The Pokémon Center is a chain of specialty stores selling ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

''-related merchandise. Pokémon Centers are predominantly located in Japan, the first having opened in Tokyo in 1998. Stores have also opened in Singapore, the United States, and Taiwan. Within the ''Pokémon'' universe, "Pokémon Centers" are locations where characters can heal, manage, and trade their Pokémon creatures. Real Pokémon Centers, named after the fictional counterparts, sell

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

such as action figures, plush toys, cereal boxes, clothing, backpacks, and badges.

History

The Pokémon Company , simply known as Pokémon is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video games, a trading card game, anime television series, f ...

opened the first Pokémon Center store in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in April 1998. This original Pokémon Center eventually closed and reopened in a different location. Pokémon Center

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, one of the franchise' bigger locations at 830 square meters, was the country's seventh Pokémon Center and opened in 2010. On November 16, 2001, Nintendo opened a store called the Pokémon Center in

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The Pokémon Center was closed and replaced by the

Nintendo World Store Nintendo New York (previously known as Nintendo World and Pokémon Center New York) is the flagship specialty store of video game corporation Nintendo. Located in 10 Rockefeller Plaza, at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the two-story, stor ...

in 2005. This store was renovated and rebranded to

Nintendo New York Nintendo New York (previously known as Nintendo World and Pokémon Center New York) is the flagship specialty store of video game corporation Nintendo. Located in 10 Rockefeller Plaza, at Rockefeller Center in New York City, the two-story, sto ...

in 2016. Only four Pokémon Centers remained open at the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Japan The COVID-19 pandemic in Japan has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths, along with 33,728,878 recoveries. Government of Japan, The Japanese government confirmed the country's first case of the disease on 16 January 2020 in a ...

, and the location in

Okayama is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

closed permanently. There are over 20 Pokémon Center locations in Japan as of 2023. On 8th December 2023, the second permanent Pokémon Center outside of Japan opened in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store near

Taipei 101 The Taipei 101 (; stylized in all caps), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a 508 m (1,667 ft), 101-story skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by Taipei Financial Center Corporation. It was Council on Tall Buildings ...

. The Pokémon Company International launched an online Pokémon Center store in 2014.

References

External links

* * {{Pokémon Pokémon Shops in Japan Retail companies of Japan Merchandise Toy retailers Video game retailers in Japan Video game culture Nintendo buildings and structures