Pokémon TCG Pikachu promo debacle sees museum staff sacked

It’s a new year but we’re still hearing about fresh twists in the story of Pokémon TCG’s notorious Pikachu with Grey Felt Helt promo, with the latest being it has cost people their jobs.

At least four staff members at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum were fired as a result of embezzling that took place during the original distribution period of this unique Pikachu card, according to Dutch newspaper Het Parool today, as cited by PokeBeach.

These four employees worked in a variety of departments, including security, sales, and other roles within the Museum, according to Het Parool’s initial report. However, the museum did not confirm the roles that these employees worked, just that “some employees from operational services” had lost their jobs as a result.

One of these employees is said to have embezzled a whole box of the Pikachu promo cards, while the others gave info to scalpers so they could capitalize when merchandise restocking took place. With this happening behind the scenes, it’s no wonder the initial distribution of the card went so poorly.

There were even more accounts of products being taken. One scalper said to PokeBeach that they knew of an employee who stole a box while another took a whole master case of the cards, so it seems there were a lot of nefarious dealings taking place.

The scalper explained to PokeBeach how the operation worked and it may surprise you: “There was always a line of people outside the museum waiting to buy the promos and merchandise. A lot of [foreigners] and kids were going in like 5, 10, 20 times a day. Kids could get in for free. So they would sell the promo to us for 30-70 euros and go back in for free and get us more promos. I went in 30-50 times to get the cards myself.”

It gets worse: the scalper says employees had been purchasing the unique Van Gogh-inspired Pokémon paintings before customers even had a chance, and they shared receipts.

This particular Pikachu has caused controversy at every turn and even months later scalpers haven’t taken their eyes off the prize. Perhaps in the future, there will be a point where fans can get their hands on the card without fear of scalping taking place.