The Pokémon Company has released a ton of new merch for the series’ 30th anniversary in Japan, including a retro Pikachu plush that was so popular overseas that its stores were ransacked by fans and scalpers alike last week. It sounds like we in America will also get a chance to fight scalpers for these plushes, as they’re coming to the Pokémon Center website here, too.
We don’t know exactly when the black-and-white Pikachu plush and keychain will be coming to the Pokémon Center site, but the Pokémon social channels have confirmed they will be and that fans should “stay tuned” for updates. There’s no word on price either, so all we really know right now is that we don’t need to import it from Japan for a gross amount of money. It’s very likely bots and scalpers will grab these plushes when they go up for sale like they do everything else Pokémon, though, so hopefully Pokémon Center gives us plenty of warning to get queued up on the site.
The 1996 plush is made to look like Pikachu’s original sprite from the Game Boy games Red and Green. It’s black-and-white like he appeared on the handheld, and has a few elements that have been phased out of his design over the years like his rounder shape, the circle on his belly, and colored paws. It’s such a cool piece for the 30th anniversary that I was scared I’d have to buy it on eBay, where it’s currently going for over $100 on just about every listing. If nothing else, if I do end up having to buy it from an American reseller after they pick the Pokémon Center clean, at least the shipping costs might be cheaper.