Blimey Guv, a pop-up Pokemon Centre will be opening in London for a month to coincide with the release date of the UK set Pokemon Sword and Shield this November.
London’s pop-up Poke-Centre will be opening in the Shepherd’s Bush Westfield shopping center, from October 18 to November 15, the last day being the planned launch day for the title.
There are currently Pokemon Centers across Japan, the US and Singapore and if this London iteration is anything like those, you can expect a metric ton of Pokemon merchandise for sale, in addition to a variety of exclusive bits and pieces, and it is likely there will be a bunch of Pokemon Sword and Shield goodies that you won’t be able to get anywhere else in Europe.
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It’s a cornucopia of Pokemon goodness, full of bright colours and a saccharine love of Nintendo’s hit game series. The full-time stores also run meet and greets and events, so hopefully we’ll see that in this pop-up Westfield location.
Better yet, The Pokemon Company is teasing the pop-up with a picture of Pikachu in a bowler hat. The idea of a meet and greet with a bowler-hatted Pikachu is enough to drag even the most cynical gamer along for a look-see. My darkest video gaming secret is that I’m a total sucker for Pikachu in a hat. In addition to Pikachu surfing, or Pikachu making a cute… oh no, I have just realised I have a Pika-problem.
This is the best way for many people in the UK to visit a Pokemon Center. A few years back one appeared in Pokemon for just three weeks, but for many this will be their first chance to experience a Pokemon Center for themselves, which will be great for kids and families, but also those with a hankering to see a load of cool limited edition Poke-stuff.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.