The Pokémon Company has announced that London is getting its very own Pokémon Center store.
The pop-up shop will open at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush this October.
The news was first broken when assets – such as the concept image below – appeared on press site earlier this morning.
It was later confirmed on the Pokémon UK Twitter page, after teasing images of Pikachu in a suit and bowler hat with a Psyduck umbrella.
It’s happening, Trainers!
?Pokémon Center London
? Westfield London, Shepherd’s Bush
Popping up for a limited time only this October. Further details will be revealed in the coming months! pic.twitter.com/pp9fTg1d9d
— Pokémon UK (@PokemonNewsUK) August 5, 2019
Serebii reports that the Pokemon Center in London will be open from October 18th through to November 15th and will be located at Ariel Way, Shepherd’s Bush W12 7GF.
The store, like others around the world, will likely sell a host of merchandise, toys, plushies and Pokémon Center branded products as well as products possibly exclusive to the London store.
Pop-up shops are a good way for brands to test the waters and see how popular such a store can be in a particular location.
UK Pokémon fans will no doubt be excited by the news and many on Twitter have already requested a more permanent Pokémon Center in the future.
Pokémon is played competitively around the world. There’s the Pokémon World Championships (with the next one taking place later this month in Washington from August 16th to 18th), plus the card game and fighting game Pokkén Tournament are played competitively.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
