Pokemon - Merchandise
Pokemon, a worldwide phenomenon, was founded in 1995 by Satoshi Tajiri and has had a lot of different merchandise released ever since the television series first aired in 1997. Most of the merchandise features the Pokémon and characters in plushies, Amiibo toys, illustrations on stationery and even clothing items that allow fans to showcase their admiration for the series. Some of the Pokémon merch feature special illustrations, artwork, and tricks for the Pokémon game, making them very popular. There have also been some limited edition items released, further making the merchandise highly sought after. Merchandise featuring many rare Pokémon and cool artwork has also been created, including illustrations of the characters who train them. Among the merchandise, here are three popular items that have been selected and will be showcased below. These items are the “Pokémon Adventures Satoshi Yamamoto Art Book”, “Shogakukan Special Pokémon Fan Vol. 42 w/ Mega Sharpedo Tretta Magnet Sheet”, and the “Surfing Pikachu T-Shirt (White).”
Pokémon Adventures Satoshi Yamamoto Art Book
This art book includes an illustrated cover from the series and an extensive collection of artwork and illustrations, many of which were never seen before. The cover shows different Pokémon and some of the main characters from the comic series. The cover illustration shows a raging Charizard with wings open while standing over trainers and Pokémon of which are in various poses. This release is the very first official artbook based on the Pokémon Adventures series. The special edition art book by Satoshi Yamamoto reveals the fun and battle-ready characters against a gradient fade purple backdrop. The cover, which reads "Pocket Monster Special" in Japanese and English in bold yellow letters, paints a fun and adventurous mood, as seen in the anime series. Other very popular Pokémon from the original line-up are also included in the cover illustration, such as Blastoise and Venusaur, and can be seen in their signature poses. The unique art book also has the first chapter of "Pokémon Ranger the Comic", a special web-series comic, further adding to the hype surrounding the book's popularity.
- Publication Date: March 15, 2016
- Publisher: Shogakukan
- Author/Illustrator: Satoshi Yamamoto
- Book Size: 30 cm | 11.8"
- Number of Pages: 173
- Language: Japanese
Shogakukan Special Pokémon Fan Vol. 42 w/ Mega Sharpedo Tretta Magnet Sheet
This special edition magazine is the 42nd monthly guide of Pokémon Fan and comes with a magnet sheet featuring a Mega Sharpedo. The illustrated cover, which was published by Shogakukan, shows Ash and Pikachu riding a Mega Latios while surrounded by other popular Pokémon. The bonus magnet sheet that comes with the guide is grey and can be hung onto magnetic surfaces to show off the shark Pokémon. Mega Sharpedo, shown in its signature blue and yellow colors, enlivens the guide's already feature-packed qualities. Aside from the bonus Sharpedo Tretta magnet sheet, the guide includes many cool illustrations and Pokémon-related tips. The 42nd volume of the magazine is colorful and showcases many different Pokémon and their abilities, as seen in the animated series.
- Publisher: Shogakukan
- Bonus: Mega Sharpedo Tretta magnet sheet
- Language: Japanese
Surfing Pikachu T-Shirt (White)
As Pikachu makes a splash doing an "Aerial" surf trick on the front of the shirt, the back side features the phrase "Wanna go surf?". What's interesting is that the graphic style of the design is inspired by the sprites from Pokémon Game Boy game, as the shirt is made almost completely in pixel art. Moreover, the special edition t-shirt's interior is decorated using specially made graphics inspired by the game's marketing material. The t-shirt, which also has a special tag with a pixelated red and white pokeball is also detailed with brown and yellow stripes along the sleeves inspired by Pikachu’s color palette. Furthermore, one of the highlights of this shirt is the packaging, which is a large box that is designed with an 8-bit Pokéball covering the majority of the front. The highly-decorated box also features the brand "The King of Games" on the side.
- Manufacturer: Editmode
- Brand: The King of Games
- Sizes: S, M, L, XL (Unisex)
- Color: White
About Pokémon Merchandise
As the Pokémon video games and anime adaptations became more popular, various manufacturers began to take advantage of the success of the series and started making various items based on the various trainers and, of course, the Pokémon themselves. With every new entry into the series, more and more new Pokémon are introduced, resulting in even more merchandising opportunities. With the release of the most recent entry in the video game series, Pokémon Sword and Shield, there are nearly 900 unique Pokémon, meaning that fans have plenty of merchandise to choose from.
About Pokémon
The Pokémon franchise began as a Japanese turn-based RPG series created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. The games have the player catching unique creatures with their own set of movies and abilities to help them gain the upper hand in combat. Tajiri has said that the inspiration for the game stemmed from his bug catching hobby from his childhood. After the games were met with incredible reviews, an anime adaptation was created and began airing in 1997. The series follows an original trainer character named Ash Ketchum (Satoshi in the original Japanese version) and his loyal Pokémon companion Pikachu as he meets other trainers in various regions from the Pokémon games.
Links
Pokémon Adventures Satoshi Yamamoto Art Book
Shogakukan Special Pokémon Fan Vol. 42 w/ Mega Sharpedo Tretta Magnet Sheet
Surfing Pikachu T-Shirt (White)
Pokemon Plushies
Pokemon Amiibo
Pokemon Label