>>58305039Typically, if a brand is healthy and desirable, companies will pitch exclusives to retailers. Gamestop probably has a deal with Pokemon, giving them first right to refuse. Basically, they get first dibs on any in-person event. Gamestop then pays a fee to be the exclusive event holder, because it drives more people into stores. This was the case with exclusive amiibo, once the product was a proven hit, retailers started to bid on exclusives.
If a brand is struggling, companies will offer exclusives to retailers at a discount, or with some perk. That's what happened with Gamestop carrying Xenoblade on Wii, or Walmart carrying Chibi Robo on DS. Nobody else wanted them, so Nintendo cut those retailers a deal. I believe this happened with Gamestop carrying the "berry glitch" patch Zigzagoon in Gen 3. Nintendo wanted it in retail, and made it worth Gamestop's while.
Apparently, a lot of code cards never made it to Gamestop/EB stores. Because the product can't be tracked in inventory, a lot of them were diverted (stolen) by employees working at the card printers. Since the codes can be used globally, those code cards are being sold in other markets for a quick buck. TCG scalpers are scum, but they're a tiny downstream trickle compared to the thousands of cards stolen from the source.
To put it in perspective, if every North American store received 50 code cards, that would only be 125,900 units. Half that, and you have only 63k Koraidon and 63k Miraidon. Meanwhile, the ruin raids averaged around 1-2 million battles per Pokemon.
