One of the Pokemon franchise’s greatest strengths is its ability to place itself within all sorts of media and other franchises without much effort. The popularity of Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, Lucario, and so on has become well-known in pop culture and is emulated all over the place, especially with Pikachu. That’s why it was such big news in 2023 when Amsterdam decided to do a special “Van Gogh Pikachu” collection that would be held for fans to get a unique special card featuring Pikachu in Vincent Van Gogh’s hat and his art style. It should’ve been a wonderful event for those in Amsterdam who could attend. But…
…when the event happened, the cards were gone in record time. That wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t clear that scalpers and other untoward parties were getting the cards just to horde them or make a profit on them. Many people who wanted the cards for LEGITIMATE reasons were left in the cold, and that made many angry, including those who were hosting the event.
Fast forward to now, an Amsterdam Newspaper printed a report revealing that the reason for many of the woes of the crossover event was because of a set of workers who leaked information to their friends and others and helped them get multiple tickets so they could ensure they got as many cards as possible.
Thankfully, those workers were suspended for what they did, and that’s good! We know it may seem like “small potatoes” compared to the other woes the world is going through right now, but these were very special and rare items, and they’re not coming back based on current accounts. That means many people lost the chance to have a fun piece of history because of these corrupt workers and those who worked the systems to get the Van Gogh Pikachu and other items.
Plus, it made The Pokemon Company look bad, and they don’t need any help with that, given certain releases that they’ve done over the last year or so. They don’t want fans to think that they’re just “looking out for the scalper” and such and don’t care about the common consumer.
If things go as they should, then this collaboration could return one day, and fans can get another chance at them. Yes, you can buy them online via secondhand sites, but the price for a single card can be $100 or higher, and that’s just not right for what should’ve been a fun event.
