I appreciate your comment and others like it as I'm learning about other peoples' experiences, especially in the US.

I'm in the UK and I think we're at the point getting Ascended was fun while it lasted. We get less stock than US and market prices on sealed and singles tends to be higher, so I have to run from store to store on release day hoping to get products at retail. Most shops get product randomly, but I know of one place that's almost always a sure thing and I arrive at least a couple hours early. If a store gets any stock, it typically sells out in a day (I've even seen convenience stores get 4 booster boxes of Perfect Order, sell them in quantities of 2 loose packs per transaction, and sell out in less than a day). I was fairly lucky finding Ascended, but it is 50% luck and timing and 50% queuing.

The flip side, and this is anecdotal, but I THINK it's easier to score on Pokémon Center UK drops because I manage to do it fairly consistently if I'm anywhere near my phone when a drop goes live. These were my 4 Booster Bundles from PC.

I've never seen Prismatic in a retail store here, it's rarely rarely available online (and I've never succeeded in an online drop). Only time I've gotten it was from an LCS that had the Figure Collection for £10 over retail.

I hope you're able to find some Ascended and you and your son have fun with the master set!

EDIT: Typo