by ZombieMiki | Dec 12, 2017 | Pokemon, Pokemon Center Report
Hello everyone!
Although not a whole lot came out this weekend, it was still two consecutive days of new releases (and a little bit of stress) so I’d say it was exciting enough.
Ultra Sun Moon Booster Packs
On the Pokemon TCG front, Ultra Sun (SM5S) and Ultra Moon (SM5M) booster packs went on sale Friday, December 8th.
As with most booster pack releases, we also got a bunch of card related merchandise alongside the actual cards.
December TCG Sleeves
We got a couple new Pokemon card sleeve designs featuring three people characters (Volkner, Cynthia, and Lillie). On one hand, it’s always nice to see the inclusion of people since we hardly get people merch from Pokemon, but also two out of three are characters we see all the time recently (Cynthia and Lillie) so take it with a grain of salt. Regardless, the illustrations, as usual, are cute to gorgeous.
The non people sleeve designs feature Umbreon & Espeon, Lucario, and Pyukumuku.
Ultra Sun & Moon sleeve and case
Two deck cases went on sale alongside the sleeves.
One case featured the same Ultra Sun & Moon artwork from both a matching set of card sleeves and the main artwork from the Ultra Sun & Moon booster packs.
Umbreon Espeon Deck Case
The second deck case was a little fancier than normal, similar to the leather-like TCG cases that came out with the Eeveelution Pokedoll promotion back in May.
This design is the same as the Espeon & Umbreon card sleeves, originating from the Espeon & Umbreon cosmetics mini promotion that came out a few months back.
Moving on to Saturday the 9th… and Vulpix-mageddon!
December 9th marked the release of Lillie’s 1:1 (ish) sized Alolan Vulpix plush, made by Takara Tomy.
The Takara Tomy part is important. Most Pokemon Center releases are exclusive to the Pokemon Center, but as this was not a Pokemon Center release, it was not exclusive to the Center. Preorders have been up for this plush for at least a month if not longer (I can’t remember the exact date when the listing originally went up on Amazon or the official Tomy web store). The Pokemon Center generally stocks Tomy plush, but so does any toy store.
Pre-orders for this plush unsurprisingly sold out a week or two before the release. As with most pre-order items, I assumed the listing would get replenished once we passed the release date. I was wrong! I also assumed we would get enough stock in the Pokemon Center that it wouldn’t sell out quickly. Also wrong!
I showed up to the Mega Tokyo Center 3 hours before opening, which was maybe a little overkill but I was first in line so who cares. When the doors opened, there were two locations that had the new Vulpix plush. The first location closer to the front was quickly decimated. I assumed once the plush from this front part disappeared, the staff would bring out more. They didn’t; they simply replaced where the Vulpix used to be with Necrozma plush. The second location was right in the very back of the store. There was a lot more room for plush back there, and so I was convinced that this spot also would stay strong with Vulpix for a little while. By 11:30 am, an hour and a half after opening, there were two Vulpix left, and once they were gone, there was no more. The end.
When the original Tomy Vulpix (not 1:1 size) came out last year, they quickly disappeared from shelves and on-line stores, and then reappeared a few months later and are still in stock because now no one wants them. I have a feeling the same will happen with these plush. But of course, watch me be wrong (I’m pretty confident I’ll be right).
With all that said!!
The Vulpix plush are one of the cutest Alolan Vulpix plush I’ve seen to date. They’re super soft, super cuddly, fun to hug and carry around, and just all around perfect. A+++ plush! Would snuggle!
Easy to miss with all the Vulpix hype, the newest batch of 5108 word necklaces also went on sale Saturday the 9th.
These necklaces are cute but tiny and also really hard to photograph.
December 5108 Necklaces
There were a lot of cute designs, but my favorites included:
Alolan Vulpix “Cute”, Cosmog, and Mimikyu!
If I was more into jewelry, I’d own the Cute Alolan Vulpix necklace already. It literally says Cute on it! How cute!
That wraps up today’s exciting Pokemon Center Report.
Until next time~
by ZombieMiki | Nov 20, 2017 | Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News, TCG
Hello everyone and sorry for the wait!
It’s been non-stop action since I arrived in Japan Thursday and I’m doing my best to get caught up.
First up, an important announcement!
While I’m in Japan, I’ll be offering my pick-up services! I will be picking up everything included in this post, as well as Banpresto prize plush, and a bunch of other stuff.
Keep an eye on this page for the most up to date information on items and prices.
See something you like? Get in touch with me through one of the following ways!
Contact Page | Facebook | Twitter
Pikachu’s Closet returns December 2nd (Saturday) with a new set of clothes for Pikachu!
This brand new Formal Attire set features a cute hat and little shoes along with shirt, pants, and bow-tie.
The set of Formal clothing will cost 3,780 yen after tax.
Next up, the College Logo series from last year returns with a second part! This promo will go on sale at all Pokemon Centers and Stores in Japan starting November 25th (Saturday).
This release will feature a bunch of similar items from last year’s release but with updated logos and Rowlet!
College Logo Series
Varsity Jacket (Pikachu / Rowlet | Medium / Large) – 9,612 yen each
Hoodie (Pikachu / Rowlet | Small / Medium / Large) – 6,048 yen each
Pikachu Logo Sweater (Small / Medium / Large) – 6,480 yen
College Logo Part 1
Sticker Set – 626 yen
Set of 2 Patches – 864 yen
Rowlet Pen Pouch – 1,620 yen
Mini Tote-Bag – 1,836 yen
Tote-Bag – 3,780 yen
College Logo Part 2
Pencil & 2-Color Ball Pen (Pikachu / Rowlet) – 540 yen each
Set of Sticky Notes – 756 yen
Memopad (Pikachu / Rowlet) – 432 yen each
B6 Ring Notebook – 648 yen
College Logo Pin Collection *Gacha* – 300 yen for 1 play
A bunch of TCG merch was announced for December as well!
All of the new TCG items mentioned here will go on sale at all Pokemon Centers and Stores in Japan starting December 8th (Friday).
December TCG Card Sleeves
First up: everyone’s favorite card sleeves!
As usual lately, each pack will have 64 sleeves and will cost 777 yen after tax.
There will be 7 designs in total for this release: Pyukumuku, Lillie, Espeon & Umbreon, Volkner & Luxray, Cynthia & Lucario, Lucario, and Ultra Sun & Moon.
December Deck Cases
Along with the card sleeves, there will also be two deck cases.
Umbreon & Espeon is extra fancy and will cost an extra fancy price: 2,160 yen after tax.
The Ultra Sun & Moon design will cost 390 yen after tax.
A Cynthia rubber play-mat will go on sale on the same day for 2,700 yen after tax.
Last but not least, a special Premium Trainer’s Set will also go on sale December 8th for 5,400 yen after tax.
The set will include:
Ultra Sun Booster Packs x 10
Ultra Moon Booster Packs x 10
156 cards (29 types)
** 44 trainers (18 types)
** 4 Extra Special Energy Cards (2 types)
** 108 Energy Cards (12 of each type)
Card Box x 1
Pokemon Coin x 1
GX Marker x 1
Acrylic Damage Counters x 32
Premium Markers (Poison / Burn) x 1 each
Card Sleeves x 1 set of 64 sleeves
Players Guide x 1
That wraps up Friday’s announcements!
Tomorrow brings us the second half of the most recent Its’Demo release. I will be there at opening so if you’re interested to see what’s coming out, follow my Twitter account (@zombiemiki) and be awake at 10 am Japan time!
Until next time~
Liked anything mentioned in this post? I can get it for you! Check out my pick-ups page here
Pikachu’s Closet
College Logo Series Part 2
December 8th TCG Release Information
by ZombieMiki | Nov 9, 2015 | Pokemon, Pokemon Center Report
I’ve been looking forward to the Pokemon Chiku-Chiku Sewing promotion since it was announced, and I was not let down!
The Sewing promotion was created based on a homey sort of hand-stitched mom and pop toy store feel, and all the items in the promotion reflect this, right down to the actual plush. They even sold mini sewing kits with the Pokemon Chiku-Chiku Sewing logo on them!
The most popular items were, of course, the plush. We got this dapper Pikachu wearing a top hat as both a normal size plush
And in a slightly smaller mascot size.
Vulpix was the second normal size plush and as of this post is currently sold out at the Mega-Tokyo Pokemon Center (although my guess is they will restock at least once).
There was also three more mascot sized plush: Hoppip
Skiploom
And Jumpluff! All three have a very unique semi-stitched together look, which in my opinion is the best part of this entire promotion. Little Jumpluff even looks like he’s wearing little pants!
Tartan was another big part of this promotion, much easier to see in the other non-plush items, including the flip phone cases, cups and plates
And, of course, the cookie tins! If you are going to get one item from this promo, aside from the plush, my vote would be the cookie tins. The tins are a perfect size, feature all the main artwork, and the cookies are delicious.
Along with the Sewing promotion, the Center also gave us a couple items for New Years 2016.
With the main plush being Pikachu shaped like a kagami mochi. Although I think Dedenne was better suited for this shape, Pikachu still came out pretty cute.
Another especially cute New Years item was this set of metal charms, featuring the Mochi Chu as well as a hanetsuki paddle charm with Aipom, as 2016 is the year of the monkey.
Out of both the Sewing and New Years promotions, I was especially looking forward to the Vulpix plush. A part of me was worried the plush would look not as cute in person compared to the stock photos, but my worries turned out to be unnecessary in the end because Vulpix turned out perfectly. He is the perfect size; neither too big nor too small. He is perfectly cuddly, perfectly adorable, and perfectly perfect – the perfect little fire fox!
Next weekend will give us December’s Monthly Pikachu as well as the announcement for January’s Chu, and maybe we’ll get some exciting news on Friday regarding future promotions! We should learn soon what the actual New Years promotion will be. Last year we got a set of sleeping plush of the XY starter Pokemon. Any ideas for what we might see for New Years 2016?
by ZombieMiki | Nov 4, 2015 | gacha, Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News, TCG
11.7
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon Chiku-Chiku Sewing
[Pokemon Center] New Years 2016 Merchandise
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon Petit Figure Straps (Chandelure, Cyndaquil, Gardevoir, Lapras, Pichu, Wailord)
[Ichiban Kuji] Mini Kuji – PokeToru Stamps
11.10
[Banpresto] Large Eevee Face Cushion
11.14
[Pokemon Center] Monthly Pikachu – December
11.19
[Pokemon Game] Pokemon Rumble World (Cartridge Edition)
End of November
[Pokemon Merchandise] PokeMikke Round 3
[Gacha] Putito Pikachu Plus
[Gacha] Sleepy Friends XY & Z (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Pikachu, Squirtle, Zygarde Core)
11.20
[TCG] Double Mega Break Set – Mega Aerodactyl EX + Mega Mawile EX + Luxray Break
[Magazine] Pokemon Fan #45
11.21
[MonColle] Ho-Oh, Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y
11.25
[Banpresto] Lizardon Night | Large Plush (Charmander, Charizard)
11.28
[Pokemon Center] Fluffy Bathtime
11.30
[Candy] Candy Figures “The Start of a New Adventure”
by ZombieMiki | Oct 25, 2015 | Pokemon, Pokemon Merch News
This past Friday brought us a small announcement for this year’s New Year merchandise, an update from the official Banpresto prize website, and the release of a new Pikachu and Eevee plush.
Every year, the Pokemon Center offers more traditional Japanese New Years merchandise, with a Pokemon theme. Last year we got kagami-mochi Dedenne, and this year, it’s Pikachu. (Note: kagami-mochi is a common New Years decoration consisting of two mochi, or rice cakes, and often times topped with a small bitter orange.)
There is also a mini kadomatsu and mini shime-kazari
And of course New Years postcards, with two different designs.
Astute observers will notice the inclusion of Aipom in this year’s New Year decorations, in honor of 2016 being the Year of the Monkey.
Merchandise Line-Up
Prices do not include tax.
New Years Postcard (Pikachu and Friends and First Sunrise) – 290 yen
New Years Postcard (Year of the Monkey) – 290 yen
Die-Cut O-Toshi-Dama Bag – 320 yen
Stickers – 300 yen
Metal Charm Set – 650 yen
Mini Kadomatsu – 740 yen
Mini Shime-Kazari – 740 yen
A4 Clearfile Set – 400 yen
Kagami-Mochi Pikachu Plush – 1,200 yen
The official Banpresto site updated with 2 Pokemon prizes for November. These large Eevee face cushions will start appearing exclusively in game centers in the Tokyo area from November 10th. The cushion is roughly 29 centimeters or almost 1 foot tall.
These cute Charmander and Charizard plush will start appearing in game centers as part of the Lizardon Night series from November 25th. Both plush are roughly 28 centimeters or around 11 inches tall.
Although this Saturday didn’t see any big (or small) promotions at the Pokemon Center, these two Takara Tomy plush came out and both Pikachu and Eevee are adorable. The Eevee plush is especially cute and soft, so if you collect Eevee plush, I would not pass this one up!
Questions about how to get any of the plush or other merchandise mentioned here? Leave a comment, shoot me an email (mikitzune at gmail dot com), or send me a tweet (@zombiemiki)!
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Pokemon Center New Years 2016
Eevee Cushion
Lizardon Night
