A California woman was allegedly trying to buy some Pokémon merch at the store. However, a woman approached her and quickly tried to put those plans to a stop, apparently thinking she was a scalper. The interaction led to an aggressive confrontation and assault. Now, this woman is speaking out about what happened from her point of view.
Yuri (@yuri_kil) went to an Albertson’s store to get some ChapStick. While there, she claims to have saw a vending machine with Pokémon cards in it so she took her chance at getting some. While doing so, a woman came up behind Yuri and aggressively asked her to leave.
Yuri said the woman continued, asking her, “Can you leave some things for other people? There’s a whole line back there.” Yuri said she turned around but saw that there wasn’t actually a line. While explaining to the woman that she should be nicer, the woman started cursing at her and becoming increasingly more aggressive.
Yuri noticed that the woman walked away and thought that was the end of it. But then the woman came back to Yuri in the line and shoved her phone in Yuri’s face, recording her. The woman accused Yuri of being a scalper on the recording, which made no sense because she was just holding one little pack of cards.
The woman allegedly walked away but Yuri followed her at a distance to take a photo of her in case something nefarious happened. When the woman saw she was being recorded, she came up to Yuri and punched at the phone. Then, she started “throwing fists” and kicking Yuri! Yuri said, “I don’t like to fight back” so she didn’t really do anything to defend herself. The woman punched at Yuri a couple times and then ran to her car in the parking lot. At this point, Yuri grabbed a photo of the woman’s license plate just for a record.
Yuri called police and gave them a description of the woman, who was still in the parking lot. She didn’t mention if police showed up but she told them what happened and that it wasn’t right. As she says, “This was over a stupid Pokémon card.”
Commenters immediately shared their reactions on Yuri’s video, many concerned for her and coming to her defense. As one commenter urged, “Please do file a report and press charges if/when they find her. If this is how she behaves, she’s going to harm someone else more severely in the future, maybe a child, elderly or someone who can’t defend themselves.” Another commenter stated, “My husband literally tells me not to go near the Pokémon kiosk because he’s afraid this exact thing will happen. Those scalpers are UNHINGED about these cards.”
Others asked Yuri why she didn’t fight back when the woman attacked her. According to Yuri, she knows martial arts but that she doesn’t want to engage in a fight. She added in an update video, “Violence is the last thing that you use” if you know martial arts. To this, one commenter mentioned, “The reason you didn’t retaliate is because you are trained. If you had, it would have been deserved either way but way to go to be an awesome human.”
The woman Yuri describes has not been publicly identified beyond the TikTok video, and there is no public response to the allegations. Nevertheless, Yuri’s story has struck a chord online, with many viewers saying the encounter highlights how sought-after Pokémon merchandise can sometimes lead to heated confrontations.
