Pokémon TCG now includes peel-off Ditto cards, igniting controversy

Ditto is trolling everybody in the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG). If you aren’t familiar with the Pokémon, it’s literally a one-trick pony: All it can do is mimic and transform into other Pokémon. In a nod to its powers, there is a new card that you can peel the top layer off of to reveal that Ditto had “transformed” into it. The new Ditto card can now be removed from the top of the card. This has caused chaos in the community as fans and collectors try to figure out the best way for them to get the card.

The card will come as part of an expansion to the new line of Pokémon cards inspired by Pokémon Go. This line was revealed in March, and will be made available to the public on July 1. Here’s how the Ditto card works: You might get a card that shows a Pokémon like Bidoof, but then, if there’s a little Ditto icon in the bottom left corner, it means it’s a peel-off and you can pull the top layer off to reveal a Ditto. Reddit has a video that shows it in action.

The official announcement of the expansion noted that the Pokémon layered on top can’t be used in competitive play. Collectors are already asking a lot of questions about the card. Most people are in deliberation over whether they should keep it peeled or not. Unpeeled would seem to make sense, if you’re just trying to preserve a card in its original state, but then one Redditor brought up that the glue might degrade and warp the card.

Being a Pokémon TCGCollectors are serious businesses. Collectors can get as high as $300,000. For some cards like the holographic Charizards, they are very expensive. During the pandemic, the demand for Pokémon cards shot through the roof and sent card grading agencies into an absolute death spiral. The great Ditto argument is now.