GameStop Shiny Koraidon and Miraidon Codes Continue to Cause Chaos

The latest physical Pokémon distribution for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has been a dumpster fire, with fans organizing mass complaints after failing to get Shiny Koraidon and Shiny Miraidon codes due to limited availability and scalpers. 

In just a day, The Pokémon Company’s free regional distribution of Shiny Koraidon and Shiny Miraidon at various physical stores has been undone by those locations running out of code cards, and some scalpers posting their cards on sites like eBay. This has left thousands of players without a way to get these exclusive Legendary Pokémon, leading to demand for a fix.

Within the first hour of GameStops opening around the United States on Sept. 26, Pokémon fans were already leaving empty-handed due to the stores running out of code cards for an official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet event distribution. Said distribution being the first time players can obtain Shiny Koraidon and Shiny Miraidon in the games. 

It also isn’t exclusive to the United States, as players from Japan and other regions where this distribution is occurring have also raised similar complaints.

Several fans who talked to their local GameStop about getting a distribution code were told that stores were given as few as 50 codes to give out to people per location, total. That would be a low number for a single day at most locations, but is criminally shortsighted considering the newest Pokémon TCG set, Mega Evolution, was released the same day this event started. 

This whole situation becomes even more absurd when you look at GameStop’s social media feed, where the company actively called out scalpers hitting up other stores for the Mega Evolution TCG set, while struggling with its own issues. 

Now, Pokémon fans are calling out scalpers trying to edge their way into every aspect of the franchise and demanding that The Pokémon Company take action against the issue by reworking the distribution to include a digital option. Players, content creators and community pages are all coming together, sharing links to official Pokémon support pages where everyone can submit complaints. 

Many players have already received responses to their complaints, though it appears to be a pre-written response that gives no indication of whether The Pokémon Company will take action. 

“We are sorry to hear about your experience. Please note that the distribution of the code for Scarlet & Violet does not require a purchase,” a TPC support response reads. “There are additional promotions running that do, so we apologize if there was any confusion!”

One of the other promotions in place is likely referring to GameStop offering a free Yveltal card with $15 purchases of Pokémon TCG product during the launch timeframe for the Mega Evolution set on Sept. 26. Some players have reported that GameStop stores are placing the Shiny Koraidon and Miraidon code cards behind a minimum purchase despite the official listing actively saying “no purchase required.”

At the time of writing this article, it has only been a day, and it is the weekend, meaning a more substantial response could be shared in the coming days.

While The Pokémon Company hasn’t taken immediate action to fix this distribution issue, fans largely voiced a simple solution: give out Shiny Koraidon and Shiny Miraidon through Mystery Gift. 

As of this Sept. 26 “event,” Shiny Koraidon and Shiny Miraidon can only be legally obtained through the limited-time physical distribution that runs through Oct. 16 in select regions. It is unclear if stores will receive additional code cards or other ways to give out these Pokémon during this period, or if the limited number provided encompasses the “while supplies last.”

With past physical distributions, TPC hasn’t pivoted to a digital alternative for anyone who failed to get a code, or because players in other regions don’t have access to the event. But the apparent extremely limited number of codes and outcry from the community could lead to a first-of-its-kind change. 

TPC just got done distributing the first Shiny Treasures of Ruin as part of a Tera Raid event in Scarlet and Violet, which saw players completing millions of raids to unlock Mystery Gift events for Wo-Chien, Shiny Chien-Pao, Shiny Ting-Lu and Shiny Chi-Yu from July 22 to Sept. 14. If you want to collect those free Shinies, distribution ends on Sept. 30.