When Pokémon first debuted in 1996, it was strictly marketed to kids, but two decades later, a lot of those little Pokémon trainers still haven’t moved on. Nintendo’s recent Pokémon Super Bowl ad featured just as many adults as children, which wasn’t surprising. Pokémon isn’t a kids thing anymore, it’s just a thing, like Star Wars or Marvel movies. It’s for everybody.
As such, I wager you’re going to start seeing Pokémon marketed in some surprisingly adult ways over the coming years. The franchise is finally making the jump to mobile phones, Pikachu has become a hard-boiled detective, and now The Pokémon Company has put their cuddly stamp of approval on a new line of Pokémon lingerie. Happy 20th birthday, Pokémon! Can we expect Pokémon whiskey when the franchise hits drinking age next year?
The Pikachu-themed underthings are being made by Japanese retailer Yummy Mart, and again, I need to stress that this stuff is 100% official. As such, I think it’s important we make sure this collection lives up to the high standards fans expect from Pokémon merchandise.
The Pikachus on this lady’s undergarments are drawn to proper scale, and her Poké Ball bag also appears to be on-model. Everything checks out so far.
025 is a reference to Pikachu’s number in the Pokédex. Clearly somebody did their research.
Fantastic embroidery on all the little Pikachu faces. I applaud the craftsmanship on display here.
The Pokémon Collection goes on sale April 20. I wouldn’t expect it to show up in any stores on this prudish side of the Pacific, but if you want some official Pikachu undies, you can perhaps try to finagle some international shipping out of Yummy Mart’s online store.
(Via Shacknews)