The Pokémon x Van Gogh collaboration has resulted in pandemonium with scalpers trashing events to get their hands on rare collectibles. To combat this, the Pokémon Center has re-issued its Van Gogh Pikachu card, but not for long.
Based on the iconic Van Gogh picture “Self Portrait with Felt Hat”, the Pikachu Pokémon trading card sees Pokémon’s iconic electric mouse drawn in the style of the artist’s image. It’s extremely cute, as expected.
Originally, the card was a Pokémon Center freebie for any purchase from the online store. However, many scalpers abused this clause, buying hundreds of cheap items to nab as many of the collectibles as possible.
In response, the Pokémon Center is bringing back the elusive trading card, but with a caveat. Instead of being a free addition with any purchase, the card is locked behind a £30/$30 payment. Furthermore, only one card will be issued per order to try and limit scalpers.
The reissued Pokémon Van Gogh Pikachu trading card will only be available “while supplies last”. This means that some may not be able to get their hands on the elusive piece of cardboard, especially as some scalpers will definitely be trying to get their hands on the limited edition card.
Despite bringing back the limited edition Pikachu with Felt Hat card, the rest of the Van Gogh merchandise — including notebooks, prints and plushies — are seemingly not returning. At least for the foreseeable future.
As soon as stock depleted for the initial run of the Pokémon Van Gogh cards, scalpers immediately started selling the cards for hundreds of pounds. Footage from the IRL event showed hundreds of scalpers destroying a carefully constructed experience just to get their hands on the now-expensive merch.
Official social media accounts have apologised for fans disappointed they couldn’t participate in the Pokémon x Van Gogh collaboration due to aggressive scalpers.