04/20/23 Update: The Pokémon Company issued the following statement:

"We take the protection of our IP and related products very seriously. This matter is still under investigation and we are unable to comment on any details at this time. However, we can confirm that Sword & Shield booster packs and products were shipped to retailers as intended and there is no indication that the integrity of the products was affected by confirmed or unidentified theft.

"Additionally, we continue to make significant investments in both production and security for our TCG business. We value the trust that our fans have in us and our products, and these investments will ensure that we continue to maintain that trust."

Original Pokémon is one of the biggest entertainment brands on the planet, and one of its most popular and profitable derivatives has always been the Pokémon Trading Card Game One of the appeals of TCGs is that they constantly offer new sets and lines to satisfy collectors to satisfy collectors. Unfortunately, however, the get-rich-quick schemes of a few unlucky thieves have both enthralled the community and opened a very particular old wound.

The drama began with a photo posted to a closed Pokémon World Facebook group (Thanks, Kotaku (opens in new tab)) before it gained popularity on the PokémonTCG subreddit (opens in new tab). In it, you can see a table covered with "hit" cards, or rare and holographic cards from the Pokémon TCG series called Fusion Strike. It is hard to say how many cards are in this photo, but based on the depth of the stacks of cards and the filled boxes, it is likely to be several thousand.

"Saw this on a FB group," redditor GuavaWave wrote when posting the photo.

"Allegedly, an employee of the printing company stole the hit off the line and tried to unload it on the LGS.

This quantity of these particular cards is unusual to say the least. These cards are so popular because of their rarity that for a collector to have thousands of rare cards in perfect condition from one set (and a set that, as we will discuss, has its own controversy over rare cards) was bound to raise some eyebrows! : And sure enough, it did.

The alleged thief attempted to sell the bulk of the cards to a Dallas-based company called Trading Card World (TCW). Staff immediately suspected the source of the cards and, upon questioning, the seller told them he worked for a Pokémon card printing company. TCW then contacted the Pokémon company. The situation escalated and the cards were recovered from the would-be seller and are being investigated by law enforcement.

After news of the scam broke, TCW released a statement (opens in new tab) saying that the person contacted them to see if they were interested in purchasing "hits from the set" and that after reviewing the photos, they were "advised that they were fakes or stolen." Given the amount of packs needed to obtain that quantity of hits, it was clear that one or the other was true.

At this point, "the seller explained his connection to the source and TCW immediately contacted the Pokémon Company through appropriate channels. Given the seriousness of the situation, the information was forwarded to the company's upper management. A high-ranking Pokémon official contacted TCW."

Somehow, the image of high-ranking Pokémon officials wearing lab coats and a large number of gym badges is off topic; TCW worked with the Pokémon Company to "successfully recover and return the cards" and, although not described in detail, presumably set up a sting operation, and the Pokémon TCG The TCW stated that this was the "largest return of stolen property ever" in the Pokémon TCG.

This would be more of a gormless thief story, except that it crosses over a bit with the general conspiracy theory, which centers around the "Fusion Strike" cards themselves. Basically, many players believe that the 2021 expansion will have an artificially low pull rate for rare cards, and while there is no conclusive proof of this, the idea actually holds up among Pokémon TCG fans. Of course, there are those who see this photo of thousands of rare Fusion Strike cards and go "huh."

The original Facebook post with this photo has been removed, but the caption posted with it reads, "Why didn't Fusion Strike get a hit?" If anyone wants to know why?"

Apparently an employee of the printing plant stole all the hit cards pictured below and tried to sell them to TCW.

So the source of the image is immediately associated with this popular theory, and of course, people like the idea that the perceived low pull rate can be associated with someone working at a Pokémon TCG production facility literally stealing cards off the line. Of course, the source of the cards, when and where they were stolen, and what effect (if any) the theft had on the production of the Fusion Strike sets has yet to be confirmed.

The Pokémon Company issued a statement, like the one at the top of this article, after the publication of this article, claiming that there was "no indication" that the integrity of the product line was affected. Who knows.