London’s pop-up Pokémon gift shop is really, really popular. On opening day, those hoping to score exclusive merch had to wait in a nine hour line. Since then, the lines have settled down to a mere five or six hours. This almost absurd amount of hype and attention has led the store to announce via its Twitter account that they will more-than-likely run out of an exclusive “London City Pikachu Plush” (a.k.a. Pikachu in a bowler hat) on November 10th, five days short of its official closing date.
Exclusives like the dapper Pikachu are what have brought such massive crowds to the store more than anything else. The Pokémon Center opened with a six item per customer limit, which it has since reduced to five, in anticipation of and in response to the high demand for limited items like this. However, given the shortage, it seems that not even a purchase limit could account for how much residents of the U.K. want Pokémon plushies dressed up in British outfits.
This was followed up by a second announcement that, while London City Pikachu may be exiting early from the Pokémon Center premises, some new products will make their way onto shelves in the ten plus days until the store’s closing (and release of Pokémon Sword & Shield). This is good news for those hoping to score something like, say, a Charmander holding a cup of tea, but bad news for those who might have hoped the lines would die down in time to calmly peruse the store’s selection of regular old Pokémon toys.
