In double trouble.
Pokémon is an absolutely massive franchise, and part of that is the Pokémon TCG game. In particular, there are collectors (not much of a surprise, considering that this is Pokémon we’re talking about) and, of course, rare cards. And the rarest cards are referred to as “hits”; essentially, rare holofoil cards, naturally prized by collectors.
So, in the closed Pokémon World Facebook group, an image started to circulate. In the image, stacks and stacks of these “hit” cards presumably numbering into the thousands, from the new set Fusion Strike. The image eventually hit the PokémonTCG subreddit, where things really started to pop off.
Saw this on a FB group. Allegedly, printing company worker stole hits off the line and tried to offload them to a LGS.
GuavaWave on Reddit
This, of course, got some attention. It’s unusual for someone to have so many cards like this from a single set. And it seems that there was a good reason for it. Someone working at the printers for the card game swiped a massive number of the cards fresh off the line, with plans to sell them and get a considerable payday.
The alleged thief planned to sell the purloined cards to the Dallas-based Trading Card World (TCW). The staff there, however, could tell something was unusual about the cards’ provenance. Upon questioning the seller, he revealed that he worked for a Pokémon card printing company. TCW got The Pokémon Company involved, and things proceeded toward the expected conclusion, with law enforcement now involved.
TCW released a statement in regards to the whole ordeal on the Pokémon World Facebook page, which reads as follows:
Many of you have recently heard a story involving stolen Fusion Strike hits and Trading Card World. Although, the release of this information is unfortunate, the truth of the subject is as follows.
1: TCW was approached by an individual inquiring if we were interested in purchasing hits from the set
2: TCW reviewed pics from the seller and advised they were either fake or stolen. Realizing the amount of packs it would have required to obtain that quantity of hits, it seemed clear that one or the other was true.
3: the seller explained his connection to the source and TCW immediately contacted Pokémon Corp through proper channels. The information was sent up the corporate ladder given the seriousness of the situation. A high ranking Pokemon official contacted TCW.
4: Pokémon Corp and TCW worked together to successfully retrieve and return the cards.
5: Pokémon Corp acknowledged Trading Card World for their critical contribution to the recovery of these stolen items. It was the largest return of stolen property to date.
6: Trading Card World was asked to keep this information confidential while an active investigation was underway. With respect to that request, TCW has kept this story and their important involvement out of the spot light.
I hope you all can appreciate the sensational aspect of the story and help to keep the facts straight while publicity seekers look to gain attention with misleading information.
POKEMON WORLD and Trading Card World are committed to the safety and well being of our members and the community at large.
Normally, you’d think this entire ordeal was connected to the low pull rates of these rare cards; indeed, that was the initial assumption in both of the groups that circulated the photo. The reality is likely much more complicated, however; you have to imagine that the printing company might notice several thousand missing, finished cards. How they got them is up for debate, but one Redditor theorized that the worker may have gotten them labelled damaged or misprinted, something known to happen to these sorts of things. No one would miss them then, but it’s just a possible answer.
The Pokémon Company themselves issued the following statement on the whole affair:
We take the protection of our IP and associated products very seriously. This matter remains under investigation and we cannot comment on details at this time. However, we can confirm that Sword & Shield booster packs and products were shipped to retail as intended and we have no indication that the integrity of the products were impacted by any confirmed or unconfirmed theft.
Furthermore, we continue to significantly invest in both the production and security of our TCG business. We value the faith our fans put in us and our products, and these investments are intended to help us continue to maintain their trust.
Source: PC Gamer
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