The Pokémon Company and London’s Natural History Museum have announced a jumbo promo card for their upcoming exhibit, designed in a way that may discourage scalpers. The “Pikachu at the Museum” card will be available at the event and select UK retailers. This follows a chaotic collaboration with Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum in 2023.
The Natural History Museum in London is set to host a Pokémon exhibit from January 26 to April 19, featuring exclusive merchandise such as art, stationery, clothing, collectibles, and a Pikachu plush hugging a miniature museum. These items will also be sold online through the UK Pokémon Center shop and the museum’s online store.
A key highlight is the “Pikachu at the Museum” promo card, depicting Pikachu excitedly walking through a museum adorned with fossils of Aerodactyl and Tyrantrum. As a jumbo card, it is not suitable for competitive play or standard collector binders, with low stats and moderate damage output requiring significant energy. This format makes it harder to resell, potentially deterring scalpers who targeted the 2023 Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum collaboration, where crowds raided the store in a frenzy reminiscent of Black Friday.
The card will be distributed at the exhibit and available at select UK retailers starting January 30, reducing the incentive for museum raids. Fans have mixed reactions. On Reddit, user ZVAARI commented, “I love how their scalping prevention is ‘let’s make it a jumbo, nobody cares about jumbos,’” while expressing hope for a normal-sized reproduction due to the appealing art. Similarly, PlopTheOwl noted, “Its both a shame it’s oversized (won’t fit in my collection nicely), but also will hopefully prevent too much hype,” praising the artwork and the inclusion of Pokémon bones akin to in-game museums.
While the card may evade scalpers, concerns remain about the exclusive merchandise drawing resellers. The collaboration aims to avoid repeating the Van Gogh incident, prioritizing a positive experience for visitors.