There's only a few things that could get me to drink a Starbucks coffee - either it's my last resort at the airport, or I'm picking up a cute collaboration with my favorite creature collector game. The Pokémon Starbucks collab would be enough to win me over - the Pikachu drink is cute and sounds tasty, the cups look like a lot of fun, and there are plenty of cute stickers and postcards. There's just one problem, as usual: I don't live in Japan.
Among the products for sale in the collaboration are six 'mon-themed reusable coffee cups - sustainable and cute - mugs, tumblers, a drip coffee maker, aprons, a milk frother, posters, tote bags, and Starbucks cards. The collab leans heavily into Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Eevee, with a further "connection" design to link the 'mon together. It's all pretty pricey, with the standard reusable coffee cup costing about $8, the stainless steel cups fetching about $41.55, and a tumbler going for $25. I have a feeling it won't put many fans off buying the collection, though.
As for the drinks, the story of the Pikachu honey cream latte is actually pretty cute - Starbucks baristas all over Japan competed in a "Barista Battle" to come up with the drink, which was ultimately won by Junko Nitta, who works in a store in Fukushima. The Japanese Pokémon Twitter/X account says that more drinks are on the way, so there's a chance for more winners - I'm personally hoping for a Bulbasaur matcha or chili-based Charmander coffee, because even if I can't drink them myself, it'll be to admire the creativity.
What are the odds that Starbucks brings its Pokémon collection to Europe or the US? Well, after I bemoaned the Pokémon Astronomical Observatory event last year, the company has at least come out with the ESA collaboration to bring the galactic adventure to Europe, so there is some hope that Starbucks would be willing to roll out its collaboration with Pokémon to other places in the world. But for now, I have to watch with envy as I see Japanese fans living my dream of sipping the Pikachu latte out of their Eevee stainless steel bottles.
Until we get the coffee (if we do), be sure to join the Pocket Tactics Discord server for more yapping about how unfair life is when it comes to cool collaborations, and we've also got a TikTok, in case video is more your speed.