After decades of delighting fans in Asia, Pokémon store heads to a new continent.
It’s impossible to overstate how much of a pop cultural institution Pokémon is in Japan. Between the anime, video games, cards, and mountains of plushies, Pokémon has been sparking the imaginations and warming the hearts of multiple generations of fans, and if any of them are looking for some cool new merch, they can pop into any of the roughly two dozen Pokémon specialty stores Japan has, stretching from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south.
But the franchise has grown into a massive success overseas as well, and the Pokémon Company has announced that it will finally be opening the first-ever permanent Pokémon store outside of Asia, and London is the lucky city that’s receiving the honor.
In Japan, Pokémon specialty stores come in three types: Pokémon Center megastores, moderately sized Pokémon Stores, and compact Pokémon Center Satellites. It’s not clear which, if any, of those classes the London store will fall into, but the official announcement says it will be a “Pokémon retail destination” and “the ultimate destination for Pokémon fans and include a variety of exclusive merchandise and one-of-a-kind experiences for Trainers of all ages,” so the plan is clearly for something much grander in scale and ambition than a glorified souvenir stand.
This will make the U.K. the fourth country with a permanent Pokémon. store, with the other non-Japan shops being in Taiwan (Taipei) and Singapore. In addition to the London location, the Pokémon Company says it’s also planning to launch “several” other branches outside Asia.
Unfortunately, the London Pokémon store isn’t scheduled to open until 2029, but that again speaks to the likelihood that it’s probably going to be a large-scale project, and if there’s anyone worth waiting for, it’s Pikachu, right?
Source: Pokémon official website
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