ThePokémon Center is a chain of specialty stores sellingPokémon-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 thePokémon universe, "Pokémon Centers" are locations where characters can heal, manage, and trade theirPokémon creatures.[1] Real Pokémon Centers, named after the fictional counterparts, sellmerchandise such as action figures, plush toys, cereal boxes, clothing, backpacks, and badges.[2]
The Pokémon Company opened the first Pokémon Center store inTokyo in April 1998. This original Pokémon Center eventually closed and reopened in a different location.[1] Pokémon CenterOsaka, one of the franchise' bigger locations at 830 square meters, was the country's seventh Pokémon Center and opened in 2010.[3]
On November 16, 2001, Nintendo opened a store called the Pokémon Center inRockefeller Center,New York City. The Pokémon Center was closed and replaced by theNintendo World Store in 2005.[4] This store was renovated and rebranded toNintendo New York in 2016.[5][6]
Only four Pokémon Centers remained open at the height of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Japan, and the location inOkayama closed permanently.[7] There are over 20 Pokémon Center locations in Japan as of 2023.[8]
On 8th December 2023, the second permanent Pokémon Center outside of Japan opened inTaipei at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store nearTaipei 101.[9] The Pokémon Company International launched an online Pokémon Center store in 2014.[1]
Media related toPokémon Centers at Wikimedia Commons