KelsiDavis

The Pokémon Company International confirmed today that a giant Pokémon balloon will appear in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, just as in every parade since the debut of the original Pikachu balloon in 2001. Pikachu and Eevee will appear along the 2.5 mile long parade route in New York City in their Poké Ball sleigh, one of 22 balloons in this year’s parade. This will be Pikachu and Eevee’s fourth appearance in the sleigh, as the balloon debuted in 2021 in conjunction with the franchise’s 25th anniversary.

In honor of Pokémon Gold and Silver’s upcoming 25th anniversary on November 21st, The Pokémon Company has revealed its latest merch collection starring Ho-Oh, Lugia, and more Gen II Pokémon. The anniversary collection will be available at Pokémon Centers across Japan on November 23rd, and will become available at the Pokémon Center Online on November 21st.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is once again expanding their line of Pokémon plushes, this time adding the baby Pokémon Riolu to the collection. Riolu is the second of the Gen IV babies to be made into a Build-A-Bear, following Munchlax from earlier this year. Riolu is a little taller than the standard Pokémon Build-A-Bear at 16 inches tall, and its bundle is a little less expensive at $57 USD.

On November 11th, Quagsire was ceremonially signed in as the official Ambassador Pokémon for Kochi Prefecture, making it the twelfth Pokémon to be given the honor. The Ambassador Pokémon promotion is sponsored by Pokémon Local Acts, a program designed to drive tourism by “highlighting [the] well-known and not so well-known charms,” of various localities in Japan through events and activities.

The Pokémon Company has announced some new metal keychain charms coming to Pokémon Centers in Japan, themed after the Kanto National Pokédex. Sixty-six new charm sets featuring 146 fan-favorite Pokémon will be arriving to Pokémon Center locations across the country on November 2nd, with online preorders available beginning October 31st.

The Pokémon Company International is going to be hosting a slightly belated launch event for the new mobile game Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, a digital adaptation of the Pokémon TCG, which will launch worldwide on October 30th. The launch event will be held from 10 am to 7 pm on November 9th and from 11:15 am to 7 pm on November 10th at Outernet, an events complex in central London that features screens covering its walls.

Le Creuset, the French-Belgian cookware brand best known for their enameled cast-iron cookware, has revealed the 7 new pieces coming in the second wave of their Pokémon Collection. The first round, which arrived in July to Japan and some other parts of Asia, was a bit more colorful compared to this new wave’s "chic and calm" theme. Le Creuset’s second round of Pokémon cookware will launch on November 6th.

As announced earlier this year, The Pokémon Company International and The Wand Company are continuing their range of collector’s quality replica Poké Balls, debuting their latest today, the Beast Ball replica. The Beast Ball is currently available on the Pokémon Center websites for the US, UK, and Canada, with no word if they will become available for the Australian or New Zealand Pokémon Centers.

Build-A-Bear Workshop has announced the latest addition to their Pokémon collection today, showing off a plush Cubone complete with its bone club in hand. Cubone is available now to customers in the US, and will be coming soon to Build-A-Bear stores in the US. It will also be available in the UK online and in stores, but no arrival date has been announced yet.

The Pokémon Local Acts program has announced plenty of new Poké Lids today, including the first ones ever coming to Shimane Prefecture. Poké Lids are donations from The Pokémon Company to prefectures, and along with events and merchandise hosted by Pokémon Local Acts, are intended to encourage tourism to various areas of Japan. Shimane Prefecture showed off five new Poké Lids today, the very first to be installed there. In the absence of a prefectural Ambassador Pokémon, which would act as a mascot, the new Poké Lids coming to Shimane instead feature a variety of Pokémon in different scenes.

Pokémon Local Acts, the program which encourages tourism in Japan through events, merchandise, and its most popular project, Poké Lids, has revealed its newest additions to the streets of Fukushima Prefecture. Eight new Poké Lids, manhole covers decorated with Pokémon, will be installed throughout the prefecture one by one, beginning this week. These eight Poké Lids will feature Chansey, as Fukushima Prefecture’s appointed Ambassador, in scenes with other Pokémon.

The Pokémon Local Acts program is showing off the newest additions to its Poké Lids project, which places manhole covers decorated with Pokémon around Japan in an effort to encourage tourism. The five new lids will feature Dragonite, who was nominated as the prefecture’s Ambassador Pokémon earlier this year, in scenes with other Pokémon.

Alexander Ivanov, a leader in the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, has recently suggested that Pokémon GO may have been used to gather military information during the height of its popularity in 2016. While discussing national security on the Belarusian talk show “Po Suschestvu,” Ivanov shared his suspicions that Pokémon GO was deliberately spawning Pokémon near the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, the country’s capital.

Following the Western debut of Pokéween merch earlier this month, The Pokémon Company has announced their spooky collection for the season, coming to Pokémon Centers in Japan starting September 7th and the Pokémon Center Online on September 5th. The line stars Meowscarada as a magician frightening Pikachu in a witch costume and Fuecoco as a pumpkin. Halloween plushies debut with this line, starting with Pikachu and Fuecoco in costume for ¥2,750 ($18.81 USD) each.

Joe Adam is the owner of TCG Exchange, a Pokémon card shop that operates out of a few counters and shelves inside a boba café in San Antonio. At about 2:30 AM on August 24th, Adam was notified that his security system detected motion in the store; he watched as two men in hoodies loaded singles from the display cases, binders full of cards, and Elite Trainer Boxes into trash bags and backpacks. Local newspapers note that each card in the display was worth more than $35, and each binder was worth more than $1,200. Adam estimated the total theft amount was between $12,000 and $15,000.

The Pokémon Center International is showing off tons of new merchandise for the Halloween season, starting with this year’s Pokéween collection at the Pokémon Center. The collection is available now for customers in the US, UK, and Canada, and includes a variety of home goods, adult clothing, and seasonal statues. The show-stealers in this collection are the new Gengar backpack and string lights (both for $34.99 USD), the spooked Pikachu jack-o-lantern mug ($29.99 USD), and the Lechonk garden statue ($59.99). All clothing in the collection is $49.99 USD and includes three knit sweaters and three zip-up hoodies with spooky scenes on the back.

On August 19th, the Hong Kong Police Force raided a small, upstairs shop specializing in Pokémon TCG products, seizing $10 million HKD (approx. $1.3 million USD) worth of methamphetamine from the store. The raid came after an investigation and interception of a 28 year old man outside the shop, on whom the police found 5 kg of the drug. Upon taking him back inside the shop, police found an additional 16 kg of crystal meth in the staff area.

Pokémon Centers in Japan have announced some new plushies today, plus some big news for fans of the exclusively in-person Pokémon World Championships 2024 merchandise. While there is no current release date offered, the Pokémon Center Online confirmed that the three plushes offered only at the Pokémon Center pop-up shop at Worlds will eventually become available to customers in Japan. The Hawaii-inspired Pikachu, Riolu, and Azumarill plushies are the only pieces of Worlds merch currently planned to become available through other avenues, though there is also no word on their prices yet.

Rachael Lillis, a prolific voice actor for the early Pokémon anime, movies, and video games, has died at age 55 after her short and private battle with breast cancer. Co-star Veronica Taylor, who was the original voice of Ash Ketchum, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that Lillis passed on the evening of August 10th, stating, “I was lucky enough to know Rachael as a friend. She had unlimited kindness and compassion, even until the very end.”

The American footwear brand Crocs is expanding their collaboration with the Pokémon brand this year, previewing four new Gen I designs coming sometime in 2024, though no specific date has been given. Following the Pikachu design from earlier this year, Jigglypuff, Charizard, Gengar, and Snorlax will each feature on Crocs’ Classic Clog, with the Pokémon’s colors in a swirled design on the upper and a monochrome sole.