Pokemon: Van Gogh Pikachu Fiasco Results in Several Employee Suspensions
Several museum employees have been suspended for tampering with Pokemon's infamous Van Gogh Pikachu event.
Pokemon has done a lot of great things since its launch, but things don't always go as planned. There is no denying the franchise has had some lows in the past, and one of its most recent debacles came courtesy of Vincent Van Gogh. Last year, Van Gogh Pikachu made headlines as its long-awaited distribution in Amsterdam was littered with controversy, and now it seems several employees who helped coordinate the even have been suspended.
The report comes courtesy of a paper in Amsterdam called Het Parool. According to the publication, the Van Gogh Museum has suspended at least four workers over alleged misconduct during the Pokemon event. Het Parool says one of the employees suspended has worked for the museum for 25 years, and they were punished for not adhering to its code of conduct.
Sadly, the issues with the Pokemon event only begin there. Het Parool goes on to detail that some of the suspended employees informed friends and family how to secure event tickets despite them selling out. Another employee has been accused of embezzling a box of the Van Gogh Pokemon cards. The Van Gogh Museum even confirmed this specific case as the company said the box was embezzled by an employee to ensure they could get a Van Gogh Pikachu card amidst high demand.
As you can imagine, Pokemon fans aren't thrilled by this latest report. The fandom rose up against The Pokemon Company for its mishandled rollout of the Van Gogh event. The event's cards were incredibly coveted, and merchandise from the Van Gogh collection sold out instantly in stores. Videos from Amsterdam surfaced of near riots at the Van Gogh Museum as collectors arrived in droves. As for the set's online distribution, bots were given a free-for-all on the cards after The Pokemon Company shared its product pages early by mistake. So by the end of it all, Pokemon fans were left jaded and Van Gogh Pikachu still sells secondhand for at least $100 USD.
What do you think about this latest Pokemon card update? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!