The Pokémon Company is set to open a new everlasting Pokémon store in London in 2029, with more stores planned worldwide.
While there have been several limited time pop-up stores over the years, which are always impossibly busy, the UK still doesn’t have a permanent Pokémon store.
However, that is finally set to change. As announced by The Pokémon Company on Wednesday (October 21), a permanent, physical Pokémon store is set to officially open in London in 2029.
Per the announcement, the store will sport ‘a variety of exclusive merchandise and one-of-a-kind experiences for Trainers of all ages’ – which hopefully isn’t referring to sticker shock from the Umbreon plushies.
There’s no indication of where in London this store will open, but past pop-ups have been at ExCeL London for the Pokémon World Championships and the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush.
This London store will be the first Pokémon shop outside of Asia (beating the US, surprisingly), with the majority being in Japan. As described in the announcement, more stores are planned for outside the region, with more information promised in the future.
Speaking about the announcement, chief product and experience officer at The Pokémon Company, Gaku Susai, said: ‘We are always exploring new opportunities that help us create unique and memorable experiences for our fans. This new London store will give visitors the chance to step into the world of Pokémon, whether they’re discovering the brand for the first time or have been Trainers for years.
‘We hope it becomes a place where everyone can come together, feel like part of a community and enjoy the magic of Pokémon in a whole new way.’
The only question is whether this will be a bite-sized variant or comparable to the bigger Pokémon Centers in Tokyo, Japan. Based on how popular the pop-up shops have been, where reservations have been mandatory, hopefully it’s the latter.
To tide you over until 2029, Pokémon Winds and Waves is set to launch sometime next year on the Nintendo Switch 2.
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