More than 25 years on from their introduction,Pokemon cardscan still send fans into a frenzy when something people really want hits store shelves. That was demonstrated via the release of the Van Gogh Pikachu card in 2023. An event so chaotic that the card was quickly withdrawn from distribution and staff working at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, where a small-scale riot ensued on release day,have since lost their jobs over it.
The Pokemon Company took a step back to reassess and later this week, it will try distributing the card again. Things will be different this time, though. Well, hopefully. Instead of giving a very limited amount to the Van Gogh Museum,Pokebeachhas reported cards are being distributed to large chain stores across the Netherlands. Seven different chains which boast a combined total of more than 1,000 stores nationwide.
Pokebeach couldn’t confirm how many cards each store will receive, but it’s estimated they will be getting at least 100 each. That’s at least 100,000 more Pikachu Van Gogh cards being introduced later this week in what is reportedly an attempt by Pokemon to flood the market and stop scalpers from buying all the cards and selling them for an inflated price.
It’s also worth noting this is a change to the original plan which wasto give the cards to local hobby stores in the Netherlands. Pokebeach’s report claims the 100 cards each of those smaller stores was supposed to receive was reduced to ten, and then Pokemon made the decision to print thousands of copies of the card and give it to chain stores instead. A wise decision by The Pokemon Company, and hopefully a lesson learned that will carry through to other promotional card releases in the future.
There is still the minor issue of the card only being available in the Netherlands, something that may result in fans who can’t get to the country later this week paying more for the cards online. If you do live in the Netherlands, or you’ll be lucky enough to be there a few days from now, the promotion begins on Jun 29, 2025. Anyone who spends 29.99 euros or more in-store will receive a card for free with their purchase.
