The Carmel Pokémon Show fills American Legion Post 155 on Sunday, November 22, 2026, and this is the date north-side parents mark on the calendar. Pokemon remains the single most requested gift category in the hobby, and a legion hall full of dealers the weekend before Thanksgiving is a considerably better place to shop for it than a big-box store — better selection, better prices, and people behind the tables who can actually tell you the difference between a booster bundle and an elite trainer box.
The floor is trading-card-game-first from end to end. Vintage Pokemon sellers bring Wizards of the Coast era material — Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, Gym and Neo — in raw and graded condition, with shadowless and first-edition cards in the locked cases. Modern inventory covers Sword & Shield through current Scarlet & Violet releases, including alt arts, special illustration rares, full arts, gold cards and sealed product at prices that generally beat retail scalping. Japanese imports are a real strength here: loose boosters, sealed boxes and promos with no English printing. Beyond Pokemon you will find One Piece Card Game, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney Lorcana, Dragon Ball Super Card Game and Digimon on dedicated tables. Accessory vendors carry sleeves, playmats, binders, deck boxes, one-touches and storage — all of which make excellent gifts and are usually cheaper here than online once shipping is counted. Plushies, pins, Funko Pops and custom artwork round it out, and the bulk bins stay stocked for kids working with pocket money.
Hours run 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Eastern. Admission is free and parking in the legion lot is free. Children attend free and make up a large share of the crowd; the dealers here are genuinely patient with young collectors and free-card buckets are common at the ends of tables.
American Legion Post 155 is at 852 West Main Street, Carmel, IN 46032, in old-town Carmel near the Monon Trail. Access from US 31, Keystone Parkway and Meridian Street is easy, about fifteen minutes from Fishers, Westfield, Zionsville or north Indianapolis. The hall is single-level, heated and ADA accessible, with a bar area serving drinks and light food. Main Street restaurants are within walking distance.
Three audiences converge on this date. Gift shoppers get the widest pre-holiday selection in Hamilton County. Competitive players scout singles for winter League Cups and Regional qualifiers. Investors work the graded cases, where sellers converting inventory to cash before the holidays negotiate more readily than at any other point in the year.
Arrive at 9:00 AM — sealed product at reasonable prices is the first thing to vanish in November, and it does not come back. Bring cash in small bills; TCG dealers lean cash-heavy though most take Venmo. If you are buying gifts, set a budget before walking in and ask a dealer to build you a lot rather than picking singles yourself, which is usually cheaper and always faster. Bring sleeves and a binder or top loaders for the drive home, and check sold comps on anything over about a hundred dollars. Text Ryan at 317-586-9982 for tables.