Merch Focus! July 18th
Along with the release of the annual Pokemon summer movie, a bunch of stuff is coming out on the 18th of July!
It can be easy to get overwhelmed when there is so much happening all at once, but hopefully this post can help.
Pokemon Center Report – Eevee Collection (Pokemon Time)
Eevee Collection was released in Pokemon Centers June 6th (Saturday), which was, concidentally, the same day as a huge Love Live event happening in Sunshine City, Ikebukuro – the same building where the Mega-Tokyo Pokemon Center is! My friend arrived around 6 am and was second in line but there was already about 100 or so people lined up outside for Love Live.
There was more than enough people waiting in line for Pokemon that the staff opened an hour early, and it was about the same chaos as most popular promotions.
The highlight of the merch line-up was definitely the mascot plush. Although half the size of the normal Pokemon Time plush, the Eevee plush are minky, so they are softer than the previous Pokemon Time plush releases and they still have the super cute eyes that are a trademark of the line, so I can’t complain about the tiny size too much.
The figure straps, another staple of the Pokemon Time line, are equally adorable, with one big bonus to them being they’re not blind packaged. You want Umbreon? Buy three! The blind packaged rubber charms underneath the straps are a different story. You can buy them individually or packaged together as a box. Each box comes with 10 charms – 1 of each Eeveelution and 1 out of 3 of the secret designs (sleeping Eevee, alternate pose Espeon, and alternate pose Umbreon).
Half the merchandise uses the Eevee Collection tiled pattern, including the phone cases designed for iPhone 6…
…and expensive bags. Not only are you paying for the brand name of the bag, but the Pokemon brand name as well.
These little stickers were advertised as perfect for decorating phones and 3DS cases.
Sticky notes and stickers, also ideal for decorating!
The surprise for the day was the Eeveelution cookie tins.
The tins feature this very cute artwork all over and are perfect for Eeveelution collectors. Use them after eating the cookies to store items, or add them to your collection displays!
The cookies are generic chocolate flavor in the shapes of Eeveelution faces, bringing up the real question: to eat or not to eat?
The shirts were the big sellers, and several Pokemon Centers sold out by mid-day, with no plans for restock. The tote bag pictured next to the Flareon shirt was a bonus item given out at all Pokemon Center locations. You received 1 bag per 10,000 yen spent at the Pokemon Center, with a cap at 3 bags per receipt.
Aside from the cookie tins, the biggest surprise was this poster advertising the next big Pokemon Center promotion. These Kuttari Plush, or Lazy Plush, sneakily reminiscent of Disney tsum tsums, will be released in Pokemon Centers on July 18th, incidentally the same day as the August Monthly Pikachu. Also, this is Part 1 of the Kuttari plush…more information coming soon!
I Love Eevee (Especially Umbreon and Sylveon!)
I’ve been looking forward to June 4th since before I even knew the release date for the Umbreon and Sylveon mascot plush.
Pet peeve: I greatly dislike all the Espeon and Umbreon paired merchandise. I understand why Pokemon does it, and I assume a lot of people like it, but Umbreon is my favorite, not Espeon, and although I collect Umbreon merchandise, I tend to stay away from forced pairings with Espeon. On the other hand, I really love Umbreon and Sylveon together, especially after seeing the Eevee summer short film (Eevee & Friends) from 2013, and so I was both thrilled and upset that Umbreon and Sylveon were included in the same set of mascot plush.
Upset, of course, because of all the three sets of plush, I wasn’t going to be in Japan for the 1 set that had 2 out of 3 of my favorite Eeveelutions!
Thankfully, my husband (Adam) is still in Japan and he was willing to head out to the game centers before heading off to work today.
Game Centers open around 10 am, but because today was the release date for the last batch of mascot plush from the I Love Eevee summer line, most of the centers didn’t have the plush out yet in the machines!
A couple places had their shipments delivered as Adam was standing around, waiting for plush to appear.
Waiting patiently. Or more like impatiently in my case.
This is better!
From what I heard, it sounds like the machine difficulty was similar to how it’s been for the past two releases: not easy. It should get a little easier over the next week or so, but considering how popular Sylveon is (and Umbreon!) I’m not sure how long these plush will last.
Adam was able to win at least 1 of each plush! I especially love this Sylveon because of the head tilt.
All the Umbreons have tiny frowns, which is perfect. I love how grumpy he looks!
And of course, Espeon. As mentioned, I’m not an Espeon fan, but her little smile is still cute.
The release of the I Love Eevee mascot plush starts the Eeveelution weekend a little early. Saturday will bring us the Pokemon Time promotion, and pre-orders for necklaces start as well. Stay tuned for more Eevee!
(Speaking of Pokemon Time, there is still time to order Eevee plush from the Pokemon Time promo! Check out my friends store – Hoshiiya.com and satisfy your Eevee craving)
Merchandise Overview – June
This post will be updated as information is released.
6.4
[Banpresto] I Love Eevee Mascot Plush Set 3 (Espeon, Umbreon, Sylveon)
6.6
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon Time – Eevee Collection –
[Pokemon Center] Eevee Collection necklace pre-order starts
[Pokemon Center] Hoopa Plush
[Pokemon Center] Pokemon With You badge additions (Ampharos, Arceus, Ditto, Gardevoir, Hoopa, Jigglypuff, Minun, Pichu, Plusle, Raichu)
[Pokemon Center] Petit Figure straps (Absol, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Mawaile, Milotic, Squirtle)
6.8
[Collaboration] Village Vanguard exclusive umbrellas (Pikachu / Rain)
6.18
[Banpresto] Eevee Plush Pass Case
Late June
[Gacha] Putitto Pikachu figures
6.19
[Campaign] Namco exclusive kuji starts (6.19 ~ 8.18)
6.20
[Pokemon Center] POKÉMON GRAPHIX t-shirts
[Pokemon Center] Monthly Pikachu
[Pokemon Center] Secret Base Pokedolls (Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Swablu, Totodile)
[Pokemon Merchandise] Giratina Moncolle Figure
[Pokemon Merchandise] Moncolle Special Collection (Arceus, Hoopa, Latias, Latios, Lugia, Shiny Rayquaza)
[Pokemon Merchandise] Pikachu + Hoopa/Legendary Stationary
[Pokemon Merchandise] Talking Hoopa Plush
[Takara Tomy] Hoopa, Latias, Latios
[TCG] Bandit Ring Expansion Pack
[TCG] Deck Sleeves: Hoopa, TC XY ~Heroine~ (Re-release) Mega-Tokyo Pikachu, Pikachu Tail, Pokeball
6.25
[Banpresto] My Pokemon Collection ~ Pokemon The Movie XY 2015 ~ (Hoopa, Dedenne, Pikachu, Lugia, Latios, Latias)
[Banpresto] Pokemon The Movie XY – Large Size Plush – Primal Groudon
6.26
[Pokemon Center] Hiroshima Pokemon Center grand opening
Friday Pokemon Announcements – Eevee Jewelery, Hiroshima Grand Opening Teaser, Pokemon With You
The Eevee hype train keeps rolling!
These Eeveelution necklaces will go on pre-order at all Pokemon Centers in Japan from June 6th until July 12th. These necklaces will be made to order and will be sent directly to customers starting in early August. Each Eeveelution charm and necklace comes in three types: silver (15,000 yen), yellow gold (49,000 yen), and pink gold (65,000 yen).
If Eevees still aren’t your thing, along with the Hoopa plush coming out June 6th, these new additions to the Pokemon With You charity line also come out June 6th!
These cute Pikachu gacha figures will be released sometime in early June. They are designed to easily clip onto the rims of glasses, making your drinks extra cute and electrified! 1 gacha turn = 300 yen.
On the heels of the popular ghost-type bags, Village Vanguard is offering another batch of exclusive Pokemon collaboration items, this time umbrellas! Available in two designs, they will go on sale from June 8th, just in time for rainy season.
Finally, we still don’t have merchandise aside from the Karpchus announced yet, but the Pokemon site did announce a special campaign available at the Hiroshima Center only. The bag on the left will be given to the first 10,000 visitors to the new Hiroshima Pokemon Center, and if you spend over 4,000 yen, you can get 1 of the charms pictured on the right.
May we get photos of the Eevee plush between now and June 6th!
