What was meant to be a charming and delightful Pokemon and Van Gogh Museum collaboration has turned into a scalper's paradise and a fan's worst nightmare, leading to the Amsterdam-based museum has halting the the distribution of the limited-edition trading cards.
The Times reports that it will no longer give out these specially-issued Pokémon trading cards, citing "safety and security concerns" caused by scalpers. The Times notes that a group of scalpers have been heckling visitors leaving the exhibit, asking to sell the cards to them at a cheap price. Visitors obtain the limited-edition promotional trading card upon completing a special treasure hunt found at the exhibit.
The card in question is a trading card of the Pikachu with a Grey Felt Hat portrait. The card is currently listed on eBay, with pricing for the card starting at $70 and going upwards over $200, depending on the listing.
"Recently, a small group of individuals has created an undesirable situation that has led us to take the difficult decision to remove the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promo card from the museum," the museum told The Times in a statement. "The Van Gogh Museum and the Pokémon Company International take the safety of visitors and employees very seriously."
The collaboration is in partnership with the Pokémon Company, which aims to encourage children and young people to learn more about the work and art the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh created. Fusing Van Gogh's art style and previous work and mash it up with the popular Japanese franchise.
Alongside the special trading card, the Pokémon Company and Van Gogh Museum also released limited-edition merch as part of the collaboration, with various paintings based on Van Gogh's work and featuring different Pokémon, such as Eevee and Snorlax with the products selling out instantly due to high demand. Many of these products in the collection are listed on eBay, including the portrait of Pikachu wearing the Grey Felt Hat, with that particular painting going for as much as $599 on eBay.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.