How a trading card craze became one of the most powerful brands in global entertainment — and why Australia became part of the story.
Thirty years ago, Pokémon arrived in the Western world as little more than a curious Japanese import. Few could have predicted what would follow. Retailers saw trading cards, kids saw colourful characters, collectors saw something exciting. Nobody saw a cultural force that would still be growing three decades later.
Today Pokémon stands alongside the most recognisable entertainment properties on the planet, spanning video games, trading cards, animation, licensing, esports, live events and a global community in the hundreds of millions.
Yet perhaps the most remarkable part is that Pokémon was never supposed to survive this long. Many crazes burn brightly before fading; Pokémon did the opposite, falling, rebuilding and returning stronger than ever.
Few have witnessed that journey more closely than Australian industry veteran Garry Isaac, who for more than twenty-five years has helped guide Pokémon’s extraordinary growth throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Looking back over three decades, his assessment is simple. “This is not a craze anymore. This is a business.”
And what a business it has become.
– Garry Isaac
“You’ll never make money sitting
in the office. You’ve got to get
out there and meet people.”
Before Pokémon
Long before Pikachu became a household name, Garry Isaac had developed a fascination with collectibles.
Through the late 1980s and early 1990s he imported American products, ran specialty retail stores and experimented with categories most Australian retailers barely understood.
One discovery would prove particularly significant.
Trading cards. Isaac recalls opening packs of basketball cards and displaying them in a cabinet, and almost overnight customer behaviour changed. Collectors were no longer simply buying — they were hunting, completing collections, chasing rarity. The emotional connection was unlike anything he had encountered.
What he didn’t realise was that those same behaviours would fuel one of the greatest consumer phenomena in entertainment history.
The Arrival
When Pokémon Trading Cards launched in English-speaking markets in 1999, excitement was already building. Word was spreading from overseas, the television show was attracting attention, the Nintendo games were gaining momentum.
Industry pioneer Fred Gaffney was among the first to recognise the opportunity, but what nobody understood was the scale.
Isaac was heavily involved in trading cards and appeared well positioned to secure a role in the Australian rollout. At the final moment, however, the opportunity went elsewhere.
Looking back now, Isaac believes it may have been a blessing in disguise. “In hindsight,” he laughs, “there’s no way we could have financed what Pokémon became.”
What followed was unprecedented.
Demand exploded, retailers couldn’t get enough stock and supply chains struggled to keep pace. Children wanted it, parents searched for it, retailers scrambled to secure it.
The Australian Connection
While Pokémon’s global story has been told many times, the Australian story is different — one of persistence, relationships and recognising opportunity long before the broader market understood its significance.
For Garry Isaac, Pokémon has been a twenty-five-year journey of both frustration and reward, and the frustration came early: when Nintendo secured the Australian distribution rights, he was left watching from the sidelines as the category exploded.
For many operators, that might have been the end of the story. For Isaac, it became a lesson. While others were consumed by the short-term frenzy, he kept building relationships, expertise and connections.
When Pokémon stumbled in the early 2000s, many participants disappeared. Isaac remained. And when the chance came to re-engage during the rebuilding phase, he was ready.
The second chapter would prove far more important than the first. Rather than chasing a craze, he would help build a sustainable category — today positioning the Australian and New Zealand operation among the most significant Pokémon trading card businesses in the region.
The Fall
By the early 2000s the market had become saturated. Inventory flooded global channels, retailers were overloaded with stock, distributors were liquidating. Many observers declared the phenomenon over.
For countless brands, that would have been the end of the story. For Pokémon, it became the beginning of the next chapter. Rather than abandoning the property, The Pokémon Company took control, rebuilding its global operations, strengthening its long-term strategy and treating Pokémon as a brand rather than a short-term trend.
“It was rebuilt properly,” Isaac explains. “They stopped thinking about quick wins.”
That decision changed everything.
The Long Rebuild
The years that followed were not spectacular. They were deliberate. Steady. Disciplined.
Pokémon slowly rebuilt consumer trust. Retailers returned, collectors re-engaged, new generations discovered the franchise. Most importantly, the business stopped behaving like a craze and started behaving like infrastructure.
While many entertainment properties rise and fall on a single hit product, Pokémon continuously reinvented itself with new games, characters, card releases and experiences.
Every few years another generation discovered it for the first time, and older fans returned. Then 2016 arrived.
“People don’t want to miss out. That’s what keeps driving it.”
– Garry Isaac
The Game Changer
Few entertainment products have altered popular culture quite like Pokémon GO. The augmented reality mobile game transformed Pokémon into a global phenomenon all over again.
Suddenly millions were walking streets, gathering in parks and chasing virtual Pokémon. The brand reached audiences that had never purchased a trading card, former and new fans alike flocked back, and media coverage exploded.
And then came another unexpected catalyst. COVID.
When Collecting Became Investing
During the pandemic years, something extraordinary happened. Collectibles transformed into alternative assets. People confined to their homes reconnected with hobbies, nostalgia surged, and trading cards became investment vehicles. Sealed Pokémon product suddenly attracted a new audience. Investors.
According to Isaac, the modern Pokémon market is now driven by three distinct groups. Children. Collectors. Investors.
The first discovers the brand, the second builds emotional attachment, the third creates scarcity. Together they form an ecosystem unlike anything else in the toy industry.
“The investors are lighting the candle,” Isaac says.
Some consumers now buy sealed product not to open it, but simply to store it away. Rare cards command astonishing prices, and vintage sealed product is highly sought after worldwide.
Yet despite the investment activity, Pokémon’s emotional appeal remains intact. “People don’t want to miss out,” Isaac says. “That’s what keeps driving it.”
More Than a Toy
Perhaps the greatest lesson from Pokémon’s thirty-year journey is that it is no longer simply a toy property. It has become culture.
Across Australia and New Zealand, hundreds of organised Pokémon leagues now run through hobby and specialist stores. Players compete weekly; families and collectors build communities. Major events attract thousands, launches generate queues, and new releases create anticipation usually reserved for blockbuster films or game consoles.
Pokémon has evolved into a lifestyle brand supported by an extraordinarily passionate fan base.
The Seattle Connection
One lesser-known aspect of Pokémon’s modern success is the importance of relationships. As it rebuilt its Western operations through Seattle, the company increasingly sought partners who understood the long-term nature of the business.
For Isaac, those relationships became central. Regular US visits, supplier conferences, planning meetings and face-to-face engagement built trust that email or video calls could not replicate.
“You’ve got to be there,” Isaac says. “You’ve got to show them what you’re doing.”
In an industry often obsessed with products, Isaac believes relationships remain the real currency.
“This is not a craze anymore. This is a business.”
– Garry Isaac
The School of Fred Gaffney
Every industry has influential figures whose impact extends beyond their own businesses. For the Australian toy industry, Fred Gaffney was one. Part mentor. Part connector. Part strategist.
His philosophy was simple. Work harder than everyone else. Show up. Build relationships. Keep your word. For Isaac, those lessons continue to shape the way he operates today.
Many of the industry’s most successful leaders emerged from what colleagues jokingly refer to as “The School of Fred Gaffney.” It was taught not in a classroom but in airports, boardrooms, retail meetings and trade show aisles.
And while the industry has changed dramatically over the past three decades, the principles remain remarkably relevant. Relationships matter. Trust matters. Reputation matters.
The Next Chapter
As Pokémon approaches its 30th anniversary, there is little evidence the franchise is slowing. If anything, momentum is increasing.
Global launches keep growing, competitive play keeps expanding, technology keeps creating new ways to engage. Most importantly, new generations keep discovering Pokémon every year, with parents who collected cards during the original boom now introducing it to their own children.
Thirty years after arriving in the Western world, Pokémon has survived every challenge that should have ended it. The hype. The collapse. Changing technology. Changing consumer behaviour. Changing generations. And yet it remains as relevant today as it has ever been.
For Garry Isaac, the reason is simple. Pokémon never stopped evolving.
After thirty years, it is no longer a craze. It is no longer simply a toy. It is one of the most powerful collectible ecosystems ever created. And its story is still being written.
This article also appeared in Edition 21 of The Toy Universe Magazine
