Pop-up Pokémon Center opens in London

The Pokémon Company opened the doors to a pop-up Pokémon Center store in London at 10am on Friday.

Located in Westfield London (Shepherd’s Bush), the store will be open until November 15 – the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield release date.

Opening hours are 10am until 10pm Monday to Saturday, and noon until 6pm on Sundays. The Pokémon Company says it expects the store to be particularly busy during its opening weekend and for queues to form during this period.

Update: The Westfield London shopping centre has closed queuing for entry to the new Pokémon Center juts three hours after the store opened its doors on Friday morning due to high demand.

Original story continues: The store sells a range of Pokémon Center-branded products, including designs exclusive to London, and offer visitors limited access to a Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield-themed area featuring a playable demo.

Permanent Pokémon Center stores have been in operation throughout Japan and North America for several years, offering many exclusive items for sale.

Announcing the store in August, the Pokémon Company said the decision to operate the pop-up in London was in tribute to “the United Kingdom’s role in inspiring the design and feel of the all-new Galar region” featured in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

A new Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield trailer released on Wednesday revealed Gigantamax forms for five Pokémon including Pikachu, Eeevee and “exclusive early-purchase bonus” Meowth.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield is available to pre-order from retailers including Nintendo, Amazon, Best Buy and Game.

A limited edition Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Switch Lite console will also be released in November. It’s available to pre-order from Nintendo, Amazon, Best Buy, ShopTo and Game.

Pokémon developer Game Freak is increasingly prioritising original game creation as part of its Gear Project initiative, programmer and director Masayuki Onoue told VGC in an interview published earlier this year.