error 15 is the more common traffic-related failure; fans are trying workarounds such as clearing cookies, avoiding reloads and moving slowly through checkout.
Demand is expected to stay intense because the set has more than 115 cards, over 35 special-illustration cards and Pokémon Center exclusives that collectors say can later resell for two to three times standard ETB prices.
Buyers who miss the drop may still find stock through major retailers or local pre-release events starting as early as July 5, even as Pokémon’s 30th-anniversary products loom in September.