"Scalper Group Steals 42,000 Pokémon TCG Phantasmal Flames Products Due to Major Blunder at Pokémon Center"
In the world of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), excitement for the upcoming expansion, Phantasmal Flames, has been marred by the actions of a notorious scalper group known as Hidden Society.
Earlier this week, an admin of the Hidden Society Discord group instructed members to claim that their Phantasmal Flames orders had been cancelled in an attempt to quiet down discussions about their activities. However, it is now clear that this was far from the truth.
Hidden Society is said to have purchased around 42,000 Phantasmal Flames products, leaving many fans disappointed and frustrated. This is not a new occurrence, as the Pokémon Center's efforts to deter scalpers, such as implementing purchase limits and a virtual queue earlier this year, have not been effective in preventing such incidents.
The actions of Hidden Society have been described as "pretty rancid" and not something to be impressed by, especially when it involves depriving younger fans of Pokémon TCG products. Elie Gould, a news writer who studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries, shares this sentiment. Gould, who previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and has an unhealthy love for horror games but fears being chased, expresses concern about fans being unable to participate in their hobbies due to scalpers.
The group managed to trick the checkout system into selling them all the Phantasmal Flames products they wanted in under an hour. Another scalper group, ThePokePod, also manipulated the system to acquire Phantasmal Flames products from the Pokémon Center website.
Despite the alleged cancellation of orders, the Pokémon Center has not yet issued a statement confirming this. Some fans on Reddit question the authenticity of the cancelled orders, suggesting that Hidden Society might have faked screenshots or used old ones to deflect criticism.
The admin of the Hidden Society Discord group further stated that "Manual users were checking out as well, massive error on their end, we just happened to be more alert than most". This statement, however, does little to assuage the concerns of the community.
The author of this article does not condone the practice of scalping for the sole purpose of depleting stock and making money off of people's love for a hobby. Instead, it is seen more like a parasite than a profession, preying on the enthusiasm of fans and depriving them of the opportunity to enjoy their hobbies.
As the community awaits a response from the Pokémon Center, it is hoped that steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future and ensure that all fans have a fair chance to enjoy the Phantasmal Flames expansion.
