A 10 a.m. restock of Pokémon cards led to aggressive pushing and shouting between two men inside a store in front of a card-selling vending machine. The video has since gone viral on TikTok and social media.
On March 5, TikTok content creator Yoc9Official posted a video clip that he claims shows him trying to buy Pokémon cards from a card dispensing machine after it had been restocked that morning at an undisclosed store in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to Yoc9Official, the man seen in the video wearing a black hoodie, baseball hat and white pants, was waiting in his car for the restock and tried to push past Yoc9Official to access the Pokémon vending machine. The two men pushed and shoved each other, as seen in the viral video below.
The video was recorded by someone else and shared by Yoc9Official, according to a comment posted the creator on TikTok. In a follow up video, you can hear the man yelling at what appears to be a store employee, who explains they reviewed footage before being cut off by the aggressive man in white pants. Yoc9Official claims that eventually police showed up and arrested the other man.
“He claimed being in his car was in line,” said Yoc9Offical in a comment on TikTok. “Cops came [and] got him and he fell out pretending to be hurt. They asked me if I wanted to press charges and I said no.”
Kotaku wasn’t able to verify the claims of police arriving or arresting anyone. We’ve reached out to Yoc9Official for more information about the incident and what happened.
After the clip went viral, people online reacted with confusion and disgust over grown men fighting over cards designed primarily for children. The two men are also believed to be Pokémon card flippers, leading to even more venom and anger directed at them.
“I’m sorry but I was part of the generation that had my Pokémon binder out trading with my friends on the front porch,” posted one user on Twitter. “It’s an absolute shame that this hobby has gotten so out of control. It’s such gross behavior.”
In the last few years, and especially the last few months, Pokémon cards have become more valuable and sought after than ever before. This has led to card supply shortages, people fighting over new cards, thieves targeting stores, and prices for rare cards exploding online.
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