When you think of Pokemon, the odds are the first thing that pops into your head is the grinning yellow face of Pikachu, the series' long-running sidekick and mascot. With more TV series than we can count on both hands, oodles of video games and spin-offs and a fair amount of merchandise to boot, it's a series which doesn't really show any signs of slowing down any time soon. Now entering it's 20th year in 2016, The Pokemon Company have just signed a deal with the Build-A-Bear Workshop to bring their lovable mascot to stores, letting you create your very own Pikachu - but those looking for a quick Christmas pressie for a Pokemon fan may be a tad disappointed, as it won't land in stores until early next year.
In the absence of any pictures of the toy, here's a grumpy Pikachu!
Hitting the create-your-own-stuffed-animals store sometime next year, Pikachu comes as a rather fancy special edition of sorts. For starters, you'll nab yourself a special Build-A-Bear branded Pokemon card as a memento - and as for the obligatory clothes and accessories, you'll be able to pick yourself up a Poke Ball hoodie to dress your little electric friend in too, should you be willing to dive into the veritable rabbit hole of extras the Build-A-Bear shop must make most of it's money from. Or at least, that's what it seemed like looking at the gaggle of girls around the stand when we dared venture in with our young cousin.
The Charizard Pikachu from the Japanese Pokemon Center.
Those of you who fancy a Pikachu but don't want to go the whole 'kiss his heart and make a wish' rigmarole of the Build-A-Bear stuffing process - or simply would prefer to avoid the hordes of children on a Saturday morning - there is a solution. You'll also be able to place an order for the popular Pokemon mascot online, seemingly in a special bundle, which will include the aforementioned Poke Ball hoodie and a Charizard costume, as well as a sound chip of the Pocket Monster himself. While there's no price announced at the moment, you can buy a fully decked out Han Solo, with outfit, accessories and voice for about £45, so we'd expect Pikachu to be somewhere in that range, perhaps a bit more as you're technically getting a second outfit - and the Pokemon license too.
So far, Pikachu is the only Poke-beast you'll be able to get from the Build-A-Bear Workshop, but we're kind of secretly hoping it's the start of a long-lasting partnership between themselves and The Pokemon Company. Japan has it's own Pokemon Centers selling all kinds of Pokemon goodies, including a mountain of cuddly critters - and this would at least sort of make-up for the distinct lack of Pokemon merchandise we get over here. And 2016 is supposed to be the 20th Anniversary of the Pokemon series so…
