How to Get a Pikachu at the Museum Pokemon Card

The oversized promo card features Pikachu walking through the Natural History Museum’s iconic central hall, complete with Aerodactyl and Tyrantrum fossils in the background. It’s being given away free with any purchase at the museum’s pop-up shop, strictly limited to one per customer. The catch? All tickets for the pop-up sold out before Pokemon even revealed the card existed, and they’re not accepting walk-ins.

Predictably, the cards are blowing up online. eBay listings started appearing before the pop-up even opened, with sellers who secured museum tickets already promising their cards to the highest bidders.

Some listings are asking over $250 for a card that’s literally being given away for free, and some of the other museum-exclusive merch is selling for a profit.

If this feels familiar, it’s because Pokemon ran a similar promotion with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam back in 2023. That collaboration turned into an absolute PR disaster with scalpers rushing the museum, employees getting fired for embezzling cards, and secondary market prices hitting $1,000 before the chaos finally calmed down after multiple restocking waves.

The museum route is completely sold out. All time slots through April 19 are claimed, and the museum isn’t accepting walk-ins. However, cancelled tickets do get relisted for sale, so UK collectors should monitor the museum’s website for any returned slots.

Nobody knows how many of these cards were actually produced. The museum pop-up runs for nearly three months, and now they’re distributing through major UK retail chains as well.

The Van Gogh Pikachu cards remain one of the most lucrative flips from the last few years, and even today they resell for up to $500 in good condition.

The organizers behind this card release have clearly learned their lesson from 2023 and have taken numerous steps to cut down on scalping and maintain control over distribution.

For UK resellers with easy access to participating retailers, grabbing one on January 30 is a basically free flip if you’re making a purchase anyway. Free promo plus whatever you were buying equals guaranteed profit even if prices drop to $30 or $40.

For international resellers considering buying these at $100 on eBay right now? That’s betting against a supply surge at UK retailers in three days. Pokemon clearly wants to avoid another Van Gogh disaster, which means they’re probably flooding the market with inventory. The fact that major chains like John Lewis and Selfridges are getting these suggests volume, not scarcity.

Speaking of other merch, the Natural History Museum’s online store is currently up and selling some of the exclusive merch from the pop-up, but the queue is brutal. As of this publication, over 100,000 people are waiting for their turn.

Note that the exclusive plushes have already sold out and will not be restocking, and the promo card is not available online.

Wait for the January 30 UK retail drop before paying secondary market premiums. The organizers are clearly trying to prevent scalping this time, which means they’ve likely produced enough cards to meet actual collector demand. Current eBay prices are betting on artificial scarcity that probably won’t materialize.

UK collectors should check participating retailers on January 30 and grab one with any purchase. International collectors should wait a week to see if prices crater after the retail flood. And resellers should remember that the Van Gogh card took multiple restocking waves and months to stabilize, so flipping quickly matters more than holding for long-term appreciation.