The retailer's Shiny Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Legendaries Promotion Persists to Encounter Problems
Towards the end of September, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo revealed a joint promotion with GameStop. Until October 15, Shiny versions of the iconic legendary Pokémon from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are being distributed at brick-and-mortar GameStop locations in the United States and at EB Games outlets in Australia and New Zealand. Involved local stores in other countries such as Japan and France have also been included in the campaign.
Early Troubles and Supply Issues
However, the giveaway faced difficulties from the beginning—enthusiasts stated that their local stores had run out of codes in the days leading up to the giveaway. Currently, about halfway through the promotional period, GameStop has restocked codes, but it's likely your nearest outlet has depleted its stock again.
Because of high demand, the first wave of free Shiny Koraidon and Shiny Miraidon code cards were snapped up rapidly.
Saturday, October 4th, the retailer declared a code restock via social media. Their announcement noted that they had worked with The Pokémon Company to provide additional codes, but there's a catch. "We have received from Pokémon a limited number of codes, around 50 per location."
Reselling and Exploitation Issues
Initially, stores were given 50 codes, but they were rapidly depleted. Despite the promotion limiting codes to one per person, some eBay listings appeared with several codes available. That's remained true for the new round of codes. One of the top replies on social media stated, "Are these the codes?" alongside screenshots of eBay listings for the codes, with one listing having multiple available.
Mixed Experiences for Players
Some players were able to snag codes over the weekend from their nearby shops, while others weren't so lucky. "Waiting on 3rd chance now. Just called my GameStop. They have no codes left (once more)," a fan commented, before fellow enthusiasts came forward and gave them spare codes for the shiny legendary Pokémon.
Mystery Surrounding Distribution
Why the Shiny box legendaries weren't earned through a in-game Tera Raid or distributed digitally via the Mystery Gift feature remains unknown. For now, you must visit your nearest retailer and pray they have codes remaining if you desire a shiny version of these legendary Pokémon.