New Merch Roundup: Luxury Pokémon children’s wear from Bonpoint, plus new Pokémon picture books for English and Japanese audiences

This week’s merch roundup centers on kids as the Pokémon Center debuts its official baby and children's line, monpoké, with new books and a collab with luxury children's fashion house Bonpoint. Japanese fans will also get new Pokémon picture books this month by prolific children’s book author Akio Kashiwara. The Bonpoint x Pokémon capsule collection is available now online at Bonpoint’s website, with select pieces available online at the Pokémon Centers US, U.K., and Canada. The luxury collection offers a onesie in sizes up to 6 months ($180 USD) and a shirt and pant set in sizes up to 18 months ($120 USD), both with a cutesy all-over Pikachu print, as well as a Pikachu t-shirt in sizes up to 3T ($95 USD) at the Pokémon Center. The wider collection at Bonpoint also includes pieces for older kids, like a Pikachu denim jacket ($425 USD) and baseball cap ($175 USD), as well as more Pikachu t-shirts and a sweatshirt ($330 USD). The collab also curiously includes luxury skincare for kids, some of which is currently unreleased but coming soon, such as their Pokémon edition face cream for $95 USD.

Also arriving to the Pokémon Center’s monpoké collection are three new picture books published by Scholastic. Pikachu Loves ($8.99 USD) and Pokémon Playtime ($10.99 USD) are board books intended for children 3 months and older, while the standard hardcover Pikachu’s First Friends ($17.99 USD) is intended for kids ages 3 to 5. All three are available now at the Pokémon Center for customers only in the US, and Pokémon Playtime and Pikachu’s First Friends are available to teachers via Scholastic. A fourth book coming to the monpoké line, Meet the Friends, will release on May 7th.

New Pokémon board books are also coming to Japan, scheduled to be released May 22nd and available at bookstores across the country. ピカチュウでちゅ (Pikachu Dechu) and ぱぴぷぺポケモン (Papipupe Pokemon) are written and illustrated by Akio Kashiwara, author of over 100 picture books which specialize in high-contrast colors and shapes. His most well-known book published in English is perhaps Baby Sees Colors!, winner of a 2019 National Parenting Product Award. Both board books will be ¥1,100 ($7.11 USD) and are intended for children 6 months to 2 years old. Book trailers and plenty of illustration previews are available via publisher Shogakukan’s website.