Pokemon scalpers breaking into cereal boxes for 25th anniversary TCG cards

Brent Koepp
Screenshot of Pikachu next to broken cereal boxes.

Cereal boxes are being destroyed in stores by sellers trying to get their hands 25th anniversary Pokemon Trading Card Game collectibles. A viral TikTok shows the damage by desperate scalpers. 

The Pokemon franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021 by teaming up with companies to give out special edition cards. The promotion has been met with chaos though, such as scalpers buying hundreds of McDonald’s Happy Meals to hoard the limited-time items.

A viral TikTok shows that some sellers have now been breaking into General Mills cereal boxes on store shelves to steal the highly-sought after TCG collectibles. Fans of the popular Nintendo series were left furious and disgusted by the “selfish” adults spoiling things.

Scalpers are hoarding cereal boxes to get Pokemon cards.
Scalpers have been hoarding hundreds of cereal boxes to get Pokemon cards.

Pokemon cards are being stolen from cereal boxes

Pokemon fans were left stunned when a video surfaced online that showed how far scalpers are willing to go to get their hands on 25th anniversary limited-time items.

TikToker ‘harryama297‘ uploaded a video which shows many cereal boxes destroyed with the Pokemon cards taken out of them. The user documented the aftermath while out shopping.

“People stealing Pokemon cards from cereal boxes. Can’t make this s**t up,” they wrote in the caption. The clip was immediately met with disgust from fans of the Game Freak RPG.

“It was toilet paper that was hoarded, now its Pokemon cards…omg,” a user said in reaction. One fan exclaimed, “And this is why we can’t have nice things ever!” Unbelievably, another comment explained that the same thing happened at their local store: “Walmart by my house has [the cereal boxes] cased. You can’t make this up it’s funny and it was adults stealing the cards.”

Screenshot of Pokemon fans reacting to destroyed Pokemon cereal boxes.

Fans also pointed out that the scalpers’ selfish acts were also letting the food go to waste. “This is super sad….now the cereal has to go in the trash. Can’t even be donated…if your that hard up for cards at least buy the box and donate [the food],” someone wrote.

TikTok users react to Pokemon cards being stolen from cereal.

For over 25 years, the Pokemon series has delighted and entertained children and adults around the world. However, what should be a fun celebration of its historic anniversary is quickly being soured by the selfish few.

If it wasn’t shocking enough to see sellers deprive children from getting a Happy Meal at McDonalds, it now appears that some are even willing to waste packaged cereal in stores.

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About The Author

Brent is a former writer at Dexerto based in the United States, who covered topics such as Pokemon, Gaming, and online Entertainment.