Pikachu wreaks havoc at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The establishment announced on Saturday that it was giving up part of its partnership with Pokémon in order to regain its tranquility.
Launched with great fanfare in September to mark the museum's 50th anniversary, the collaboration with Pokémon was intended to appeal to a younger audience and included exhibitions showing the connections between Vincent Van Gogh's work and "Japanese art and culture."
The museum has even organized a treasure hunt in the museum's rooms for young visitors with a Pokémon card representing "Pikachu", the famous character from the series wearing the painter's hat.
The operation attracted fans of Pokémon card games who were desperate to get their hands on the limited-edition "Portrait Pika" card.
Stampedes
But what was supposed to be a small promotional operation quickly escalated. The frenzy sparked by the card sparked a stampede at the museum, with Pokémon card fans rushing in an uncontrolled order to get their hands on the coveted items, according to videos posted on social media by visitors.
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"Recently, a small group of individuals created an undesirable situation that led us to make the difficult decision to remove the Pikachu promo card with the gray felt hat from the museum," the museum said in a statement.
Unfortunately, due to the behavior of some resellers and/or Pokémon fans, the Van Gogh Museum will no longer be distributing the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat promotional card pic.twitter.com/yRhJksoR5y
— PokéJungle: Pokémon Game & Merch News (@pokejungle) October 13, 2023
The decision was made to allow visitors to browse the exhibition "in a safe and enjoyable manner" and to ensure the safety of staff, the institution added.
But the maps didn't just cause unrest in the museum. Speculators have been trying to get as much as possible to sell online. "Pikachu with the Gray Felt Hat" changed hands for hundreds of dollars, with one card even going on eBay for a whopping $6,969.
British, American and Canadian fans of the Japanese franchise will have another chance to get their hands on the exclusive card on Pokémon sites, the museum said. Dutch shops will sell it again at the beginning of next year, but not the Van Gogh Museum, the statement said.