Pokemon Center UK – We Finally Have One!

Image taken from Pokemon Center UK

UK fans, it’s finally here, the moment we have all been waiting for, a Pokemon Center in the UK! Back in 2019 a Pokemon Center opened in London for a brief period of time to promote Pokemon Sword and Shield coming out. I for one was super excited for it and went with Dane, which you can read all about here.

The hype around that Pokemon Center brought people from all over the UK to queue for hours just to go in and buy limited edition and regular merchandise. I think even people from Europe travelled for it too! Due to the hype around it, a lot of Pokemon fans cried out for an official Pokemon Center to be opened in the UK, or at least an online store.

In November 2020 Canada got an online Pokemon Center and I remember UK and Europe fans being annoyed about the fact. Little did we know, just over a year later the UK would get an online site of our own!

It came very suddenly last week and I was so excited about it. I saw my friend Emily mention it on Instagram and I quickly headed to Google to search for the website. I’m honestly surprised I didn’t order stuff there and then. It took nearly a week for me to create and place an order.

As a massive Pokemon fan, it would have been wrong of me NOT to talk about the Pokemon Center coming to the UK (as well as make a cheeky order…). I know I stated before I wanted to purely have December for Christmas content, but let’s be honest here, the Pokemon Center getting a UK store is kind of like Christmas Day to me and many other Pokemon fans. 😛

This won’t be a terribly long post, as I’ll be mostly sharing my experience of ordering from Pokemon Center UK, sharing what items are on my wish list, as well as sharing items I hope come from the Pokemon Center US website! Grab yourself a hot drink in your best mug (Pokemon preferred… :P) on this chilly day and have a good read!

First of all I have popped the link to the Pokemon Center UK website above at the start of the post, but I’m going to pop it here for you too.

If you’ve ever ventured onto the US website, you’ll see that the UK version is practically the same, so the website is fairly recognisable and easy to navigate around. At the time of writing this post (Thursday evening), the website is currently in beta, so due to this some bugs can be found at times. Some examples of this being you might go onto a page and get a Pikachu telling you the page hasn’t been found. A simple refresh of the page soon fixes this however.

Something I’ve found daily from refreshing the website is they seem to be updating and adding new products daily, sometimes in the morning and sometimes in the afternoon. They do state on the website that they’re trying to add new products often, which is showing and is good!

If you want to place orders items can only be delivered to addresses in the UK and have a flat rate of £5. Expensive yes, but worth it for how quickly items arrive. I’ll go into this a little more later. Overall the website is really good to navigate around so far, which is always good!

As mentioned, the range of products on the website is changing daily with lots of new items being added, for example lots of Pokemon Fit/Sitting Cuties plushies are popping up daily. We’re yet to see some more home items added, but it is early days.

Finally one more thing I want to add is you CAN pay by PayPal! I know for myself and others this is important when shopping online, it’s my go for payment method. Alas, Pokemon Center UK has it which made me really happy!

Oh and apologies in advance, the photos aren’t the best for todays blog post but this is mainly due to being short on time this weekend to take proper photos. I’ll do this another time and do a mini Christmas photoshoot with Dane. 😛

Enough of the “boring” bits about the website, how did my first order go? Well, really good to be honest with you! I decided to stop eyeing up the item I was after and instead just take the plunge to order it, which is the Eevee Holiday Lights Knit Sweater. A perfect sweater for Christmas and not going to lie, all year around if I really want to!

I was unsure what size to order, a lot of people online had said they’d ordered a size up so it could be nice and baggy. The size chart is good and I should have really gone off of that. I wear a lot of Gildan sweaters and usually go for a unisex L which fits perfect with lots of bagginess. Due to the recommendation of sizing up, I went for an XL with my Eevee sweater. I semi regret this.

I placed my order on Tuesday morning and just 48 hours later I received an email from Royal Mail Thursday telling me it would arrive that morning. I was really surprised but happy all the same. I can only assume this is why the shipping is so high, but I won’t complain with that kind of turn around! I wasn’t expecting my sweater to arrive until at least the weekend, maybe even a week later, but since it arrived in good time I started to plan all the days I could wear it in the run up to Christmas Day!

Back to the sizing. Ordering the XL was a bit of a regret as when I tried it on the sizing was HUGE and the sweater fast turned into a jumper/sweater dress. The sleeves are really long, as is the body. This being said, it’s incredibly soft and snuggly and I’m already planning on rocking my Eevee sweater with a nice pair of leggings and my checkerboard Vans trainers.

So, size wise I would order the size you usually would for a sweater or hoodie (Gildan is popular so go by them if you own any of their stuff!), or just measure yourself if you’re unsure.

The quality of the Eevee sweater is really good! Not stupidly thick but thick enough for me that I know it will keep me toasty warm. I think it being oversized makes it feel a bit thicker, if that makes sense? The inside is lovely and soft, the kind of sweater where it feels like you’re wearing a big hug or a marshmallow. I was gutted to take it off to put it into the washing machine to be honest with you! 😛

Can we talk about the print though and how bloody cute it is?! As you can see it’s an Eevee holding some fairy lights, which are wrapped all around it. One thing I didn’t realise/notice from the images on the website is how on the back of the sweater, the fairy lights are trailing along the back too! I love this little detailing so much! The fairy lights themselves and the cable they’re attached to is a sparkly yarn which really stands out when you see the sweater in person, which again is something I didn’t notice when looking at the sweater on the website.

Overall the sweaters colour scheme is typical Christmas with the red, green and white, which I always adore. I especially love the festive patterns along the top and bottom with the Pokeball against them. Everyone knows how much I love Pokemon so this Christmas themed sweater has been a long time coming! I have a Deadpool one too from a few years ago that I’m sure I’ll wear soon, but this Eevee one has definitely stolen my heart!

I could have ordered so much more, but with Christmas looming I thought I’d be good and just get one item. Not going to lie though, the Pokemon Center opening a UK store is seriously going to be the death of me… 😛

However, I wanted to show you guys what’s on my wish list and why, just in case it shows you some stuff you’d like too. 🙂 There’s only a couple of items, but I hope you guys like to see regardless.

Image taken from Pokemon Centre UK

Cinccino Comfy Friends Plush – £30.99 (link)

I’ve had my eyes on this fluffy Cinccino plush since it first released in Japan a couple of months ago. I contemplated ordering one but left it as I wanted to save money. Now it’s available on the UK store, this is more affordable than ever! I was tempted to buy one of these when I ordered my sweater but left it. I don’t actually know what this cutie would go due to how busy my plushie cabinet is! This being said, I’d soon find it a home if I decided to take the plunge and order. 😛

Image taken from Pokemon Centre UK

Gengar Themed French Terry Zip-Up Hoodie – £49.99 (link)

I also have a hoodie on my wish list. The first thing I checked out when the UK website opened was the clothes side of it. I’m always happy to buy new Pokemon garments, especially now they’re easier to come by more than ever. I love my Pokemon Center London hoodie I bought in 2019 and have lived it most of the past 2 years since buying it, especially during lockdown and working from home. I’d love to pick up another one and so far the Gengar themed hoodie is one I like. I honestly can’t see myself buying this, as I would like to see an Eeveelution themed one come up eventually, maybe even Dragonite!

Now I’ve shown you my wish list from the UK store, I want to show you items I’d love to see come from the US store to UK! 😀 I won’t go into too much detail on each, but I’ll pop a collage below! All links next to item names will link to the US website.

Phanpy Sitting Cuties Plush – (link)

Believe it or not, Phanpy is one of my favourite Pokemon from gen 2! I remember seeing the little elephant inspired Pokemon and falling in love with it! I kept one and refused to let it evolve due to that fact! I did look to buy one when I went to Japan in 2020 but when I looked I could never see one, which was a shame. Eventually I’d love to pick one up to add to my plushie shelf.

Sleeping Umbreon Poké Plush – (link)

I regret not ordering one of the sleeping Eeveelution plushies when they came out years ago! They weren’t too badly priced at the time but I didn’t really have the money to splurge and I didn’t think I had room either. Fast forward and I regret not snagging one now… They’re hard to get and when you DO find the Umbreon one, it goes for hundreds! I recently saw one for sale over £200… Ouch! Currently on the UK store they have Jolteon, Flareon and Glaceon for sale and for under £40 too.

Pokémon Center × RockLove: Pikachu & Mew Admiration Pendant Necklace – (link)

If there’s one thing I’ve always wanted, it’s Pokemon jewellery. The RockLove Pokemon pieces are so gorgeous and I’d love so many of them. However, they are just based in the US right now, with the option of shipping to the UK direct from their website. Of course, if RockLove did hit the Pokemon Center UK, I’d snag something pretty for myself and it would definitely be something Mew or Eevee themed.

Furret Poké Plush – (link)

Finally we have a long boi and one I would seriously purchase! This Furret plush is a massive 71 inches long and as the picture shows, he biiig! I know loads of people on Twitter who would love one of these too and have been tweeting Pokemon about it. If they don’t bring these back AND to the UK then they’ll be missing out on some serious orders, if you ask me. 😛 I’d have this guy in the bed to cuddle up to when Dane doesn’t wish to. 😛

So, there we have it guys… It’s official we now have a Pokemon Center in the UK and just before Christmas too! I’m already excited for what other Pokemon goods we have to look forward to seeing on the website in the future.

Have you already placed an order, or hoping to in the future? Let me know in the comments. Also, don’t forget to let me know what you hope to see in the future too!

Until next time guys, take care and have a lovely weekend!

Japan Haul #1 – Pokemon Center

Guys it is officially the first post of my Japan trip and I am so excited to share it with you today!

I decided to kick start this post with two things I love, hauls and Pokemon. YES I will be sharing with you guys not only the goods I picked up from the Pokemon Center, but a quick glimpse of the Pokemon Center’s I ventured to as well as some random Pokemon bits and pieces too.

As a lot of you know, I am a massive fan of Pokemon and have been since the young age of 9 (I lose track of how old I was but I think I was roughly this age?). I’ve never looked back and it’s still a massive love of mine 21 years later.

Of course when I went to Japan I HAD to go to the Pokemon Center… More than one to be fair. 😛 I ventured to the Tokyo DX, Tokyo Station and Shibuya (Parco). Me and Dane did try to go to Mega Tokyo in Sunshine City, but this was closed. They’re currently refurbishing it for renewal, which will reopen in Spring this year! Sad that we missed out on that store… They did have the Pokemon Go Lab, which is a Pokemon Center… But full of Pokemon Go merch! We walked past and had a glace,but we weren’t bothered about going in to be honest with you… We don’t play Pokemon Go as much as we used to… Although we may get back into it for some fitness.

Years ago I discovered the Pokemon Center existed in Japan back in around 2011 when I finished university. I had loads of time on my hands and found out LOADS about it! I wanted to go, be there and experience it myself. I’d search for YouTube videos, just so I could see what it was like and imagine I was there. I never thought I’d get to go to the Pokemon Center myself, so being able to go with Dane was something magical for me and I was so excited.

The first one we went to was the Tokyo Station one, which is tiny! I was fascinated by all the plushies they had in there and wanted to buy so many. They also had a limited coin machine you could get a printed brass/copper coin from too for just 200 yen. I didn’t get one on my first trip. I went back and picked one up.

Just an FYI with this post, I won’t be including prices, as most stuff I honestly don’t remember… I just remember buying lots of stuff I wanted and paying a lot of money… 😛
I bought a few plushies from the Tokyo Station Pokemon Center including a Cyndaquil plushie and a Poke Doll Mew plushie. Surprising, Cyndaquil is one of my favourite Pokemon and out of all the games, it’s also my favourite starter to choose from too.
Later that day we ventured over to the Tokyo DX Pokemon Center, as we had the Pokemon Cafe booked (which I will be talking about on another post soon!) for the evening and Tokyo DX is right next door!

Just entering the building that takes you up to the Pokemon Centre and Cafe is amazing. There are four pictures that line the sides of the room which are COVERED in loads of different Pokemon and a lift in the middle. You have to take the left up to the 5th floor in order to get to both the Pokemon Center and Cafe. The doors open behind you when you reach the 5th floor and you’re met with a massive Snorlax, Mew and Pikachu statue in front of you with the Pokemon Cafe on the left and the Pokemon Center on the right of it. I was in awe and felt like a little kid. I was FINALLY at a Pokemon Center and I knew then that I was going to enjoy this moment the best I could. I took as much in as possible.

We had plenty of time to look around the Pokemon Center before our slot at the Pokemon Cafe was due, so we made sure to spend as much time shopping, taking photos and admiring the store as we could.

When you enter the Tokyo DX store they have a history wall to showcase and celebrate all of the Pokemon games that have come out, so from Red, Blue and Yellow back in 1996 to where we are now with Sword and Shield! It was amazing.

As well as that, outside where the area is for the statue (which separates the Pokemon Cafe and Center) there are little silhouettes of all Pokemon to date that cover the wall around the area. This was pretty cool to have a look at and we made sure to glance over as many of the silhouettes as we could! They have so much space leftover too to add anymore Pokemon, which is really cool. They clearly thought the idea through before doing it, which is amazing!

One thing I took advantage of at the Pokemon Center is the birthday discount you can get. If you visited the Pokemon Center (apart from the Tokyo Station, the other two I mentioned above did this!) on the month of your birthday you could get a birthday card, a crown AND 5% off that day in the Pokemon Center, amazing eh?! I made sure to take advantage of this. I just needed to show my passport as proof and I was okay. You get to write down what name you would like in your card (I did this twice I did one with Nat and the other with Natalee) and they get a crown for you too. On the back of the birthday card is the discount, which you MUST use that day (and I assume only in that store too?), which I made sure to do!

I don’t think I grabbed the discount when I visited the Tokyo DX store for a second time, which I was a tad annoyed about as I bought more than I intended to… OOPS!

I’ll talk about each store for now and of course, mention what I bought from there too.

First of all I’ll share what I picked up from the Tokyo Station store.

Mew Poke Doll Plush – I LOVE the Poke Doll plushies from the Pokemon Center and as I already own four of the Eeveelution Poke Dolls already, I know I wanted to get this Mew to add to my collection. Mew is one of my favourite Pokemon’s and when I saw and looked at this cute little Mew, I knew I had to pick it up. It’s eyes are huge, so kawaii!

Cyndaquil Poke Plush – Cyndaquil is actually my favourite starter Pokemon and has been since I first played Pokemon Silver in 2001. I knew that during our Japan trip I would pick up a Cyndaquil plushie at some point. I ended up getting two in the end (the second one was from a second hand store, so won’t be included on this post) which I wasn’t shocked by. At first I picked up one of the Pokemon Fit plushies but when I saw a bigger plush for just 100 yen more, I decided to pick this one up. It’s flame back is so damn fluffy and bushy! I couldn’t have asked for a better Cyndaquil plushie to be honest with you.

Dratini Plush Keychain – This was something I had been eyeing up loads during the whole holiday, as I had seen it through YY Kawaii when the campaign it came from first came out. I put off buying it until the last couple of days we were there. I wanted it, so I decided to pick it up! It’s a cute little Dratini plush keychain that has found its home on my Kanken backpack. If the weathers rubbish (which, let’s face it, has been awful lately!) I’ll take it off and pop it into my backpack until the weather improves. In Japan a lot of people (both men and women of all ages!) had plush mascot keychains on their bags, which I loved seeing! I’ve hardly seen it since getting back to the UK and it makes me sad. I like to think someone will see my backpack and my Dratini will make them smile. 🙂

As I mentioned previously in the post, I ventured to the Pokemon Center in Shibuya, but to be honest with you I only bought one thing (which is why I’m showing this Pokemon Center next)! The Pokemon Center itself was incredibly impressive with the Mewtwo in the glass tank, as well as some of the exclusive Shibuya goods. However, as we had previously ventured to the Tokyo DX Pokemon Center, this was incredibly underwhelming… Size wise anyway and the sort of items on offer.

Eevee Roll Cookie Tin – I had looked for this cookie tin in the Tokyo DX store, but all of the Eevee ones had gone, with only the Pikachu ones left. I like Pikachu… But not as much as Eevee! These have been opened by me and Dane and eaten some of the yummy treats! The roll cookies come in chocolate and honey flavours and they’re gorgeous! You didn’t get the chocolate ones in the Pikachu tin. I don’t know what I’ll be doing with the tin after all the goodies are eaten. 😛

So, I have saved the best until last… In terms of Pokemon Center’s… I found that Tokyo DX was my favourite out of the three I went to as it was the biggest and hence had more variety! It also had loads of artwork to take photos with. OH and the Pokemon Cafe was next door. 😛 I visited this Pokemon Center twice, as I just felt the need to go again to spend my monies. 😛

I’ve been so excited to share with you guys all the goodies I bought and what better item to start off with, than with an adorable plushie! 😛

Mew Sekiguchi Plush – I have wanted this plushie for about 4 years, so when I saw it in the Pokemon Center I knew I had to grab it! It wasn’t cheap, but I knew I was expecting to spend a lot of money in the Pokemon Center anyway so… Yeah. 😛 I think this was 2,900 yen, which in pounds works out around £20. This is so fuzzy and squishy which is amazing! It’s definitely something that stands out in my plushie case (it’s a book case full of plushies :P) which I love. I honestly regret not picking up the Eevee, Umbreon and Espeon Sekiguchi plushies too. 😦

Pokeball Random Mini Plush (Eevee) – This was a spontaneous item I picked up from the Pokemon Center and it was purely because me and Dane thought it would be fun to have a go and see which Pokemon we get! We could have gotten two different Pikachu’s, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Vulpix, Gengar, Snorlax, Mew, or Eevee, which is the Pokemon we got! It’s adorable and I couldn’t have asked for a better Pokemon to have inside the Pokeball. 🙂 The Pokeball clips into itself so it’s easy enough to open and close. I hate it open on my plushie case with the Eevee inside.

Eeveelution Puzzle – Me and Dane love doing puzzles together so when we spotted this Eeveelution one, we knew that we had to pick it up! It’s not a massive one, but it’s one we will make up and hang up in the house somewhere. 🙂

Mofu Mofu Eevee Mirror – I didn’t really need a new pocket mirror for my backpack, but I fell in love with the Mofu Mofu Eevee collection and whatever I found with the Mofu Mofu design on, I wanted. I started using this mirror when I got back to the UK and sadly, my first outing with this and using it, my perfume bottle leaked and it’s ruined some of the pattern on the front. 😦 This being said, it’s still kawaii!

Mofu Mofu Eevee Bento Lunch Pouch – I wanted so much more from the Mofu Mofu collection, especially the lunch related goods. I knew I couldn’t buy them all however, so I just picked up the lunch pouch, which I’ve been using for work to take my lunch in… Obviously. 😛 It’s so damn cute, it makes me happy to take my lunch to work in.

Eevee Cookie Tin – If there was one thing that the Pokemon Center has loads of, it was cookie tins! If anything, I regret not buying more. 😛 I picked up this Eevee cookie tin, as I’ve seen it around for years and knew I wanted to pick it up. The cookies inside are chocolate, with white chocolate in the middle. This is really nice, but to be honest they do leave a funny aftertaste in your mouth.

Camera Strap – July last year I treated myself to a new camera, a mirrorless one at that both for my holiday to Japan, as well as in general. As much as I love my digital SLR, it can be quite a chunk to carry around. Anyhoo, the camera strap that came with my new Sony camera is horrible and would cut into my neck… Not good! I noticed this Pokemon camera strap for sale and decided to get it! It has some of the more popular Pokemon on the strap itself, as well as a handy lens cap holder too! This was great to have whilst we were travelling around Japan and just wanted to keep taking photos, without the worry of losing the lens cap. I love this strap so much, its one of my favourite purchases during the holiday

Just an FYI – I bought a LOT of stationary related stuff from the Pokemon Center! I’ve been using it a lot for my Dungeons & Dragons sessions, as we as writing down notes here and there for my blog. 🙂 I love stationary and have always wanted stationary from the Pokemon Center, so it was just something I knew I was going to buy a lot of. 😛

Mofu Mofu Eevee Notebook – I have too many notebooks… I needed this one though. It’s adorable! I don’t quite know what I’m going to use it for as of yet… Maybe blog related stuff whilst I’m out and about? Dungeons & Dragons in the future? I don’t know… 😛 I just needed it! The designs on the front are adorable, with all the Eevee’s doing different things such as sleeping on books, holding quills in their mouths and sitting in teacups. Cute! There’s designs in the book too, with the Eevee holding the quill in it’s mouth again.

Mofu Mofu Clear File – I bought quite a few clear files whilst I was in Japan, but this is my favourite one by far! I actually bought this to keep my files in for Dungeons & Dragons, but as of yet I haven’t had the chance to use it. The image on the front of the two Eevee’s is so adorable, I’d frame it to be honest! 😛

Mofu Mofu Eevee Pen Case – I didn’t need a pen case… But due to how much stationary I bought whilst I was on my holiday, I kind of had to! That and the pencil case I use currently for all my stationary items is from when I was studying my GCSE’s at school… Which was 15 years ago now! That pencil case is great, but I wanted something smaller and more refreshing! This one is a perfect signs for everything I bought on the trip, and I really enjoy taking it out with me. It’s so cute to bring out of my bag when I want something to write with. The image of the Eevee’s cuddling together on he one side is so kawaii!

Mofu Mofu Eevee Mechanical Pencil and Pen – The blue design is the pen, the red is the pencil. There were four designs/colours in total including the blue and red ones I own, as well as a brown (pencil) and green (pen I think). I didn’t really want anymore mechanical pencils as I have a pink one I really love (well… loved until I bought my new ones in Japan :P) to use so I didn’t need another mechanical pencil. I picked up the pen, which is black ink and was happy. When I went back to the Pokemon Center, I ended up picking the pencil up too and I don’t regret it! The pencil writes really well and I much prefer it to my pink mechanical pencil to be honest with you! The designs on them both are gorgeous with the fluffy, happy Eevee designs all over.

Mofu Mofu Eevee Washi Tape – I decided whilst I was in Japan that I would become a washi tape collector… Purely because I’m working on a scrapbook soon about our trip to Japan and wanted to use cute patterned washi tape to make the scrapbook look pretty inside. Of course I couldn’t not pick up the mofu mofu design, which is just loads of cute Eevee’s running along the tape. I haven’t opened this yet and don’t plan to until it comes to me using it.

Pikachu Mechanical Pencil Lead – Due to now owning a total of four mechanical pencils, it’s always good to make sure to have plenty of pencil lead for these! I couldn’t get a mofu mofu Eevee design (they didn’t make one…) so instead I picked up a cute Pikachu design instead, which is kind of similar to the mofu mofu design. This came with quite a lot of 0.5 size led inside already, but as I owned some already from my first mechanical pencil, I decided to add them into this holder. I’ll never run out of led now!

Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Dragonite and Mew B-Side Label Stickers – Finally we have some stickers from the Pokemon Center. I’d heard about the B-Side label stickers from YY Kawaii and had always wanted to buy some… But never did. However, when I was in the Pokemon Center, I went overboard! I bought three when I went for the first time and then another three when I went the second time! There were cheap at 350 yen (£2.43) but the more you picked up, the more the price wound up! I picked up the Eevee, Dragonite and Mew stickers as these are my three favourite Pokemon. So, when I visited the Pokemon Center again, I knew I had to pick up the rest of the original Eeveelutions from Gen 1 as they were at the till I was being served at. I have zero regrets, I just don’t know where to stick them now. 😛

Overall, that is my haul from the Pokemon Center’s in Tokyo! I did buy more Pokemon goodies which were official from other stores, secondhand, or from kuji’s both me and Dane played on. I’ll be talking about those in another post in the future.

What did you guys think of the Pokemon Center’s I ventured to? As well as the goodies I picked up? What would you pick up from the Pokemon Center if you had the chance to go? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far, I’m poorly at the moment… Which sucks. 😦