To be honest, this story stretches the limits of what I can believe. Already, a Pokémon collector was trying to simply fly with their booster packs sealed in their carry-on when TSA stopped them and conducted over 30 minutes of questioning. This would have been fine if it’s not the case that scanners at the airport confused rectangular cardboard stacks for Pokémon characters with an explosive threat. The X-ray assumed Charizards were threats and proceeded as if it’s a scary alternate universe.
As Dexerto reports, this absurd story began when the traveler’s bag was sent for standard checks. The TSA detected a possible threat on their monitor. Once they looked further, what was actually Pokémon trading card packs was suspiciously deemed a threat and a thirty-minute “immediate” investigation was begun for it. This because of equipment that felt that cardboard with pocket monsters on it was legitimate threat.
Other players online have understandably expressed default internet bewilderment and confusion which promptly changes into strange humour at odd scenario. One user asked the one question we are all silently asking: “how do cards look like explosives on a scanner” and yes, that question is the most asked right now. What the hell is going on with the X-ray machines that cannot differentiate between paper and life-threatening materials?
In another sarcastic remark, a user wrote, “TSA be doing anything rather than catching actual criminals,” which, ow, that one hurts a bit, right? Remember those bizarre TSA encounters wherein they are overly worried about your water bottle, as if their strict policies about entering with liquids have goofy loopholes? Yeah, now Pokémon booster packs can be added to the list of items that absurdly set off the alarms.
What’s even funnier is that Dexerto reported the Pokémon fan was puzzled because they had passed through other security checkpoints without any problems. So, it’s not like all security here or all around the world has an allergic reaction to Pokémon cards. It’s only this one TSA team that decided to go above and beyond to be meticulously vigilant about Pokémon related threats.
Some of the comments are hilarious. One person said that “TSA agents just want to get their hands on those,” which honestly, can’t say they are completely wrong. They see someone with sealed packs and think it might contain a card worth a fortune. That’s when security concern magic happens. Another person joked that “TSA about to start running booster draft tournaments in the back room,” which to be honest, sounds way better than most airport experiences.
The question of whether or not the agents broke into any of the packs is a concern, because if they did, that would be a catastrophe—visions of them tearing into sealed products in search of bombs come to mind. The concept of “That’s why airport security destroyed my valuable Pokémon cards” might warrant an entire support group. No one should have to endure that level of pain.
One user even brought up Gengar, saying “there’s a gengar in those packs they were right to be cautious,” which, okay, fine, Gengar is pretty spooky but still probably not explosive-level dangerous. Unless we’re talking about some secret Pokémon mechanic I missed where ghost types can actually detonate?
It illustrates the oddities of airport security with the multitude of rumors about strange stops—people getting stopped for peanut butter (yes, I once overheard a guy being extensively questioned about a jar of it)—this is definitely a first for Pokémon cards being confused with explosives. It makes one wonder what sort of “training” TSA receives and if one day they have to add “suspicious but nerd stuff items” to the curriculum.
And it begs the question: thirty minutes of questioning? What kind of questions? “So these ‘Poke-mon’ cards… do they summon demons?” “Do you usually bring pocket monsters in front of security?” “Is this some sort of digital money thing?” It’s baffling to imagine what sort of conversation was taking place.
It’s amusing that it happened with Pokémon and not any other TCG. What if it was Magic cards? Would they think the mana symbols were some secret language? Or if it was Yu-gi-Oh? Would they worry the Egyptian god cards actually possessed divine power? The list goes on.
It shows the disconnect between gamer culture and the rest of the world. Many of us could see Pokémon booster packs and imagine fun openings and rare cards but for TSA, it’s a potential explosive. This disregard led to one traveler that could not figure out why they were being questioned and TSA trying to prove the booster packs weren’t explosives.
The good news is, the traveler was able to somehow convince the authorities that the cards were just paper with images rather than explosives; this ended well, with no packs being damaged or opened. On the other hand, the cards may have been safe, but the traveler’s patience was probably exhausted.
Maybe card manufacturers should be urged to stick ‘NOT EXPLOSIVES’ signs on their products. Or maybe TSA should be asked to add “common gamer items that ‘look’ suspicious but aren’t” to their training manuals. This is, however, a nugget of information that will definitely be shared at gaming conventions for a very long time.
If you plan on flying with an expensive collection, stash the cards in a transparent resealable container and leave a description on the contents. Or be prepared to convince demeanor-challenged security personnel that the designs aren’t just cartoon animals but rather cardboard. In 2024, airport security still considers card collections a menace.
