The Pokémon Company apologizes and blames "overwhelming demand" for its Van Gogh collab stock issues

Pikachu reimagined as Van Gogh
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company / Van Gogh)

The Pokémon Company says it is "actively working on ways" to restock its Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum collection after scalpers promptly cleaned out the limited edition items.

Citing "overwhelming demand", the company apologized for disappointing fans who had missed out and said it would let them know about restock options "at a later day".

"We apologize for all the fans eagerly awaiting our Pokémon Center x Van Gogh Museum release today," the company said across its social media channels.

"Due to overwhelming demand, all our products from this collection have sold out. We understand this is disappointing to many who were looking to our official email and social media channels for guidance on how and when to purchase.

"We are actively working on ways to provide more Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promo cards for fans shopping at Pokémon Center in the future. Details will be released at a later date."

Official statement regarding today from r/PokemonTCG

The statement is not enough to assuage the disappointment for some, however, not least because dozens of the free promo cards some purchasers received are already on eBay, asking hundreds of dollars for what was a pro bono item. 

"This is complete utter bullsh*t," said one particularly irate fan. "I spent 36 hours and ended up with a bunch of error codes and it telling me to remove the item. I can't f*cking stand the way this has went.

"Three different times… I had an item in my cart…

"Yesterday, the Sunflora canvas got lucky on refreshing, this morning the Eevee figure from a link on Twitter, then the moment the store opened up today. I tried like 5 times to get the pins in my cart, it refused. I ended up trying for the journal. After I start to fill out shipping information it loads me to the cart and says I need to remove OOS items to finish. I do that, go back to the store just to find nothing.

"What a sh*t show."

The Pokémon Company didn't say when it hoped to restock the promotional items, only that it would release more details "at a later date".

On the subject of card games – did you know that a Toronto retail worker sold a rare Magic: The Gathering card to musician Post Malone for $2 million?

Brook Trafton – who realized his "childhood dream" when he discovered the rare card earlier this year – parted with his prized collectable after what he'd thought was a standard meet and greet with Post Malone turned into an "unexpected" sale.

After hiring a lawyer and a public relations firm, Trafton was contacted by representatives of Post Malone who said he wanted to meet him and see the card for himself. 

"He's like: 'Yes, I will take this card'. It was so magical. I'm not going to lie. I cried a little bit. I cried a lot."

As for what's so special about this particular card? Hailing from Magic: The Gathering's Lord of the Rings set, the "One Ring" card is completely one-of-a-kind, making it one of the game's rarest finds, particularly as it was discovered in perfect mint condition, too.

Find out more about Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield's new game studio

Read more
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 resting on an RTX 5090 on a gray crafting mat.
Nvidia RTX 5090 and 5080 GPU launch was frustrating and chaotic, leaving many PC gamers disappointed – exactly as the rumors predicted
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
AMD describes its recent RDNA 4 GPU launch as 'unprecedented' and promises restocking the Radeon RX 9070 XT as 'priority number one'
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070
Nvidia RTX 5080 stock is so barren that retailers are holding competitions where you can "win" the right to buy one for MSRP
A closeup of the Nvidia GeForce RTX branding on the 5070 Ti
Nvidia's RTX 5000 GPUs continue to face severe supply issues, with RTX 5070 Ti reportedly being even worse for launch stock than the RTX 5080
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5000 GPU on a green patterned background.
Scalpers are salivating right now - MSI suggests RTX 5090 supply will be tight due to Nvidia's shortage
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
Want to buy an RX 9070 or 9070 XT but fed up of the GPUs being out of stock? AMD promises that “more supply is coming ASAP”
Latest in Gaming
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic remake developer Saber Interactive states all its projects are 'still in development'
God of War 20th Anniversary Graphic.
Sony has unveiled some goodies to celebrate God of War’s 20th anniversary, but it's not the remaster I was hoping for
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #645)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
With discounts of up to 95%, these are the biggest deals I've managed to find in the Steam Spring Sale
WWE 2K25
I've spent days in the ring with WWE 2K25, and it's like a five-star match ruined by the Million Dollar Man
Latest in News
European Union technical background
EU tech companies push for digital sovereignty, reducing reliance on US and others
ransomware avast
One of the most powerful ransomware hacks around has been cracked using some serious GPU power
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic remake developer Saber Interactive states all its projects are 'still in development'
google nest
Google is slowly phasing out its Assistant helper to make room for Gemini's reign in smartphones - here’s how it’s doing the same for smart home devices
Renault 5 Turbo 3E
Renault unveils its wildest EV to date and it comes with in-wheel motors and a rally-style vertical handbrake for drifting
Circular smart ring
Circular's new smart ring is getting blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring before the Apple Watch