204. Japan, NAIC, and Too Many Pikachu

This week on Special Conditions, Adam and Justin keep things lighter with a Pokémon life catch-up. Between travel plans, podcast chaos, collecting fatigue, and the constant stream of Pokémon news, this episode is more conversation than deep dive. We talk through the current Pokémon TCG vibes, the 30th Celebration reveal, NAIC 2026, reported changes around graded slabs and high-dollar vendor items at official events, and whether the hobby still feels fun when everything turns into a chase. Plus, we check in on Pokémon GO Fest Global, Justin going to Japan, promos, and the eternal question: what Pokémon thing is giving us joy right now, and what Pokémon thing is exhausting us? Pokémon 30th Anniversary Hub:https://30.pokemon.com/en-us/ Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration coverage:https://www.pokebeach.com/2026/06/30th-celebration-set-revealed NAIC 2026 TCG Results / Decks:https://limitlesstcg.com/tournaments/518 Current Limitless TCG deck trends:https://limitlesstcg.com/ Reported TPCi graded slab / vendor restriction story:https://www.pokebeach.com/2026/05/tpci-has-banned-sales-of-graded-slabs-and-pokemon-center-products-at-events Pokémon GO Fest Global 2026:https://pokemongolive.com/gofest/global Pokémon Mid-Year Celebrations:https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/mid-year-celebrations-return-to-play-pokemon-stores-on-june-15 🔗 Connect with us 🌐 Website: pokemonprofessor.com 🎧 Podcast Network: Pokémon Professor Network  🎧 Podcast Host: Pickaxe 💬 Discord: Exclusive access via Patreon 👕 Merch: Available on our site 📞 Call/Text/Voicemail: 732-835-8639 ✉️ Email: specialconditions@pokemonprofessor.com https://linktr.ee/PokemonProfessorNetwork  Music provided by GameChops and licensed through Creative Commons ▾ FOLLOW GAMECHOPS ▾ http://instagram.com/GameChops http://twitter.com/GameChops http://soundcloud.com/GameChops http://facebook.com/GameChops http://youtube.com/GameChops http://www.gamechops.com Intro Music Trapped In A Pokéball Dj CUTMAN and Belthesar GameChops - Ultraball http://gamechops.com/ultraball/  http://soundcloud.com/DjCUTMAN http://soundcloud.com/belthesar Break Music He Walk - Furret / Accumula Town Remix  Dj Cutman http://soundcloud.com/djcutman  http://twitter.com/videogamedj  http://youtube.com/djcutman Outro Music Kanto Trainer Battle Mykah GameChops - Ultraball http://gamechops.com/ultraball/  https://soundcloud.com/mykah Hosts Adam Tuttle Justin Keller Executive Producer Tish Smith Pokémon And All Respective Names are Trademark and © of Nintendo 1996-2024Pokémon Professor and Special Conditions are not affiliated with Niantic Inc., The Pokémon Company, Game Freak or Nintendo #pokemon #pokemontcg #podcast Links Mentioned / Reference Links Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices