Hello everyone!
I got a couple super cute Pokemon items for Valentine’s Day (along with chocolate) and I wanted to share ♥
First of all, a special thank you to Jen from JapanStuffs – without her, I wouldn’t have the Monthly Pair Pikachu! And a second special thank you to Kerstin for the lovely Valentine’s Day gifts ♥♥♥
First up, the Monthly Pair Pikachu plush from February. Technically I’ve had this plush since mid January, but it was an early Valentine’s Day gift so it still counts!
The Pikachus are really soft and feature one boy and one girl (the same as all the other Monthly Pair plush). The roses aren’t made of plush fabric, but they decorate the front of a heart cushion which is plush. It’s also hard to see from around the cushion but the Pikachu are holding hands.
When I originally saw the advertisement for the February Pika Plush, I jokingly said, “if someone really loved me, I don’t care about flowers and jewelry, I just want this” but I wasn’t really joking 😉 This plush is so cute!
I don’t order too much stuff from the American Pokemon Center store, but I would have gotten these items for myself if Kerstin hadn’t beat me to it! I’m a sucker for pins, but these are really cute. I like how they placed the five pins on separate little Valentine’s Day cards so if you wanted to, you could give them away as gifts. There’s even a space on the back to write a little message.
Even with how cute these pins are, I probably still wouldn’t have gotten them if it wasn’t for Umbreon. Being an Umbreon collector, I couldn’t pass up this cute little grumpy face.
And speaking of Umbreon, I couldn’t pass the cup up either (although I have way too many Pokemon cups!) For those who’ve never ordered mugs from the Pokemon Center store before, their mugs are very big and heavy, surprisingly so for the price (about $15 USD). Maybe my entire perception of what a normal size is has been skewed by living in Japan, but regardless, I recommend the US Pokemon Center mugs!
The Umbreon mug is sold as a set with a matching Espeon one for about $30 so you’re saving money compared to buying two mugs separately. Keep them both and use one at night and one in the morning or give one to someone you love!
And that concludes today’s special Valentine’s Day Merchandise Review!
Whether you’re single, dating, married, divorced (cough), alone, surrounded by family, or even if you hate the holiday, Happy Valentine’s Day! And until next time.
Edit: And I’m back sooner than expected! Just after I posted this, I checked the mail and my package from the US Pokemon Center arrived! What was inside?!
Substitute Hoodie! The Substitute promotion that was released in Japan last year in May finally came out (sort of) in the US Pokemon Center store. There were some neat US counterparts to the Japanese items (like the blanket), but the one thing that caught my eye (and my heart) was the hoodie.
The lining in the hood features the Substitute Pikachu pattern, there is a Substitute illustration over the left breast and a big Pikachu Substitute on the back (pictured here). It’s very, very soft and super comfortable. I was a little worried before trying it on, but no, it’s perfect.
The hoodie is dark green (not black! I know it’s hard to see in photos).
Here is a comparison between the pattern on the Substitute t-shirt released in Japan and the pattern on the inside of the hood.
Like with all clothing from the Pokemon Center, the hoodie runs large. Having never bought a hoodie from the Center before, I had to make an “educated” guess based on the numbers listed and comparing it with the shirts I already own. I ended up ordering a Large, which thankfully was perfect for what I like (I usually order XL but I would have been swimming in it). With that said, and as I mentioned, it is incredibly comfortable and soft and I 100% recommend it. It comes with two pockets which means you have space to carry two mini Substitute plushies!
And on that note, I’m going to bed. Goodnight!
